A/N: Aaaaanother chapter! I don't own "Doctor Who" or Daniel X because they belong to their author(s), director(s), producer(s), writer(s), etc. I do own this fanfiction, mind you.

-Daniel-

I stared after the Doctor as he walked away from me. I could barely begin to imagine just a man like him doing things like what he said but this could only mean that he did have something to do with that mysterious blank at the top of the List. He was such a good guy, or so it had seemed. Surely this John Smith/Doctor character wasn't a top 10 baddie.

I did recognize that name, however. There was something there that half-way clicked in my mind...like I'd heard someone whisper something about it-him-when I wasn't supposed to be listening. The rest of the afternoon I spent thinking about it, eating early Halloween candy. I walked out to the community kitchen and peeked in again later. I saw him in there smiling and chatting like a normal human being. He looked almost longing and like he was trying to fill something up in his mind and heart (later did I discover hearts) that was empty and would never be whole again. I only knew this look in such great detail because I'd used it a few times, myself. He saw me in the window. I started to move away from the window right before he beamed and beckoned me to sit down again.

I came in and sat down on the bench where the Doctor introduced me to the men he was talking to. They all seemed very nice. The Doctor gave off that reading too. This alien I'd met just the night before seemed...odd compared to other aliens who had his qualities: powerful and wise, but only threatening when he needed to be.

"So, Daniel," said one of the men at the table, "where ya from?"

I snickered.

"A galaxy far, far away..." We all laughed at my little joke, but the Doctor laughed especially hard.

"He's from Kansas." The Doctor mentioned. I smiled, but stopped laughing while the other men burst out hysterically again.

I had never told him I was from Kansas.

In fact, I didn't even recall having said anything about my home on Earth. I'd never told him about Alpar Nok either...and hopefully he wouldn't mention anything about that home.

"Well, you seem to be doin' well over the rainbow and far past the pot of gold, son," said another voice. A man sat down beside me. He didn't look out of place with the rest of the men, but there was something about him that made my alien radar go nuts.

"I'm glad you think so," I said back, keeping my cool.

I looked at the Doctor and he gave me a wary expression that told me he knew that something was up.

"Hope you don't mind if I sit 'ere with you all."

The Doctor waved his hand, gesturing for the man (alien) to sit down. "No problem. There's plenty of room."

The strange man sat down and started to eat. He soon jumped into the conversation and was being very enjoyable.

Let me explain something to you that you may not have figured out already.

I get targeted a lot more at Halloween because it's easier for List aliens to blend in and have a good time being...I guess, normal. This was becoming an uncomfortable situation for me, sitting between two possible List aliens. Eventually, I made an excuse to leave and the Doctor did the same. We left the Soup Kitchen in silence.

"Who was that?" he asked.

"The fellow who jumped in?" I asked. The Doctor nodded his head. "Ah, yeah. I think...well, he wasn't humanoid but I have no idea of anything further than that."

"Same here," said the Doctor. "I was a bit fazed when he entered the Kitchen, to be honest. I tried to ignore it but when he asked to sit by us, oh, I dunno, some alarms went off."

I nodded in agreement.

After about 30 seconds of silence I stopped and looked at the Doctor. He kept walking for a moment then realized he'd left me behind before backtracking.

"Something wrong, Daniel?"

I looked up and stared at him.

"There's one thing that's been bothering me," I replied. "Just one in particular."

The Doctor raised his eyebrows quizzically.

"How did you know that I lived in Kansas?"

He smiled at me.

"Daniel, Daniel, how could it not be tempting to look you up in my databases? I know who you are and the sorts of things you can do. You're brilliant to tell you the truth. Just brilliant! With a mind like yours, oh the things you could do...but being Alien Hunter for Earth is important. And I know that you don't simply stick to America, I have proof for that, so why..." he paused and looked off into the distance. "Why, Daniel, have you not tried to dig into England's recent activity?" He looked back at me with his brown eyes in a questioning sort of way rather than a sharp, piercing sort of way.

I didn't know what to say.

"I...I don't quite know," I finally answered.

"Because they weren't on that List of yours?"

I stared point blank at him. He raised his eyebrows at me again. I thought for a moment as I stared at the tall Doctor, taking every detail in.

"They seemed to be being taken care of," I finally answered.

"And you weren't curious?" he asked. "Not in the least?"

I couldn't very well say I wasn't, but I had just had so much else to do in the category of List aliens that it never really bothered me to the extent that I thought I had to look into it. Someone was taking care of it because, if they hadn't been, London, England, and the rest of the world would be in peril.

"I've been taking care of them for you." The Doctor smiled at his comment. "And I'm sure you'll thank me at some point in the future when someone explains to you exactly what all I've done."

Shaking my head, I realized that I'd been completely oblivious to all of this. I also realized that he'd made me stray from my subject.

"How much do you know about me?" I asked.

"Just enough," He said, and winked at me.

I stood there as I watched the mysterious man in the brown trench coat and suit fade into the rest of the Halloween deco. I realized, then, that I knew just about nothing about him. I decided to chase him down. I heard a strange whooshing sound as I turned the corner, into an alley.

There, right before me, was a big, blue, police box.

Something out of a 50's movie, I thought.

The light was flashing on top, in time to the noise. Suddenly, the box faded before my eyes and there was nothing there.

I thought there was nothing there, at least.

In front of me, lying on the ground, was a letter addressed:

Daniel "X"

Being me, I opened it.

Inside it said:

Daniel, I hope you get this in time.

You are about to go through a rough spot when tracking down your next "Top-10 Alien" so I want to give you some tips.

If you don't like messing with time portals, don't mess with them. If you don't know what I'm talking about, stop reading.

Knowing you, you didn't stop reading and are too curious to do so anyway. I am terribly sorry to have to explain that Number One is too far off for you to even consider right now. He will hunt you down if you don't get him first though, so I'd watch your back. You may begin to doubt yourself and you may begin to see yourself as the Alien Hunter you really are (and, to tell you the truth, you scare the living daylights out of some of those List folks), but no matter what remember: you have friends in your head and in real life. You probably will never know who I am or who your human friends are, but, trust me, we're here.

I was good friends with your father and mother. That may be something you find hard to believe, but it is true. They loved you and if you even start doubting yourself for a second, they'll always be there for you. I know my family and friends never really will be there again, so you count yourself lucky. If you can actually create people, things, and dream as big as your parents said you do, you can head right at Number Two, but I'd really suggest against it.

He's nasty. Yes, I have met him too.

Next time we meet, if we meet again, you'll probably not recognize me right away. Oh, and tell Phosphorus Beta "Hi" from his Doctor.

Sincerely,

John Smith

I laughed out loud at his letter, hoping that, wherever he was going, he'd have someone to tell him how great of a person he was since I couldn't at that exact time.

Maybe he'd see me again later. I surely hoped he would.

But what came next time I met him...that was an interesting meeting...I never would have suspected in 907 years.