Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who. Now, I know what you're thinking: that crazy girl says she'll update and won't. My excuse is that I have spent most of this week in hospital waiting rooms or at work which is crazy. Anyway, sorry. I really ought to have a new update of this story soon since I had a lot of time to think about it in hospital waiting rooms. Let me know what you think and happy reading!

Rose Tyler had been struggling with her plan to help the Doctor.

First, it had really gotten harder to find when the woman, Donna, was at home. The times she was at home, Rose had to work. She would have asked Mickey or her mother for help, but she had the most peculiar feeling that it wasn't a good idea. So, on her days off, she made the trek back up to Ealing, to look around the house and see if anyone was home.

Then that was the trouble if someone was home. She happened to be walking by when the Waitrose delivery boy was there. Donna was talking in the various crates and bags. It looked like enough to feed an army. Rose was just passing by as Donna spotted her.

"You!," she spat. "what the hell are you doing here?!"

"Mrs. Smith?," the boy asked.

"Not you, Thomas. You!," she said, pointing at Rose. "You psychotic little stalker!"

Rose approached. "I have something to tell you."

"I'll have the police on you! I will!"

Rose then saw the little blonde girl from the restaurant siding up to Donna in the doorway. She had on pink pajamas and was holding a Teddy bear.

"Mummy?"

Donna looked down at her. "Go back to bed, sweetheart. You shouldn't be up."

"I was hungry."

"Mummy will get you something to eat. You need your rest." She looked back up at Rose with sharp eyes. "You have thirty seconds to get off my property."

She looked serious. Very serious. A million times scarier than her mum and she wasn't backing down.

Rose backed away.

Zoe Smith was not having a fun day.

She had woken up in the middle of the night when her ear felt like it was being stabbed on the inside. She had gone crying to her parents who told her she had a fever. This was particularly upsetting because she would be missing the excursion to the zoo at school planned for that day. Her mum was home with her, of course. She hadn't been back to work since the day that the river drained and damaged her office, but she had been helping with Granddad. He was sick as well.

"Zoe!," said the Doctor as he entered the room. "Zo-Zo-Zoe!"

"Is that my medicine?," asked Zoe, looking at what the Doctor held in his hand.

"Yes, it is," said the Doctor sitting next to her.

"Does it taste yucky?"

"No, it's banana flavored." He pulled out what looked like a gummi. "Here, just chew that. You'll be feeling much better."

Zoe took it and chewed. It did taste like bananas. Her medicine never tasted this good.

"So, how are we holding up?," he asked.

"I wanted to go to the zoo."

"I know. Zoe at the zoo. We'll go some other time. I'll show you all sorts of animals."

Donna entered with a bowl of soup. "Back from the druggist's already?"

"Yup," said the Doctor, clearing room for the tray.

"Sit up, sweetheart," said Donna as she placed the tray on the bed.

"She wanted to go to the zoo," said the Doctor.

"There will be other times, sweetheart."

They heard a siren.

"What's that?," asked Zoe.

"Just something happening in the park," said Donna.

"Really?," asked the Doctor. He looked out the window and across the road to where lots of official vehicles were driving in.

"You didn't notice?," asked Donna. "They've been there all morning."

"Is it about the scarecrows?," asked Zoe.

"Scarecrows?," asked the Doctor. "What scarecrows?"

Donna shook her head. "One of the council's schemes, some sort of urban art nonsense, they put scarecrows up all over the park. Something about an urban pastoral concept."

"I don't like them," said Zoe.

Donna looked at the Doctor. "She saw them on the way to the doctor's. She thought they were scary."

"Nothing to be frightened of, Zoe," said the Doctor. "They're just straw."

"Then why are they called scarecrows?"

"Because they're for scaring crows, not little girls," said the Doctor giving her a peck on the forehead. He looked out the window as another black Land Rover made its way into the park. "I think I'll take Greta for a walk."

The Doctor enlisted the help of Greta by putting her on a lead and taking her for a walk. Still, as far as companions went she wasn't bad. He had tried explaining about K9 to her, but Greta seemed nonplussed by the whole robot dog concept.

The park was swarming with official people trying not to look official. UNIT. He could smell it. Something was going on out here. His suspicions were confirmed when he saw Jack over beyond a taped line directing people. And who was among them but Mickey! How long had that been going on?

"Jack!," he called, giving a goofy grin and wave.

Jack and Mickey turned and froze.

"Uh, John," said Jack approaching him. "What are you doing here?"

He motioned at the lead and Greta. "What do you think?"

"Oh, right," said Jack. "Well, you know, just an envronmental spill."

The Doctor kept smiling. "Really? Nothing dangerous I hope?"

"No, just some sewage that has to be dealt with."

"I didn't think that was your sort of thing, Jack."

"You know me. I've never been able to say no," he said with his trademark smile.

"I bet. So, are you coming to the talent show tomorrow?"

"Looking forward to it," said Jack. "Uh, what are you doing home today?"

"Oh. Zoe's ill."

"That's too bad."

"Missed the school excursion to the zoo."

"That's rotten. Tell you what, tell her Cousin Jack will take her as soon as she's feeling better. All the souvenirs and ice cream she can stand."

"I think she'll like that," said the Doctor.

"Captain!," called Mickey.

"Oh, gotta go, John," said Jack.

"Bye!," said the Doctor.

He walked back to the house with Greta.

"Was I really coming off as a massive idiot when I was human?," the Doctor asked Greta.

Greta gave a low bark of confirmation.

"Oi!," said the Doctor. "That's quite enough cheek."

Greta barked at one of the scarecrows.

"Not you, too," he moaned.

Greta barked again.

The Doctor shook his head. "It couldn't have moved, It must have just been the breeze."

Greta barked yet again.

"You know, I'm beginning to question why I chose you from the litter."

Greta gave a low bark, a sort of gruff scoff,

"Fine, Donna chose you, but I helped."

Zoe was laying in her bed and staring at the locket. Donna came in.

"Feel any better, sweetheart?," asked Donna, sitting on the side of the bed.

"I guess," said Zoe.

"What's this?," asked Donna, taking the locket in her hand. She squinted at it, trying to get a better look.

"Jamie gave it to me," said Zoe. "He said it was mine."

"Huh. Wonder where he got it."

"He wants me to open it," said Zoe.

"Well, it's broken," said Donna. She handed it back to Zoe. "Would you be very upset if Mummy left the house for a bit?"

"Where are you going?"

"I promised I would meet someone. Do you mind? I won't go if you don't want me to."

"I don't mind" said Zoe.

"Good girl," said Donna, giving her a peck on the cheek. "I'm going to get you something special while I'm out."

"What?"

Donna smiled as she stood. "Well, it will be more special if it's a surprise."

"Okay."

Donna went downstairs. The Doctor was looking out the window of the sitting room.

"Find out what was going on at the park?," asked Donna.

"Not so much," said the Doctor. "I might need to have another look."

"Well, Sherlock, do you think you can put it off? I've got some errands to run and someone has got to stay with Zoe."

"Errands?"

"Yes. Errands," said Donna. "I've got to stop by the shops and I promised my dad I'd drop in. He's just had another round of chemo today. I'll get Charlotte after the talent show rehearsal. Jack and Jamie are getting a ride home with Ollie's mum. Can you start dinner?"

"Sure," said the Doctor.

UNIT had set up shop in a massive black truck outfitted with all the latest computers and scanners which were doing them absolutely no good in their search for whatever had fallen from the sky the night before.

"I don't get it," said Jack, staring at Mickey's screen. "We should be in the middle of an energy field, but there's nothing. Absolutely nothing."

"Didn't Hector find anything?," asked Mickey.

Jack checked his watch. "Still not back. Probably went to call his girlfriend again."

Just then, Hector came in, looking glassy-eyed.

"What took you so long?," asked Jack.

"Sorry, sir." He took a huge sniff.

"What's wrong with you?," asked Mickey.

"Nothing, sir."

Jack snorted. "Yeah, let's fear the day we have to call Mickey Mouse here 'sir.'"

"Oi, Captain Cheesecake!"

"Cool it. Come back, outside. We'll have another look."

Jack and Mickey left. Hector went over to the computer and started typing quickly at the computer. All the screens showed "Classified."

He tilted his head back. "Family of mine, I cannot find the Time Lord's location on these primitive computers. We will have to sniff him out."

Rose was passing by the park again. She had just gotten off work and thought maybe she would see if she could reason with the woman. Or maybe the Doctor would be there and she could talk to him properly. She hated passing by the park, though, with all these scarecrows. She would have sworn one of them had just moved.

She heard Mickey's voice. "All I'm saying is at least I'm not a walking, talking Action Man!"

Rose turned. He was walking in her direction. She hid behind a tree. Mickey was walking with Jack! Jack was alive! Wouldn't he have gone looking for the Doctor as well?

Rose decided it was no coincidence that they were so close to this park. They knew about the Doctor as well. How else to explain all the official looking vehicles in the park? And why she had asked about the Doctor before and couldn't remember it. She would have asked Mickey for help. She bet he knew all about what was going on.

"The Doctor," she said aloud to herself, watching Jack and Mickey walk around and scan various objects. "You knew about the Doctor all this time."

"May I help you, Miss?"

Rose turned to see Hector's Cheshire grin.

"Uh, no, I was just going," said Rose.

Rose stormed out of the park. She was too mad to go looking for the Doctor today and she could do without the creepy scarecrows.