Wiping the sweat from his brow, the Doctor took his eye away from the microscope. The dirt he brought inside the TARDIS from the crack had been found to be a much more confusing specimen than he previously thought. "Interesting."

The soil appeared dehydrated, lacking basic elements for life or for a sustainable culture. The Doctor knew that the universe he was standing inside was based off of a very biased and generalized story that didn't have too many details to go on, but he wasn't sure if it was real or it was put over an existing world. Building a world off of a movie was a challenge, even though he didn't believe the DVD was the reason behind the world's existence. The Doctor knew that whatever place he was invading was very clever indeed if it managed to create something bigger than what its template offered. Something else was at work here. Something powerful.

One thing was certain to him—the earthquakes were being caused by a disturbance, either from the TARDIS or something preexisting. From that point onward he would expect the earthquakes to get more and more intense the longer he stayed, and wondered if the Tremaine family had anything to do with it.

Sighing, the Doctor stood back up and unplugged the microscope, sitting on the couch close to his ship's damaged control panel. The TARDIS was healing well in such a short amount of time, and most of the damage caused by the solar storm was practically gone. Tinkering was the only option for her now, but the Doctor couldn't get himself to grab his sonic screwdriver and get to work, no matter how lovely the TARDIS hummed. Too much was on his mind.

His hearts ached. For the first time in a while, he saw that look on Rose's face: that childlike admiration that she always looked at him with as they traveled the stars; it was that look that she thought he didn't notice, but he did. He always did… and every single time it made his hearts flutter knowing that she felt the same. Inside, though, the Doctor knew he would lose her in the end, and never talked about it because of his fear of getting too close. The day spent with Cindy made that sense of security blur. It proved to him that a certain part of Rose—Cindy—was genuinely in love with him, as much as he was with her. It was a little moment to remind him how precious those moments of her were, without the fear of something chasing them. He couldn't bear to let that go, not now. It meant too much to lose her.

The Doctor groaned, practically pulling out his hair. "Why does this have to be so hard?" He quickly got his sonic screwdriver from his pocket, deciding to himself that he needed to take his mind off of the day's events, at least long enough to let Cindy rest up back at the estate. He decided to turn on some music, and in spite of himself, let his choice of song go along its coarse:

So this is love, Mmmmmm

So this is love

So this is what makes life divine

I'm all aglow, Mmmmmm

And now I know (and now I know)

The key to all heaven is mine

Even while tinkering, he couldn't help but stop and let the music travel into his ears, soaking it up and letting the warm sensation in his chest consume him. He remembered that scene, in the movie. He never got over it when he first experienced it in the 1950's. It was the dance scene when Cinderella and the Prince walked over the bridge and through the garden, the fountain spraying water in the moonlight. Traditional animation was a beautiful thing, and he could remember the blue colors so clearly. Even if it wasn't his favorite film, he recalled its dazzling beauty and respected it for the amount of detail and work that went into making it. He inhaled, sighing slowly as he let himself relax. He could hardly do any work now, not when he was thinking about Rose's safety and how much he worried about her.

My heart has wings, Mmmmmm

And I can fly

I'll touch ev'ry star in the sky

So this is the miracle that I've been dreaming of

Snap out of it, you old fool, the Doctor thought to himself. You don't have a choice in the matter, but pursuing her when you feel like this? It's dangerous. You're not thinking straight.

Mmmmmm

Mmmmmm

So this is love

He let the music fade out, his concern never waning.

Cindy finally reached the stairs to the house, out of breath with her mind racing. The thought of being someone other than herself disturbed her, and immediately she told herself to forget what the Doctor told her. Just like everyone else in my life; they're all liars.

It was bad enough that she was coming home to her family later than usual, which meant that they were going to be upset and punish her severely. Letting out a tired sigh, she approached the door, getting the key out from her pocket. She couldn't get the thought of Rose Tyler out of her head, though, even if she knew that the man she met that day was messing with her head. For some reason, as she thought harder, the name felt familiar, like she heard it somewhere else but couldn't remember when. As weird as the Doctor was, and how mysterious he could be with his riddles and made-up stories regarding her identity, the one thing she did know about him was that he changed her life in only a day… and it scared her.

She opened the door to see that the lights were on, and after shutting the door she turned around to see none other than her stepmother and stepsisters, holding lit candles in their hands that illuminated their faces with ghoulish shadows. Their arms were crossed, giving her an icy glare that gave Cindy the creeps. Whether it was because of the information that was given to her, or because of the vibes she was receiving from them, there was something different about the three women the moment she entered the room. Now she understood where the Doctor was coming from, but she tried not to think about it. They were lies, after all. She could only stare at the people in question, blinking and panicking with not much to say about the position she was in.

"You're late." Lady Tremaine's voice stabbed Cindy in the chest, and in response she remained quiet. "And you don't have any groceries."

Oh, shoot!

She grinned sheepishly, saying, "Well… the thing about that is, um… I nearly got robbed! I was in the market about to buy groceries, when a robber came out and tried to take my money! I ran and hid for a while… and… um…" Cindy glanced back at the three women, who did not look at all convinced. "Yeah… um… I'll just stop talking."

"Cinderella… you disrespectful, selfish wench!" growled Lady Tremaine, the stepsisters grinning mischievously as their mother started to reprimand Cindy. "You pretentious liar. I don't know where you were or what you were actually doing… but I won't tolerate it." Cindy noticed the anger coming from all of them, and the angrier they became the closer they entered her space. She shifted towards the stairs leading to the next floor, ready to run.

"You know, Mother," said Drizella, "if I'm not mistaken, I heard that the Duke ran off unexpectedly after we sent him to roam the house. Perhaps Cinderella… ran after him?"

Oh, god, please don't listen to her!

Cindy mentally begged for her stepmother to not believe it, but she could tell that when it came to situations like this, she was bound to lose every single time.

"I knew it!" shouted Anastasia, agreeing with her sister. "When I saw her today grazing the horse, she was just standing there looking all innocent! She ran off with him without our permission. You're not going to put up with this, are you, Mother?"

Cindy could have sworn she saw Lady Tremaine's eyes flash a light green at her daughters, but it was gone in an instant when she tilted her head towards her face. Something's not right…

"With evidence like that, I'd say guilty is charged," said her stepmother, glaring at Cindy with venom in her eyes. Lady Tremaine smiled softly, her eyes showing little to no pity.

All her life, Cindy was told what to do and not question it, but after spending her whole life being being put down, that anger kept building up. She had enough, with everything. Cindy never understood why they were so unfair, even if they were jealous, and after such a long day, she didn't want to take any more backlashes from anyone. She glared back at the women, standing up straight with a tense posture.

"What right do you have to order me around and tell me what to do? And yes, I did go with the Duke this afternoon, but do you know why? Because he actually made me feel as though I were important, unlike all of you!" The women before her stood there, impassive yet listening intently to what Cinderella was saying. They almost looked like they were expecting her to retort out of spite. By then she was just getting warmed up. "And why should I have to be punished for not doing something that any one of you can do on your own? All my life all you've done is make me feel as though I'm nothing, but you know what? I am somebody, and I know that I'm a good person who doesn't deserve what's being given to me in this bloody house!" She ripped off her apron and let her hair fall to her shoulders, her eyes ablaze as though she were the Bad Wolf of her previous self. She threw the apron to the ground with a huff, their eyes following. "So how about you get the brooms, and you get the soap for the dishes, because I'm not cleaning up after you lazy, spoilt, entitled princesses any minute longer!"

Everything was silent. Cindy was breathing hard, staring back at her worst enemies expecting them to beat her as usual. But all they did was give her small, smug smiles, and it felt eerie to watch them stare at her as though she were a cute little lion cub trying to roar. It almost looked as though they were eyeing her as food. They were very close to her now, their eyes bearing into Cindy's.

Lady Tremaine finally gave her an answer, saying quietly, "I think this Duke has put far too many thoughts into your naïve little mind."

"I think she needs some rest, Mother," said Drizella. "Her face looks so pale."

"I agree wholeheartedly…" Anastasia added. "Let's put her to sleep."

Cindy noticed how soft their voices sounded, but their eyes were staring, refusing to blink and slowly changing into a different color. She saw them turn a bright green, and all she could do was stand in place in hopes of them going away. In an instant their faces began to morph: their nostrils expanded ten times their normal size; their eyes shifting far apart; their skin turned into a strange texture she couldn't describe, as it also changed color. She could barely catch a glimpse of what happened next, because the next thing she knew, she was out cold.

Cindy awoke with a startle. All she could feel was a dull ache in the back of her head, and she reached up to touch an open wound that pinpointed the pain. Cindy felt dizzy and nauseated, the sunlight making it difficult to see. She then realized that she was in her bedroom, and her eyes widened in surprise. She tried to remember the night before—how her family suddenly turned into monsters (or something of the sort)… but it felt so strange to think of it.

Was it all a dream?

She remembered the night clearly, but for some strange reason she couldn't focus hard enough to think. She blamed it on the pounding headache she kept feeling, and knew that once she moved around she could try to make sense of the matter.

After getting herself ready, she carefully made her way to the kitchen, expecting her stepsisters and Lady Tremaine to be waiting for her. She tried to picture the usual scene she would expect downstairs: her stepsisters fighting over a new necklace, her stepmother trying to break them up and ordering her around, but all she could imagine were the ugly, strange faces with glowing green eyes staring at her. A wave of nausea pushed the thoughts aside, and she starting massaging the back of her head where a stinging pain refused to go away. Upon reaching the kitchen, she leaned against the wall, rubbing her head as she tried to focus on the people sitting in the kitchen chairs.

"Our laundry is waiting for you in the bedrooms, Cinderella," said Lady Tremaine, unfazed by Cindy's condition.

"Um… all right," she replied, barely thinking about what she was talking about as she blinked a few times to clear her vision. She felt much too disoriented to fight back, which she knew, in some way or another, was their doing.

She heard Anastasia chime in, "Oh, and we still need food from the market. I suggest you make it back home before dark."

Cindy glanced back to see them all smiling softly, looking at her as she walked back up the stairs with the same gaze she recognized from last night. It made her extremely uncomfortable, and she quickly looked away... knowing that they were still watching her leave.

She didn't even think about getting their laundry. The first thing she did was go to the stable and feed the horses, hoping it would get her mind off of the situation and be outside in the fresh air. The pain and nausea didn't go away, nevertheless. After she finished with the horses she collapsed next to a tree in the shade, her eyes fluttering. She felt so tired all of a sudden, as if she wanted to sleep. But before she could close her eyes to let the pain subside, Cindy realized that she wasn't alone.

"'Ello, there."

She flew her eyes open to see the Doctor leaning against the same tree, wiggling his fingers as he waved at her. Immediately she felt irritated, getting up yet supporting herself against the trunk in case she fell.

"You again!"

"The one and only!"

She glared, hoping she looked threatening as the world spun in her line of vision. "Go away! I don't want to hear about how I'm someone else and all that nonsense!"

"You're clearly not thinking straight," observed the Doctor, noticing Cindy's erratic body language. He grew leery.

Cindy found that she couldn't respond to him very well. Thinking was proving to be a chore, and she held her head again, moaning uncomfortably.

The Doctor exchanged a worried expression. "Cindy? Are you feeling okay?"

"I was fine until you came crawling back!" The Doctor didn't take her replies seriously.

Cindy took herself away from the tree to stand up, but ended up nearly falling over instead. The Doctor caught her before she hit the ground, and immediately he checked her temperature. "No fever… but you are a bit delusional," he mused.

"Delusional?" said Cindy. "Says the man who thinks I'm some girl named Rose Tyler!"

The Doctor rolled his eyes, picking her up from the ground and letting her lean against him. I knew I shouldn't have let her go back to this horrible place. They've done something to her…

"Cindy, you're going to have to come with me," he told her. Cindy didn't respond, though he assumed it was because her head was killing her. Slowly yet surely he made his way back to the TARDIS, knowing that something was there to help her recover. He knew by the way she rebounded on the way over that whatever was wrong with her wasn't deadly.

Cindy still felt dizzy and sick as she tried to walk, though she appreciated the support from the Doctor. Even on the way to wherever he was going, she found herself slowly recovering from whatever bug infected her.

"… Doctor?" He turned to face her. "Where are we going?"

"To the TARDIS."

She looked at him with sleepy eyes, confused and dazed. "The what?"

The Doctor couldn't help but giggle, not answering her as Cindy kept following in sink with his footsteps.

The Doctor observed her slowly start to regain a sense of awareness, which relieved him. After checking her head for any injuries, he noticed a few bite marks… highly unusual bite marks. Immediately he concluded it to be some sort of venom bite, though he couldn't be sure. He wasn't sure about anything anymore, and despite his doubt, Cindy was making a full recovery.

"It's a blue box."

Cindy sat on the small couch near the control panel as the Doctor tinkered with the controls, fixing a few levers and wires below the panel while he waited for her to regain her composure. Her face was full of disbelief, staring at nothing at all as she was lost in her own thoughts. If anything, she was trying to make sense of all that she had seen. He stopped working once he heard her start to talk.

"This big room… it all came from a little blue box. That's impossible."

The Doctor stood up, putting his sonic screwdriver into his coat pocket. The TARDIS was the only one making a sound as the humming droned quietly. The Doctor could only wait for her to speak up again, because he knew how shocking it must be for her.

"This isn't real. It never was. It has to be a dream." Defiantly she got up, stumbling a bit, and walked out of the TARDIS. It didn't take long for the Doctor to start running after her, like he always did.

He saw Cindy walking a little ways down the hill where his TARDIS landed. He called after her, "Cindy! Cindy, wait up!"

"Just leave me alone, Doctor!" she yelled back. She felt tears coming on, and she scrunched up her face to let them fall. At that point, she didn't care if anyone saw. It was all too much for her to bear. She kept seeing things from her dream come alive to her in the course of two days… and it all used to be her imagination. All she could do was run away.

But she stopped running, for she didn't know where else to go. She sat down at the base of the hill, where she let her head fall to her knees, crying. The Doctor stood at a distance at first, but gathered up enough courage to sit down next to her, his arm around her protectively.

She lifted her head to see his face, his eyes looking disheartened. Cindy wiped her tears away, letting herself get lost in the eyes she adored, if only for a few moments. "I didn't mean it, the stuff I said."

"I know."

"I… I just… don't understand," she said, holding back tears. "I feel as though I want to believe it, but I don't. Or vise versa. I don't know!" She let more tears fall, bowing her head down so that she wouldn't have to look at him. "What you told me last night… and then coming home to more strange things… I couldn't take it anymore!"

The Doctor's eyes widened at this new information. "Cindy, tell me what happened."

"But—"

"Cindy, for your own safety you have to tell me what's going on in that house."

Annoyed, Cindy's eyebrows met. "Why? It's not like I have much of a choice, now do I? I go with you, and I'm left feeling confused about what I see and what I imagine. Yet if I stay at the house I'll be left to die and not be cared about. Either way, I'll never know anything at all!"

The Doctor could only look at her sadly, tilting her chin up with his hand to face him, despite Cindy hating it. "I can see right through you… and you know full well what's right."

Cindy continued to glare, surprised at his bold statement as she wiggled herself away from his hand. "Oh, really now?"

"Yes. I do." His expression was unchanged.

"Enlighten me, then," she retorted, crossing her arms and letting the wind mess up her hair.

He laughed through his nose, unimpressed. "I know how you feel, Cindy. You deal with the pain every singe day of your life, knowing what's to come one day and half expecting the next to be a little different. When help comes along you don't go with it because you're too proud… because it's easier to let the pain stay, isn't it?"

Cindy's face softened, looking at him with large doe eyes. She didn't look away.

"It's easier to not do anything about it because you don't want to deal with the truth. No one wants to deal with the truth, because it hurts, right? In order to achieve happiness, you have to get through the hardest parts before reaching that peace you're searching for. Trust me, I know exactly how you feel. It's not fun… but it's the most rewarding."

Once more, Cindy was left speechless. Like yesterday she found herself captivated, mostly because he was right. All she could do then was let more tears go down her cheeks, with the Doctor sitting beside her, shielding her from the harsh winds with his long coat. It didn't take long for her to start hugging him again, tightly wrapping her arms around his body. All she wanted to do was be with him.

"I hate you," she said, whimpering.

"I know," he grinned.