Amy stepped closer, squinting at the figure in front of us. "Is that-"

"I think so," Rory said.

"Marilyn Monroe?" I asked quietly. "You took us to meet Marilyn Monroe?"

I turned around to look at the Doctor, but he wasn't there.

I said, "Where did he go?"

The four of us looked around, but there was no Doctor to be seen.

"I dare you five bucks to go talk to her," Rory murmured in my ear.

I smiled. "Oh, you are so on. I was going to anyway."

I started stepping closer, saying, "Miss Monroe?", but was stopped by a very big, very muscular man.

"Oh. Hello," I said in surprise.

"Do you have a problem?" he demanded.

My eyebrows shot up. "Excuse me?"

"I think you should step away from Miss Marilyn. Now."

That's when it snapped in my brain. Bodyguard.

"I'm sorry, I just wanted to say hello to her-"

"That is not possible, Im afraid." The man looked me up and down. "Who are you, anyway?"

"My name is Lena." I had gotten so used to saying this, telling this lie, that it now felt almost natural. "I only wanted to meet Norma for a second-"

"I said no. Now back off."

"Wait a minute, Marcus, let her speak." The blonde beauty settled a gentle hand on the mans arm, pushing him aside. She looked at me with kind eyes, and my breathing was almost entirely cut off. I had always been fascinated by Marilyn, by her tragic story and sad life, and seeing her in person made me feel like I was near fainting.

"What did you call me?" she asked.

I swallowed. "Norma. Thats your real name, right?"

She smiled. "Yes. I'm just not very used to hearing it."

"It's a lovely name, it's a shame that it's not used."

"Well, what can I say?" She sighed. "The complications of being famous."

I took in the sight of this Hollywood icon. She was dressed in a lovely white dress, her fingernails painted to perfection.

"Would you like to join me on a tour of the house?" she asked suddenly.

I looked around. So this was her home.

"Really? That would be great," I answered, somewhat shocked.

"Wonderful. You can bring your friends along, if you like." She nodded her head towards Rory, Amy, and Tasha, who looked utterly dumbstruck.

I waved them over. "Come on, you guys!"

"Well, that's the last room," Marilyn said brightly, closing the door. "What did you think?"

"I think they should've made this into a museum," Amy said quietly.

Marilyn's brow furrowed. "What was that?"

"Oh, um, I was just saying that your home is wonderful."

"Why thank you." She smiled, happy.

"Well, we hate to leave you, Miss Monroe," Rory said. "But I'm afraid we must look for our other friend, who seems to be lost in the party downstairs."

"Alright then. It was lovely meeting you."

I didn't want to leave, standing in the presence of this remarkable woman, but I knew that I had to.

As I started following them down the stairs, though, a voice stopped me.

"Wait Lena," Marilyn said. "I would like to talk to you, just a moment more."

You didnt have to tell me twice. "Okay."

"So, how come I've never seen any of you before? Are you guests of a celebrity?"

"Yes. We're here with-" I raked my brain for other famous people during this time, but came up with nothing. "A movie star," I ended lamely.

She nodded as if she understood. "I see. How are you liking the party?"

"It's lovely. Im having a great time."

Her smile was sad. "I wish I could say the same."

I wondered how close in time we were to her death. The Doctor had said we were in 1950, but he often estimated, so we could be in any year around that exact one.

"Norma," I said, "do you ever regret becoming a star?"

She breathed a great sigh, her shoulders heaving up, then down. "I just want people to love me. I thought this would be the way to have that come true." She looked down. "I suppose being loved for being someone else doesn't really count."

I wanted to say something, anything to make her feel better, but I was worried about the impact it would have. Messing with the past was a dangerous thing. So I stayed quiet, as much as I hated to. Instead, I simply took a few steps forward and wrapped my arms around her for a brief moment. I didnt say anything as I let go and left her, staring after me as I walked down the stairs.

"Where were you?" the Doctor asked when I joined them.

"I could ask you the same thing," I shot back. "I was chatting with Marilyn, since thats what you brought us here for. Right?"

"Well, I wanted you to see her, but I wasnt expecting for you to go off and have tea with her." He grinned. "Are we ready to go, then?"

"Wait a moment," Rory said. "We really just came here to visit?"

"Yes," the Doctor replied, as if this was the most obvious thing in the world.

"No Cybermen are about to bust through the windows?"

"Of course not, why would you think such a thing?"

We all just sort of stared at him.

He sighed. "Do you actually enjoy having your life threatened every other day? Its Lena's birthday this week, and since we had some free time, I decided to take the opportunity and let her meet someone she's always wanted to." The Doctor turned his gaze to me. "Marilyn was on the list, correct?"

I laughed. "Top ten! I definitely won't be forgetting this day for a while."

"Doctor?" a recently-familiar voice said behind us. "Doctor, is that you?"

We turned to see Marilyn Monroe looking straight at the Doctor, an angry expression on her face.

I heard him exhale. "This is why I was hiding."

"I waited for you!" Marilyn cried, stepping closer to us.

"Now, Marilyn, you know that marriage wasnt in any way official, just a prank-l

"A prank? A prank? We had a preacher!"

"Friends, I think its time to be going." I felt the Doctors hands on my shoulders, propelling me forward. "Lovely to see you again Monroe!"

So there we were, racing up the hill, with my feet tripping me and the Doctor having to pick me back up, when I started thinking about something Marilyn had said to me.

I suppose being loved for being someone else doesn't really count..

I couldn't ignore the fact that this quote somewhat applied to my life. All I had wanted, for most of my life, was to be loved. Now that I had found the Doctor again and met Amy and Rory, I had gotten the closest to that feeling than I ever had. But really, was it being loved at all? If they did love me, they didnt love the real me, because they thought I was Lena. Or was Lena the same person as me, just a different name?

Before I could decide, I was confronted by the TARDIS doors and bursting through them.

"Great, that was a lovely trip, where to next?" The Doctor was rushing to the controls, already flipping switches even though our next destination was still undecided.

"I don't mean to be a bother, but do you think we could stay on Earth?" Tasha asked him, polite as ever. "And move towards 2012? I wanted to explain to my parents in person where I will be."

Tasha and I waited curiously for his answer.

"I don't see why not," he smiled. "We've got time, and any friend of Lena's is a friend of mine." He winked over at me, but his face faltered. "Lena, are you alright? You look odd."

"You look lovely too, Doctor, thanks." I laughed. "I'm fine. Just a little tired, I suppose. Since I was driven awake by a race."

"I'm surprised you even get up anymore, since you know, you always lose anyway."

I glared at him. "You should give me a fair chance!"

"Still under the impression that I cheat?"

"I'm never not under that impression."

"My dear Lena, I may be an alien, but I cannot cheat." He twisted a dial.

"Right. Well call it that."

"On our way!"

I looked at Tasha. "You may want to hold on to something."

She looked back at me.

Just then, the TARDIS started jolting about, and no matter how hard I held on, I always ended up tumbling onto the ground somehow.

When everything had calmed down, I saw the Doctor sit up and exclaim with glee, "We're here!