Her Secrets

by Marvel'sWhovian

Cerys has always lived life on the sidelines. She was a quiet observer. One night she meets a mysterious man who's first words to her are "Run!" From that moment she is hooked. As time goes by she learns that she's not just ordinary. There's more to her that meets the eye and in the end, it could destroy everything. She is impossible and she has a secret that no one must know.

6. Cupcakes, Memories, and the Unquiet Dead

Edited 10/9/2015

It definitely took longer than I thought to edit this. I'm going to try and do the other half of the chapter and have it updated by tonight. Fingers crossed. I might be going out of popcorn, not good for my writing environment. But I'll get past that to edit. Hopefully you like how I'm respinning Cerys. I've been reading A LOT of Sherlock lately and it might be influencing certain aspects of her personality. She's still the same though, so no worries. Still, let me know in a review or PM.

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"No, please stop. I didn't mean to overcook it. Please, Uncle Randy!" I thrashed and kicked, trying to get out of his grip. I was twelve again, living in America with the only living relative I had. He was a brute of a man, inflicting pain for his own pleasure. I was usually his punching bag, receiving the blows on a daily basis.

"You think you can come into my house and burn my food? Do you think I have money to waste! You stupid little slut. You're just like your mother, a good for nothing waste of space." A slap to the face followed the verbal abuse. The force of the impact caused me to stumble a bit. Regaining my balance, I remained there, my head down as I kept myself from crying. A punch to the stomach for not showing emotion; that's what he wanted. He wanted to see me squirm and cry and beg for mercy that would never come. He continued to hit me, screaming and cursing as he finally got me on the floor. After a few minutes of punching and kicking me he stopped, at least I thought he did. A minute later, his boot covered foot collided with my face, sending me into darkness.

I woke with a start, my breathing ragged and heart pounding. It had been a while since my last nightmare of my uncle. Sitting up, I wiped away the sweat and tears that covered my face and glanced around, shocked to find myself in my room on the Tardis. The last thing I remembered were Rose and the Doctor talking at the fish and chips shop. Sighing, I dragged myself out of the bed, fighting the fact my legs gave out from under me. That was enough for me to realise that something had happened between the shop and the Tardis. When I had gotten over that hurdle, I went to take a bath. It had grown into a habit a few years ago; nightmares would wake me and I take a bath to cleanse myself of them. I needed it for my sanity. If not, I'd probably end up in the hospital, or worse...

Rose and the Doctor were talking in the console room when I finally finished up in my room Their conversation came to halt when they noticed I had joined them. I glanced at them confused before squeaking as suddenly Rose ran over to me, engulfing me in one of her bone crushing hugs. When she released me, I went over to the control unit, my brows furrowed as I looked between the two. Obviously something had happened at the chips shop, it was a matter of finding out what. Deciding to randomly bring it up, I smiled at the Doctor. "So, where to now?"

The look he gave Rose wasn't missed to me but I chose to let it be. If it had something to do with me, which I was sure it did, I knew Rose would bring it up eventually. Moving his gaze to me, the Doctor shrugged, his expression cautious. "Anywhere you'd like."

"I don't think we should do anything for a bit. Cerys needs to rest."

I raised an eyebrow at her comment. Whatever happened, it wasn't affecting me any-more. I felt fine and to be honest, I was ready to go on another adventure. "What are you talking about Rose? I'm perfectly fine."

Rose rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "No, you aren't. You fainted at the chips shop. Stop arguing with me because you're not fine."

I evenly met her glare, folding my own arms across my chest. There was no way I was going to let her make that into a big deal. Fainting came with the territory, especially when a migraine came on. The fact that she was treating me like a child and telling me how I felt only fuelled the irritation I was feeling towards her. "I am! Stop treating me like I'm fragile."

"Sorry if I'm worried about you," Rose retorted. Anger and irritation rolled off her in waves. The two of us in foul moods would not be a good mix but she didn't seem to care if she pushed, nor if I ended up pushing back to the point we both said things we regretted later on. I watched her share a quick glance with the Doctor before she grabbed my arm and pulled me down the hall, out of his hearing range. "How long has it been going on?"

"What are you talking about?" My voice came out clipped as I tried my hardest to keep from saying something completely idiotic.

Rose looked at me as if I were a moron, an expression she often gave me when she knew I didn't want to answer a question but knew exactly what she was asking about. "The nightmares, Cerys! How long?"

"It doesn't matter."

"How long?"

Giving up my calm composure, I pushed her against the wall, a sneer on my face. "Why do you care?"

"You're my best friend," Rose replied, taking the push without a word. It seemed to finally register just how aggravated I was. I never physically harmed her so for me to lash out like that, it was an obvious sign that something was very wrong. Slowly, she pushed herself off the wall and moved towards my shaking form. "So tell me, how long have you been having them? For a while, right?"

I shook my head. "It doesn't matter, Rose. They don't bother me."

"You're lying. When I went to check on you earlier, you were crying and mumbling in your sleep. You were dreaming about what happened when you were a kid, weren't you? That's the only time you do the mumbling."

"Why does it matter, Rose? It's in the past. I not like I can change it. Just leave it be."

"I can't when it still bothers you. Cerys, you haven't let go of it."

"How can I?" I snapped, fed up with it all. "That monster ruined my life. Nothing we ever dealt with could compare to what I went through with him. I was a child and he used his size and authority to take advantage of me. It's not something one just let go of, Rose."

"I get that but you still haven't answered the question. How long?"

Taking in a breath, I gave in and slid to the floor, leaning against the wall for support. "Months," I finally admitted. "It's not always about him or that life. Sometimes it's about things that don't make sense, things that you'd only see with the Doctor around. I-I can't really explain it."

"All right then." Rose took a cautious step towards me, an action that caused me to cringe. I couldn't believe that I'd pushed her. Sighing, I wrapped my arms around my knees. "Do you really feel better, though?"

"Yeah, never been better."

"Liar." I raised an eyebrow at her but remained silent. It was no use lying if she already knew I was. "Since you aren't going to answer that, what happened at the shop?"

I shrugged. "Don't know. Haven't taken my meds in a while. It could have been because of that." Honestly, didn't know what had caused me to pass out. The most that happened those rare times I neglected to take it was a splitting headache and maybe a bit of sick. It didn't make sense but I tried not to let Rose know that I was worried. If she knew, she'd make a scene and bring in the Doctor, something I definitely didn't want.

"Maybe we could pop back home and grab it? I'm sure the Doctor shouldn't mind."

"It's fine Rosie. I don't really need it yet. Come on, let's go back to the console room." She gave me a sceptical glance before relenting. I was glad she didn't push this time; I wasn't in the best mood to deal with it and I was slightly afraid I'd end up getting violent again. That was one thing I truly didn't want to happen.

When we got back to the console room, the Doctor's back was to us as he fiddled with odds and ends on its surface. Rose and I watched as he glanced at something on a screen, which he quickly shut off when our presence was noticed.

"Everything all right?"

"Yep. Nothing to worry your head about."

I raised an eyebrow, curious as to what he had been looking at. I was always a curious little bugger and his hasty actions did nothing but pique my interest. "So, where are we off to?"

"Nowhere. Tardis needs a rest. One night in space should do it."

"So we're just going to stay here, floating around?" Rose questioned, managing to lace disappointment in her voice although there was a smile on her lips. Of course she'd be happy about that. As usual, she was getting her way.

"It's only a few hours. You humans need sleep. Off you go then."

"I just woke up."

"Go back to sleep, then. You won't miss anything important," he replied, waving us off. Rolling my eyes at the alien, I followed Rose through the corridors until we reached to our rooms. After wishing each other goodnight, we entered our respective rooms.

I laid in the bed staring at the ceiling. Sleep wouldn't come over me no matter how much I tried to force it. Sitting up, I decided that since I wasn't tired I would explore the Tardis some. Getting out of bed, I pulled on an oversized sweater and boots; as comfortable as the ship was, I'd always roamed around in those articles of clothing. I crept out of the room, and bumped into Rose. After the initial shock, we shared a conspiratory smile and the two of us went off in different directions.

Hoping to be as stealthy as possible, I decided to make my way to the front of the Tardis. Instead of the console room though, I found myself in a library. It was huge and circular with books covering the walls from floor to ceiling and the bookcases made of darkened wood, sturdy and beautiful. A rolling ladder stood by the door, inviting me to climb it and discover the secrets hidden within its bound inhabitants. With curiosity getting the best of me, I looked around, glancing at books that looked like good reads. After gathering about seven, I made myself comfortable before the fire, opting for the floor instead of the ottoman. Opening the first book, I saw that it had information about the different planets and their native peoples. It was interesting, and I soaked in all that I could. When I had finished it, I reached for a smaller book titled Gulliver's Travels by Johnathan Swift. As I made my way through the book, the doors to the opened and the Doctor walked in.

"I thought I told you to go to sleep."

"I've slept enough," I replied as I rolled my eyes at him.

"You barely get sleep as it is." I could almost hear the worry in his voice as he spoke, something that caught me a bit off guard. It wasn't something I expected from the alien, especially since he barely knew me, the REAL me.

"I don't need much of it. What about you, Doctor? When do you sleep?"

"I don't need it." His lips curled into a half smile. To be honest, it was quite fitting for him, at least I thought so. Feeling generous, I returned the smile. "What are you reading?"

"Gulliver's Travels, Johnathan Swift. I read it once, a long time ago, I think."

"You think?"

I pushed a rebellious strand of hair from my face before nodding. "Things are a bit fuzzy." I watched as he raised an eyebrow, as if to question me. Giving in, I answered his unanswered inquiry. "I remember information, not where I read or heard it."

The Doctor nodded and let it drop, at least for that moment. I was beginning to dread the moments when he was silent. It meant that he was trying to figure something out and I felt incredibly uncomfortable being the puzzle. "So, tell me, Cerys. Why can't you sleep?"

"I just can't," I easily lied. I really didn't want to discuss the real reason for my sleepless nights. My nightmares were never up for discussion, no matter how much they fucked me up. "I've always had problems staying asleep. It's just how things are." I tugged absent-mindedly on the bracelet that hung tightly on my wrist. He was going to ask about the nightmares, I felt it. The sole things I refused to discuss.

"What about the nightmares you've been having?"

Wanting to play it off, I decided to attempt the clueless route, even though I knew it wouldn't work. The Doctor had witnessed me post nightmare already so it wasn't as if he would take my denial, or let the subject drop like I wanted. "What nightmares?"

Catching what I had tried to do the Doctor crossed his arms and glared at me. His expression wasn't one that had me troubled really. It was more sceptical and knowing. "The ones you've been having since your first night on the Tardis. A few nights ago you woke up screaming, if I remember correctly."

"Do you honestly think I was having those because of the Tardis?"

"Culture shock. It could be your way of coping with knowing what's out there."

"No, this," I waved my hands around the room. It was quite obvious that I meant being on the Tardis though, especially since it was the secondary subject of our conversation, "is not something that I needed to cope with. I wanted to come along. My nightmares stem from something much worse than that, something that I DON'T want to talk about."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't want to."

"I can help."

I sighed. "Doctor…" He quieted me, placing a hand on my lap in a comforting gesture. Taking in a deep breath, I abruptly stood, placing the book atop the stack I'd made. "You know, I would never ask you to tell me something you didn't want to share. I had hoped you'd extend the same consideration but I guess I was wrong. But just as you won't bare your soul to me, I think I'm allowed the same courtesy." As I finished up, the Doctor at least had the decency to look ashamed. With a curt goodnight, I left the library and returned to my room.

I sat on my bed, thinking about whatever I could focus on. I wanted to write, or draw, or do something creative but there was nothing around me. Honestly though, I was more upset with the Doctor trying to pry into my most personal thoughts. Sure, he might have trying to be helpful, but he was doing nothing but digging a hole for himself. While he was showing me the universe, I wasn't too comfortable with him in the sense that I'd share my life story with him. Though, I wouldn't deny that I was a bit frightful that he'd use the Tardis to look into my past, I hoped he was a better person than that.

Trying to force those thoughts from my mind, I laid down, trying desperately to succumb to unconsciousness. As hard as I tried, sleep was something I wouldn't accomplish, not after the incessant nightmares. Taking in a deep breath, I left the room again, this time in search for the kitchen. After a few minutes of wandering around, I found it. The kitchen was medium sized and quaint, homey even. As I looked through the cabinets and fridge for something to make, preferably pastries, all the ingredients I needed for my famous chocolate cheesecake cupcakes seemed to appear, as if the ship knew exactly what I needed. With a quick thanks, I got to work.

As my favourite music floated throughout the room, I swayed along as I stirred all the ingredients together. Baking was always a stress reliever for me, and it was probably the first time I've truly been without worry in a long time. Once the batter was together, I evenly distributed it in two cupcake pans that I conveniently found on a nearby counter. Thanking the Tardis again, I pushed the pans into the oven and set a timer to go off after forty minutes. Not knowing what to do next, and deciding that I didn't want to return to the library, I settled down at the table.

Taking a breath, I was shocked to find Gulliver's Travels in front of me. Happily, I recovered my place and read until the timer went off. When it did, I jumped up and pulled the two pans out to gaze upon my handy work. Without waiting for it to cool, I broke a piece off and popped it into my mouth. I burned my tongue but it was ultimately worth it. The cupcakes came out delicious, soft, moist and unable to be denied by the devil itself. I gathered up two on a plate, finishing the one I had touched. Walking to Rose's room, I knocked before entering, not bothering to wait for an answer. As I had thought, she was asleep. Knowing it would wake her, I waved the treat in front of her face. In an instant, she was up and her eyes glued on the gooey morsel.

"Gimme." I handed one to her, watching with delight as she devoured it. "This is delicious. You never bake at home; mum would love these."

"I used to make them, remember? Chocolate cheesecake cupcakes." Her eyes widened in realisation. "I stopped after that hospital visit two years ago. Good though?"

She nodded. "Amazing! Aren't you going to eat that?"

"I ate my piece. This one's for the Doctor." If I were honest with myself, I didn't really want to be around him after the stunt he tried to pull. However, I really wanted him to taste the cupcake. What could I say, I was fishing for compliments and this was something I knew would receive one. "Everyone needs a piece of this in their life," I smiled getting up to leave. "Hurry up and get ready. It's time for another adventure. Your pick this time." Rose nodded and jumped out of bed as I closed the door.

When I reached the console room, I found the Doctor pacing. It worried me a bit but I truly hoped that my words had gotten through to him; what he had done had been wrong. As I approached him, his pacing ceased and his eyes met mine before moving to the cupcake. He shook his head, an action that caused me to frown as I didn't appreciate that he'd turned down something without at least trying it. "Come on, it's chocolate. EVERYONE likes chocolate." Again he shook his head. "I put all the happiness in the world in this cupcake and you are going to at least taste it." He gave me a sceptical look but made no move towards me, or the pastry. "Think of it as a way to get back in my good graces," I whispered loud enough for him to hear. With a heavy and exaggerated sigh, the Doctor finally walked over and picked it up. Taking a bite, his eyes lit up a bit and I smirked triumphantly. "Told you it was good."

"Cheesecake and chocolate, in a cupcake? It's fantastic."

"Thank you. Back on my planet, my family loved my baking."

"Your planet?"

I furrowed my brows, confused as to why he'd bring up a planet when we were talking about my cupcakes. "Huh? What about a planet?"

"You said 'on your planet'."

"Did I? That's weird. I don't know why I said that," I muttered, truly shocked that I'd said something of that nature. The Doctor's eyes scanned met my eyes for a moment and it almost seemed as if he wanted to say something but instead, he quickly put the rest of the cake in his mouth, savouring each bite. "I'm glad you liked it. There are more in the kitchen." He nodded, about to say something when Rose entered the room. "Great, you're finally here. Tell him where you want to go," I hastily said, hoping to remove his attention from me. The Doctor rolled his eyes at my demeanour before returning to the console.

"Well, we've seen the future, so I think the past sounds good."

"Great." He started to press buttons, leaving the Tardis to start a very rough flight. After a few moments, he rushed to another area of the console, opposite Rose and me, to work some controls. "Hold that down!" he yelled to Rose as he messed with other buttons.

"I'm holding this one down," she replied nodding her head towards the button she was already straining to hold down.

"Well, hold them both down."

"It's not going to work." I rolled my eyes as Rose tried unsuccessfully to stretch herself across the half of the console to get to the other button. Instead of her straining herself, I went and held down the button he had motioned to, slightly peeved that I'd been overlooked.

"Oi! I promised you a time machine and that's what you're getting." Seeming content with our silence, he continued on. "Now, you've seen the future, let's have a look at the past. 1860. How does 1860 sound?" We were all holding onto the console, trying to keep from falling.

I shrugged, not really caring since it was Rose's turn to choose. It was really whether she liked the idea, although I was sure the Doctor might have just brought us there if she did against it; he seemed the type. Rose, while not protesting the idea, seemed quite confused as to why the Doctor had offered that year. "What happened in 1860?"

"I don't know, let's find out. Hold on, here we go!" He said excitedly, pulling down a lever. I shook my head at the man, amused by his antics. Before I could say the witty remark on the tip of my tongue, the three of us found ourselves on the floor, due to a rough landing.

"Blimey!"

"You're telling me. Are you two all right?"

"Yeah, I think so," she looked at me, hoping for confirmation, which I gave with a curt nod. Standing, she patted herself down. "Nothing broken. Did we make it? Where are we?"

"I did it. Give the man a medal."

"How about not. You almost killed us, parking might I add," I half-heartedly sassed. I wasn't too put out by the landing, I'd been through much worse, and I was sure the Doctor had landed his ship more violently than he had.

He went on, not giving much thought to my comment. "Earth, Naples, December 24, 1860," he crossed his arms, contently staring at the screen, a smug grin on his lips. Rose and I did the same although we were more amazed than anything. It wasn't every day we could go back and see a Christmas past.

"That's so weird. It's Christmas."

"All yours." His arm swung out, presenting the door before he crossed them again.

"But, it's like... think about it though..." I smiled as she attempted to get her thoughts together, and form a proper sentence. "Christmas. 1860. Happens once, just once and it's gone, it's finished, it'll never happen again. Except for you. You can go back and see days that are dead and gone and a hundred thousand sunsets ago. No wonder you never stay still."

"Not a bad life."

"Better with three. Come on, then," she replied with a smile before she ran to the door, pulling me with her.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?"

"1860," I deadpanned.

"Go out there dressed like that and you'll start a riot, Barbarella." Rose and I looked down at our clothes, Rose in jeans, a grey shirt, and a purple jacket, and me in an oversized sweater, jeans, and boots. I suppose I could see his point; the pair of us would look incredibly out of place walking out in our attire. "There's a wardrobe through there." He pointed through the arch and down the corridor. "First left, second right, third on the left, go straight ahead, under the stairs. Pass the bins, fifth door on your left. Hurry up!" Rose and I nodded and left in search of the wardrobe.

Rose and I followed his instructions in silence, only pulling on the other's hand when we needed to change our direction. When we finally found the closet, we burst in, our eyes in pure fascination. The room was huge, and filled with more clothes that I could imagine. It was organized by time period and then categorized by decade, to our delight. We ran about, looking at everything that was available to us. We tried on things that had nothing to do with 1860 for a bit of fun and then decided to actually get dressed for our adventure. As we looked through the proper dresses, we went through what we knew would and would not look good on each other. After a few minutes, we found the perfect dresses. Rose's was off the shoulder, with a black bodice and burgundy skirt. She had put up her hair and added a small cloth flower in her hair. My dress was a bit form fitting, with no sleeves, a dark blue bodice, a black skirt. I had left my hair down, in its naturally curly state and donned a black coverall for the December night. When we finished up, we found the Doctor working under the console. His eyes grew wide when he finally looked up and took in our appearance.

"Blimey!"

"Don't laugh," Rose smiled, pointing a not so threatening finger at him. Uncomfortable under his gaze, I shuffled about a bit and smoothed down the non-existent wrinkles that plagued the dress.

"You two look beautiful, considering."

"Considering what?" I questioned, finally coming out of my slight shell as I felt a backhanded compliment approaching. Of course one would; the man was a treasure trove of them.

"That you're humans."

Rose turned to me, with a smile. "I think that's a compliment, Cerys." I quirked an eyebrow but returned her smile.

"A shoddy one at that." As I turned my gaze from my best friend, I couldn't help but notice that the Doctor hadn't changed at all. "What about you? Aren't you going to change into something more, oh, I don't know, appropriate?"

"I've changed my jumper." He pulled at his shirt to show us. Indeed, he had changed his jumper, it going from a forest green to a purple. "Come on," the Doctor said as he moved from the console and towards the door.

Almost instantly, Rose stopped him, releasing my hand in the process. "You two stay there. You've done this before. This is mine." I smiled and let her go, walking over to the Doctor. She slowly left the Tardis, leaving the Doctor and me to watch her hesitant and excited steps. With a quick glance, the Doctor and I quickly follow after her.

"Ready for this? Here we go," he smiled, holding out his arms for us to take. "History."

As we walked through the snowy street, he released our hands, going over to the paper man. I watched as the Doctor exchanging some currency with the boy and look at the newspaper. My brows furrowed when I saw the smile leave his face. While Rose looked around in awe, I walked over to him and saw that he had not moved us to another country like promised. I slapped his arm, knowing Rose would be disappointed. "I got the flight a bit wrong."

"I don't care."

"It's not 1860, it's 1869."

"I don't care."

"And it's not Naples."

"I don't care."

I knew he was stalling so I decided to tell her myself. "It's Cardiff, Rosie." I watched as she stopped in her tracks, disappointment covering her face. I couldn't blame her. We had both been hoping to get out of our home area. The change in year didn't really matter to us- it was all about the location.

"Right," she muttered. "So, Cardiff, 1869? Did you at least get the date right?"

"Course I did. Dates are easy."

"Obviously," I muttered rolling my eyes.

"What is there to do in Cardiff this year? Doesn't seem like much would happen."

I walked away from the two as I spotted a poster on the wall of a building. "Hey," I called out, grabbing their attention. "Charles Dickens is here. Maybe we can go see him. What do you say Rose?"

"I never liked him much."

"You didn't even read his books. Besides, he'll be telling the story." Rose just shook her head, not wanting to do anything pertaining to literature. Is there anything else to do?" Just as the words left my mouth, we heard screams coming from the across from us.

"That's more like it," the Doctor smiled as he the newspaper aside. He grabbed our hands and we ran to towards the commotion.

Once inside, we watched the scene unfold- a blue mist flew around the room, mostly in the upper theatre seats. The Doctor looked up in fascination, saying that it was fantastic. I watched as the old woman collapsed, a blue gas leaving her mouth. A shiver played down my spine as a high pitched ear-shattering scream filled the air, an indication that whatever we were about to deal with would not end well.

"Did you see where it came from?" the Doctor asked a man who stood nearby.

"Ah, the wag reveals himself, does he? I trust you're satisfied, sir!"

"He's not responsible for this. We just got here," I heatedly stated before turning away to look at Rose, gesturing for her to agree. However, her attention was not on the Doctor and me but on a man and woman who had gone over to the old woman. From our different positions, we watched as they picked her up and carried her out of the building.

Before I could make a sound, Rose was on them. "Oi! Leave her alone! Doctor, I'll get them." She looked at me briefly before rushing out, leaving me standing beside the Doctor.

The Doctor jumped on the stage, me following soon after. "Did it say anything? Can it speak? I'm the Doctor, by the way."

"Doctor? You look more like a navvie," the man replied curtly.

"What's wrong with my jumper?" the Doctor asked, looking down at his jacket. I smiled at his reaction but then turned my attention to the blue mist, watching as it flew into a gas light. Forgetting what the man had said, the Doctor turned to me. "Gas! It's made of gas."

"Or attracted to it in some way," I mused. The Doctor nodded, acknowledging my words. The swell of pride I felt immediately dissipated as my thoughts quickly turned to Rose. She was outside with the woman the blue mist had left. The Doctor, seeming to share my concern, grabbed hold of my hand and dragged me out of the theatre.

"Rose!" we both called as we saw an undertaker's carriage door close and begin to speed down the snow ridden street and the blonde nowhere to be found. Anger quickly bubbled in me at the fact that I had been so careless as to let her wander out alone. As my best friend, I knew she was capable of taking care of herself but I still worried about what could happen and how she had even gotten into the carriage to begin with; she wasn't exactly quiet.

"You're not escaping me, sir, ma'am. What do you know about that hobogoblin, hmm? Projection on glass, I suppose, who put you up to it?" The man from inside had followed us out, still thinking the Doctor was behind what had happened. I rolled my eyes at him, irritated. Could he not decipher the severity of the situation we were in? Rose had been kidnapped and there was blue mist flying about for goodness sakes.

"Yeah, mate," the Doctor said, dismissing the man, "Not now, thanks. Oi, you!" He pointed to the driver of a nearby carriage before he got in. "Follow that hearse!"

"I can't do that, sir."

"And WHY the hell not? We're in a hurry," I growled as I followed after the Doctor. There was no way a stupid cabbie would keep me from finding Rose.

"Yes, why not?"

The man from the theatre stood in front of the door, glaring daggers at the Doctor and me. "I'll tell you why not. I'll give you a very good reason why not."

"Well, hurry it up," I interjected, earning a harder glare from the man, if that were even possible. If it were any other situation, I might have actually felt bad for causing so much trouble for the man but at the moment, I couldn't be bothered to care.

"Because you impudent woman, this is MY coach." I rolled my eyes at him, not at all phased by his words. I'd heard a lot worse and it was during my time in secondary school.

"Well, get in then. Move!" The man was quickly pulled into the carriage by the Doctor. The moment the man was inside and the door closed, the driver soon cracked his whip and the horses took off down the road.

"Can't you go any faster? You're losing them," I voiced.

Instead of answering my question, the driver went to address the disgruntled older man. "Everything in order, Master Dickens?"

"No! It is not!"

"What did he say?" the Doctor questioned, his eyes making contact with mine in curiosity, not that I could blame him. I wasn't quite I'd heard the driver right myself. There was no way this man could be... no, he couldn't be. Could he?

"Let me say this first. I'm not without a sense of humour."

"Dickens?"

"Yes."

"Charles Dickens?"

"Yes."

"Wait, the Charles Dickens? The Christmas Carol Charles Dickens?" I sputtered, my eyes wide in excitement.

"Should I remove them, sir?"

Mr Dickens didn't have a chance to answer as the Doctor started speaking. "Charles Dickens? You're brilliant, you are. Completely one hundred percent brilliant," the man rambled off, not that I minded though. It was something I'd gotten used to while being with him. "I've read them all. Great Expectations, Oliver Twist and what's the other one, the one with the ghost?"

"A Christmas Carol?"

"No, no, no, the one with the trains." The Doctor continued to think about which it was. When he couldn't come up with it, he glanced over at me, asking for assistance.

"The Signal Man," I replied after a moment's thought.

"Yes, the Signal Man, that's it. Terrifying! The best short story ever written. You're a genius, right Cerys?" I nodded in agreement. Charles Dickens was one of my favourite male authors throughout secondary school and it was great to meet him; a bit better than actually hearing him recite one of his stories, honestly.

"You want me to get rid of them, sir?" the driver asked again.

"Er, no, I think they can stay." Obviously we had been able to change his opinion of us with all the praise we'd given. That was a plus, it meant we'd get to Rose in a timely matter, not that we should have had to go through all this to begin with. However, on every adventure we'd had with the Time Lord, Rose or me always ended up in a prickly situation that required the Doctor's assistance to get out of. The pattern was becoming quite old and exhausting.

"Honestly, Charles. Can I call you Charles?" Before the man could answer the Doctor's question, the man ploughed on. "I'm such a big fan."

Dicken's eyebrows furrowed in confusion at the Doctor's words. "A what? A big what?"

"Fan. Number one fan, that's me."

"How exactly are you a fan? In what way do you resemble a means of keeping oneself cool?" I stifled the laugh that threatened to escape. It wasn't the time or place to mock the man who was ultimately helping us find Rose.

"He means he admires your work," I replied, easing his confusion. The Doctor glanced at me, not appreciating my input. I rolled my eyes at him. He always enjoyed being the smartest person in the room. Since our previous adventure, I've been trying to input more and deflate his big head a bit, not that it was actually working. The man knew leagues more than me, but the times I was able to get the answer out before him were always the best as his shocked reaction always made me beam with pride.

"No, it means fanatic- devoted to. Mind you, I've got to say, that American bit in Martin Chuzzlewit, what's that about? Was that just padding or what? I mean, it's rubbish, that bit."

"I thought you said you were my fan."

"Ah, well, if you can't take criticism. Go on, do the death of Little Nell, it cracks me up," I glared at the Doctor as he spoke. It was great to meet Charles Dickens but my best friend was out there and I was in no mood to listen to anything that had nothing to do with getting to her. A swift and light kick to the shin, I was able to get him back on task. "No, sorry, forget about that. Come on, faster!"

"Who's exactly in that hearse?"

"My friend, her sister." At the mention of Rose being my sister, he raised an eyebrow. Surly we looked nothing alike- her with fair skin and blonde hair and me with curly brown tresses and a tanned complexion- but people didn't have to be related by blood, a notion that was obviously not known to the genius. "She's only nineteen. It's my fault. She's in my care, and now she's in danger."

Upon hearing that, Charles grunted as if annoyed with the Doctor. "Why are we wasting my time talking about dry old books? This is much more important. Driver, be swift! The chase is on!" Charles yelled out the window to the driver.

"Yes, sir!" With that, the carriage began to fly through the streets. The force sent me falling into the seat, pushing deeper against it. The Doctor shot me a curious glance before turning the Mr Dickens.

"Attaboy, Charlie."

"Nobody calls me Charlie."

"The ladies do," the Doctor replied, winking at me. I smiled, feeling my cheeks heat up a bit. I didn't know why that happened, but I stored it away for future consideration. There had to be a rational explanation as to why I reacted to certain actions made by the Doctor. I mean I knew WHY I'd react in a such a way but the REASON as to why escaped me.

"How do you know that?"

"I told you, I'm your number one-"

"Number one fan," Charles interrupted, exasperated. We were quiet for a while, mostly because Charles was a bit unnerved by the whole fan thing and I was too busy trying not to laugh at the Doctor's downcast expression at the man's response to him.

When we came to a stop moments later, I immediately opened the cab door and escaped from the confined space, stalking to the house before us. The Doctor and Charles quickly followed and by the time they'd joined me, I was already banging on the door. The Doctor managed to get me away long enough for the home-owner to open up. As impatient as ever, my hand tapped against my thigh, a nervous habit of mine. When the door FINALLY opened, the three of us were met by a woman whose eyes quickly shifted between the three of us. I was tempted to push past her but I retrained myself... and the Doctor had a firm grip on my elbow.

"I'm sorry. We're closed."

"Nonsense. Since when did an Undertaker keep office hours? The dead don't die on schedule. I demand to see your master," Charles Dickens snapped, efficiently startling the already nervous woman. The Doctor and I stood at his sides, peeking looks into the house.

"He's not in sir."

"Don't lie to me, child. Summon him at once."

"I'm awfully sorry, Master Dickens, but the master's indisposed." I rolled my eyes at the woman. Obviously she was trying to cover up for her employer. Instead of getting involved like I wanted to, I let Charles handle it. My attention was drawn to the inside of the house, taking in everything I could through the partially opened door.

Finding something, I nudged the Doctor, pointing to the gas lamp that flickered. With a quick nod, he stepped forward, gaining the woman's attention, much to Charles' disdain. "Having trouble with your gas?" he inquired her, tilting his towards the lamp.

Charles followed his nod and saw what we had both witnessed. "What the Shakespeare is going on?"

Without answering Mr Dickens, the Doctor and I pushed past the girl, looking at the lamp-more so he was looking at it while I glared at the woman. I wasn't very happy with her, but I knew I probably shouldn't take my anger out on her. I was quite certain she was just following the orders of her employer. "You're not allowed inside, sir," she whispered.

"There's something inside the walls. The gas pipes. Something's living inside the gas." As he finished his sentence, there was a muffled banging sound. I could hear someone crying to let them out of a room. Screw my previous thoughts, if looks could kill, the woman would be minced meat on the floor. Sensing my anger, the Doctor grabbed my hand and pulled me towards him. "That's her." Without leaving room for anyone to respond, he dragged me down the hall, only to bump into a man, the master of the place.

"How dare you, sir," he grumbled to the Doctor, completely ignoring my presence. I tried my hardest to keep in mind the time we were in and was able to at least control my tongue- my glare, not so much. He then turned to Charles. "This is my house!"

"Shut up."

The man looked shocked to be spoken to in such a manner but said nothing else to Charles. Instead, he turned to the woman. I barely heard him mutter an 'I told you' as the Doctor and I rushed to wherever Rose was being held.

The Doctor released my hand when we found the door, and kicked it in. "I think this is my dance," he said before he pulled Rose away from the old woman from earlier. Charles stood behind me, his face contorted in disbelief. I was just as shocked, although after all my travels with the Doctor, it was more out of fascination than actual disbelief.

"It's a prank. It must be. We're under some mesmeric influence."

"No, we're not. The dead are walking." He turned to Rose. "Hi."

"Hi. Who's your friend?"

"Charles Dickens," I answered, feeling as if they had forgotten me, something I noticed happened occasionally. The Doctor looked at me, trying to catch my eye but I avoided it as I moved to hug Rose. I wouldn't lie, it kind of hurt that I was so easily forgotten but then again, I wasn't all that special. "I'm glad you're okay."

"Yeah, me too. So, Charles Dickens?"

"Yep."

"Guess you got to see him after all."

I forced a smile and nodded. At this point, I no longer cared that I'd met the man. I wanted nothing more than to figure out what was going on and then return to the Tardis. I wanted to be alone as I let my self depreciating thoughts destroy me. Yep, that was a normal night for me. So wonderfully healthy. "Yeah, funny man, great man."

I turned from her and watched as the Doctor stared down the two people who were supposed to be dead. "My name's the Doctor. Who are you, then? What do you want?" he queried to whatever possessed the corpses.

"Falling. Open the rift." I scrunched up my nose as I heard more than one voice. "We're dying. Trapped in this form. Cannot sustain. Help us." The creature then screamed. The six of us watched as the blue gas left the two corpses and were sucked into the gas lamp, causing the bodies to collapse with a thud.

Minutes later, we were sitting in the living room as the girl, Gwyneth, poured us tea. Rose was fuming, angry that she had been kidnapped and stuck in a room with dead people. "First of all you drug me, then you kidnap me, and don't think I didn't feel your hands having a quick wander, you dirty old man," she spouted. I raised my eyebrows at him, knowing a whack from the cane she was holding was probably coming next. She had a temper like Jackie's and it wasn't pretty.

"I won't be spoken to like this!"

Rose continued, not bothering to acknowledge the man's interruption. "Then you stuck me in a room full of zombies! And if that ain't enough, you swan off leaving me to die! So come on, talk!"

"It's not my fault! It's this house." Yes, blame the house. It was the reason you kidnapped Rose. "It always had a reputation. Haunted. But I never had much bother until a few months back, and then the stiffs," I raised an eyebrow at his term that he caught. "The, er, dear departed," the man, Sneed, corrected himself, bowing his head, "started getting restless."

"Tommyrot."

He turned to Charles, who had voiced his disbelief. "You witnessed it. Can't keep the beggars down, sir. They walk. And it's the queerest thing, but they hang on to scraps." I listened intently, curious as to what was happening. My thoughts raced as I thought of it all. Yes, it seemed as if the dead were walking but there had to be a logical explanation for it and I was certain the gaseous blue creatures were the reason things were going mad. Even so, I knew there was something I was missing, something important. I barely paid attention Gwyneth and the Doctor's exchange in fear I'd lose my train of thought. "One old fellow who used to be a sexton almost walked into his own memorial service. Just like the old lady going to your performance, sir, just as she planned."

"Morbid fancy."

"Oh, come on Charlie, you were there. You saw it plain as day, just as we all did minutes ago," I all but snapped, earning an affronted look from the man. I couldn't help my tone, he was being an idiot. I was aware that people often discounted things they couldn't logically explain, but he was there, he WITNESSED it.

"I saw nothing but an illusion."

"If you're going to deny it, don't waste my time. Just shut up," the Doctor barked at Dickens before turning his attention back to Sneed. "What about the gas?"

"That's new, sir. Never seen anything like that."

"Means it's getting stronger, the rift is getting wider and something's sneaking through."

"What's the rift?" Rose asked.

"A weak point in time and space. A connection between this place and another. That's the cause of ghost stories, most of the time," the Doctor answered. His answer seemed to bring everything together in my mind. That was what I was missing, the third element. It made sense and could very well be the reason for the happenings in the house. The only thing I couldn't really get was why inhabit the dead. The creatures obviously lacked a physical form so maybe that could be it, but I couldn't help the feeling that their intentions were less than innocent.

I watched as Charles stood and made his way to the door that was in behind Sneed's armchair. His demeanour screamed he was ready to leave so I stood and followed after him in hopes of convincing him to stay. Another mind could help us figure out what we were missing as well as come up with other possibilities. Before he walked out the front door though, I watched as he stopped by a gas lamp and tried to listen for a sound.

"Did you hear anything?"

Startled he turned and faced me, smoothing out the non-existent wrinkles in his clothes. "No."

I gave him a small smile before moving to his side. "Listen carefully," I instructed, placing a hand on his arm as a way to keep him still. "It's there, you just have to concentrate." The man nodded and took a breath.

We stood in utter silence for a moment before a look of shock crossed his face. My smile grew, knowing he had heard the whispers. "Impossible."

"Is it truly?" He didn't reply. Instead he rushed to the chapel of rest, moving immediately to the younger man's coffin. He waved his hand in front of the man face, dug his hands in the coffin linen, and checked under and on the sides of the coffin. I knew what he was doing, searching for something that would prove what had happened was a trick. It was smart of him, sure, but unnecessary. It was obvious there was no trickery involved. Hearing a rustled beside me, I looked towards the door and noticed the Doctor leaning against its frame, arms crossed and a slightly amused expression on his face.

"Checking for strings?"

"Wires, perhaps. There must be some mechanism behind this fraud."

"But you heard-" I stopped when I felt the Doctor's gaze on me. I don't know why I had, but for some reason, I was still hurt by the fact he'd seemingly forgotten about me. Instead, I settled on watching Charles until the Doctor finally turned away from me and reverted his attention to Mr Dickens.

"Oh, come on, Charles." The Doctor walked up to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "All right. I shouldn't have told you to shut up. I'm sorry. But you've got one of the best minds in the world. You saw those gas creatures."

"I cannot accept that."

"And what does the human body do when it decomposes? It breaks down and produces gas. Perfect home for these gas things. They can slip inside and use it as a vehicle, just like your driver and his coach."

"Stop it. Can it be that I have the world entirely wrong?"

"No," I muttered. That brought both men's attention to me for a moment. The Doctor quirked an eyebrow as if waiting for me to continue. When he realised I wasn't going to, he decided to say what we were both thinking.

"Not wrong. There's just more to learn." I decided to leave after the Doctor's comment. I had nothing more to input and it was likely they wouldn't really listen to me anyways. No, that wasn't true, they probably would have but with the Doctor in the room and my current irrational emotions, it was better off I was away from him. I still needed to figure out exactly why I was responding to him the way I was. With one last glance at the two men, mainly the Doctor I left the room to find Rose.