[Luckily for you setting up this party isn't taking as long as I thought it would and therefore I'm able to update.]

Dedicate everything I create
To my friends I would die for
But you will always be the one
Memories that you can't overrun, memories I could cry for
I thought I'd always be on the run

The Rasmus - Back In The Picture

Time of the Angels

'Right then. Where too now?' Winter asked as she threw small nuts for Pip to chase after.

'The broom cupboard for you, if you don't stop littering my TARDIS with nuts!' The Doctor complained.

She grinned and stood up, brushing down her black jeans and coming to stand next to him. Her brown and blue hair pinned back and Ianto's (newly cleaned) beads, against her throat.

'Don't be like that, lets find us a nice big planet with an invasion of giant candy floss creatures. Then everyone's happy.'

He looked at her like she was mad and she shrugged, 'I don't know, there might be candy floss creatures for all I know.'

His eyebrows went up and she rolled her eyes moving back over to the seat as Amy entered the console room.

'Sorry for breathing,' she grumbled.

'I know!' The Doctor exclaimed. 'How about a nice museum, a trip to the museum.'

Amy and Winter looked at each other and Pip leapt up onto the console.

'A museum?' Amy asked.

'Yes, a nice big museum with lots of history and artefacts and… expensive souvenirs.' He pulled down the leaver Pip was sat on and the capuchin watched the lights around him flash before trotting over to the door.

Winter, The Doctor and Amy followed and pushed the door open, stepping out into the museum. The Doctor took off around the room proclaiming that everything in the museum was wrong while his companions trailed behind confused. Until that was he came across the little box in the glass case. He settled his hands on the top of the case and stared at it.

Winter came up to his right and looked down on it too.

'Oh great an old box,' Amy complained.

'It's from one of the old star liners, a home box.'

'What, like a black box in planes?' Winter asked.

He nodded. 'Yes, except it homes. Anything happens to the ship the home box flies home, with all the flight data.'

'So?' Amy asked.

'The writing, the graffiti, old type Galifreyan. The lost language of the time lords. There were days, there were many days, these words could burn stars and raise up empires and topple gods.'

'What does this say?'

The Doctor paused for a second and then in a voice that clearly said, I know you're going to laugh at this, he told them. 'Hello Sweetie.'

Winter snorted and ducked away from the box. The Doctor glared at her pulling out his sonic screwdriver and running it over the case before lifting the box and, in so doing, setting off every alarm in the building. He grabbed Winter's hand and they sped back down the hall and into the TARDIS.

'Oh good!' Winter exclaimed, 'I was hoping to add breaking and entering, grand theft and evading the police to my previous list of felonies.' Winter commented sarcastically as they took off.

The Doctor grinned at her threw her the box.

'Why are we doing this?' Amy asked.

'Because someone on a space ship twelve-thousand year ago is trying to attract my attention.' He grabbed the box back from Winter and hooked it up to the console. The console screen flickered to life and began playing CCTV footage of a tall blonde woman with curly hair and wearing an evening gown. They watched the woman talk to someone off screen and then read out some co-ordinates. The Doctor set to work on the console and Amy and Winter continued to watch the screen as the woman was pulled through the door she had been backed up to and out into space. The Doctor raced over to the doors and flung them open allowing just enough time for the woman to fly into his arms and knock him to the floor.

Winter smirked and went over to help them up. She pulled the Doctor to his feet and the woman looked out of the doorway.

'Follow that ship,' she ordered.

The Doctor and the woman headed over to the console and the two companions watched in shock and confusion.

'Do you know her?' Amy asked.

Winter shook her head. 'Haven't seen her before in my life.' She settled down on the captain's seat while the mystery woman and the Doctor acted like an old married couple as they attempted to fly the ship together. When the ship stabilized Amy snuck up behind the Doctor and asked, in a quiet whisper, about the mystery woman.

'Call that flying the TARDIS! Ha!' he exclaimed angrily and joined Winter on the seat in a strop.

The mystery woman ignored him and continued to read out data. The Doctor got up to leave and headed for the door with Winter and Pip on his tail. 'Come along Pond.' He called.

'No wait! Environment checks,' mystery woman called.

The Doctor span around. 'Oh right environment check, yeah sorry.' He opened the door and looked outside. 'It's nice out.'

TTT

On the screen, in the small portable base, was a blank and white image of a stone angel, its body at an angle, hands over its eyes. Winter looked at the Doctor, he was grumpy, that wasn't hard to tell. But what he was grumpy about was harder to work out. Was it that both Amy and herself had refused to stay in the TARDIS, or was it that he didn't want to hang around with River Song, the mystery woman.

There was something about her that Winter found… annoying. Maybe it was the voice that had 'sexy' written all over it. Or the way she seemed to look good in everything she put on from the evening gown to the army uniform. More likely was that she knew how to fly the TARDIS. It was daft really, being jealous because of something so menial but deep down she'd always felt that because of the connection between the pair of them the TARDIS would be more inclined to fly for her. The ship had literally saved her from dying in Thames house and yet when it came to pressing buttons on the control panel.

She sighed and smiled at Pip when he jumped onto her shoulder before looking up at the footage again. What was the big deal, it was only a stone angel.

'What's that mean, it's a statue when you see it?' Amy asked River.

'The Weeping Angels can only move if they're unseen. So legend has it.'

'No, it's not legend, it's a quantum lock.' The Doctor explained. 'In the sight of any living creature, the Angels literally cease to exist. They're just stone. The ultimate defence mechanism.'

'What, being a stone?' Amy asked.

'Being a stone...until you turn your back.' The Doctor turned away and lead them out of the transport. 'The hyper drive would've split on impact. The whole ship will be flooded with radiation, cracked electrons, gravity storms, deadly to almost any living thing.'

'Deadly to an Angel?' the leader of the armed forces asked.

'Dinner to an Angel,' The Doctor corrected. 'The longer we leave it, the stronger it will grow. Who built that temple? Are they still around?'

Winter turned around and examined the rocks around her. Pip dropped down to the floor and headed straight from the portable supply room. She chased after him, picking him out of a chest of torches. She took the one in his hand and put it in her pocket.

'Thanks, but we shouldn't be in here.'

He nuzzled into her neck and yawned.

'Maybe you should go back to the TARDIS, have a sleep. We can't sort this out.'

The monkey looked up at her and gently slapped her head.

She laughed. 'I should have known that was coming huh.'

The little creature nodded and escaped from her embrace, hunting through the shelves until he came to a small box. She opened the box and pulled out a wrapped bar. He grabbed it from her and peeled the wrapping back, stuffing the bar into his face.

She laughed again and put it back on the side. 'You greedy little puppy.'

He looked up from the bar, mouth open in confusion.

'It's just a figure of speech.' Offering him her arm to climb up she left the supply room just as the soldiers blew and entrance in the wall.

TTT

Winter jumped down the rope ladder and met up with Pip and the Doctor at the bottom with Father Octavian. They all turned there torches on and took a long look around the room. The tiny beams of light cast only a small glow on the surroundings so the Doctor turned to Octavian. 'Do we have a gravity globe?'

'Where are we? What is this?' Amy asked as she joined them at the bottom.

'It's an Aplan mortarium. Sometimes called a maze of the dead,' River told her.

'Forgive me if I don't get excited.' Winter replied blankly as Octavian handed The Doctor a globe.

'And what's an Aplan mortarium?' Amy questioned, squinting through the darkness.

'Well, if you happen to be a creature of living stone...' The Doctor explained as he kicked the gravity ball into the air, it stopped and then burst into light, illuminating the whole cave and revealing hundreds of statues. 'The perfect hiding place.'

'I guess this makes it a bit trickier,' Octavian sighed.

'A bit, yeah.' The Doctor agreed.

'A stone angel on the loose amongst stone statues. A lot harder than I'd prayed for.'

'A needle in a haystack,' River commented, crestfallen.

'A needle that looks like hay. A hay-like needle. Of death. A hay-alike needle of death in a haystack of, er, statues. No, yours was fine.'

Winter smiled at the Doctor's daft ramble and set off behind him with Amy.

As he shined his torch in every direction Winter examined the statues. They were worn and some featureless. Tall and imposing with flowing robes that were chipped and coated with micro-organisms. Pip held on tightly as they worked their way through the corridor. The impossibility of the task dawned on her and she jammed her hands in her pockets. It was like being in the highest levels of the hub. The caves occupied by the dinosaur and the ceiling of stone that separated the team from the outside world. She smiled as she thought back to the happier times in that building. Before it was blown to pieces. Her home… gone.

Gunfire rang out across the dead air and everyone raced back towards it. a young cleric was breathing heavily and the Doctor examined the statue he had fired at.

'Sorry. Sorry, I thought... I thought it looked at me.'

Octavian looked at him angrily. 'We know what the Angel looks like. Is that the Angel?'

'No, sir.'

'No, sir, it is not! According to The Doctor, we are facing an enemy of unknowable power and infinite evil. So it would be good, it would be very good, if we could all remain calm in the presence of decor.'

The Doctor pushed forward and approached the soldier. 'What's your name?'

'Bob, sir.'

'Ah, that's a great name. I love Bob.'

Winter giggled but put her hand over her mouth and stepped out of the crowd so as not to offend. Pip nudged her cheek playfully.

'It's a sacred name,' Octavian told them.'We all have sacred names, they're given to us in the service of the Church.'

'Sacred Bob. More like scared Bob now, eh?' The Doctor joked.

'Yes, sir.'

'Ah, good. Scared keeps you fast. Anyone in this room who isn't scared is a moron. Carry on.'

Winter followed the Doctor smiling, well that wasn't the normal way of cheering someone up, but it worked. She followed cheerfully as the Doctor rambled about the customs of the Aplans and his bowling sessions with Virginia Woolfe but suddenly he stopped. She glanced around the room as both he and River seemed to realise something that no one else could see.

'How could we not notice that?' River breathed.

'Low level perception filter,' The Doctor explained, 'or maybe we're thick.' The clerics were getting agitated.

'What's wrong, sir?' Father Octavian raised his torch.

'Nobody move. Everyone stay exactly where they are. Bishop, I am truly sorry. I've made a mistake and we are all in danger.'

'What danger?'

'The Aplans,' River explained. 'They've got two heads.'

'Yes, I get that. So?' Octavian asked.

'So why don't the statues?'

Winter stepped back from the statue behind her as The Doctor herded them behind him, 'Everyone, over there. Just move, don't ask questions, don't speak. Okay. I want you all to switch off your torches.'

'You're having a laugh!' Winter whispered dangerously.

'Just do it.' he replied.

Slowly every light switched off until it was only The Doctor's that shone through the darkness. 'Okay. I'm going to turn off this one too, just for a moment.'

'Are you sure about this?' River asked The Doctor.

'No,' he replied.

'Comforting,' Winter commented as The Doctor switched his torch off for a second. When he re-lit it the statues had moved. They were all suddenly facing them.

'Oh, my God! They've moved.' Amy gasped.

Everyone followed after the Doctor as he looked at all the statues lining their way to the ship.

'They're Angels. All of them!' he revealed.

'But they can't be,' River argued.

The Doctor ignored her and ordered the clerics to keep a watch of the Angels. Suddenly the task to find the angel had become simple, but escaping from him and his new creations was looking a lot harder.

TTT

Winter lead the men and River through the catacombs with Pip as her guide. The little creature had an excellent sense of direction which, right now, was a blessing. They pulled up in a large spacious room and Pip crawled up to her shoulder. Octavian looked to the ceiling and spotted the ship above them. 'Well. There it is – the Byzantium.'

'Well, it's got to be 30 feet. How do we get up there?' River complained.

The clerics held posts at all the exits and the statues were advancing. Winter clung onto Pip and looked to the walls. Too wet to climb, and besides even if she made it, the others couldn't. The Doctor joined them and examined the situation quickly. He looked over to the corridor and the radio in his hand turned on. The calm voice of the young soldier, Bob, rang out through the room.

'Doctor? Can I speak to the Doctor, please?'

'Hello, Angels. What's your problem?' The Doctor replied.

'Your power will not last much longer, and the Angels will be with you shortly. Sorry, sir.'

'Why are you telling me this?'

'There's something the Angels are very keen you should know before the end.'

'Which is?'

'I died in fear.'

The Doctor's face clouded over and everyone watched him carefully. 'I'm sorry?'

'You told me my fear would keep me alive but I died afraid, in pain and alone. You made me trust you, and when it mattered, you let me down. I'm sorry, sir. The Angels were very keen for you to know that.'

The Doctor's anger was easier to see now. If she didn't know him better she would have taken his hand, but this wasn't the time to get sentimental. 'Well then, the Angels have made their second mistake because I'm not going to let that pass. I'm sorry you're dead, Bob, but I swear to whatever is left of you, they will be sorrier.'

'But you're trapped, sir, and about to die.'

'Yeah, I'm trapped. Speaking of traps, this trap has got a great big mistake in it. A great big, whopping mistake!'

'What mistake, sir?'

The Doctor took a gun from Octavian and turned to his companions. 'I'm about to do something incredibly stupid and dangerous. When I do... jump.'

'Jump where?' Octavian asked.

'Just jump, high as you can. Come on, leap of faith, Bishop. On my signal.'

'What signal?' Octavian asked, frustrated.

'You won't miss it.' He aimed the gun at the roof and Winter clasped Pip tightly.

'Sorry, can I ask again? You mentioned a mistake?' Bob's voice asked.

'Oh, big mistake. Huge,' The Doctor rambled. 'There's one thing you never put in a trap, if you're smart, if you value your continued existence, if you have any plans about seeing tomorrow, there is one thing you never, ever put in a trap.'

'And what would that be, sir?'

'Me!'

The gun shot echoed around the room and Winter jumped as high as she could. She felt a rushing through her hair and then landed back on the ground. Her eyes shut she moved her foot. The ground felt different. And when she opened her eyes she saw why. They stood on the base of the space ship. The Angels far below them.

'What the hell was that?' she asked.

The Doctor smiled at her jokily waving the gun. 'Magic.'

[Time to finish setting up the party for me I'm afraid. I'll most likely see you tomorrow but I may be too hung-over, so here's hoping eh!]

'The Small But Powerful One': Thank you!

'sonotalady': No idea how he survived after he realised it was her. consoling himself with Ianto and looked forward to it I guess. I haven't quite made my mind up on the full extent of the Winter/TARDIS link most likely the TARDIS would be almost…depressed. But other then that I'm not 100 per cent certain yet. SUMMER! Bloody hell I don't think I would last that long!

'Rachy Babes': well given the choice between Daleks invading and shagging Jack I think we all know which one we would prefer. Yes I think she does need to wear skirts more but she is right, they are rather impractical. Actually no the necklace at the moment is still Ianto's however your necklace has not been forgotten.

'sashaxh': Oh well, now there's another one to add to the list.