A/N: You can find Alex's outfit for this chapter on my Tumblr, under the name 'darksideofparis'.

The next morning - because it was morning, wasn't it? - Alex took a quick shower and dressed in a silky yellow tank-top, black skinny jeans, and matching yellow ballet flats. She pushed her hair back with a black velvet headband and licked her heavily glossed lips. Even though she had managed to fall asleep last night, she had dreamt of the almost-kiss with the Doctor. In the dream however, they managed to kiss passionately. It had felt so real and oh-so good. . .

Alex shook her head and stormed out of her room. This train of thought wasn't going to head anywhere productive. She decided to concentrate on visiting Winston Churchill today and seeing what was so urgent with him. Yes, that's much better, Alex thought happily.

Walking into the control room, she immediately spotted Amy, dressed in a red tank-top, a brown leather jacket that reached to her elbows, a denim mini-skirt, and boots, lounging against the railing as she watched the Doctor fix something under the console.

Alex skipped over to her. "Hey," she greeted.

Amy smiled at her and handed her a Pop-Tart, which Alex immediately dug into. "Hey yourself. Sleep alright?"

Alex thought about her dreams of kissing the Doctor and felt her face heat up. "Uh, yeah," she answered, suddenly becoming very interested in nibbling on her breakfast.

Amy gave her a weird look and was about to ask her what was up when the Doctor bounded up the stairs. "Okay!" he declared, throwing a lever down on the console. "The dematerialization break is fixed! Shouldn't have exploded like that but what can you tell, it's a Type 40 TARDIS. . ." He started babbling some weird tech babble that neither girl attempted to keep up with.

"So I was right?" Alex demanded before she could even think about what she was saying. She raised an eyebrow. "You shouldn't have been messing with those wires last night?"

Then, Alex remembered the almost-kiss. Oh, crap, she thought, cringing slightly. Did the Doctor remember? She hoped not.

The Doctor, however, had an excellent memory and easily recalled the almost-kiss, as he had spent the better part of the night telling himself over and over that Alex was not a person he could get involved with, he would not allow her to be another Rose, etc. But he decided to answer Alex's question. "Yes," he admitted. "You were right, I was wrong!"

Alex cheered. "Ha! Two in a row!"

Amy laughed. "Going to go for a third, Alex?" Alex nodded eagerly.

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Great, just what I need. You two gaining up on me!"

"Shut up and drive Time-Boy," Amy retorted, grabbing onto the railing behind her. Alex copied her and soon, they were off.

~Living the Life of Ally~

The Doctor bounded off towards the doors. "Stay there!" he called. "It's the London Blitz and Britain is on high alert!"

Alex shook her head. "I am psyched about seeing Churchill, but not so much about being in the middle of the London Blitz."

"Especially since the Americans weren't in the war yet, if my history's correct," Amy mused.

Alex nodded. "You're right," she said, but before she could get more in, she heard the Doctor calling, "Amy! Alex!" The girls grinned and raced out the door.

Alex and Amy hesitantly stepped outside after catching sight of the several soldiers surrounding them and the TARDIS, guns aimed. The Doctor, however, didn't seem fazed and Alex saw that he was currently talking to a figure in a black suit, black hat, and glasses. Alex's eyes widened as she realized that the figure was none other than Winston Churchill.

"Oh, Winston, my old friend!" the Doctor greeted. He moved to shake Winston's hand, but Winston stuck his hand out, as though expecting to receive something. The Doctor laughed. "Ah, every time!"

"What's he after?" Alex asked, stepping up beside him.

"TARDIS key, of course," the Doctor answered.

"Think of what I could achieve with your remarkable machine, Doctor!" Winston tried, although Alex already knew no argument would sway the Doctor. "The lives that could be saved!"

The Doctor went over and closed the TARDIS doors, preventing anyone from getting inside. "Ah, doesn't work like that."

Winston looked at him challengingly. "Must I take it by force?" he lightly threatened.

The Doctor snorted. "I'd like to see you try. Don't try angering these two girls," he said, nodding to Alex then Amy. "They'll make you regret it."

Amy looked over at Alex. "Should we be insulted?" she asked. Alex shrugged, figuring that it could go either way.

Winston laughed at the Doctor's choice of words. "That reminds me, Doctor. Who are your two lovely companions?"

"Winston Churchill, Amy Pond," the Doctor introduced, gesturing to Amy, who could only wave as she was still caught up in excitement. "And Alex Locke." Alex smiled brightly, her chipper personality radiating off of her.

"Lovely to meet you," she greeted.

Winston perked up upon hearing her accent. "Oh, an American! I see you're branching out, Doctor."

Alex turned to look at the Doctor critically. "And just what does that mean? Have you never given consideration to my lovely country before?"

The Doctor gulped and racked his brain for something to say before Alex slapped him - which he was pretty sure she would eventually do to him. "Well, there was one . . . Peri Brown. Brilliant girl, she was."

Alex nodded, enjoying making the Doctor squirm. "Anyone else?"

"There was Jack, but technically he's not even. . ." The Doctor trailed off, deciding not to get into this right now. "Why am I discussing this with you right now? Winston!" he cried, turning back to him. "Do you mind telling your men to lower their weapons? I don't particularly like guns being pointed at my companions."

Winston turned to the soldiers. "At ease," he ordered and the soldiers lowered their weapons.

"Much better," the Doctor smiled. "You rang?"

Winston nodded and laughed and led them past the men down a corridor. The corridor was quite bland with gray walls and simple tiled flooring. All around them, people in suits carrying papers and other such things were walking hurriedly to one place and then another, barely even stopping for a break. As Alex was observing this, a sudden BANG and a shudder ran throughout the hallway. Alex jumped slightly, not used to the sounds of an air raid going on just above them.

The Doctor glanced over at her as she gripped his jacket. He sent her a reassuring smile and laced one arm around her shoulders while he tucked Winston's cane, which at some point he had snitched from him, under his other arm.

"So you've changed your face again," Winston observed. Alex blinked at this statement and looked up at the Doctor curiously. What did he mean by that? She thought. Is the Doctor some kind of plastic surgery obsessive? She quickly dismissed that theory, deeming it illogical. She thought back to what Amy had said about the Doctor "still cooking" when she first met him and then when the Doctor had collapsed by the duck pond during the Prisoner Zero debacle. He must've been going from some process that changed his features, Alex figured. It would certainly explain why he didn't recognize himself when Prisoner Zero copied him and why his clothes were torn.

The Doctor, not missing the curious look Alex gave him, replied, "Yeah, well, had a bit of work done." He heard Alex snort at this and he figured that big brain of hers had rejected a plastic surgery theory.

"Got it, got it, got it!" Amy cried jubilantly. She had spent the last few minutes trying to figure out where they were without asking the Doctor or Alex, wanting to prove to herself that she was just as smart as them. "Cabinet War Rooms, right?" She looked to the Doctor and Alex for confirmation.

"Top secret War Office set up right underneath London," Alex confirmed.

"You're late by the way," Winston revealed. A woman walked up to him with a clipboard and pen in hand. "Requisitions, sir," she said.

"Excellent," Winston beamed. Alex had a feeling that Winston was excited about anything that had to do with putting the Germans in their place.

"Late?" the Doctor repeated.

Winston, signing the papers, replied, "I rang you a month ago."

Alex frowned and wacked the Doctor's arm. "I knew you wouldn't get us to the proper time!" she cried. "Superior Time Lord, my eye!"

The Doctor pointedly ignored her in favor of addressing Winston. "Really? Sorry. Sorry, it's a Type 40 TARDIS. I'm just running her in."

Alex rolled her eyes. It seemed the Doctor ignored her whenever she said something about him that was the complete truth, something even he couldn't deny. It was extremely annoying. She watched as Winston handed the clipboard back to the young woman, who she now noticed looked rather sad. She wondered if Winston noticed this and her question was answered a second later.

"Something the matter, Breen?" the Prime Minister asked. "You look a little down in the dumps."

Breen hugged the clipboard, as though it would shield her from whatever was hurting her. "No, sir," she answered. "Fine, sir."

"Action this day, Breen!" Winston encouraged. "Action this day!"

"Yes, sir," Breen nodded, albeit forcefully. She cast a look at Amy and Alex before abruptly walking off.

"Excuse me, sir!" an officer in a blue uniform called over. "Got another formation coming in, Prime Minister. Stukas by the look of them."

"We shall go up top then, Group Captain! We'll give 'em what for!" He turned back to the trio. "Coming, Doctor?" he asked, already figuring that the Doctor's companions would be tagging along with him.

"Why?" the Doctor asked.

"I have something to show you," Winston replied, grabbing back his cane.

As Winston walked off, the Doctor mouthed 'ooh' at Amy and Alex, who just giggled. Alex immediately started skipping alongside the Doctor. She was totally excited. What could Winston Churchill, one of the few British politicians she actually admired, have to show them?

A minute later, Alex found herself riding in an elevator with Amy, the Doctor, and Winston. She and Amy were standing in the back of the elevator while the Doctor was stuck up front next to Winston, who was currently puffing on a cigar. The Doctor was waving the vast amount of cigar smoke away from him and attempting to keep it from getting near the girls as well while Winston talked, none the wiser.

"We stand at a crossroads, Doctor," Winston said. "Quite alone, with our backs to the wall. Invasion is expected daily. So I will grasp with both hands anything that will give us an advantage over the Nazi menace."

Alex tensed slightly and she saw the Doctor do that as well. Even though she was human, she was well aware of how desperate some people could get when others were threatening them. They would lash out and cause even more chaos because of chaos originally happening in the first place. The Doctor, aware of this as well, hesitantly asked, "Like what?"

The elevator stopped and Winston started out. "Follow me," he ordered them.

Alex was the last to exit the elevator and was in awe of where she was. They were currently standing on a rooftop that was lined with sandbags. Looking at the horizon, Alex stared in wonder at London, which in this time period had several blimps and barrage balloons tethered everywhere. Off in the distance, an explosion sounded and Alex hoped that no one had gotten injured or killed because of it, even though that was extremely likely right now.

"Wow," Amy breathed beside her, also caught up in the sight.

"Doctor," Winston called and the girls turned around. "This is Professor Edwin Bracewell, head of our Ironsides Project."

A man in a white lab coat, glasses, and green pit helmet looked down at them from a raised-up section of the roof, also covered in sandbags. Shortly after the Doctor flashed him what looked like a peace sign to Alex, Bracewell waved at them and called, "How do you do?" He then turned back to examining the skies with a pair of binoculars.

Alex turned back to the London skyline, only to see a small line of German planes dropping bombs in the distance. Another explosion rang out and she shuddered. Amy noticed this as well. "Oh, Doctor," she breathed. "Doctor, it's. . ." She trailed off, not really sure what to say.

"History," the Doctor finished, coming to stand up beside them. He looked down at Alex, who was watching the sight before her with a forlorn expression. It seemed to him as though she wished there wouldn't be any deaths today and that she'd like to prevent them. Just as quickly though, that expression left and Alex watched the scene with purposeful detachment. She already suspected that she couldn't change established events and she was just going to have to resign herself to the large number of casualties the Blitz contained.

She looked up at him and noticed his slightly worried expression. "Don't worry," she whispered. "I'm not planning on doing anything stupid. Can't say the same for you, though."

The Doctor rolled his eyes, but he was secretly pleased that Alex wasn't going to attempt anything. And he figured that if Amy tried something, Alex would talk her down. "I don't do stupid things!" he said hotly.

Alex made a small noise of disagreement but before he could comment on it, Winston called up to Bracewell. "Ready, Bracewell?" All three turned around to see whatever it was that Winston had called them about.

Bracewell gave him a thumbs up. "Aye aye, sir! On my order! Fire!"

From behind a sandbagged area, a bunch of lasers shot out and fired at the German planes, destroying them instantaneously. Alex and Amy gaped in shock at the area the laser had come from while the Doctor seemed horrified. He recognized that sound and he hoped to God that it wasn't what he thought it was. "What was that?" Amy demanded.

Something I don't remember studying in history, that's for sure, Alex thought. Lasers weren't being used for warfare yet. Scientists in this time period were still working on trying to understand them! She looked over at the Doctor and her heart rate jumped as she saw the look of horror on his face. Whatever that laser was, it wasn't good. "That wasn't human. That was never human technology. That sounded like. . ." He trailed off, as if not wanting to finish that thought.

"Show me!" he cried, racing over to a ladder that led up to the raised section of roof. "Show me! Show me what that was!"

Alex raced behind him and as soon as the Doctor was up on the raised section, started climbing as well. She hadn't seen him this panicked before, not even when she had been about to trip out of the TARDIS or when she had woken up from passing out on Starship U.K. He seemed truly terrified. "Doctor, what is it?" she asked, climbing up to stand beside him.

"Advance!" Bracewell ordered.

"Our new secret weapon!" Winston crowed from below them. As he was speaking, a strange looking creature rolled out from behind the sandbags. Alex immediately recognized it from the Atraxi hologram as one of the Doctor's enemies. The upside-down trashcan, which was most likely the creature's body, was painted army green with a sink plunger looking thing sticking out along with an eyestalk. A utility belt was wrapped around it and a small Union Flag had been painted underneath the eyestalk.

Familiarity struck Alex. There was something about this creature that she recognized, not from the Atraxi hologram, but from somewhere else. She had sensed it back during the Prisoner Zero adventure, but hadn't given it much thought afterwards. Now that she was looking at the creature head-on though, she knew there was something there. A small memory tugged at the back of her mind, urging her to remember, but all Alex could recall was that this creature, despite what it had just done to help the Allies, wasn't good.

Evidently, the Doctor thought so too, for he stepped in front of Alex, shielding her with his body. Alex decided to let him, figuring that even if she couldn't remember this creature, he certainly did and he probably knew what they were capable of. Below them, Winston bellowed, "What do you think? Quite something, eh?"

Something alright, Alex thought wryly. If only I could just remember what that something was!

"What are you doing here?" the Doctor demanded, advancing towards the creature. He still kept his body in front of Alex, should it suddenly decide to attack.

"I am your soldier," the creature replied in a weird robotic voice that Alex couldn't help but shiver at. She recognized that voice, so devoid of emotion. But what was this creature?

As Alex racked her brain, trying to figure out what the hell she couldn't quite recall, the Doctor, surprised by this declaration, cried, "What?"

"I am your soldier," it repeated.

The Doctor was growing frustrated. What the hell was this Dalek doing?! "Stop this!" he ordered. "Stop now! Now you know who I am." He breathed deeply. "You always know."

The Dalek simply stared at him. "Your identity is unknown."

Bracewell stepped up beside the Dalek, something neither the Doctor nor Alex thought was a good idea. "Perhaps I can clarify things here." He gestured to the creature. "This is one of my Ironsides."

The Doctor gaped at him. "Your what?" he frowned.

Bracewell turned to the Dalek or Ironside. "You will help the Allied cause in any way that you can?" he asked.

"Yes," the Dalek confirmed.

"Until the Germans have been utterly smashed?"

"Yes."

"And what is your ultimate aim?" Bracewell asked proudly.

"To win the war!" the Dalek cried as the Doctor looked on in trepidation.

~Living the Life of Ally~

A few minutes later, Winston, the Doctor, Amy, and Alex were in Winston's office. On Winston's desk were countless diagrams, blueprints, and plans on how to build a Dalek or an Ironside, as he still insisted on calling them. The Doctor was pouring over them with great interest while Alex sat in a chair beside him, critically examining a blueprint of the Ironsides. It seemed as though they were true inventions although, if the Doctor was to be believed, they were monsters from another world of the worst kind. And Alex was inclined to agree with the Doctor. Amy stood on the other side of the desk, watching the Doctor and Winston argue.

"They're Daleks," the Doctor insisted, for what seemed to be the fifth time by Alex's count. "They're called Daleks!"

"They are Bracewell's Ironsides!" Winston argued, not even the least bit swayed by the Doctor's arguments. "Look!" He held up several papers to the Doctor as he talked. "Blueprints, statistics, field-tests, photographs. He invented them!"

"Invented them?" the Doctor cried, completely stupefied. "Oh, no, no, no!"

"And whose word do you have on that?" Alex asked, looking up from a paper. She tapped a photo of Bracewell next to a Dalek. "His." The Doctor nodded encouragingly at her, pleased to see that she believed him.

"Yes!" Winston argued. "He approached one of our brass hats a few months ago. Fella's a genius."

"A Scottish genius, too!" Amy called to them, looking up from the documents. "Maybe you should listen to—"

"Shh!" the Doctor snapped, cutting her off. How the hell can she be so calm when the Daleks nearly destroyed the Earth a few years ago? He thought, staring at Amy's completely serene face. He then looked down at Alex, who was examining a statistical report like her life depended on it. Well, at least she realizes the gravity of the situation. He turned back to Winston. "He didn't invent them."

"They're alien," Alex said, not even bothering to look up from examining a diagram of the Dalek's laser gun.

The Doctor looked down at her. "How did you know that?" he cried. At the same time, Winston dubiously repeated, "Alien?"

Alex thought about telling the Doctor it was obvious but decided to respond with something she had noticed on the diagram. "Look," she instructed, holding the paper up. "That metal used to make the laser-shooting thing? It's made up of a metal that I don't even recognize as being on Earth. Not to mention, but the energy for the laser travels much faster than can be done in this time period."

As she was explaining this, a Dalek passed the doorway. The Doctor placed a hand on her mouth, much to her anger until she realized why. He waited until the Dalek had gone past before removing his hand. "And totally hostile," he whispered.

"Precisely!" Winston cried, pounding his fist on the desk, completely ignoring Alex's argument. "They will win me the war!" He pushed aside some papers to reveal a propaganda poster. On it, a Dalek was in front of a red background with the words TO VICTORY looming over it. Winston stomped out of the room, with the Doctor, Alex, and Amy hot on his heels.

"Why won't you listen to me?" the Doctor bemoaned as they walked down the corridor. "Why did you call me in if you won't listen to me?"

"When I rang you a month ago, I must admit I had my doubts," Winston explained. "The Ironsides seemed too good to be true."

"Yes! Right!" the Doctor cried, throwing his arms in the air. "So destroy them! Exterminate them!" He barely even realized he had used the one word he hated, having heard it from none other than the Daleks for so long.

"But imagine what I could do with a hundred!" Winston insisted. "A thousand!"

"I am imagining," the Doctor said gravely. It made Alex wonder what the Daleks had done to make him so scared of them and so willing to see them completely obliterated. At that moment, a Dalek passed them carrying a dispatch box and the Doctor suddenly had an idea.

"Amy, Alex, tell him!" he cried, turning to the girls.

"Tell him what?" Amy frowned, completely confused.

"About the Daleks!" the Doctor urged.

"What would I know about the Daleks?"

"Everything. They invaded your world, remember? Planets in the sky; you don't forget that." When Amy didn't immediately say anything, the Doctor's face fell. "Amy," he said slowly, "tell me you remember the Daleks."

Amy shook her head. "No, sorry."

The Doctor stared at her in shock. "That's not possible," he murmured. He turned to Alex. "Ally! Tell him about the Daleks! You remember them! You HAVE to remember them!"

Alex froze, the Doctor's words ringing in her ears. It was true; there was something about the Daleks that she didn't like, something involving them that she couldn't really remember. It was like it was forbidden, but it had just been tucked away in her mind, never truly forgotten, but never really registering either. She closed her eyes, concentrating on that one memory, before she felt like she was watching a movie that she had never seen before. But it wasn't something she hadn't seen before; it was one of her memories.

Alex watched hesitantly from her bedroom window at Amy's house. It was a hot June night, but Alex didn't dare open the window. Rory had raced over earlier, screaming about some creatures that had killed several people in town. He had just barely escaped them in time. He had come over to warn them and make sure they were alright. Downstairs, he and Amy were barricading all the doors and windows with furniture to make sure these creatures couldn't get in.

Alex nibbled her lip, terrified, as she watched one of the creatures, a gray upside-down trashcan looking robot, enter the yard. It stopped and stared at her car, parked closely to where the Doctor's TARDIS had been last, a few months ago. He still hadn't shown up, although Alex was sure he would eventually. She hoped that he would come back to help them against these crazy killing creatures. If there was anyone she trusted to defeat them, it was him.

Not that she was going to say that out loud, of course. Amy would kill her. Amy had been a bit moody and agitated ever since the Doctor had left, snapping whenever Alex had dared bring his name up. Not that she blamed her; the Doctor deserved to be slapped by Amy the next time they saw him for leaving her again.

Looking down at her cell phone, Alex clicked the reload button. She was on the BBC website, where they were covering the mass murder of people and also the strange appearance of several planets in the sky. Alex would have been transfixed on the planets in the sky had there not been robotic killing machines outside. Now, the BBC was reporting that there were even more casualties than from five minutes ago. Already, several military bases had been destroyed, but Alex had noticed from several comments on the story that there were rumors that someone from UNIT, some secret military organization, had escaped with a key that could access the last nuclear weapon defense. Alex thought it was a bunch of conspiracy hogwash, but reminded herself that in these situations, anything was possible.

Suddenly, outside the window, she heard a robotic voice call, "ELEVATE!" Hastily shutting the phone off, Alex pressed herself into the corner of wall near the window and shut her eyes. She had never been very religious before, despite being christened in a Catholic church when she was a baby, but now, she was praying to God not to let her die. She didn't want to be electrocuted to death by these weird creatures! Shuddering in fear, she listened attentively for any further sounds from outside. Hearing none, she hesitantly opened her eyes and nearly screamed.

The creature was hovering outside her window, staring directly at her. Alex began to shake with silent sobs. The only reason she wasn't making any noise was because she didn't want Amy or Rory to come running up and get killed as well. This thing was going to kill her. She was going to die.

The creature hovered there for a few seconds, watching her. It could kill her so easily. That pane of glass was nothing. But . . . no, it didn't! Why? No, it would. It would. "EXTERMIN—" the creature began but suddenly, it stopped. It couldn't kill her. Something stronger than it was preventing it from killing her. It was. . .

"UNABLE TO KILL!" it suddenly screeched. Alex stopped trembling and stared at it. What did it say?

"UNABLE TO KILL!" it cried again. It stopped, as if listening to something, before replying to that something. "It is confirmed. It is fixed point, Alexandria Locke! Ally, to the Doctor!"

Alex's eyes widened. The Doctor? Well, that was good. But wait, how did this creature know about her? And what the hell was a fixed point? Why was she a fixed point?

The creature ended its conversation and turned back to look at her. "You are saved by the laws of time, Alexandria," it said. "The Doctor is involved in your future, a future that cannot be changed. But beware! The Daleks know who you are!" And with that, this Dalek zoomed off into the night.

Alex stared at the window in shock long after it had left. The creature hadn't been able to kill her, due to something involving the Doctor and her future. It said that it couldn't be changed. Apparently, not even a Dalek was capable of changing time around with her. But a fixed point? What was that and why was she one? What happened in her future to make her like that?

But before she could ponder this any longer, there came a bunch of pounding on the steps and a split second later, Amy and Rory raced into her room. While Rory slammed the door close and pushed a desk in front of it, Amy raced over and sank down next to her best friend. "Oh my God!" she cried, sinking down next to her and throwing her arms around her. "I saw it hovering outside your window when I looked outside!"

Amy hugged her tightly. "I thought it was going to kill you," she mumbled into Alex's shoulder. She leaned back, exposing tear tracks on her face. "What did it do?"

Alex shuddered and clutched her friend tightly. "Nothing really," she admitted. "I mean, it started to kill me, but then, it stopped. It started having this conversation with someone and it said that it couldn't kill me, because I was a fixed point. . ." Alex trailed off, readying herself for Amy's reaction to this next statement. "Because the Doctor was involved in my future and it couldn't be changed."

Amy stared at her a moment and then, surprisingly, nodded. "That's good," she said. "The Doctor will be back sometime. He's going to protect you in the future."

"You as well, Amy," Alex insisted.

"More you," Rory said, sitting down next to Amy. He had been listening to them talk as he was moving the desk in front of the door and he had been relieved, to say the least, that Alex couldn't get killed now because she was a fixed point, whatever that was. "I saw how he was with you, Alex. He barely left your side."

"It's true," Amy said, almost enviously. She still harbored a crush on the Doctor, despite her currently dating Rory. "He was attached at the hip to you, Alex. It was both weird and cute the way you two interacted."

Alex shrugged dismissively. "Doesn't matter," she insisted as she updated her phone again. "I'm safe and that's all that counts. Plus, since I am a fixed point, it's doubtful that the Dalek, at least that's what it called itself, will be coming back here. We're safe."

They stayed, huddled in her room, until they finally saw on the BBC website and out the window that the planets were gone and the Daleks were destroyed. They still maintained a sense of caution though, Amy and Alex not leaving the house for a few days, until, suddenly, Alex wondered why she had been in the house for so long and abruptly went out shopping and didn't come home for two hours.

Suddenly, the memory ended and Alex found herself simply staring at the Doctor, Amy, and Winston, who were all staring at her with curious and worried expressions. "What's wrong?" she asked.

Amy shifted slightly. "It's like you went into a trance or something," she explained. "You just stood there, staring into space. The Doctor was trying to get your attention, but you barely moved."

The Doctor placed one hand on her shoulder and looked into Alex's eyes. "Ally," he said slowly. "What happened? What did you see?"

Alex thought for a moment. She had seen something, something that she had forgotten, only now . . . she couldn't remember. The second the memory ended, it had retreated back into the furthest corners of her mind, rendering her unable to recall anything about it. "I . . . I d-don't remember," she trembled. "It's like whatever it was erased itself the second it was over."

"Was it about the Daleks?" the Doctor demanded, now placing both hands on her shoulders, forcing her to look right into his panicked irises. "Tell me, Alexandria. Was it about the Daleks? Did it have anything to do with the Daleks?"

Alex ran a hand through her hair, now completely freaked out. "It could have been," she admitted. "But I can't remember. It's still in my mind, but I just can't access it again. Unless I really strained myself." She was about to do just that when the Doctor shook his head.

"No, no, don't do that," he begged, remembering her fainting spell on the Starship U.K. God only knew what might happen if Alex forced herself to recall a memory her mind had obviously hidden from her, only to be revealed when she absolutely needed it. "Just, leave it."

"Okay," Alex hesitantly agreed. Winston, deciding it was better not to ask, moved on down the corridor. The Doctor released Alex and turned to follow him with Alex and Amy bringing up the rear.

Amy gazed at Alex worriedly. "Christ, you scared me," she admitted. "It's like you were back when we were on the Starship U.K. All focused on something, blocking everything out."

Alex sent her a reassuring smile, but she was still pretty freaked out. Why did these strange things involving her mind keep happening to her? First by attacking the Star Whale's mind viciously and thus causing her to pass out for some reason, and now her mind was only revealing hidden memories to her when she absolutely needed them. And when they were revealed, they were suddenly erased, like she hadn't been meant to see them in the first place. It was weird and it scared her to no end.

In front of her, the Doctor was thinking this over as well. Forget the Daleks for the time being, he thought to himself. What's going on with Alex? There's something interesting about her mind, the way it protects her from other minds and by keeping certain memories from her. But why is it doing that? And what did Alex see? It involved the Daleks, I'm sure of it! They invaded her world just a few years ago and no one could ever completely forget that! This reminded the Doctor that Alex's name had seemed familiar to him. But before he could ponder it any more, he found himself in the Map Room.

The Map Room consisted of a large chart on one wall with a giant map table in the center of the room. Several people were around it, answering telephones that lined the table and then moving various figures on the table as required. The room shuddered with another explosion from the air raid above them, allowing some plaster dust to come crumbling down. The Doctor side-stepped a giant box of files as the people around him chattered.

"Blue leader to Two squadron and six two three five seven. Over!"

". . .bandits at ten o'clock!"

". . .two three five seven! Over!"

The Doctor leaned against a wall and Amy and Alex joined him. He pulled Alex closer to him, so that her back was pressed into his chest, just like how they were last night. . . You idiot, do not think about that! He wanted to keep her close, considering how these strange things kept happening to her. He also wanted to keep her close because a Dalek was loitering just a few feet away from them. "So, they're up to something. But what is it? What are they after?"

Amy, still blissfully unaware that such violent creatures had attacked her home planet just two years ago, decided to take matters into her own hands. "Well, let's just ask, shall we?" she suggested, already walking determinately over to the Dalek.

The Doctor frowned. That is extremely, very badly, NOT a good idea! "Amy. Amelia!" he tried, but Amy ignored him. Alex moved to go grab her friend, but the Doctor had surreptitiously taken hold of her wrists and refused to let her go. While Alex was straining and kicking the Doctor in the shin to let her go, Amy stepped up to the Dalek and tapped a fingernail on its casing. Alex stopped struggling long enough to watch the Dalek swivel to focus its eyestalk on her friend. When it didn't disintegrate her, she started struggling again and the Doctor simply tightened his grip on her wrists, although not nearly enough to hurt her. He watched as the Dalek said, "Can I be of assistance?"

Amy nodded. "Oh. Yes, yes. See my friends, or one of them anyways, reckons you're dangerous. That you're an alien. Is it true?"

"I am your soldier," the Dalek repeated.

"Yeah. Got that bit. Love a squaddie. What else though?"

The Dalek, however, just stared at her as though she were an absolute dunce. Alex would have laughed had the Doctor not been so fearful about these creatures and had she not been threatening to kick the Doctor where it hurt most. "Please excuse me. I have duties to perform." With that, the Dalek rolled off.

The Doctor waited until the Dalek had left the room to release Alex. The second she was free, she whirled around and wacked the Doctor on the head. "Ow!" he cried, rubbing his head as Alex glared at him.

"Never do that again," she warned. "Or I won't be so hesitant in kicking you in certain places."

"Dually noted," the Doctor muttered before marching over to Winston. Yanking the cigar out of his mouth, he began pleading. "Winston, Winston, please. . ."

"We are waging total war, Doctor," Winston reminded him. "Day after day, the Luftwaffe pound this great city like an iron fist!"

"Wait till the Daleks get started," the Doctor warned.

"Men, women and children slaughtered," Winston continued. "Families torn apart. Wren's churches in flames."

"Yeah? Try the Earth in flames!"

"I weep for my country. I weep for my empire. It is breaking my heart." Winston walked around the table, followed closely by the Doctor, Alex, and Amy.

"You're resisting, Winston," the Doctor argued. "The whole world knows you're resisting. You're a beacon of hope!"

"But for how long?" Winston wondered. "Millions of innocent lives will be saved if I use these Ironsides now."

At that moment, a Dalek rolled up to them. "Can I be of assistance?" it asked.

"Shut it!" the Doctor snapped at it, the Dalek actually backing off some. He turned back to Winston. "Listen to me. Just listen," he urged. "The Daleks have no conscience, no mercy, no pity. They are my oldest and deadliest enemy. You cannot trust them."

Winston stared at him, unbelieving. "If Hitler invaded hell, I would give a favorable reference to the Devil. These machines are our salvation." Winston seemed like he was about to argue more but a siren sounded before he could. He breathed a sigh of relief and put a hand over his heart. "Oh, the all-clear. We are safe, for now." Leaving the Doctor to consider these words, Winston left.

Amy stepped up to the Doctor. "Doctor, it's the all-clear." When the Doctor didn't respond, she eyed him with concern. "You okay?" she asked.

The Doctor twisted an officer's cap that he had gotten at some point in his hands. "What does hate look like, Amy? Ally?"

The girls stared at him. "Hate?" they chorused.

The Doctor eyed them carefully before pointing to a Dalek on the other side of the room. "It looks like a Dalek," he told them. "And I'm going to prove it."

A/N: Ooh, Alex is a fixed point. Wonder why that is...of course, I know, but I'm not talking! I'm glad you all enjoyed the almost-kiss in the last chapter and XxKicking Your AxX, sorry for killing you with the sexual tension. :) Reading Addicted, sorry for almost causing you to die from feels. :)

Thank you to ElysiumPhoenix, WhereThere'sTeaAndBooks, Reading Addicted, AimeeLiz726, and XxKicking Your AxX for reviewing and to those who followed/favored this story.