The Lodger: Upstairs

Angel walked down the hall of Craig's house, unable to really call it 'her' house, even if she and the Doctor were renting it. She truly couldn't picture calling any other place but the TARDIS home, even being with Torchwood she hadn't been able to call the Hub that or any of the places they'd stayed. No, the TARDIS was it for her, it really was the only place she felt...normal. It was ironic how humans reacted to the TARDIS, how they felt it was alien when, to her, Earth was alien, all their little houses and flats and automobiles and planes, the TARDIS was just...familiar, it really was home. And truly she had probably spent more time in TARDISes on Gallifrey than in her actual house so it was even more of a home in that sense as well. But, as far as houses went, this one was a lovely one, cozy and, as the Doctor had said, done with excellent taste, at least to her. Craig was very lucky to live there.

And speaking of Craig, she looked down at the breakfast tray she was carrying in her hands, careful not to tip anything. She had wanted to make the man breakfast as she got the impression that he hadn't exactly been thrilled with the direction his night had gone. And she knew, because Craig had mentioned it during their talks only hours ago, that today was a big meeting at the call center where he was hoping to pitch his idea on how to help the company. He'd need a big breakfast to get him through the day, he was a growing boy after all...that was the expression wasn't it? Well, she supposed to her all humans were still growing, they kept aging didn't they? That was growing to her. And...compared to her and the Doctor...they really were very young and she'd always felt the need to look out for them.

Perhaps that was why she'd always developed a sort of familial relationship with the Doctor's companions, like it gave her more of an excuse to fret about them and take care of them. She hadn't gotten to do much of that on Gallifrey, her younger sister had been doted on by their father and had ended up taking care of HER more than the other way around. It was nice to be the 'sister' again, or as Jack liked to call her 'the sister from another mister' which always made her laugh to hear. Though now...given what she knew of her abilities and how early her glimpses of the future had started to happen (like how she'd brought up the Library way back when they'd travelled with Rose), she was starting to wonder if it wasn't sisterly love she felt for the companions but...maternal love? It didn't quite sit right with her, that thought, she didn't look at them like her children, definitely her siblings, but...it did make her wonder if there wasn't some sort of...foreshadowing to her pregnancy in how much she worried about them and how well she came to understand and comfort them...like she was always meant to be a mother in a way, even if she hadn't consciously ever thought about being one.

She was distracted from her thoughts, however, when the Doctor, who had gone with her, knocked on Craig's door, "Craig! Craig? Angel's made breakfast! Jam and onion scones with tea! It's normal and quite delicious," he winked at Angel, having tasted her concoction earlier and nearly eaten Craig's portion as well, "Craig?"

"Doctor..." Angel began, starting to stiffen, a pit forming in her stomach, "Something's wrong..."

The Doctor glanced at her for only a moment before he quickly pushed the door open, "Craig!" he gasped, seeing Craig lying prone on his bed. He rushed over as Angel put the tray down but grabbed the teapot and ran back out of the room, not having a clue what she was doing but going with what her instincts were telling her.

He knelt by Craig and grabbed his arm, looking at the large, dark streak running up along Craig's veins, "Craig, Angel told you not to touch it! You should always listen to a psychic, always, always, always! 'What's that? An unfamiliar and obviously poisonous substance. Oh, I know what would be really clever, I'll stick my hand in it!' Come on, Craig, breathe," he pounded on Craig's chest, making the man gasp and start to breathe again, "Come on, Craig, breathe! Thems are healthy footballer's lungs!" he got up, about to run out, when Angel ran back in with the teapot, stuffed full of teabags.

"Will this help?" she asked, handing it over, not knowing why but everything inside her was shouting at her that the man needed tea.

"Yes!" the Doctor cheered, taking it from her, "Reverse the enzyme decay. Excite the tannin molecules!" he turned and knelt back by the bed, making Craig drink the tea via the spout while Angel knelt on the other side of the bed, holding the man's hand.

They both breathed a sigh of relief as Craig started to come around.

Angel smiled, "Tea always does the trick doesn't it," she gave a soft laugh, "Just what he needed! A good cup of tea!" she shook her head, recalling a moment where another man had needed tea badly, "Superheated infusion of free radicals and tannin," she nearly recited, not seeing the Doctor look at her for it as she watched Craig.

~oOo~

"Tea! That's all I needed! A good cup of tea! Superheated infusion of free radicals and tannin. Just the thing for healing the synapses..."

"You should've let Angel help," Mickey muttered to Rose, thinking about all that tea Angel had been trying to give him.

He turned around, looking for the missing Time Lady, only to see her standing behind him seemingly just barely managing not to cry. He frowned and walked over to her, completely ignoring the aliens anf humans around him at seeing that, "Hey, you alright?"

She swallowed hard, "Better."

"What's wrong?" he reached out to touch her but she stepped back.

"One third of the Earth is being controlled by them," she took a breath, "Deal with them first…or second," she added, smiling just a bit.

He nodded and spun around, "She's right, first things first..." he walked over to Rose, wanting to give Angel a moment to gather herself, "Be honest. How do I look?"

~oOo~

"I've got to go to work," Craig said hoarsely, pulling the Doctor's attention back to him.

"On no account," he shook his head, "You need rest. One more."

Craig drank the super-tea as the Doctor tilted the teapot once more, "It's the planning meeting, it's important."

"Not more important than YOU," Angel squeezed his hand, reaching out to run her hand through the man's hair in comfort, her mother always did that when she was ill, "You'll be just fine, Craig but you need to sleep," Craig nodded drowsily before falling asleep. She looked up at the Doctor, frowning when she saw him eyeing her hand in Craig's hair and pouting.

~oOo~

"There could be a backup system?" Angel reached out and slowly started smoothing his hair again, seeing him about to rip a wire out of the back of the computer. She smiled, seeing him calming. Her mother used to do that to her when she was upset, run her fingers through her hair, it seemed to be just as soothing to him.

He, though, blushed faintly, while his irritation was calming, her work with his hair was doing anything but. He could feel his hearts starting to speed up, his head tingling, a shiver running down his back. There was something oddly intimate about having someone play with your hair, especially your Mate. He did his best to keep his focus on the computer and bite back the soft groan that was threatening to escape...

Not even noticing Angel's smile turn into a small smirk, as though she knew exactly what sort of affect her minstrations were having on him.

~oOo~

"Doctor?" Angel called, pulling her hand away from Craig's head as the Doctor's head snapped up to her, "You should go to the meeting, I'll keep an eye on him."

So distracted was he by the odd sensations of jealousy he'd felt flash through him at seeing Angel being so gentle with Craig, that he just nodded and slipped out of the room, not even realizing he was agreeing to leave Angel basically alone in the house with the man upstairs...

~8~

Craig rolled over to see it was 2:45 in the afternoon and jumped up in a panic, not even noticing Angel sleeping, hunched over, at the side of his bed, having watched him dutifully the last few hours, "What?! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!" he ran around the room, getting ready before rushing out of the house.

~8~

Craig ran down the hallway of the call center and into the main office, "Oh, afternoon," his boss greeted, not seeming angry at all with his tardiness.

"I'm so sorry, Michael," he breathed, "I don't know what happened, I've got no excuse."

The Doctor popped up from ducking under the desk behind Michael and Craig, a headset on his head as he spoke to a customer, "I think that's not what my screen is telling me, Mr. Lang."

"What's he doing here? What are you doing here?"

"If that's your attitude, Mr. Lang, please take your custom elsewhere," and just to finish it off, he blew a raspberry.

"No, no, no, that's one of my best clients!"

"Craig, how are you feeling?" the Doctor looked up at him, his smile growing a bit tense as he stiffened, "Where's Angel?"

~oOo~

"Where are they?" he rushed over, "Where's Angel and Martha?" he reached out and grabbed Tallulah by the shoulders, shaking her, "Tallulah where is she?!"

"I don't know," Tallulah gasped, "They ran off the stage."

Suddenly there was a scream and a shout of "Doctor!" from down the hall.

He turned and rushed off, his hearts beating madly, that had been Angel's voice shouting just then. He ran to the prop room, shoving the door open, but it was empty, "Angel!" he called, looking around, "Martha!" he looked down, seeing the sewer lid crooked, recently opened and not entirely shut. And he knew...they had been taken back down by the pig men. He grabbed his coat and put it on, not about to let the creatures get very far with his Mate if he could help it.

~oOo~

"Craig where is she?" he demanded, startling Craig a bit with the slight snap in his voice.

"Uh…" Craig blinked, "I think she fell asleep."

"Ah," he nodded, feeling a bit more relieved, not much, now that Angel was alone with the man upstairs, but...the man didn't come downstairs, not at all, so if Angel was asleep down stairs, she'd be fine, "Well I had some time to kill, I was curious, never worked in an office. Never worked in anywhere. And Angel told me to come here," he smiled, "Always listen to Angel Craig, it just might save your life one day. Saved mine more than once and..."

"You're insane!" Craig cut in.

"Leave off the Doctor, I love the Doctor," Michael smiled, "He was brilliant in the planning meeting."

"You went to the planning meeting?" Craig turned to him.

"Yes. I was your representative. We don't need Mr. Lang any more. Rude Mr. Lang."

Sophie walked over with tea and biscuits, "Here you go, and I found some custard creams!"

"Sophie, my hero," he smiled at her, taking the plate, "Mmm," he hummed, "I should save one for Angel," he remarked, setting one aside, "She'd love a custard cream."

Sophie smiled at his thoughtfulness when she noticed Craig, "Hi, Craig! I went on the web, applied for a wildlife charity thing. They said I could always start as a volunteer straight away. Should I do it?"

"Yeah, great, yeah, good, go for it," Craig muttered.

"You look awful," the Doctor told him, "About turn! Bed. Now. Wake up Angel so she can keep an eye on you," well, that was one part of it, but it was more a two-fold reason for his order, waking up Angel would mean she could warn the man if there was danger coming, and...she'd be awake and aware and not left alone in the house with the man upstairs, "Now, who next?" he typed a keyboard, "Oh, yes," he tapped his headset as Sophie walked away and Michael waved goodbye, leaving Craig no option but to head for the door in frustration, "Hello, Mr. Joergensen. Can you hold? I have to eat a biscuit," he looked over at the door and watched Craig leave before glancing at Sophie's reaction, the woman watching him go.

~8~

Craig went through a drawer in the sitting room and pulled out a spare set of keys, heading for the Doctor and Angel's bedroom and unlocking it, stopping short when he saw the device still spinning, "What the hell?!"

~8~

The Doctor entered the foyer to see a cat coming down the stairs and meow at him, "Have you been upstairs?" he looked at it as it meowed a deep throaty meow again, "Yes?"

~8~

Craig threw darts in the sitting room to vent his frustrations, when he heard the Doctor in the front hall, "You can do it. Show me what's up there? What's behind that door? Try to show me...Oi! No need to hiss! It's not my fault I'm not Angel...yes, yes, I understand you like her better than humans, lots of animals do really, I like her better than others too. But she's not here and she's trying to help me so if you could..." he trailed off a moment as a cat meowed, "Oh, that doesn't make sense! Ever see anyone go up there? Lots of people? Good, good," he peered through the peephole to see the Doctor on the stairs, petting and talking to a cat, "What kind of people? People who never come back down. That's very bad," he opened the door and stormed out, "Oh, hello."

"I can't take this anymore. I want you to go!" he turned and entered the flat as the Doctor followed before shoving the paper bag with the money to him, "You can have this back an' all."

"What have I done?"

"For a start, talking to a cat."

The Doctor threw the bag over his shoulder, "Lots of people talk to cats. Angel talked to it just last night and..."

"Everybody loves you..."

"No, everyone loves Angel."

"You're better at football than me," Craig continued as though the Doctor hadn't interrupted, "And my job, and now Sophie's all 'Oh, monkeys, monkeys!' and then..." he opened the door to the Doctor's room, "There's that!"

The Doctor rushed over to stand before the device, "It's art! A statement on modern society, 'Oh, ain't modern society awful?'" he stopped it spinning.

"Me and you, it's not gonna work out. You've been here three days, the three weirdest days of my life."

"Your days will get a lot weirder if I go!"

"I thought it was good weird, but it's not, it's bad weird! I can't do this anymore!"

"I can't leave this place. I'm like you, I can't see the point of anywhere else. Madrid, ha, what a dump! I have to stay."

"No, you don't, you have to leave!"

"I can't go!"

"Just get out!"

"What's going on?" Angel called, walking down the hall from where she'd been rudely awakened, still sleeping kneeling on the floor in Craig's room, the man having not woken her when he came home like the Doctor had told him to.

The Doctor took the chance as Craig was distracted and grabbed him by the lapels, "Right! Only way! I'm going to show you something, but shh, really, shh! Oh, I don't need to be you Angel to know I am going to regret this. Ok, right...first, general background!" he head butted Craig, both of them grabbing their heads in pain as Craig saw the Doctor's past incarnations and some of his adventures and a few snippets of Angel's faces as well.

He gaped at the Doctor, pointing, "You're a..."

"Yes."

And Craig pointed at Angel, "You're both…"

"Yeah," she smiled at him, knowing what the Doctor had done. It was a crude form of information exchange, there were subtler methods but only when one really knew the topic at hand in enough detail to send a large enough chunk of it to someone else. The head-butt method was more for when you needed to convey a sensation, like urgency, and the reason behind it.

"From..." he pointed up.

"Shh," the Doctor whispered.

"You've got a TARDIS!"

"Yes. Shh!" he gestured at his face, "Eleventh! Right...ok, specific detail!" he head butted him again, filling Craig in on the reason he and Angel were there.

"You saw my ad in the paper shop window!"

"Yes, this was stuck above it," Angel pulled out a note from Amy to show him, her handwriting directing them to Craig.

"Which is odd, because Amy hasn't written it yet," the Doctor added, "Time travel, it CAN happen."

"That's a scanner!" Craig pointed at the device, "You used non-technological technology of Lammasteen!"

The Doctor quickly put a hand over Craig's mouth, "Shut up!"

~8~

Sophie entered the foyer and used her key on the door of the flat, about to walk in, when a little girl appeared at the top of the stairs, "Please can you help me?"

"Hi?" Sophie called up.

"Please. Will you help me?"

"What's the matter, my love?" she headed up the stairs, "Help you?" she followed her into the flat.

~8~

"Argh!" the Doctor rubbed his forehead, "I am never, ever doing that ever, ever again..." he tapped the earpiece, "Amy!"

"That's Amy Pond!" Craig pointed again.

"Oh, of course, you can understand us now, hurrah," he mumbled, "Got those plans yet?"

"Still searching for them!" she replied.

"I've worked it out with psychic help from a cat."

"Cat?"

"Yes, I know he's got a time engine in the flat upstairs..."

"Seriously?" Angel's eyes widened at that bit of information.

The Doctor nodded, "He's using innocent people to try and launch it. Whenever he does, they get burnt up, hence the stain..."

"From the ceiling?" Craig stared.

"Well done, Craig. And you, Miss Pond, nearly get thrown off into the Vortex."

"Lovely!" Amy sighed.

"Ah!" Angel collapsed, gripping her head as a loud crash came from above, and they all knew what that meant, the pounding in her head...it was just like when Mickey and the others had used the little teleport buttons, the time engine was malfunctioning, it was distorting time all around it and when that happened...Angel felt it more profoundly than he did.

"People are dying up there?" Craig's eyes widened, before getting caught in the loop, "People are dying. People are dying."

"Amy!" Angel yelled as Amy screamed, the Doctor rushing to her side as she tried to get up and stumbled, steadying her.

"They're being killed!" Craig finished.

"Doctor!" Angel gasped, grabbing his arm, knowing why the pit in her stomach was twisting painfully, "I think someone's up there!"

The Doctor's eyes widened and he ran out of the room followed by Craig, Angel struggling after them, up the stairs, "Doctor!" Amy cut in.

"Hang on!" he waved her off. Craig stopped halfway up, seeing Sophie's keys in the lock to the flat, "Craig, come on...someone's dying up there."

"It's Sophie!" Craig gasped, "It's Sophie that's dying up there, it's Sophie!" they ran up to the door.

"Doctor!" Amy tried again, "Stop!"

"Where's Sophie?" Craig called as they struggled against the door.

"What is it Amy?" Angel ground out, her hand pressed to her temple, trying to relieve the pressure building there the nearer they got to the time engine.

"Are you upstairs?" she panted.

"Just going in!" the Doctor told her.

"But you can't be upstairs."

"Of course we can be upstairs!"

"Come on!" Craig pushed the door.

"No!" Amy shouted, "I've got the plans, you cannot be upstairs, it's a one-story building. There is no upstairs!"

The Doctor and Craig looked down the stairs, "It doesn't matter," Angel panted, tears in her eyes at the sharp pain in her head, "We need to help Sophie."

The men nodded before the Doctor used the sonic to enter the flat. The room was a hollow, though advanced, spaceship. It had a control panel at its center with small terminals around it with an orb in the center of each, "What..." Craig stared.

"What?" the Doctor nodded as they walked in, "Oh. Oh, of course! The time engine isn't IN the flat, the time engine IS the flat!"

"It looks like..." Angel swallowed as she leaned heavily on the door frame, shaking, "It looks like someone tried to build a TARDIS."

"No, there's always been an upstairs," Craig shook his head.

"Has there?" the Doctor looked at him, "Think about it!"

"Yes. No. I don't..."

"Perception filter. It's more than a disguise. It tricks your memory."

Sophie screamed as she was pulled into the room from a shadowy corner, towards the controls, by an electrical energy, "Sophie!" Craig yelled as he and the Doctor ran to her, Angel jolting forward, wanting to help, but only making it to a nearby beam, leaning heavily against it as she grabbing her head with one hand, "Sophie! Oh, my God, Sophie!" he grabbed her hand to keep her from touching the glowing orb.

"It's controlling her," Angel shouted, her other hand dropping to her stomach, it was twisting painfully now that the controls had started to try and pull Sophie in, she was praying it was just her reaction to the temporal technology going wonky and not something that would harm the baby, "It needs her to...touch the activator!"

"It's not going to have her!"

The Doctor used the sonic on the panel but Sophie still touched it and screamed, "Ah! Deadlock seal!"

"You've got to do something!" Craig shouted.

Angel bit her lip hard, taking a breath and lunching forward, falling to her knees beside the base of the control panel, putting her hands on either side of it as a golden energy leapt into it, short circuiting it, letting her go. Angel breathed a sigh of relief as the pounding in her head stopped, leaving her to sit back, half-hunched over, panting as the pain eased slightly, while Craig caught Sophie and gently lowered her to the ground.

"Oh thank God," he mumbled, holding her.

The Doctor looked around and spotted a dried up skeleton, the last attempt, just as a hologram of an old man appeared, "You will help me."

"Right!" the Doctor nodded, "Stop! Crashed ship, let's see. Hello, I'm Captain Troy Handsome of International Rescue. Please state the nature of your emergency."

"The ship has crashed. The crew are dead. A pilot is required."

"You're the emergency crash program. A hologram. You've been luring people up here so you can try them out," he flashed the sonic at it and the hologram changed to a little girl, then a younger man, and back to the old man.

"You will help me. You will help me. You will help me."

"Craig!" Sophie gasped as she woke up, "Where am I?"

"Hush!" the Doctor hissed as Angel moved to Sophie's side as well, wanting to make sure she was ok, "Human brains aren't strong enough, they just burn. You're stupid, aren't you? You just keep trying."

"17 people have been tried," the hologram stated, "6,000,400,026 remain."

Angel reached out and helped Sophie stand as the woman looked around, "Seriously, what is going on?"

"Oh, for goodness sake," the Doctor spun around, "The top floor of Craig's building is, in reality, an alien spaceship intent on slaughtering the population of this planet. Any questions? No? Good."

"Yes, I have questions!"

"The correct pilot has now been found," the image added.

"Yes, I was worried you'd say that," the Doctor mumbled.

"He means you, Doctor, doesn't he?" Amy asked over the comm..

Tendrils of energy reached out from another panel and began to pull the Doctor towards it, "The correct pilot has been found. The correct pilot has been found."

"What's happening?" Amy called as the TARDIS began to shake again, Angel gasping and falling to the side, leaning heavily on the beam again, the pain was even worse this time as the Doctor was actively managing to fight the program and it was trying harder to get him.

"It's pulling me in!" the Doctor tried to resist, "I'm the new pilot!"

"Could you do it? Could you fly the ship safely?"

"No, I'm way too much for this ship. My hand touches that panel, the planet doesn't blow up, the whole solar system does," Angel bit her lip again and turned, holding out her hand as it glowed gold, ready to short-circuit the controls again, when the Doctor noticed and called out, "No don't! They're rerouting all the power to this panel, blow it up and it takes the ship and us with it!" he groaned, stopping his hand an inch above the panel as Angel had to lower her hand to grab her head, wincing at the pain shooting through it.

"The correct pilot has been found," the program repeated.

"No...worst choice ever, I promise you. Stop this!"

"Doctor!" Amy screamed as the grinding sounded up, "It's getting worse."

"It didn't want Craig," Angel realized with a gasp, turning to Craig, "Craig, why didn't it try to take you?"

"I spoke to him and he said I couldn't help him!" Craig frowned.

"And it didn't want Sophie either, before," Angel added, thinking quickly, her mind racing with her pain and how she wanted it to stop, as the Doctor groaned, too distracted by his struggle with the program to work it out, "But now she wants to go to the monkeys!" she looked at the Doctor, "If it's programmed to leave, it needs a pilot who wants the same! Craig..." she turned to him, "You've never wanted to leave!"

"Angel!" Amy shouted.

"Craig, please...you can stop the program! Just put your hand on that orb thing and think about why you stay here!"

"Craig, no!" Sophie stared in horror.

"Will it work?" Craig needed to know.

"Yes!" the Doctor grunted as he strained, able to tell that Angel did have a point in her words, oh she was just brilliant!

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!"

"Is that a lie?"

"Of course, it's a lie, I'm not Angel!"

"It's good enough for me. Geronimo!" Craig slapped his hand down onto the panel and screamed as the energy coursed through him but released the Doctor.

"Craig!" Sophie gasped.

"Craig," Angel ran to him, the pain in her head still there, but lessening as the program began to shut down, putting her hands on his face, "Why are you still here? Think about every single thing that you stay here for! Why don't you want to leave?"

"Sophie!" he admitted, "And I don't want to leave Sophie! I can't leave Sophie! I love Sophie!"

"I love you too, Craig, you idiot!" Sophie stepped forward and put her hand on the panel with Craig's, making the ship smoke and spark and Angel jump back at it.

"Angel!" Amy shouted, "What's going on?!"

"Honestly, do you mean that?" Craig looked at Sophie.

"Of course I mean it! Do you mean it?"

"I've always meant it. Seriously though, do you mean it?"

"Yes."

"But what about the monkeys?"

"Oh, not now, not again!" the Doctor huffed as he picked himself of the ground, "Craig, the planet's about to burn! For God's sake, kiss the girl!"

"Kiss the girl!" Amy and Angel agreed.

Craig and Sophie kissed, their hands sliding off the panel.

"Doctor!" Amy breathed as the sound of the TARDIS soothed, "You've done it. Ah ha, you've done it! Oh, now the screen's just zeros! Now it's minus ones, minus twos, minus threes...big yes!"

The hologram cycle suddenly began shifting quickly, "Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me."

Angel stared at it, alarmed, "That's not good is it?"

"Big no!" the Doctor agreed.

"Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me."

"Did we switch it off?" Craig looked up.

"Emergency shutdown, it's imploding, everybody out, out, out!" the Doctor shouted, ushering them out of the room, pushing Angel ahead of him.

"Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me."

They ran out of the ship, followed by the Doctor, and outside, watching the house as it shook. A moment later the filter shut off to reveal the ship which disappeared a second after, people just strolling, nothing out of the ordinary.

"Look at them," Craig shook his head, "Didn't they see that? The whole top floor just vanished."

"Perception filter," the Doctor replied, "There never was a top floor."

Angel let out a breath, feeling the pain in her head stop, though she still felt a bit strained, "You'd be surprised just how much you won't notice something if you don't want to see it," she murmured, glancing at the Doctor, her arms subtly wrapping around her stomach, appearing to the others as though she were just queasy after what happened.

~8~

The stain on the ceiling disappeared though Craig and Sophie didn't much notice, far too interested in kissing each other on the sofa of the sitting room, "So have we spoiled our friendship, then?" Craig smiled at her.

"Totally ruined it."

"And what about the monkeys? We could save them together, you know. Do whatever we want. I could see the point of Paris if you were there with me."

"First let's destroy our friendship completely."

They continued to kiss as the Doctor entered the room about to speak...when a hand quickly put itself over his mouth, Angel quietly pulling him back. He pulled her hand off a moment later, patting her hand before letting go, smiling at the couple as he turned, leaving his keys on the small table by the door, heading for it.

"Oi!" Craig laughed as he and Sophie walked over to them.

"What, you're trying to sneak off?" Sophie smiled.

"Yes, well, you were sort of...busy," the Doctor said.

Craig picked up the keys and handed them back to the Doctor, "I want you to keep these. Thank you."

"Thank you," the Doctor took them, "'Cos we might pop back soon, have another little stay."

"Angel maybe," Craig laughed, "But you? Nah," he shook his head, "I've been in your head, remember? But I still want you to keep them."

"Thank you, Craig."

"Thank you, Doctor."

"Sophie," Angel smiled, hugging the girl.

"Good luck," Sophie whispered to her, squeezing her extra tight. They were in the same boat, loving someone who didn't seem to notice, she could tell Angel was sweet on the Doctor, their small veiled words in the park had confirmed that to her. And the glances she saw Angel give him, the girl was so gone about him, but the Doctor seemed oblivious both to that and his own feelings for her. She could only hope for as happy an ending for Angel as she had for herself.

"Now then," the Doctor looked at them, "6,000,400,026 people in the world. That's the number to beat."

Sophie nodded, "Yeah."

The Doctor left with a smile, Angel with a little wave, but both very happy that they had been able to help.

~8~

The Doctor set the TARDIS in motion as Angel stood, stroking the rotor, seeming to silently be speaking to the TARDIS about the ordeal she'd been through with just her gestures, "Back in time!" the Doctor smiled, looking at Amy as he tossed his jacket on the jump seat, "You need to go to the paper shop, leave that note for us."

"Right little matchmaker, aren't you?" Amy teased, "Can't you find me a fella?"

Angel frowned and looked at the controls, for all Amy's seeming remembrance of Rory, she knew the girl likely didn't remember him in full, but it still hurt to hear Amy make remarks about finding a man, knowing the girl already had, "There's something wrong with the rectifier..." she murmured, heading to a different section of the control room to check on it.

"Hold on," the Doctor turned to Amy, "You write the note and I'll change that will and Angel will give the TARDIS a check up."

"You got a pen?" Amy called.

"Make sure it's a red pen!" the Doctor nodded as he headed away to work on changing the will. Amy searched the Doctor's jacket pockets for a pen, only to pull out a small box with an engagement ring in it. She opened it and stared at the ring with a frown, feeling the small bit of gold and diamond were too familiar to just ignore.

~8~

Amy blinked a bit as sunlight hit her eyes when she'd opened a door in the TARDIS. She'd been trying to find Angel, wanting to ask her about that time engine thing the Doctor and her had found in Craig's flat, how someone had seemed to try and build a TARDIS, wanting to know if that was even possible. She really found the box amazing and she had always wanted to know more about it, even as a little girl, how a swimming pool could be in the library and other things, how it worked, how it existed, how someone could build one...so she'd asked the TARDIS to take her to Angel like the Doctor had instructed her her very first time in the box.

It had led her here, to what looked like a garden. There was a false blue sky, with white clouds, green grass, a tree in the distance with a small bench and flowers just...everywhere. All sorts, of all colors...she could understand now why the Doctor had been so obsessed with getting flowers for Angel to add to the garden now, it was remarkable! And, squinting against the false sunlight, she could see the Time Lady in question kneeling by the edge of one of the flowery sections, small pots of...something beside her. The closer she got the more clearly she could see that it was sunflowers in the pots. She looked around, seeing that there weren't any other sunflowers there but the ones in the pot, it seemed like Angel was adding them to her collection.

"Hey," she greeted as she approached.

Angel looked up at her and smiled, "Hello Amy."

"What are you doing?" she asked, moving to sit beside Angel, her back to the flowers but facing out, able to see Angel as she looked to the side.

"I thought I should add these to the garden," Angel picked up one of the pots and pulled the sunflower from it, placing it gently into the hole she'd dug, "I hadn't had sunflowers here before, didn't really like them, but I think it's time to add them."

"Why?" Amy frowned as Angel lightly moved the dirt around the hole again, "I mean, if you don't like them, why add them?"

Angel looked at the one she'd just planted thoughtfully, reaching out to touch the petals of it, "It was something Vincent said, about how they were half living, half dead and...it reminded me of someone."

"You know a zombie?" Amy stared at her.

Angel laughed, "No, I meant that..." she sighed, "The Doctor and I...we've lost people in the past, we try our best to keep everyone safe but..." she frowned, "Sometimes, people get hurt, and sometimes...sometimes they die," and sometimes they died and were erased from time, "But they always live on, in our memories," she added, looking at Amy intently as the woman grew thoughtful at her words, "If you can remember someone, then they're never gone, they're always with you in spirit. If their memory is alive, it's like they live on even after they've gone."

Amy blinked, shaking her head from her thoughts, and looked back at Angel, "So who'd you lose?"

Angel sighed, she'd been so hoping that mentioning the incident with Rory might help, "One of my companions," she told her, turning back to work, "He was just...brilliant, as brilliant as the sunflowers, and I wanted to honor him," she smiled, if she kept the sunflowers in the garden, kept them alive, it would be like Rory was alive in some way too. Half-there, half-gone, but still somewhere close to her hearts.

Amy nodded, "Sorry," she murmured, feeling guilty for having brought that up, she couldn't imagine how terrible it must have been for Angel to lose her companion, probably happened just before she and the Doctor had landed in her backyard, it HAD looked like they'd just come from a fight or something. And it was great of the woman to remember him in such a way.

"Me too," Angel smiled sadly, Amy falling silent as she put the last of the sunflowers in their spots, "There," she nodded, happy with her work as she stood, brushing off her hands and picking up a small watering can, sprinkling the flowers with the water, "I'll take care of you," she whispered to the flowers, touching the petals, "I'll NEVER forget you."

Amy stood as well, watching Angel set the watering can to the side and turn back to her, "Now what did you want to ask me?"

Amy blinked, "I wasn't..." Angel gave her a look and she sighed, "Right, psychic," she muttered, "I just...I wanted to ask about the TARDIS...you said someone was trying to build a TARDIS..."

"I did," she nodded, "No wonder it wasn't working, TARDISes are grown not built."

Amy blinked again, "Really?"

Angel laughed, looking at Amy a moment, "You know what...how would you like me to teach you how to pilot the TARDIS? I could tell you more about her and how they work along the way?"

"I would love that!" Amy cheered beaming, "I really don't want to get stuck in the TARDIS again and have to rely on the Doctor shouting 'Zig Zag Plotter Amy!' as a guide for what to do."

Angel nodded, that was completely understandable, and linked her arm with Amy's, "Well then, no time to lose!" she cheered, leading Amy out of the garden, ready to begin her favorite lesson to give all the companions.

A/N: I hope you liked the little garden moment, yay! Sunflowers for Rory! :) I know there wasn't much Thella moments in this chapter, but with Sophie's life being in danger and then the Doctor's own life, it was hard to write him focusing on Angel instead when things were so dangerous for others :( But we had a hint of jealousy in the Doctor with how Angel was helping Craig, and 3(!) memory-flashes! :)

Too bad River Song is next }:)

But(!) you all made it to the next sneak peek! How awesome are you? SO awesome! ^-^ And because you're so awesome, I think our sneak peek deserves someone equally awesome returning ;)

~8~

"But I don't understand. Why am I here?"

"Because you are. The Universe is big. It's vast and complicated and ridiculous, and sometimes, very rarely, impossible things just happen and we call them miracles, and that's the theory. 900 years, I've only seen one."

"What was it?"

The Doctor blinked, looking in the distance, seeing a faint image of Angel with brilliant ginger hair, standing in the TARDIS doorway, bathed in golden and orange energy...before shaking his head, "This one though, this would do me. Now get upstairs, she's Amy and she's surrounded by Romans. I'm not sure history can take it!"

~8~

Awww, another little hint of Thella there for you (and Rory!) :) MUCH more to this scene, I can promise you that ;)

And, just a note for TAOSAT, we can expect the next chapter in about 7 or 8 hours from when I post this one :) Just want to go through and edit it once more after I fully wake up lol. I tend to wake up, post this chapter, go back to sleep on weekends :)

Some notes on reviews...

River might be the cause, or have a hand in it, or be completely innocent (...right lol...or she really might be ;)). As for the Doctor not noticing...it's mostly because Angel's being very careful. He doesn't see her eating more than she should (except a little in this chapter lol, he's just glad she's eating), he hasn't seen her be sick except that one time when Rory went after her, he has just as odd of tastes in food as her at the moment, and she's not showing yet, and even if she does her dress is very flowy and not tight so no one would really notice a little bump. She looks almost 3 months pregnant so the bump is still very small, and Angel is smaller than she's been and with different pregnancies for different people, the baby might just be smaller than average, so we won't know for sure when she'd actually and truly be noticeably pregnant, if she even makes it that far along. So, for the moment, it's a combination of her being careful and him being a little thick too :)

Those are good hints that something might happen between the Doctor and Angel in the future, but like you said, doesn't answer for sure if it's him remembering her :) To throw a small twist for the 2nd and 3rd point...it could be that River was smirking because she's incredibly pleased to hear it being said, out loud, that Angel is NOT his Mate and JUST a friend. And it could be that River's referencing how the Doctor might not get close to anyone because (subconsciously) he's tied to Angel and just...doesn't let himself be with anyone else or even be with Angel ;) Just to throw a little possible twist :) It freaks me out SO much! I feel like it was just yesterday that I was posting A Treasured Discovery and looking forward to Series 7 and now we're almost at the 50th! O.O And now school starts and I'm happy that it's my last year, but sad because I get to do taxation courses...woo...(my sarcasm heightens with the thought of enduring tax classes again lol).

It's not bad at all nope :) For all we know River might just be the cause of it :) I would truly fear for River's life (despite all she's done/will do to Angel) if she was the cause and the Doctor remembered/found out O.O

I think Angel would be devastated if she accidently killed someone :( She freaked out over throwing the assassin back in Torchwood and he was just knocked out lol :) But I think she'd be completely shattered, she did enough killing during the War, even though they were Daleks, and saw what it did to everyone around her that I think she wouldn't be able to stand the fact that she killed someone. Though I do think it would also need context to it, if it was an enemy that she was just trying to stop as they were trying to kill everyone, she'd be sad, but I think she'd understand that so many others would have been hurt if she hadn't done that. If it was someone completely innocent who got caught in the crossfire of something, she'd be a wreck :( I suppose we'll just have to hope that never happens }:)

All I can say is there's a reason behind his pushing thoughts away, but I won't say what }:) There's also a reason behind why he forgot those moments too but we'll have to wait and see just what that is }:) That's the tricky part, until we know for sure what happened, we can't say for sure whether or not he actually wanted to forget her. It could be that 10 felt like it would be too hard to let go of Angel and let her be with 'another' man and wanted to forget what they had so that it wouldn't hurt HIM (the him that had her) to be aware in some form that she was with someone else and it just escalated and backfired. So it's a very real possibility that it could be the Doctor's fault that this happened :( In a very 'end of the spectrum' way, it's also possible that in a single instant between regenerating, he looked back on the relationship and saw something that he regretted in it or regretted something about it that made him want to not remember it going into his next body. We'll have to wait and see :) But I agree, the Dream Lord definitely remembers who Angel is to him and is very, very angry about what's happening :)

Lol, Aragorn/OC is definitely on my list :) I do these little 'upcoming stories' covers on my tumblr, that one (if all goes to plan) should be up next weekend :) So far I've got Once Upon a Time, Time Lady 4, Merlin, 2 Star Treks, Supernatural, Big Bang Theory, and (in a few hours) 2 Thor stories on that page for stories I plan to do :)

Hi! I'm glad you're all caught up lol, I'm glad you like everything going on so far :) For the Krafayis, I could see them sort of leading it out and back to the TARDIS, very, very carefully, and the Doctor piloting the box while Angel tried to keep it calm. Lol, we might just see that as a chapter of the TARDIS-POV spin-off ;) I could see them taking it back to its home planet where it would at least be more familiar and better able to hunt, I think in that case, the clan might take it back just a bit more, probably not treat it special or care for it more than any other member, but it would be among its own and in its home environment, so it would probably just have a better chance of survival and less killing of innocent people who can't see it :) Lol, I was debating having Sophie and Craig try to play matchmaker, but I think they'd only be able to do that once they sorted themselves out and were together and by then the Doctor and Angel were leaving :) But...you never know what might happen in Closing Time if the Doctor hasn't remembered by then ;)

Lol, I'm glad you liked those little moments :) I haven't seen the Vow no, but I saw the trailers and read the spoilers/summary of it so I know what it's about. I can say it's definitely more complex what's happening with the Doctor and Angel ;)

Yup, 1,000 reviews and I'll flat out answer whether the Doctor remembers Angel or not :) So we'll all know, for sure, if the fluff will or won't be returning :) If not, we'll just have to wait in suspense :)

It doesn't sound bad at all, River especially needs to be put in her place at times in this saga :) I can say that her parents will be giving her a talking to about what she does around Angel. Rory will be quite disappointed in his daughter and Amy well...her reaction is a bit more extreme (like her personality) which was very fun to write :)

It's not that I want to make it spread out, but more...since I've already written the Professor episodes one way, that writing them again, even differently than they were originally, I feel like I'd still be aware that it's the Professor's story, her history is still the same, her relationship with the Doctor would be (mostly) the same, but with the other Time Ladies, they're completely new :) So it would be like new, old, new, old, new old switching off :) But it's just a thought for now. I might start writing it and things just flow so well that I'll put it in as a complete series :)

He might just be starting to fall in love with her again, but oh yes...River is coming...and River does seem to complicate and confuse things doesn't she? }:) I started watching with 10 and Martha and went back to 10 and Rose and then back to 9 lol, went a bit out of order :) But it did give me a bigger appreciation for Martha and put Rose into perspective for me. It's really cool how you can start in one place and, because of that, have an entirely different outlook of a character than others do. Like when you start by hearing how amazing Rose is, and then go back and watch School Reunion or Father's Day you're just irritated. But if you start with Rose and get to Series 3 you're thrilled he's remembering Rose so fondly. I love how perspective changes things :)

I loved Sherlock! ^-^ I can't wait till Series 3 comes out, I've got BIG things planned for that ;) I've got a Sherlock/OC story up yup, The Jackie Holmes Chronicles featuring my OC Leena :) And I have plans for a spin-off of that one too, but that won't be up till AFTER the show is completely finished (as in over forever) :)

Lol, that is SO the Doctor, Mr. Thick Thick Thicketty Thick-Thick from Thicktown, Thickania, and his dad, I SO agree ;)

I'm glad you're liking the series so far! :) I really wanted it to be as fluffy as it could be at first so that, in that very first chapter of ATF you can't help but feel/go...wait...something is SO wrong here... :) And thanks! I don't really believe in Mary Sues, to me, it's impossible for an OC not to be one and, given that the Doctor rates as a BIG Mary Sue himself, the same rules can't really apply lol :) But I just try my best to keep the OCs believable, realistic, and relatable within the scope of the story/Universe I've set them in :)