So what do you want us to do, John Smith? Rose asked. She was starting to feel Christine squeezing her hand tightly, and it was warm to the point where it was shaking violently as sweat was running through it. John Smith was going to have to give instructions soon, because the effects of being trapped in Christine's mind were just starting to become noticeable.

First, do you see if Maureen still has the ESR bottle around, Sarah? The Doctor started.

Yes, Doctor. Do you want me to give some of it to Christine? Sarah Jane asked.

Give her three spoonfuls of it using a small spoon, no more, no less. Be sure to also have some water or juice at hand, as well as a small snack. You must give it to Christine a while after I leave her body, because if you don't, she could start to develop migraines, and her blood pressure will start to lower significantly.

I understand, Doctor, Sarah Jane responded. Is there anything else we should do?

All right, Rose, now this will be your role. Can I get your full attention?

You have it, John Smith, Rose replied.

I want you to keep holding onto Christine's hand, and you also need to make sure she remains focused on me throughout the whole time. If you have to repeat my name several times, or give her a list of random facts about me, then do it, but she must remain thinking about me. Do you understand what I'm asking?

I do, John Smith. I'm not going to let you or Christine down, Rose responded determinedly.

That's a good girl, Rose. And of course, I'm sure that I'll able to relay on you just as much as I did during our time together, Sarah Jane.

And you're not going to be one bit disappointed, Sarah Jane promised.

That's great to know, but both of you must hold off on the promises and get into action now. Neither I nor Christine can wait much longer, the Doctor demanded.

Rose remained where she was, and Sarah Jane walked up to where the three Marsh siblings were now gathered together, trying to make sense of what they'd just seen and heard.

"Maureen, may I have the green bottle you were holding earlier?" Sarah Jane asked her.

Maureen picked up the bottle of ESR from where it'd been left at the coffee table. "Here you go, Sarah," she said, and then, looking at how Rose and Christine were still huddled together, she asked, "What is it for? Is it some kind of medicine for Christine?"

"Yes; it's supposed to be a medicine for psychics to take when their powers become overwhelming. This creature will only be able to get out of Christine's body if I give it to her right now."

"I see," Maureen replied. "Is there anything we can do to help her?"

"Yes. Bring up the glass of water again, as well as a bag of crisps or a pastry package. She's going to need to eat and drink something when the alien leaves her."

"Got it," Maureen replied. Turning to her siblings, she then asked, "Eric, Heather, would you like to help out?"

"You don't have to ask twice, Maureen. This may all be crazy, but someone has to help make things right again," Eric said.

"We'll be back soon, Sarah," Heather reassured, and she and Eric went to the kitchen to get what had been asked for.

Meanwhile, Rose was still holding Christine's hand. The two of them were now feeling overwhelmingly hot, and Christine was moaning from a headache which was starting to develop.

Did you hear what John Smith asked of me, Christine, Rose asked, staring to breathe more heavily due to the uncomfortable warmth which was spreading itself more heavily.

I heard perfectly well, Rose, Christine replied, running her hand through her aching forehead, yet doing her best not to think too much about the pain. Don't you want to get started on the John Smith talk before we forget about it?

Okay, Rose said, now feeling sweat running down her back. Are you ready?

Go ahead.

So, she began, John Smith is actually from a planet called Gallifrey. He says that three hundred years ago, an astronomer spotted the planet from the top of a castle in Italy, but when the Time Lords, that's the name of the aliens which John Smith is a part of, found out about it through some special powers they had, they sent in these rays from outer space to strike him while he was up in the castle. He was able to live, but his memories of spotting Gallifrey were wiped forever.

Sounds creepy, Christine responded. Although she still felt as warm as ever, she could feel her headache starting to lessen a little. She understood that this trick was already working, even though John Smith was still inside her. Go on, Rose.

No one on the planet Gallifrey is really born a Time Lord, Rose continued, sensing how Christine was getting better as she was feeling worse, but thinking that she must be able to handle it to help her friend. For that, they have to go to an academy where they receive a lot of lessons which will help them take some hard test that will help their teachers decide if they can be Time Lords or not. Even though John Smith is really smart, he didn't always try hard enough during his lessons. He sometimes liked going into a place that is kind of like the desert here on Earth and perform experiments which he'd learned about from reading books and papers that were in the academy's library but which his teachers wouldn't let him do in class. He was caught a couple of times by his teachers, and one time, one of his experiment went so wrong that he was almost taken out of the academy.

Sounds like he was a big rebel, Christine replied with astonishment, starting to put her free hand around Rose's shoulder as a sign that she knew how she was starting to feel weak and still wanted to help despite her own fragility at the moment. So when did John Smith come to Earth for the first time? Did he come along with the other Time Lords or by himself?

He actually got the idea to come here along with his granddaughter Susan as a reward to her for having become a Time Lady with one of the best performances on the Time Lord test. He made a request from the Time Lords in charge to get permission to use one of their machines for traveling. Although they had trust in Susan, they still denied his request because John Smith had caused a lot of trouble in Gallifrey in the past, and they only wanted to send the best Time Lords in Gallifrey to Earth. But because John Smith never liked having to listen to them in the past, he still wanted to find a way to give Susan what he wanted, so one day, when the Time Lords in charge were away on a special meeting, he and Susan snuck up to the place where…

Girls, I'm back, they heard Sarah Jane calling out to them. She was holding the ESR bottle, which she'd given to the Marshes five years ago after she'd surprisingly found the medicine on sale in a drug store in Nice, France while working on a story there. However, she was aware that ESR could be found for sale in some European countries (of which the UK was not included for some reason) after the psychic research committee for which Harry Sullivan worked for had approved of the medicine and both she and Harry were given credit for its' discovery, so she had expected to find it somewhere Even though she had over a hundred bottles of the medicine at home, she was perfectly aware that not only could she unexpectedly run out of it, but that she might meet up with another psychic out there who would need it. And of course, since she visited the Marshes more than anyone else, she knew they would need some of it in hand in case she had one of her episodes when she came over to visit.

Upon coming to Christine, she said telepathically, All right, Christine, listen closely now. When I give you this medicine, the taste is rather unusual, like lime soda mixed with something metallic. You are…

I know already, Sarah Jane. I'm not supposed to swallow it right away, but instead hold it in my mouth for a while and then take one small sip at a time. That's supposed to help the medicine have its full effect on me, and after I finish it, I'll have to drink some water or juice in the same way as I did the medicine, very slowly and in small sips.

How did you know this? Did you read my mind, or…

I've had ESR before. My doctor has given it to me…

Save the explanations for later, dear. You have to take the medicine now.

Okay, and then Christine opened her mouth widely, and Sarah Jane placed a spoonful of the frizzy green liquid in her mouth. Just as she'd done several times before, Christine held the medicine in her mouth for a couple of seconds, and then started slowly swallowing it in small sips. Since she'd gotten used to the taste over time, the slightly metallic flavor didn't bother her, although it did leave a strange taste in her mouth after she'd finished all the medicine.

When all the medicine had gone down, she looked up at Sarah Jane and Rose and said, I'm done. What should I…

Christine was not able to go on, because once again, she went completely still, with her mouth remaining slightly open. When five seconds had gone by, the clouds of energy appeared once again, flying up twice as fast as they had the first time. This time, however, no laughter could be heard from John Smith. Instead, a rather wild scream roared through the house instead, giving Sarah Jane the chills and managing to attract the attention of the whole Marsh family, who all came running up to the three of them in a panic. Knowing what was soon to come, Rose appeared to have frozen due to her own fear, and the fact that she was heavily sweating was more obvious from the bright red color visible on her face and arms. When the clouds of energy came up to her, the Marshes and Sarah Jane almost expected her to start screaming, but instead, her mouth fell open without a sound to be heard excepting the whoosh of the energy as it flew into her lips and pupils. Once it was all inside of her, the heat which had risen in Rose's body before now turned into a chill as she started shivering, but instead of falling over, she stayed still for about a minute. When it was all over, Rose's eyes opened up just as she could feel the heavy beating of her heart, and she looked at all of her friends. Maureen was giving Christine a drink from bottled water as Violet held on to her shoulder, making sure she was feeling all right. Sarah Jane, Tom, Eric, and Heather were coming over to check on her.

But somehow, this seemed less important to her at the moment. She kept feeling the strong urge to hear something from John Smith, even if it was just a simple yes or no to her questions.

John Smith, she started calling out softly. John Smith, are you okay?

No answer.

John Smith? She asked much more urgently. Did something go wrong when you were brought back to me? Please say something if you're okay.

She still heard nothing, resulting in the increase of her anxiety and the urge to burst into tears slowly building up. Something had to have gone wrong if he couldn't respond to her, didn't it?

John Smith, answer now! She then cried out in frustration, the tears now starting to slowly run down her eyes.

"Rose, what's wrong?" she heard Sarah Jane asking.

"It looks like she's crying and calling out really softly to someone," Heather observed, feeling just as upset as Sarah was about seeing her little friend looking so sad.

"Do you think she could be suffering from the side effects of having this alien back inside her?" Tom asked. He remembered perfectly well how those poor people left sprawling on the streets of Northern Ireland would cry for hours after the aliens had transferred themselves over to their bodies upon pointing guns in the direction of their foreheads. Yet, strangely enough, he couldn't recall a single victim who'd been younger than sixteen. As his mother, who'd been a writer, journalist, and longtime advocate for peace and fair treatment of women, girls, and the poor, had said when their work was done: "Those creatures must have had a heart after all if they were unwilling to possess a child." Could the same really be said of this friend of Sarah's if he'd been willing to transfer himself to someone as young and harmless as Rose?

"Why don't we just go up and get a good look at her before we jump to conclusions?" Eric suggested.

"Of course, Eric," Sarah Jane answered. "We have to do this at some point, of course."

And then, Christine practically raced up to them, asked very urgently, "How did it go, Sarah Jane? Was John Smith able to make his way through Rose?"

Almost immediately, she heard Rose's internal, desperate cries: Please, John Smith! I hate it when you do this! Why can't you just answer me back right whenever I say something to you? Her sobs could be heard more clearly now, serving as a clear sign to the others that something hadn't gone right.

"John Smith was able to make his way back to Rose," Sarah Jane explained to her. "But from what we see right now, perhaps he's not able to communicate with her. That's what I think might be going wrong with her."

"And it is," Christine said, confirming her beliefs on what was going on to be correct. "She keeps trying to call back to John Smith, but he hasn't answered her so far."

"Oh dear," Sarah Jane said. "This really is going badly." Then, turning her attention to Rose, she said telepathically: Rose, calm down. John Smith has probably gone dormant for a while, which might be why he's not responding to you. You've said that this has happened before, so just try to remain patient and let him answer you back whenever he's ready to, just like you've done before.

But John Smith was able to talk to Christine right away. Why would he be acting differently when he's back inside me, then? Rose asked urgently.

Being back inside of you must have had a different effect on him because you've been his original host and he's been used to being attached to your mind for so long that being transferred back to you would cause some kind of change to what he was once able to do. Does that make sense to you?

I think so.

So now, just try to remain calm and let John Smith take his time. We're all very worried about you, Rose, so at least try to adjust to this situation for now.

Okay, Sarah Jane, Rose responded. I'll try. After saying this, she walked up to where all her friends were waiting for her, and she immediately putted her arms around Sarah Jane, wanting to seek comfort after all the fear and pain she'd had to go through.

"I know this is hard for you, dear, but we've all got your back," Sarah Jane assured her. "Don't think that just because you can't always speak with the Doctor that you'll be left without friends."

"Of course, Rose," Violet said, stroking her hair. "We all love you here, perhaps a lot more than this alien does."

Only Christine appeared to be just as anguished as Rose. "I'm sorry, Rose," she said, getting a hold of her hand once again. "If I hadn't come here, this wouldn't have happened at all. Maybe it would have been better if I had stayed with Harry…"

"Harry?" Sarah Jane interrupted her, startled to see her bringing up the name of someone whom she hadn't been able to see in years. "Is that the name of the doctor you've been seeing?"

"Yeah," Christine responded, confused as to why Sarah Jane was reacting like this. "He's a doctor who actually knows a lot about ESP because of all this research he's done for different ESP groups. He even wrote a book on it a couple of years ago."

Yes, this sounded exactly like the Harry she'd known. There were very few ESP doctors in the world, and as silly as it sounded, she figured that not a lot of them could share the same first name.

"What is this doctor's last name, dear?" she asked, now feeling the strong urge to know for sure who he was.

And just as she'd been thinking all along, Christine responded by saying, "Sullivan. Harold Brandon Sullivan is his full name."

Yes, it was him. He'd actually told her what his full name was during one of those long conversations they'd have during the times they were left to themselves in either the TARDIS or those moments in their adventures when everything slowed down a little and they could relax for at least a few minutes (which occurred very rarely). And to think that now, in this encounter with a psychic girl who was quickly becoming a friend to Rose, she was hearing about him once again was just unbelievable. She'd had connections of the mind with two psychic girls in a series of two months, and both of them had met the two individuals with whom she'd had the most amazing journey of her life. As her grandmother used to say, there weren't that many coincidences in our lives. There were many events and chance encounters which, for some reason or another, were actually meant to occur at a certain set period in time, and Sarah Jane honestly believed that this meeting with both Rose and Christine must be one of those events her grandmother had been talking about.

"Christine, I've actually met this doctor of yours before. As a matter of fact, I actually traveled alongside both him and John Smith at one point," Sarah Jane finally told her.

It was as she said this that Christine started to understand something she'd been sensing for months without understanding it was. Looking really closely at Sarah Jane, she now realized that she was the same woman whom she'd been seeing in those visions she'd had of what was running through Harry's mind. The one who was always finding a chance to take charge and be able to save the day, sometimes even doing a lot more than Harry did. She also understood that the other man who'd often accompanied them, who acted very eccentrically even though he always seemed to know what was going on and how they should act accordingly, could only be John Smith, something which Christine had no difficulty understanding at all after her experiences today. And as she'd guessed before, all those visions had been part of an important journey Harry had; one which had been a major point of change in his life, and knowing that those who'd accompanied Harry were an alien and a psychic woman made it easier to understand why this had been so.

She had no idea however, despite everything that had just happened, that Sarah Jane was reading her mind as she was thinking about this, so Christine was surprised when she heard her asking, "Had you been able to have visions about me and John Smith before, Christine?"

"I did, Sarah Jane, but I didn't understand who you and John Smith were supposed to be. And I didn't have visions in the same manner as Rose those, because my powers seem to only involve being able to read minds. When I have visions like this, I was during one of those times when I was able to look deep into Harry's mind."

"And when are you able to do this?" Sarah Jane asked.

"Usually when Harry is trying to have some time to himself, either thinking really deeply about something or working on his research papers. A couple of times, it was when he was sleeping, usually taking an afternoon nap or when I've come to stay at his place during the nights…"

"Hold on. You've seen him sleep before?" Sarah Jane asked, surprised by the information she was figuring out. "What exactly does he do when he's with you if he finds the time to sleep while you're with him?"

Christine chuckled upon seeing how astonished Sarah Jane sounded. "Sorry. I should have explained it better. Harry's actually both my doctor and my homeschool teacher. He started teaching me after he found out that I was having problems with bullies and keeping my powers under control while I was at school, and since he had a lot of extra time on his hands, he figured he could spend extra time with me."

"Oh, now I understand. I always thought that Harry would be good with kids, by the way. He always seemed to have this patience which I think many people, especially men, seem to lack sometimes. In all the time I spend with him, he never seemed to get angry or hold any feelings of contempt towards anyone, not even the villains we faced or John Smith during those times when he would make fun him. He always seemed to like it when things were in order, and I think some of the unusual incidents going on around us frustrated him sometimes, but he didn't let his frustration bring out the worse in him, as sometimes happened with John Smith."

"I see what you mean," Christine said with a smile. "Harry does try to get me to follow all these dumb rules of his back home, and he has more than a couple for himself as well, but he never really gets mad when I don't do what he says. Like you said, he's too nice to ever really get mad at people. He's also really funny sometimes without meaning to be, and he'll give me this weird look when he sees me laughing at something silly he's said or done which he didn't understand was funny himself."

Sarah Jane laughed. "Oh yes. I've seen that all before myself as well. It's really difficult not to like someone like that, don't you think, Christine?"

"Yeah," Christine said.

"I've actually met him as well," Rose said. "I had an appointment with him yesterday, and it was him that told my mummy about how I'm psychic."

If all of the other information had been too much for Sarah Jane, then this topped all of it off for sure. "Okay, this is really too much to take in right now, girls. It's obvious that Harry's been really busy these days, but there's still some things I don't understand. To start with, what have you and Harry been doing in London, Christine?"

"He came here to turn in the research he'd completed over the last two years to some organization he was once part of…"

"UNIT?"

"Yeah, I think that was it. I came along with him because I'd never been to London before and Harry figured that taking me to another country would give the chance to learn twice as much as just sitting around in the table and having lessons every day."

"And how did you meet Rose?"

"Harry started examining other people after we came across a girl named Clara who had some strange condition which he wasn't able to understand at all, and then we found Jackie Tyler as we were driving around one day. Harry gave her his card, and she called him back because bad things kept going on with Rose. They came over to our hotel to have her examined, and that's how we were all able to find out about her powers."

"And how was it that you found out?"

"Dr. Sullivan started to examine me, and just as he found out about John Smith being inside of me, he wanted me to tell him as much about John Smith as I could. That's probably what made me let my powers out, and it was almost the same as what happened to me at school."

"Did you see what happened, Christine?" Sarah Jane asked, astonished to hear about all that had been happening to Rose without her knowledge, and wondering why she hadn't been able to sense all this herself.

"Not when it started," Christine explained. "But then a hotel worker heard what was happening and called us up to come up and see. I was able to see how Rose is telekinetic when she blinked and let something fall."

Sarah Jane shock her head, wondering if she could handle going on with the subject any longer. "So you're saying that both you and Harry are aware of how strong Rose really is? That all that you saw today was…"

And, just when she was wondering how further she could go on with that, she saw Tom walking up to them and saying, "Rose, your mum just called and said she'll be here to pick you and Christine up in a couple of minutes."

Rose looked up at them with what seemed to be a look of relief on her face. "Good, because I think I need to get home now after all that stuff that just happened. I mean, I like seeing you all again, but…"

"We understand, Rose," Tom said. "As much as we like having you here with us, we all think it's best for you to go back after what you've been through."

"So, I guess this is goodbye for me," Christine remarked, looking rather sadly at all these people she'd gotten to know.

"Were you supposed to be leaving back to Florida soon, Christine?" Violet asked her.

"Yeah. In about two days, as a matter of fact," Christine replied.

"That's too bad. We really liked having you here with us," Tom said regretfully.

"I know, but perhaps she doesn't have to leave us empty handed," Violet said, giving her husband a wink.

"Violet, what are you thinking?" Tom asked. "Are you going to give her…?"

"Just a little keepsake, of course. There's only so much you can get at the gift stores," and she ran to get what she had in mind.

"Sarah Jane?" Christine asked once she'd gone.

"What is it, dear?"

"Should I tell Harry that I saw you today?"

"I don't think so. From you told me, it seems that Harry has a lot to deal with as you're both leaving London. As much as I'd like to see him again after all these years, I wouldn't want to make things more difficult for him than it already is. If you want to, you could tell him once some time has passed and he's been able to finish whatever it is he's had to do now, and perhaps I'll even take the time to travel to Florida if I have nothing planned for the time. But for now, just don't say anything about seeing me. You could tell Harry about John Smith, of course, but just leave me out of it. Is that okay?"

"I guess so," Christine said, not sure how she could keep something like this a secret from Harry.

"And here you have it," Violet said, handing her a small poster from 1972 advertising a concert for the Vagabonds and Ultraviolet, in which artists like the Rolling Stones, Sweet, and Alice Cooper also performed. Christine liked the large bubble-shaped letters which were surrounded by the poster's colorful psychedelic background.

"This is so cool! Is there any way I can find your music?"

"It should be played in some the oldies stations back home," Violet answered. "We managed to have an addition two hits there which landed us on both the Billboard Top 10 and American Bandstand. I'm sure you'll find us somewhere."

"All right. Thanks a lot for this, and I liked getting to visit you all before going back home. I hope I can come back to London someday. I like it here even if it is cloudy all the time."

"Good luck to you, love," Violet said, giving her a hug. "And if you do come back some day, be sure to pay us a visit. Our doors are always open to visitors."

"Bye, Christine," Tom said, hugging her as well. "I hope our next visit won't bring along too much trouble from aliens."

"I think we all wish that would happen, but from what it seems, there's probably all these other adventures you've all had which were not aware of yet," Maureen said matter-of-factly.

"Got that right for sure, Maureen," Eric said.

"And we'll not be able to predict when the next one will come as you, Rose, and Sarah Jane can, so come along with them if you ever come see us again," Heather added in.

Christine laughed. "I just hope it's not like this again."

"Come along now, Christine and Rose. Your ride is here," Sarah Jane said.

"Are you ready to go, Rose?" Christine asked.

"I am," Rose said, and after Sarah Jane wished them well, the two girls walked out hand-in-hand, preparing to face whatever might be next in store for them."

...

Back in her room, as she was going through a sheet of addition facts her teacher had given her in class, Rose was finally able to hear back from John Smith. She'd gotten all the way to six plus five, and had stopped to take a sip of milk from her favorite pink mug, when she heard a rather stern voice with a prim accent ringing through her ears:

Six plus six is twelve, six plus seven is thirteen, six plus eight is fourteen. Shall I go on, Miss Tyler, and I should I give you some time for your young mind to process all this?

The faux voice didn't fool Rose for even a minute, and she called out, John Smith! You're back again!

What is that? I thought I'd been successfully transferred back to your mind four hours ago? Was there some unexpected delay in the process which I didn't take in, Rose, or did I fly around on a brief holiday through London this whole time?

Rose laughed. No, silly. You've been in my mind the whole time, but I think you went dormant for a while, like you've told me before.

John Smith chuckled. So you really are a clever girl, listening to every little word I tell you. Yes, I did have a small slumber when I was back inside you. Leaving Christine's mind left me, pardon my language, exhausted as hell, and I wasn't able to utter a word after the transition had been successfully completed. I could feel how scared you were, but no matter how much I tried to speak, I felt a severe drain of energy which forced me to go dormant in order to gain it all back again.

I see, John Smith. But are you well now?

I'm feeling better than I've been in years. As a matter of fact, I think being inside a mind as complex as Christine's might have resulted in me gaining higher energy levels which I haven't had at all, not even when I was inside Nina. And as a result, I think I'm going to be able to communicate with you a lot more than I could before.

That's great! Rose responded excitedly. That means I'll always be able to call out to you when I need you!

And I might have a lot more control over when I do choose to pop up again, so you won't have to worry so much about me talking to you at the wrong time and having people thinking you're crazy. But, of course, I can't say that I know for certain what will go on, so we'll just have to wait and see.

Okay, Rose said with a nod. But can you tell me something else, John Smith?

What is it?

How come I never heard you talking to Christine?

For the exact same reasons I had for having to leave her mind as quickly as I did: her mind was so much more developed than yours that the only time I was able to communicate with her was when she was unconscious. However, I was able to communicate with both you and Sarah Jane a lot more easily than I could have been able to do with two psychics while in your mind.

Does that mean when I get older, I might not be able to talk to you as much if you were to stay inside me? Rose asked worriedly.

I honestly don't know, Rose. From what I was able to detect through Christine's mind, she had about the same level of intellect as you now have when she was your age, and with the homeschooling from Harry, she keeps getting better. In a way, it was like looking at a future version of yourself. But of course, only time will be able to tell what will happen to me if I'm not able to get back into my physical form at some point.

I see, Rose responded somewhat sadly.

But for now, let's get back to that maths homework of yours. If there was one thing I could sense that Christine still needs to improve upon, it is her mathematical skills. Consider yourself lucky to have me to help you in that aspect of your learning, and we'll see if I'll make you into such a whiz as I am by the time I'm able to leave you.

...

Meanwhile, back at Northern Horizons, Christine had to stay in the rec room for an hour to wait for Harry to arrive back. Sandy Morris, who took on weekend shifts at the shop, had stopped by during her break to give her a box of cookies and a juice box, and had then turned on the television to watch Red Dwarf, saying very little to her other than to ask her how she was doing and if she liked the program. Christine ignored the television program for the most part, thinking that it seemed really weird, and had turned her attention to a copy of Alice Through the Looking Glass which had been left at the table. She was halfway through Adventures in Wonderland, but she had always been one of those readers who couldn't resist looking ahead, so she skimmed through much of the first three chapters during the time she'd had to wait.

And when Harry finally showed up in the room, since he always knew he could find her there, Christine called out "Doc!" and put her arms around him, realizing how much she'd been wanting to see him again.

Harry laughed. "Christine, you're acting as if I'd been gone for weeks instead just a couple of hours." But he hugged her back, feeling just as relieved to be back with her as she was about being with him, although neither were yet aware of how they'd been both been through difficult visits.

"So what are you thinking of doing now, Harry?" Christine asked.

"You're the mind reader. You tell me," Harry responded.

Christine paused for a moment, trying to process his thoughts. Then she said, "After what's been quite a tough day, you want to have at least one moment of carefree fun with me, so you want to go buy me something at one of the malls and do some last sight seeing before we leave."

"And as usual, you're correct, old girl," Harry responded with a grin. "And was that all you managed to grasp? Did you see any details on why I had a tough day?"

"Not really," Christine answered honestly.

"Okay," Harry said, and then started thinking things over for a while, trying to decide what the best course of action would. Finally, he grabbed Christine's hand and said, "So, I've managed to come up with a deal. Are you ready to hear it?"

"Go ahead, Doc."

"We'll still have our little break over at the mall, and I'll buy you at least two things which you'd like. I'm also going to talk to you a little about what happened to me today while you tell me a little about yours. But when we do, I don't want you trying to look into my mind anymore than you can help it to get any extra details. There's some things which I just can't tell you about right now, and I think you'll be keeping at least one secret from me as well. That being said, we both respect each other's privacy, and we can try to end this day with just a little bit of peace and predictability. Is that a deal?"

Christine nodded, thinking that Harry must have picked up at least a bit of her skills during their time together. "Deal, Harry."

"Right-o. So, do you want to get going right now?"

"Sure. Would you want some lunch first."

"That's actually where I wanted to go first. I know this place that's still around downtown that serves some of the best fast food in London. When you go there, I don't think you'll ever want to have McDonald's again."

"Well, if you say it's so good, let's get going," Christine answered cheerfully.

And as they left the rec room, they had little idea that Sandy had been hidden behind the door, listening to everything they were saying. With a smirk on her face, she whispered to herself, "Of course they've had a bad day. If they've listened to some of the complaints from Northern Horizons over the years, they'd realize they're not alone. Truman will need to hear this for sure, and we'll see if he thinks there's anything to complain about."

Next, we'll finally be starting in on Jackie and Rose's time spend at Northern Horizons. They'll continue encountering many friends and foes, with the roles of people like Truman, Allison, and Sandy being explored much further, and the hauntings will be getting much more intense as time goes on.