Author's Note: Allow me to have a slight freak-out at the ending of this chapter because I AM SO EXCITED TIME TRAVEL AND MEAN AUTHOR-NESS AND TIME TRAVEL AAAAH lol

Chapter 2

Laila stepped forward, staring at the man, fire in her eyes. "No," she snapped. "I'll show you the way to Falling Star Lane. I don't trust—" She nodded towards him. "Him." She spit out the word as if it tasted sour.

"You know, I'm inclined to agree with you." The Doctor stuffed his hands in his pockets and grinned. "Lead the way, Laila."

She dropped her gaze and smiled a little, and stepped to the door. Her hand closed around the doorknob—and she sighed.

"Doctor, you're going to have to—"

Two sonic screwdrivers appeared at once and both Doctors froze.

"Alright, this is really going to get awkward." It was her Doctor who spoke. "What do you say, I unlock, you lock? I've always liked unlocking—"

Laila crossed her arms. "This is all very confusing but I'd like out of the room, thank you."

"….right." Before the other Doctor could say a word, her Doctor had pushed a button on his sonic screwdriver and the lock clicked. Laila shoved the door open, pushing her way past the man and out into the hallway.

"Everyone follow me!" Her voice held a hint of excitement and Rey thought she saw a bit of a smile dancing around her lips. She glanced at the man and the smile turned to a slight frown. "Including you, I guess. I don't want you by yourself in my house."

He bristled. "This is my house, miss," he snapped, but both Doctors stepped on either side of him like a pair of guards, two wallets with psychic paper displaying some kind of ID appearing once again. He narrowed his eyes, but stopped talking.

They stepped out the front door and into the bright afternoon sunlight, Laila marching ahead of them, her head held high, determination written over her face. Rey stepped to her side with a little smile of greeting—she would let the two Doctors deal with the unpleasant man, whoever he was. BB8 bumped along beside her and looked up at Laila with a little happy beep of greeting.

Laila looked down and froze, her eyes wide. Every hint of determination melted from her face. She let out a little gasp and then she was on her knees beside the little droid, reaching out to touch it, still wide-eyed.

"The future—I'm in the future." Her voice was a little breathless. "What is it? Is it—alive?"

"Not technically. He's a droid. Standard BB unit." BB8 let out a little unhappy beep and Rey smiled a little. "Although sometimes he does that and I do wonder."

"A—droid?" Laila jumped to her feet. "What's a droid?"

"Oh. You're from the—did you say you were from the past?" Rey looked at her for a moment. How far in the past? The time of the Revolution—no, that wasn't right. She ran over the timeline in her head. Probably sooner than that. "When—"

"You say that like it's so….so normal." Laila stared at her, and her gaze was somehow both frightened and excited at once. "Is this the future, then? Are you from—you're with the Doctor?" She clasped her hands together and bounced a little on her feet. "Are you from 2018? Is this the future? What's a droid? I'm asking too many questions…." Her voice trailed off and she stared for a long moment at the little droid. "I'm sorry…."

Rey grinned a little. "Oh no, you're not! A droid is…." She paused for a moment. She kept having to explain droids to people who didn't know what they were. "Like…like a robot….sort of? Although that's a rather old-fashioned name for them…"

"Robot? Old fashioned?" A little giggle escaped, and Laila clasped her hands together. "They've got robots now? That just follow you around like….he's so cute! Like a little puppy dog!" He reached down and toyed with BB8's antennae for a moment, still grinning.

"Now? I'm not entirely sure they have them now…." She looked around. "2018? Traveling with the Doctor, you sort of…." Her voice trailed off. "You lose track….considering they don't have antigravity, I hardly think they'd have this kind of droid yet."

"Antigravity?" Laila stared at her. "Anti….oh goodness. Oh my goodness. I can't wait to tell Rob….alright we need to get going!" She started off down the street again, a grin sparkling across her face, her eyes shining. "To Falling Star Lane!"

Rey started after her with a little grin. She had to admit, she rather liked these sorts of reactions to things that were completely normal for her. It felt—it felt like everything was suddenly new and exciting again.

Is this how the Doctor feels?

"Edward. Edward Wood." Rey turned and realized she had fallen behind Laila a bit and was walking beside the Doctor—well, the Doctors. The man's voice was grudging, but he held out a hand to introduce himself, dropping it to his side when neither one of them offered a hand in return. "And for the record, I'm the owner of the house. And I don't trust the girl. She's—odd."

"Well, actually…." Her Doctor ran his fingers through his hair and raised an eyebrow. "She's not exactly from now. Bit of a long story there, and I don't actually know all of it. Which is why we're heading to Falling Star Lane, if you hadn't already figured that out."

The man leveled a sharp gaze at the Doctor. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Considering you're keeping a room full of bodies in your attic, I'd think you'd have a bit more of a sense that reality is not always as it seems," the other Doctor snapped. "Now, I don't think you ever finished answering those questions of ours."

Laila felt as if she were floating. Rey—the girl from the future, the future that was even farther way than now, 2018, which was also the future—she couldn't process it all. The Doctor, the other man who called himself the Doctor but was obviously a different man—or was he? Rey had said it was a long story—

She had wandered off a few moments ago with a word to Rey. She wanted to explore, she wanted to see the town, and—well, there was just too much to see if she went right back where she came from, right back to Falling Star Lane.

She glanced back at the group. Edward whoever-he-was was leading them now. She frowned. She didn't trust him. She didn't trust him…

Rey looked back at her with a smile and a wave, and Laila saw the long staff that hung from a holster at her back.

Rey could handle herself. And so could the Doctor.

She waved back and turned toward the town, excitement twinkling inside her.

She was in the future.

She was in the future.

Her eyes fell on a parked car and before she could stop herself, she had tripped over and was peering in the window. What did cars look like in the future? She cupped her hands around her face as her eyes adjusted to the inside of the car. The sound of footsteps—and a cane thumping on the sidewalk—brought her head up and she started as she looked up to see an old man approaching. She flushed suddenly and stepped back, realizing what she must have looked like.

"I'm sorry, sir," she mumbled, then looked up at him. "Mr.—Mr. Cartwright?" she blurted out.

He smiled a rather pleasant smile. "That'd be me," he said with a laugh. "Now go on and stop peeking into my car, girl."

She nodded. "I—I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to, I wasn't going to….sorry, Mr. Cartwright…."

He laughed again. "A little thing like you couldn't do much damage anyway," he said, making shooing motions with his hands. "And besides, you remind me of an old friend of mine. Now go on." He raised an eyebrow. "I've got a very important appointment and as I'm getting rather too old to walk to these things, I believe I'm going to need that car you were peeking in the window of."

She managed a little smile. "Thank you, Mr. Cartwright," she said, a little giggle escaping before she turned and ran.

And skidded to a stop as the realization hit her so hard it nearly knocked her backwards.

That couldn't be Mr. Cartwright. It was 2018. He would have—he couldn't be—

You remind me of an old friend of mine….

Her hand flew to her mouth. Eddy? Eddy Cartwright?

She had to close her eyes for a moment, the thought refusing to register in her mind. No—no—that was just weird. That was just properly weird. Eddy Cartwright was an old man. Eddy Cartwright, who she had played with in the park as a little girl. Eddy Cartwright, who had flirted with her sister as a teenager. Eddy Cartwright….

She shook her head. She didn't want to think about it. She didn't want to follow that thought to its logical conclusion….

She came to a stop next to Miller's Drugstore, staring. It wasn't—well, she shouldn't be surprised, really. It's not as if it would still be a store after 75 years. 75 years. For a moment she just stood there, staring at the door.

And then she was walking forward and tugging the door open, stepping inside.

A post office. Alright.

For a moment she just stood there, looking around. It was oddly different. Not so different as she had expected, but still—different. She felt as if she were walking through a dream, as if the whole world was slightly off. Her fingers tightened on the doorknob, as if she was steadying herself. It was Miller's Drugstore. She could see the old walls there, the counter….

She stared at the woman behind the counter for a long moment. She was typing on some kind of strange device. It looked like a typewriter, but with some kind of screen attached. She remembered the screen she had seen in her living room….

She wished the Doctor was here. He wouldn't give her strange looks for asking questions.

"Hello, ma'am. Can I help you?" Laila jumped at the woman's voice and shook her head quickly.

"No, it's—I'm fine—" She took a slow step backwards and then she was out the door, slamming it behind her, flushing furiously. She shouldn't have wandered off…she should just join the group again…she should….

She was only a few blocks away from the park.

As soon as the thought popped into her mind, she was off. She had to know if the park was still there. She had to! She was grinning and a bit out of breath when the little shady haven appeared in front of her. It was—oh, it was still here! She stepped off of the sidewalk and into the soft grass, the shadows of the trees flickering about her.

She looked around, a soft smile touching her lips. She and the kids had played here so often—her and her sister and brother—Eddy Cartwright—Rob—she came to a stop and looked up, laughing suddenly. Ellie's tree was still standing!

She giggled at the memory—they had been about 10, the whole group of them. Technically they weren't supposed to climb trees in the park, but the boys had dared them to, and—well. They had been shouted at by a policeman, but it had been rather worth it.

She stopped at the edge of the park, looking over the cemetery which butted up against it. They used to stand here and make up strange stories about it, especially when evening was coming on and the shadows were beginning to creep in. Sometimes, when she was alone, she would wander through the gravestones, wondering who the people were, what their lives had been—what stories they could tell.

She wandered forward, drawing in a deep breath of the summer afternoon air. Air that existed in the future. She let out a long sigh and smiled a little. It was odd, she knew—but she had always loved the peace of the cemetery, the feeling of being surrounded by so many memories. She came to a stop, resting her hand on the trunk of a great, old tree. She had sat here so many times with her journal, drops of ink dripping into the grass beside her….

Her and Rob had had so many conversations here, under this great tree….

She ran her fingers down the bark. It was old now, and scarred with age. And beneath it was a new gravestone.

She leaned down, hesitating a moment. Perhaps—perhaps she shouldn't look. Perhaps it was something she shouldn't see. Perhaps—

Robert Blake.

And his loving wife, Laila Blake.

For a moment, her mind refused to acknowledge what she was seeing. She shook her head, staring dully at the gravestone in front of her.

Laila Blake…

Almost against her will, her eyes went to her death date.

2013.

She would have been 80, then.

The thought was strangely calm, as if the truth of it hadn't registered in her mind yet. Laila Blake. The shadows of the tree above her flickered across the stone, across the dates and names written on it, and a breeze ruffled her hair. She took a deep breath, and felt suddenly weak. Robert Blake…

Her eyes fell on the date below the name, and she jumped to her feet, stumbling backwards and catching herself on the tree.

1945.

1945.

No—no—surely not—it couldn't be. Maybe she had read it wrong. Maybe it was 1954 or 1995 or—or—or—it couldn't be. It couldn't be. Surely—he couldn't have—if they were married—no—no—

She started at the sound of a footstep and looked up to see a woman approaching, a bundle of flowers in her hand. Laila managed a slight nod in greeting, but couldn't manage a smile.

1945.

1945.

"Sorry!" The woman shot her a friendly smile. "Didn't mean to startle you! Just coming to put some flowers on my great aunt Laila's grave."