Chapter 2

Part 1

The Doctor turned round to see what she was staring at and then turned back to her.

"That blue box is my ship, called a TARDIS, it can go anywhere and any time period"

"You mean your ship can go absolutely anywhere?!"

The Doctor smiled at Firestorm's obvious excitement and then Ian made a comment from beside the TARDIS.

"Yes, it should work like that, only the Doctor can't control where we end up, isn't that right Doctor?" the Doctor turned round and glared at him, slightly annoyed that his superiority over his own ship had been reduced. At this, there was a slight giggle from Susan, hurriedly suppressed and her eyes widened as the Doctor turned to glare at her instead of Ian. After what seemed like an eternity of the Doctor's glare and Susan's wide-eyed embarrassment, the Doctor gave a small chuckle and ruffled her hair affectionately.

Turning to Firestorm once more, he enquired:

"What caused you to fall down that cliff? Surely you didn't come to the edge willingly?"

Firestorm avoided his eyes, and then muttered so quietly that her answer could hardly be heard:

"I was being chased by the villagers, and I thought this would be a good place to run to, as very few people will come this far to the edge. I was going too fast and slipped, but I managed to grab a tree root on the way down. That's when you found me."

"Why were they chasing you?"

Firestorm didn't answer this question, but instead looked down at her stained and ragged boots, shuffling her feet. It was obvious to the Doctor that Firestorm did not want to talk about this, so he let the matter drop. Suddenly, there was a shout from further down the cliff

"The brats up here! She won't get away this time!"

There was a sharp intake of breath from Firestorm, which made the Doctor look at her. All the blood seemed to drain from her face, her eyes were wide with fear and she had started to shake. The Doctor put a comforting arm round her, saying

"Don't worry Firestorm; we won't let them hurt you. Would you like to come with us?"

Firestorm was unable to speak because she was so scared, but managed a shaky nod. The Doctor led her to the door of the TARDIS, motioning for his companions to follow him. After unlocking the door, he gently pushed her inside, waited for the others to come in, then shut the doors and dematerialised the TARDIS.

Part 2

As soon as the Doctor pushed her into the TARDIS, she stopped dead, looking around her in amazement. She found it difficult to believe that such a big space could exist in so small a box. The walls were white, with patterns of circles on them. When Firestorm looked up, she couldn't see the ceiling, it was so high up that it was lost in shadows.

"You like it?" Firestorm jumped, she had been so absorbed in examining the TARDIS, that she hadn't noticed the Doctor walk up behind her, or watch her with an expression of amusement slowly coming onto his face.

"It's incredible!" she breathed.

"Thank you. Now, Susan will show you to your room, and I will inform you when we have landed" Firestorm didn't miss the implied fact that the Doctor knew exactly where they were headed. Barbara didn't either.

"You mean you know where we are going to end up?" She sounded half angry, half exasperated.

"If you know then that means you can control the ship! Why didn't you return Ian and myself home if that was the case?" Ian looked up from where he was examining the console to add his contribution as well.

"Yes Doctor, why? Why put our lives at risk with exploring dangerous planets when you could have got us home?" The Doctor gave a scathing shake of his head.

"Young man, it isn't as simple as that. I can only go to specific destinations if I have the precise co-ordinates. Now, the person I am planning to see has set up a homing beacon, so I know exactly where he is. I am sorry, but I do not know the precise location of Earth, and there is nothing to guide me there". While this conversation had been going on, Susan had come into the console room and was standing beside Firestorm as the Doctor finished speaking.

"Come with me Firestorm, I will show you where your room is." Susan said, indicating that Firestorm should follow her. She and Susan both walked into the labyrinth of the TARDIS corridors.