A/N: Okay, the new season started. I'm totally getting Who fever over here. Will try my best to keep that going. Also I'm attempting to update earlier chapters since I started them ten million years ago. So far, I'm only two chapters in. I don't think I'm going to be changing anything plot related- just general writing improvements. But, if you do notice some weird inconsistency. I either forgot, or I've changed it. Good luck figuring it out! Mwahahahahaha! You guys are so great for putting up with me. Also I highly recommend downloading a slew of 20's songs and then writing about a swinging garden party. I feel so cool, you guys don't even know.

-1926-

-Eddison Manor-


Calypso waited on the gravel drive alone, occasionally kicking up a loose rock as she made idle circles. Mrs. Christie had decided she was in need of a walk before making a proper appearance. So instead of announcing their arrival at the door, they had parked, and Agatha had immediately wandered off onto the grassy lawn that surrounded the Eddison Manor. There was clearly something wrong, but Calypso had been unable to divulge what it was. The drive there had been made in complete silence, with Agatha lost in her thoughts and Calypso nervously steering them across the English countryside. She'd only just recently learned to drive, and while it was an exhilarating experience, she found the high speeds somewhat daunting.

She ducked down behind the hedges as she heard another car approach, not wanting to answer any awkward questions as to why she was loitering outside a party that she hadn't been properly invited to. As she walked further into the hedges, she saw something that made her heart leap and then fall once again.

It was a blue box, parked just beyond the view of the manor itself. She had been waiting six months since the jungle, desperate to find any clue that the expedition had made it out alive. But no amount of research had produced answers, which left the same conclusion that the papers had reached. That they had died out there. And if they had died, she had assumed that the Doctor too, had perished, which had been nearly too much to bear.

But now he was here, at a garden party. As though nothing in the world was amiss.

She crossed to the Tardis, a cold fury sweeping through her. But a man in a brown suit rounded the corner and she realized it wasn't him. Not the 'him' that had been lost in the jungle. He grinned as he saw her approach, a look that should have made her giddy, but instead, she was only angrier. It wasn't him. For a brief moment she had allowed herself to hope that he had made it safe. But it wasn't him.

"Hello Calyp-" She slapped him, hard. Fighting back the tears that threatened to fall she shook her head. She clenched her fists down at her side so she wouldn't strike him again. She knew it wasn't his fault, at least not yet. But that did little to quell the surge of emotions that were rushing through her.

"How dare you," she whispered, her voice shaking as she spoke.

"I didn't- I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for whatever-" he didn't even look cross, just surprised, and then worried. "Calypso are you-"

"Callie!" She heard Agatha's voice from behind her. Desperately inconvenient. "Callie I'm prepared now! Where has she gone off to?"

"I have to go," Calypso said, sniffing sharply in an attempt to regain control of her emotions. She wasn't here to lay out accusations at the Doctor. She was the secretary of Agatha Christie and she had a job to get on with. She turned and marched from the Doctor, who made no attempt to stop her. She burst from the hedges a few moments later, startling the blonde woman who was peering off into the open fields.

"Oh, goodness me. Thought you may have given up. Well, let's-" she stopped short, getting a good look at Calypso for the first time. "Good heavens, are you quite alright?"

"Yes," Calypso blinked a few times and took a deep breath. "I'm alright. Just the pollen." She smiled to show everything was perfectly alright.

"Well then," Agatha said, not entirely convinced. "Looks like we could both use a peck of frivolity." She smiled as she inclined her head down the drive. "Shall we?"

They both strode down the short drive, onto the manors lawn where other guests had already arrived. There was an older woman making conversation with a sober looking reverend; while a man in a chair listened with a pleased grin on his face. A younger woman dressed in the latest fashions looked demure and only partly interested in the conversation, and near her, was the Doctor. He noticed their approach immediately and caught her eye with a sobering gaze, but made no attempt to address her.

"That'll be Lady Eddison," Agatha said out of the side of her mouth as they approached the elder woman, who opened her arms to greet them. "Her husband in the chair, Colonel Curbishley, and their son Roger."

"Here she is, a lady who needs no introduction!" Lady Eddison said with a welcoming smile as she ushered them into the group. She began to clap excitedly, and the rest of the guests joined in, save the Doctor and, she suddenly noticed, Donna.

"Oh, hello you!" Donna perked up when she recognized Calypso, much to the confusion of the applauding group. "Been staying out of trouble?" She asked, and then realized all eyes were on her. "Ah, pip, pip? Tally ho!" She raised a glass and then quickly lowered her gaze.

Agatha thankfully interrupted the now scattered applause, "No, no, please. Don't. Thank you, Lady Eddison. Honestly, there's no need." She greeted a few of them warmly while Donna mouthed 'Hello Callie' behind her hand. Despite her miserable mood, Calypso found herself smiling just a bit. "Agatha Christie," Agatha held her hand out to the Doctor, properly introducing herself to those she didn't know.

"What about her?" Donna asked with a frown as the Doctor shook her hand.

"That's me," Agatha answered with a concerned smile.

"Nooo." Donna's mouth had fallen open in disbelief while Agatha had the grace to laugh. "You're kidding."

The Doctor grinned too, clearly just as excited to meet her. "Agatha Christie! I was just talking about you the other day. I said, "I bet she's brilliant". I'm the Doctor and this is Donna. Ohhh, I love your stuff. What a mind! You fool me every time. Well, almost every time. Well, once or twice. Well, once. But it was a good once!"

Agatha struggled to keep the bewildered look from her face, and she turned to Calypso. "This is my secretary, Calypso. Thought it might be nice to have some company for the drive."

"Oh, Calypso is it?" Donna asked with an exaggerated wink. "Well, it's just spiffing to meet you." She pulled Calypso in tight for a hug, which she eagerly returned. "Good to see you again sweetheart," she said in a lower voice. "I'm telling you, after the last one, couldn't get that smell out of my hair for at least a week. Thought I'd never be clean again." Donna finally pulled back, a dreadful look on her face and Calypso struggled not to laugh.

"Miss Calypso," the Doctor nodded soberly, a smile pulled at the corner of his lips. "A pleasure." He held his hand out to shake, but Calypso ignored it.

"Doctor," she said with a polite nod and quickly averted her gaze. She also elected to ignore the rather shocked look on Donna's face.

"Er," Agatha noticed the uncomfortable lapse and spoke quickly to dismiss it. "You make a rather unusual couple."

"Oh, no no no no, we're not married." The Doctor and Donna both shook their heads quickly, as though used to having to deny it.

"We're not a couple." Donna asserted clearly.

"Well obviously not. No wedding ring." Agatha pointed to their hands with a small smile. Donna looked down at her fingers, impressed by the deduction.

"Oh oh, you don't miss a trick." The Doctor was also impressed, though he might have been trying to compensate for his earlier comments.

"I'd stay that way if I were you," Agatha spoke, the gaiety in her voice suddenly gone. "The thrill is in the chase, never in the capture."

The Doctor's grin also faded, and Calypso felt the weight of his gaze even though she refused to acknowledge it.

"Mrs. Christie," Lady Eddison made her way into the group again. "I'm so glad you could come. I'm one of your greatest followers. I've read all six of your books. Is, ah, Mr. Christie not joining us?" She didn't look particularly impressed that the secretary had taken his place.

"Is he needed?" Agatha asked sharply. "Can't a woman make her own way in the world?" She was oddly defensive for such an innocent question.

"Don't give my wife ideas." Colonel Curbishley chuckled, and Lady Eddison clasped his hand fondly.

""Now Mrs. Christie, I have a question. Why a Belgian detective?" The young man spoke up, presumably the sole heir, Roger. From the corner of her eye, Calypso watched as the Doctor snatched a newspaper from the Colonel's lap, with Donna following closely behind him.

"Belgians make such lovely buns." Agatha answered with a wry grin. Everyone laughed, but Calypso couldn't focus on the conversation, especially since she could see Donna waving at her frantically. She considered ignoring her, but then it wasn't Donna she was angry with, nor was her quarrel with this incarnation of the Doctor. It was still proving difficult to convince herself of that last part. So she excused herself from the conversation quietly and walked over to the Doctor, who was frowning at the newspaper.

"The date on this newspaper," he spoke as Calypso approached, giving her the barest of nervous glances.

"What about it?" Donna asked.

"It's the date Agatha Christie disappeared."

"What?" Calypso's mouth felt dry, and her anger at the Doctor was suddenly unimportant.

"She's just discovered her husband is having an affair." The Doctor said with a raised eyebrow.

"You'd never think to look at her. Smiling away." Donna said, sounding impressed. But Calypso should have known it, it explained the miserable mood she'd been in, and why she'd allowed Calypso to drive with her at all.

"Well, she's British and moneyed. That's what they do. They carry on," the Doctor said with an exaggerated accent. "Except for this one time. No one knows exactly what happened, she just vanished."

"But-" Calypso's breath caught in her chest. "It can't- there has to be something we can do. She has a daughter." She had only spent the last few months with the family, but she had grown fond of them, even Rosalind, Agatha's daughter. She would hate to think of what would happen to Rosalind without her mother.

"It's alright," the Doctor said quickly. "She turns up. Her car will be found tomorrow morning by the side of a lake. Ten days later, Agatha Christie turns up in a hotel in Harrogate. Said she'd lost her memory. She never spoke about the disappearance till the day she died, but whatever it was…" He looked back at the group of party goers, now with an air of suspicion.

"It's about to happen." Donna said softly, she spared a quick glance at Agatha.

"Right here, right now." The Doctor agreed and then lapsed into silence.

"Alright, out with it. What's going on with you two?" Donna's eyes had narrowed at Calypso.

"Donna," the Doctor said warningly. "Not now."

"Don't 'not now' me mister. Accidental snogging is one thing, but this," she gestured between the two of them. "This is awkward-"

"Professor! The library! Murder! Murder!" The housemaid shrieked as she ran from the house, nearly collapsing as she reached Lady Eddison.

The Doctor took off running immediately, with Donna hot on his heels. Much to Calypso's surprise, Agatha also looked eager to investigate the scene as she parted from the group. Calypso sighed and jogged after them. They found the library not far into the massive estate, for which she was grateful. The Doctor was already on the floor, crouched next to the body and wearing thick rimmed glasses as he examined the prone man.

"Oh my goodness," the butler had followed them inside and now looked like he regretted the decision.

"Bashed on the head. Blunt instrument. Watch broke as he fell," the Doctor lifted the dead man's wrist and checked the face of the watch. "Time of death was quarter past four." He stood up, his eyes landing on the desk covered in a multitude of papers.

Donna hefted a small length of pipe that had fallen near the body. "Bit of pipe. Call me Hercule Poirot, but I reckon that's blunt enough." She smirked at Calypso as Agatha ducked to retrieve something from the fire grate.

"Nothing worth killing for in that lot, dry as dust." The Doctor said as he dismissed the stacked papers he had shuffled through.

"Hold on. The body in the library?" Donna asked with a frown. "I mean, Professor Peach, in the library, with the lead piping?" She looked to Calypso for support, but she didn't understand what she was getting at. "Ah, right, bit early for you. You'll get there."

The hall grew crowded with voices as the rest of the party appeared, each attempting to push past one another to get a better look. All were equally horrified and transfixed by the Professor's unmoving form laying sprawled on the fine rug. Lady Eddison burst into hysterics as her husband tried to calm her. The reverend shook his head as he muttered prayers and the other lady guest looked ready to faint as she babbled incoherently.

"Someone should call the police." Agatha said firmly over the tumult of voices.

"You don't have to." The Doctor spoke up, flashing about his wallet containing the psychic paper for all to see. "Chief Inspector Smith from Scotland Yard. Known as the Doctor. Miss Noble is the plucky young girl who helps me out." Donna made a face at that but said nothing.

"I say." Lady Eddison looked shocked that she'd accidently invited a police investigator to her afternoon soirée.

"Mrs. Christie was right. Go into the sitting room. I will question each of you in turn." The Doctor looked at them each pointedly.

"Come along, do as the Doctor says. Leave the room undisturbed." Agatha ushered everyone outside and Calypso was grateful to follow. After everyone had been ousted, Agatha closed the door behind her.

"Well, what a positively dreadful way to start a party," Lady Eddison said, clutching a handkerchief to her mouth.

"It's good that the Doctor is here," Agatha said, trying to disguise her annoyance. "Everything will be alright. We'll get to the bottom of this and justice will be served."

Calypso couldn't quell the dread that was growing in her heart. She desperately wanted to warn Agatha, but she couldn't think of how. Nor could she think of what even to warn her against. Whatever it was, Calypso was determined to keep a keen eye out for it. If there was anything she'd learned, it was that she could not always rely on the Doctor.