Jane began to drag the Doctor down the sidewalk. It was slow going. At one point she stopped to remove her gloves and shift them to him, as she could feel that his hands were freezing even through the thick material. The black-and-white striped gloves barely fit over his long fingers, but hopefully they'd be warm now.

At the corner of 82nd and Elm, which they would need to turn down to get to Jane's house, she had stopped to take off her hat and put it on him, seeing that his ears were that colour that things like ears and noses turn when it's cold out. It was hard to put a hat on another person one-handed and while moving, and a soft, floppy stocking cap was even worse. Then her problem was that the hat smooshed the hair that flopped into his face into his eyes. Having had long hair for most of her life, Jane knew exactly how uncomfortable that was, and had him leaning against a fence in damp grass, trying to make it so that hat and hair were balanced, when she noticed a familiar-looking car out of the corner of her eye. Having been praying for any chance of getting a ride home, Jane shot up and began chasing her across-the-street neighbour, Esther, down the road, yelling her name.

When the little grey car finally pulled to the side of the road, Jane ran over. 'Hi, Esther,' she panted through the rolled-down window.

'Jane?' the older lady asked in her quiet voice. She was both surprised and amused by the girl's actions, as she had always been. 'What's the matter?'

Still panting, Jane pointed behind her at where the Doctor sat slumped against the fence. 'I and my friend were walking home from the bus when he just passed out like that, and I was really ho-'

'Oh my goodness! Is he okay?' Esther exclaimed, leaning out of the window slightly to look back at him.

'What? Oh, no, he's fine! He just…' Jane picked her brain for another excuse. 'He has that thing where you just randomly fall asleep in the middle of nowhere. I forget what it's called…'

'Narcolepsy?' the lady asked.

Jane snapped her fingers. 'That's it! He has narcolepsy,' she explained. 'He told me we'd be able to make it home, but…'

'Well, I'd be more than happy to give you two a ride home. Do you need any help getting him over here?'

'Naw, I can handle it.' Jae turned and started to cross the street, but then came back. 'Can I throw my stuff in the trunk real quick?'

'Certainly,' Esther answered.

After they had done that, Jane dashed back across the street to retrieve the Doctor, while Esther pulled the car around. The two bundled in, and the car began its ascent up to Applewood Way.

'So, how's school been?' Esther asked.

Jane was prepared to answer, as this was the question older folks always asked her to start a conversation, even in the middle of July when there was no school.

'Oh, just great. Not long ago I was in our Short Play Festival, which went beautifully, and now I'm in the musical. It's "The Wedding Singer".'

'Really? I've never heard of it.'

'Well, she ain't a classic. Not yet, anyhow,' Jae laughed.

'That's nice,' Esther said endearingly. She glanced at the girl who she'd watched grow up from across the street. 'And who is this?' she asked.

Jane glanced over at her new friend. I don't really know, she couldn't help but think. Of course, she wasn't going to tell Esther that. 'Oh, just a friend from school.'

'What's his name?'

Now the girl was a little irritated. What did it matter? 'Um… Matt.'

Yay, more lies.

Esther smiled. 'Oh, I like that name. So are you two going to just hang out, or…?'

'Study partner,' Jane replied, troubled by how easily these things rolled off her tongue. 'We have to work on a project for chemistry.'

'That's it?' If she didn't know better, Jae would've sworn Esther sounded disappointed.

'Yep. That's it.' As much as she liked Esther, she breathed a sigh of relief when they pulled into her driveway. 'Thank you so much, Esther. You really are a lifesaver.'

'It's no problem.' The older woman smiled kindly. 'Can you get him home okay?'

'Oh, across the street isn't a problem. But thank you. I really appreciate it. We both do.'

Slowly the Doctor and Jane made their was across the cul-de-sac over to the little house the girl shared with her parents and younger brother. It was one story and a creamy white, with brown trim and the Christmas lights still up (it was January).

Jane's house-key was clipped to her jeans, hanging from a ring along with a "Yu-Gi-Oh!"-themed dog tag her brother had received in a Burger King meal. This made it harder to unlock the front door, but she managed it. 'Don't worry, Doctor. We're almost there.'

Once inside, she hurried to dump him onto the living room couch. Though she wanted to get the Doctor resting in an actual bed as quickly as possible, there were a few things that needed to be done first. Like, turning off the alarm system that was currently going insane, and closing the front door. But after shedding her coat and rucksack to make things easier, she again bent down, gently helped the Doctor up, and walked him through her house and back to her bedroom. When he stood up, he moaned softly, but Jane patted his back. 'C'mon, Doctor. If you can just go with me this much farther, I promise you'll be able to sleep for real, and quickly, too.'

There were no lights on in Jane's room and the curtains were drawn, but she flipped on the overhead light, and she and the Doctor hobbled their way to her bed.

Jane pulled aside the many sheets and blankets that made up her covers, and carefully helped the Doctor lie down. The instant he did, he seemed to sink into the mattress. But Jane's bed did that; she'd had it forever and it was super soft and comfortable.

The girl was about to tidy up her room real quick when she noticed the many random articles of clothing he was still decked out in. Well, there was no way he was wearing shoes in her bed, so she set about taking them off him.

After Jane had the high tops oh-so-expertly untied (for it was rare that she ever wore anything besides Converse herself), they slipped right off, and she noticed that they were just a tad too large. As she went about removing her gloves, his jacket, and undoing his tie, Jane noticed that all his clothes were a bit too big. (She also noted the thought that almost every person in her drama class would be going on about what she was currently doing and just how kinky they found that, were they present, much to her regret.)

It led her to be wondering why exactly this strange man had been in a phone box in the woods. There were so many things about him she didn't know. He was so gorram mysterious; an absolutely perfect stranger, in fact, and yet here she was, putting him to bed in her own room, a hideaway she treasured, not even acknowledging these facts until now.

She sighed and took her hat off him, brushing the hair out of his eyes and then pulling the covers up. Her room was chilly, being on the end of the house, so she also turned the heater up.

Then she adjusted the lighting. The room was now lit by the warm glow of her desk lamp, and she hoped the Doctor was comfortable. Then Jane left to complete several after-school rituals.

On her way down the hall, Jane suddenly realized the notable absence of her little brother. Derek was in middle school and got out at 2.25, so if rehearsal didn't even end until 3.3o, let alone the time it took to get home, then he should be long home by now. Well, she'd find out when she called her mum.

In the back of her mind the entire conversation she held with her mother was the man currently asleep back in her room and how she was going to explain him to her family. Or not. They probably wouldn't kick him out, of that she was almost sure. But they would probably want to take him to the hospital or something, as he had told her not to. And her mum often refused to listen to her protests and persuasions.

Jane hung up, having been informed of a few chores she was expected to do and the fact that Derek was staying after school for Study Club and actually should be home very soon.

With a deep sigh, she sat down on the couch. She couldn't do anything until she had a plan in mind, and if Derek would be home soon, she didn't have much time. The boy was a tattle, and her secret would be out in a second if the kid discovered who was in her room.

Finally, after weighing the options, Jane decided she would hide the Doctor. No one would know, not even her best friend, who often sent her text messages in the evening. As she lay it out in her mind, she walked back to her room. She'd keep her door closed all evening and refuse all admittance. They pretty much left her alone, anyway, and if she kept a "please knock" sign on the door, hopefully her family would pay attention. If the Doctor had to spend the night, he could stay in her room still, and she could use a sleeping bag and stay on the floor. Her parents didn't check on her during the night anymore, so in that respect, they'd be safe.

When it came to morning, if the Doctor was better, she could sneak him out of the house and onto her bus, and he could walk back to his box from SHS (as she assumed that's where he would want to go.) If he was still sick… then she would tell her mum.

With that, Jane re-entered her bedroom. The Doctor still slept soundly. She glanced up at the canopy hanging over her bed. Like everything else in the room, it was pink, one of several remnants of her childhood. Though it was mostly an annoyance and she kept it tucked behind the posts on her daybed, now Jane drew the end closest to the door around the bed, blurring her bed from the doorway point of view.

Next, she got a sheet of paper from her school binder and wrote "KNOCK BEFORE ENTERING PLZ" in large letters, making them bold by writing over them multiple times. She then taped it to the door underneath a fancy sign reading "JANE" and a picture of the main characters from her favourite telly show. Hopefully this would keep the indomitable Parsons out of her hair.

0-0

I had trouble deciding where to cut it off this time. Like I said, this wasn't written in chapters, it was just written. Occasionally there are breaks, but they're pretty few and far between. But I think this is good for now.

Hmm. So Jane finally has the Doctor in a safe place! But what will happen now?

Even though I had the time, I wasn't actually going to post anything today, but I really wanted to see if I had reviews, so I logged in. When people asked to update soon, I thought… 'Ehn. What the hell.'

Unfortunately, don't get used to updates this quick. It's only cos it's the weekend, and because the homework I had allowed me some free time. Usually between whatever else I'm doing and homework, I can't do any of this kind of stuff on the weekends. But school's back on again tomorrow, so I have no idea when the next posting will be. Most likely not on Tuesday or Thursday, as I have clubs on those days. But my drama class is really getting rolling on production of our first play of the year, so I don't know when I'll be staying late to work on sets and lighting. And homework…

But still. Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing. I say it every time, but it's true: your reviews make my day and make me work hard! So have a nice week, everyone! 8D

EDIT: Sorry for taking so long to update. I've been ridiculously busy, and this is the only break I've had and will have for a while. Truthfully, I really, really should go to bed. But I'm doing this instead.

I ended this in a funny place, so I fixed it just now. If I had only scrolled down the document I would've seen there was a break here. Aah, Marty... *shakes head*