While Aiden and Katie were facing a horde of Angels, the Doctor, Katrina, and Jaya were seeing almost none. Almost. Along their remaining quarter mile walk, the Angels were scattered about along the way, watching them.

"While I'm glad I don't have to wear the mirrors anymore," Katrina said as she shifted Jaya in her arms, "I still wish they hadn't shattered during the cave in. It makes me nervous, having those statues here with no way to protect ourselves."

"If they wanted to do something, they would have done it," the Doctor said, his tone less than comforting. While his mind was working on how to find—and likely rescue—Katie and Aiden, his first priority was to not drop the many bags he was carrying. It was difficult to do, as they were all rather heavy. At least Katrina was holding Jaya now, and the Doctor was smugly aware of the fact he had greater strength and stamina than a human.

"It's as though they're keeping tabs on us. Why would we need watching?"

"I'm more concerned with where the others are."

"They could be on the surface," Katrina said, almost offhand. "We're very close to the entrance here."

"What?"

"Mm-hm. The Surface Gate is about a half-mile from this point, probably less. I'm not sure. I haven't actually been up top before."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "You haven't been outside?"

"No. The thought always scared me. I never understood how people could stand to hang onto the skin of a planet, with nothing to protect them. Down here, the living rock surrounds us, keeps us safe. We can live our whole lives just from what rock provides. We have natural springs, building materials, and we can even grow food using the moss, fungus, and other plants that grow here." Katrina looked openly at the Doctor. "Where do you like best? What's home for you?"

The Doctor was at a loss for an answer. He wondered if that hadn't been Katrina's intent. Her gray eyes seemed to pierce through everything. Maybe it was one of her side effects of living with Jaya.

"Oh, don't really have one place I call home. Always somewhere or somewhen new to go see."

"I thought as much," Katrina said quietly. "You had that sort of look. The one that's always searching but never gets anywhere."

"What do you mean?"

"When you burst into our shop to rescue Katie, you seemed to look at everything at the same moment, but focus on each of us individually. It's like you're searching for something or someone that isn't there anymore, or a person you never found. It's the same kind of look a neighbor of ours always had, like he couldn't quite focus on us, while at the same time knew all about us." Katrina smiled sadly. "The Angels probably took him. He was always very kind to us. I hope it wasn't too hard on him."

The Doctor looked at Katrina, then turned the corner to the side shaft where TARDIS was parked.

"How do we get through this?"

"I wouldn't know," Katie said in answer to Aiden's question. Her voice was slightly distant. "We could always walk through."

"Without mirrors on?" Aiden asked, his tone plainly saying he felt Katie was a few ants short of a picnic.

"Why not? They won't hurt—" Katie stopped her sentence, shook her head, and then started again while speaking slowly. "If they wanted to hurt us, they would have. Awful pretty though, aren't they?"

Aiden didn't answer Katie. He jumped up at high as he could, straining to see over the Angels.

"Oh, as if things couldn't get worse."

"Hmm?"

Aiden turned to Katie, frustration on his features. "The tunnels' collapsed down this way as well, and as near as I can figure this was our turning. Now what do we do?"

Katie didn't answer. Aiden hadn't really expected her to. She had an expression similar to someone on too much pain medication.

"We need to back up," Katie said, trying to force herself to still consider the Angels a threat. The sense of well-being worked its way through her mind until it was nearly impossible not to laugh. "We need to back up until my head feels less…nice. Hard to think when I'm looking at them."

Aiden and Katie did just that, keeping their eyes on the Angels, who sat there, watching. They could take their own good time.

When Katie's head felt less full of cotton, she gave a firm decisive nod. "Right. Problem one: Angels. Problem two: Second cave in that prevents reunion with TARDIS. Nothing we can do about that one."

"Maybe there is," Aiden said. "At least, mostly. Look, the drilling laser is really close to here. If we could get to that, I'm sure that between the two of us, we could make it work."

"Smart plan. How do we get through the killer rocks to the laser?"

Aiden sighed. "That I don't know."

The two thought for a few minutes, then Katie spoke up. "If you aren't too afraid of cooties, we might be able to link together."

Aiden's confused look prompted further explanation. "From what the Doctor told me, the Angels work by touching you and sending you back in time. They may not be able to send just one person if the two people are touching, and I'm sure they could let me go if they didn't need me any longer."

"We can't know that for sure."

"It's the only shot we have," Katie answered somberly. Opening her still dusty, now torn bag, she produced a pair of leather gloves and slipped them on. She held them up for Aiden to see.

"I always carry an extra pair. Don't want to accidently kill someone just because I don't have gloves." She held out her right hand to Aiden. "Come on, we don't have all day. I want to get back to the Doctor, and you want back to your sisters."

After a moments trepidation, Aiden took Katie's hand.

"Now, you just keep me talking," Katie said. "I'm giving you a once in a life time chance to ask a girl prying questions with no fear of getting slapped. Well, not much of one."

Aiden laughed as they started walking. "You aren't exactly a girl. You're older than I am!"

Katie raised an eyebrow. "Good start. Free tip, never tell a girl she's older than you. And you are too older than I am. I'm only fifteen."

"You look older than that."

"Oh hush."

Katie felt the Angel's influence creeping in. It was gentle, oh so gentle. Beckoning. She blinked, and for a split second she saw all the colors, and—

A tug on her right arm startled her. She looked at Aiden. "Boron City to Miner Katie, come in Miner Katie." He gave her a stern, worried look. "You froze up. Stood still as the statues, eyes closed, stupid smile on your face. Not a good sign."

"Right. Sorry," Katie said, shaking her head. "Note to self: do not blink." She fixed Aiden with a look. "Next question."

"Ah…How did you meet the Doctor?"

"Too easy. That's memory recall, not soul-search."

"What is your relationship with the Doctor?"

Katie was silent, her mind thrown off balance by the question as she moved around an Angel. Her first reaction was to snap back at Aiden.

"We aren't lovers, if that's your implication. The guy is 888 years older than I am!"

"No one is that old. Not even you."

Katie bit her tongue to hold back the laugh. "Oh, he is. Trust me. He's got the years of experience, and enough heartache, to cover more than that. He's a lonely old man spinning around space in a blue box, and he is perfectly amazing."

Katie's eyes were starting to water from holding them open for so long. Aiden noticed this and sped up a little.

"Nearly there. You still didn't answer the question. If you aren't father and daughter, and you aren't sleeping together, then what do you stick around for?"

"The daily adrenaline rush," Katie said bluntly. "We're always getting in scrapes like this. Worse than this, actually. And we always get out. Heck, this morning he sprung me from prison, and just last week we were running for our lives from a very angry cow."

"A mad bull?"

"Yeah. It's my fault really. He told me not to get into that matador outfit."

Aiden shook his head. "You really are insane. So he's just a sort of a travel guide?"

"Certainly not! I trust that man with my life, and the lives of anyone else I were to meet. He's my friend, and the only one I've really got."

Aiden said nothing to this. They moved around the last few Angels, and Aiden paused. "Here we are," he said. "The drilling laser."

Katie looked at him and smiled. "Well done, Burrow Boy." She looked back at the huge, cannon-looking machine on wheels, eyes watering furiously.

And then she blinked.

Instantly, the colors rushed in. Silver and purple ran together, sparks from the Angels surrounding Katie and Aiden like fireworks against a cloudy night sky. The Angel she instinctively knew to be the leader was in front of her—when had he gotten there? Not that it mattered. He was beautiful, nothing to fear from him. His voice, images really, filled her mind, the sound of liquid harps creating the pictures.

She saw the whole story laid out; how he had just wanted to see the universe, so he took a ride on a ship. He was lonely in Boron, and there was so much to share with others that he sent out a subspace message, letting the words carry to any Crying Cherubs—wasn't that a good name for them? Better, kinder, nicer than Lonely Assassins.

His friends had come, but then they needed to feed. They were kind though. No ones life ever ended. They just got a new chance somewhere else, that was all.

Katie smiled at the next request, stubbornly ignoring the frantic tugging on her arm, the sharp slap to her cheek, the calling voice of…of someone. Someone annoying. They were getting in the way of the words.

The picture came through again. Would Katie like to do the same thing? Travel the stars without ever hurting another person? Living among others who understood her, ones that took in everything the universe gave out? She could still use the TARDIS for travel, if she wanted. They all could. And she could live with them always, dancing across the stars, never having to harm another person ever again.

Yes, Katie thought, her mental voice becoming harp music. Yes, she would like to.

The Lead Angel—the lovely, lovely creature—slowly moved his hand towards her, holding it out to her in welcome. The others joined in song. She started to reach out for him.

A swift jerk started pulling her away. Katie felt as though she had been floating on a cloud, only to be yanked back to earth. No, Katie's mind yelled, her eyes still closed. Using all her strength, she pulled backwards, forcing…whoever the person was to let go of her. Weren't they important once? Maybe not. How could they be if they were so cruel as to take her away?

She could see the Angel's moving towards the dark shape. The music started in her head again, asking her to open her eyes, enough so that she could let her family move, but not that she could see them as cold hard stone.

Alright, Katie thought. After all, the person won't get hurt. They just get to see another time. Who doesn't want to travel through time? Her eyelids flickered. Travel in time? Where did the blue box in her head come from?

"How did you meet the Doctor!"

The words were muffled, but the last word came through. Suddenly, everything rushed back in, and Katie's eyes snapped open.

Too late. Aiden was gone, the cold, gray, lifeless Angels gathered around the spot where he had last been.

*Constructive critisisim welcome, praise happily accepted, flames not wanted*