(Huge credit to my brother, DreamWeaver1985, for beta reading for me. I know me constantly pulling you away from you work is annoying, but you help me anyway. Thanks. 3)
The Oval Office was in full-on research mode. The Doctor and Canton were looking at the maps while everyone watched and waited for the Doctor to announce where they were headed next.
"Why Florida?" asked Canton.
"That's where NASA is." the Doctor told him. "She mentioned a spaceman. NASA's where the spacemen live. Also, there's another lead I'm following."
Amy tensed subtly at the mention of a spaceman, and she turned to River. "Spaceman? Like the one we saw at the lake?" she asked quietly.
"Maybe." murmured River in response. "Probably."
Sighing, Amy turned away from River, her eyes falling on a sinister figure standing in the doorway of the office. The memory of the figure at Lake Silencio returned to her and panic began to rise. "I remember." she told it.
"Amy?" Rory asked, stepping in front of her, his form blocking the creature from Amy's view. "What do you remember?"
"I don't know, I just…" she muttered, searching her memory for whatever she was meant to have remembered.
"Amy, what's wrong?" Rory asked, growing concerned.
Lyra and River shared a worried look before approaching the Scot. "Amy?" Lyra murmured.
The Doctor moved his focus from the maps to Amy, walking over to join the three who'd grouped around her. "You alright?"
Amy, who was both confused and becoming a little overwhelmed by the attention that was focused on her, nodded. "Uh, yeah, I'm fine, just feeling a little sick." she told them, walking over to two of the guards. "Excuse me, is there a toilet or something?"
"Sorry, Ma'am," Peterson began, "while this procedure is ongoing, you must remain within the Oval Office."
Canton sighed and rolled his eyes. "Shut up and take her to the restroom." he ordered. As the other guard led Amy out of the office, Canton turned back to the Doctor. "Your five minutes are up."
"Yeah, and where's my fez?" he responded.
OoOoOo
Amy followed the guard through the halls of the Whitehouse until they came to the restroom. She pushed open the door to the restroom, stopping for a moment when the guard appeared to be ready to follow her in. "Actually, I can usually manage this alone." she said firmly. She entered the restroom alone, gasping when she saw the creature again. "I saw you before." she said. "At the lake. And here. But then I forgot… How did I forget?!... What are you?!" she asked it. A toilet flushed and the creature and Amy watched as a woman stepped out of one of the cubicles. "Get back" warned Amy. "Stay back from it!"
The woman looked at Amy then turned and exclaimed in shock when she saw the creature. "Ah! Oh my god, what is that? Is that a mask? Is that a Star Trek thing? Ben, is that you?" she asked.
"Get back from it now!" urged Amy.
The woman turned back to Amy, a confused expression appearing on her face. "Back from what, honey?"
"That!" Amy growled.
Once again, she turned to the creature and exclaimed, "Ah! Oh my god! Look at that! Is that a Star Trek mask? Ben, that's gotta be you." she said, pausing for a moment. "Hang on, did I just say all that?"
"No, please! You've got to stay back!" Amy said urgently.
The woman turned her attention back to Amy. "Back, honey? Back from what?" she asked. The lights flickered and the woman glanced at them for a moment before looking at Amy again. "Oh those lights, they never fix them."
"Look behind you." Amy ordered her.
With a small laugh, the woman flashed the ginger a reassuring smile. "Honey, there is nothing…" she began, trailing off when she turned to the creature one last time. The creature, now surrounded by electricity, stretched its arm out and shot one bolt of the electricity at her. Screaming, the woman exploded.
Amy watched in distress as the woman was killed. When the woman was nothing but a few ashes floating in the air, Amy turned her gaze to the creature, a mixture of fear and anger in her eyes. "You didn't have to kill her!" she growled. "She didn't even remember you! How does that work? We can only remember you while we're seeing you, is that it?" she asked, an idea forming in her mind. Taking her mobile from her pocket, Amy quickly snapped a picture of the creature. "Why did you have to kill her?" she demanded.
The creature simply stared at the ginger time traveller. "Joy." it said, its voice taking on a sinister echo quality. "Her name was Joy. Your name is Amelia. You will tell the Doctor."
"Tell him what?"
"What he must know." it answered cryptically. "And what he must never know."
All fear and anger left Amy's eyes, to be replaced by shock. How could this creature know her secret? "How do you know about that?"
"Tell him!" was all the creature offered in return.
As the creature began to crackle with electricity once again, Amy quickly turned and raced out of the toilet, colliding with the guard who had escorted her. "You ok?" he asked her, mildly concerned by her apparent fear.
All memory of the encounter forgotten, Amy calmed down in seconds and wondered why the guard seemed to be so worried. "I'm fine." she assured him. "Much better, thanks."
The guard cast his eyes down to the object in Amy's hand. "What's that?" he asked.
Amy, too, looked down to see what the guard was asking after. "It's my phone." she told him simply, forgetting that she was in a time before cellular devices had been invented.
"Your phone?" he countered incredulously.
"I have to tell the Doctor." Amy stated suddenly, the spark of a distant memory lighting in her mind.
"Tell him what, Ma'am?"
Amy paused, searching her mind for an answer to his question. What had she meant? What was there that she needed to tell the Doctor so urgently? "Sorry, I don't know why I said that..." she confessed.
The guard watched Amy carefully, trying to gauge if she was trying to hide something or if she was genuinely confused. "...This way, Ma'am."
OoOoOo
Back in the Oval Office, the Doctor, his friends and their temporary comrades were hard at work when the phone began to ring. The Doctor kept his attention on the maps, while Canton looked towards the ringing phone. "The kid?" asked Canton.
His eyes on the Doctor, President Nixon asked, "Should I answer it?"
"Here!" the Doctor exclaimed, leaving Nixon's question unanswered as he jabbed his finger down on the map. "The only place in the United States that call could be coming from. See, obvious when you think about it."
Canton looked at the map then at the Doctor, an admiring smile appearing on his face. "You, sir," he said in awe, "are a genius." he said, complimenting the intruder once again.
"A hobby." the Doctor replied smugly.
"Mr. President," Canton announced, "answer the phone."
Nixon obeyed, hesitantly lifting the phone and putting it to his ear. "Hello?" he said slowly. "This is President Nixon."
"It's here!" the girl cried desperately. "The spaceman's here! It's gonna get me! It's gonna eat me!"
"There's no time for a SWAT team, let's go!" the Doctor said in response, his tone taking on a serious edge. "Mr. President, tell her help's on the way. Canton, on no account follow me into this box," he warned, "and close the door behind you." he added, very much needing Mr. Delaware III to follow him.
"What the hell are you doing?!" asked Canton, entering the TARDIS after the Doctor and his friends.
"Mr President? Please help!" the girl begged. "Please help me!
"Jefferson," the President began comfortingly, still mistaking the girl for a young boy, "I'm sending my best people."
