For Sam, the last two miles had been arduous. Not because he was in the desert. It was warm, but not all that hot. Neither was it because of the strange events he'd just witnessed. Although what had just happened probably took the proverbial cake, he'd had to think on his feet in the past. It was because here he was, walking across the desert, with two people following him, talking to each other in hushed tones, who may ask an unanswerable question any minute.
It was about now that he realised he couldn't hear their footsteps anymore. He turned around, and saw them a good few feet behind him. He walked over to them. "Hey, what's going on?"
Rory clumsily tried to answer the question. "Well, Doctor, we think you're ill. Something happened on the TARDIS, and you've been acting really strangely ever since".
And if Rory's explanation hadn't been clear enough, Amy drove the point home even further. "And we've decided we're not taking another step until you tell us exactly what's going on".
Sam started to get a little nervous. "Look, guys, we don't have time for this. There are some people in danger in the desert and we need to help them".
But Amy wasn't convinced. "And just how do you know that?"
Sam's mind raced. "It was, ah…"
Amy cut him off. "Was it your friend 'Al'? The one you were talking to on the phone?"
Sam smiled in relief and nodded. "Yeah, that's right. Al told me there were people in danger".
Amy approached him with eyes that looked like they were trying to see through him. "Don't believe you. Why have you never mentioned Al before?"
"I know a lot of people. And today Al contacted me".
"So who is he?"
"A guide. A friend".
Amy gazed straight into his eyes. "Be more specific. We want to know".
Sam had been right. He didn't have time for this. But he supposed he could hardly blame the couple for their behaviour. And they were time travellers. Maybe they would understand. Taking a deep breath, he began. "Okay. Have you ever heard of a man named Sam Beckett?"
Amy shook her head. "Should I have?"
But at the mention of the name, Rory's interest was piqued. "Wasn't he an American scientist?"
A smile crossed Sam's face. "That's right".
Rory tried to remember. "Wasn't he always in the news until about 1995? There are lots of conspiracy theories on the internet about what happened to him".
Sam knew it was now or never. "He invented a time machine. And, theorising that he could travel within his own lifetime, he went on a journey".
"You mean, on a journey in time?" asked Rory.
"That's right. And now – this may seem really difficult to believe – he's here. I'm Sam Beckett".
"No you're not", protested Amy. "You're the Doctor".
"I may look and sound like your friend. But I'm not him. You see, the way it works, I leap in to take someone else's place. The Doctor is now in 1998".
Amy was still sceptical. "So why are you here?"
"Ziggy – that's the computer at the project – thinks that I'm here to stop some people being killed in a nuclear experiment here in the desert. They're about three miles away now. Once I save them, I'll leap into a different place, and the Doctor will be back".
Rory tried to piece the whole thing together in his mind. "So you keep 'leaping' into different people's bodies, trying to stop disasters in time?"
"Weird, huh?"
"But that's crazy!"
"What, you mean like a British couple travelling through space and time in a spaceship that's bigger on the inside and looks like a wooden box?"
Rory looked like the wind had been driven out of his sails. "Fair point".
Amy and Rory looked dumbstruck as Sam went on. "But now I'd like you two to go back to the ship. Because whether you believe me or not, there are some people in danger and I have to save them".
The couple looked at each other. "No", said Amy, "we're coming with you".
"And besides", continued Rory, "I think one of the people you mentioned is just over there". Sam turned to follow the direction Rory was pointing in. As the man's features came into view, Sam's mouth dropped open. He turned around to face the British couple. "You can see him?" The pair nodded. "Of course we can", replied Amy. Sam turned to face the man again. His eyes hadn't been playing tricks on him. It was indeed the man he'd thought it was. As he neared the trio, he wiped the sweat from his brow. "Is that you, Doctor Beckett?"
Now it was Sam who was dumbstruck. "Gushie?"