"The Benevolent Doctor"

2. Breakaway

Grand Canyon – 2008

Santana didn't think it was possible for their tour guide to make something like the Grand Canyon become boring, but he had succeeded. With how much he kept droning on, it was a wonder no one had considered throwing themselves off the edge.

"Brittany?" she turned to the girl at her side. "Hey…" she nudged her. The blonde had been standing there for a while, being so still, she thought maybe she might be defying the laws of nature and still be listening to the guide, but in fact her eyes were closed: she was sleeping standing up. Once Santana had nudged her though, she startled awake and looked around. Santana swore she saw disappointment flash over her face when she realized they were still where they were, and that only made her smile. If this guy thought he had the way of keeping a bunch of fourteen-year-olds entertained, he had it all wrong.

"Is it over yet?" Brittany asked aloud, and Santana stifled a snort when she saw the guide had heard them and thrown a frown at them. "Sorry," Brittany mumbled.

"Hey, come on, let's go look around, I bet we can find a gift shop or something," Santana offered.

"Won't we get in trouble?"

"So what? What is he going to do, send us to our rooms?" Santana chuckled, which made Brittany smile. "Come on," she tilted her head to the side and, making sure they wouldn't be seen, they separated from the group.

X

"Martha? Keep up, will you?" the Doctor frowned, trying at the same time to keep an eye on his companion and locate the thing he'd wanted to show her.

"Am I supposed to actually see the Grand Canyon, or am I just following you like some kind of…"

"Here, wait," he stopped her, staring at the ground, taking a stop two inches to the left, looking up, then down again, retreating an inch, staring up once more, then nodding to himself. "That's it," he declared, reaching in his pocket and pulling out what looked like binoculars, if they'd been made by someone who was really into tinkering on their gadgets. It gave the impression that it could see to the farthest reaches of the planet, which Martha soon found out wasn't too much of an exaggeration. He looked through them, then turned back to her with a satisfied smile. "Stand here, take these," he instructed, stepping aside and pulling her to stand where he'd stood, down to the inches to left and behind, before handing her the binoculars.

"What am I looking f…" Her last word was cut off by an intake of breath. "Doctor, what did you do?"

"Did you see it?"

"I saw it alright. But, Doctor, isn't that, well… defacing a natural landmark?" she muttered under her breath.

"Your secret and mine… and Elvis," he adjusted, smirking when he saw the look on her face.

X

"There's too many people, we're going to get lost," Brittany worried.

"No we won't, just listen for the snores and…"

"You shouldn't be wondering on your own," a woman's voice made them startle and they turned to find themselves face to face with a security guard. "Go on," she pointed off, and Santana grabbed Brittany's hand and pulled her in the direction the guard pointed.

"I think the tour guide is that way," Brittany told her.

"Who cares," Santana kept leading them away.

Gemma smirked to herself, tugging at the rented hat, which had kept her face more or less obscured as she spoke to the girls. One day, they might actually remember her; it wouldn't be this day. If there was one thing about being in a place so crowded that she appreciated, it was that she was all but certain that no one would pay a mind to her if she up and disappeared, which she did, after pressing at the strap around her wrist.

"Doctor, what are you…" Martha frowned, stepping back as she'd bumped into the Doctor, who'd suddenly skidded to a stop.

"I thought I saw something…" his voice was low. "It couldn't be," he told himself, but he wasn't sure if he could believe this either.

X

"That wasn't there when we got here," Brittany stopped and pointed, causing Santana to get tugged back, as she'd still been holding her hand.

"What wasn't where?" she turned to look and saw what had caught Brittany's attention. Something that looked like a phone booth, only it was blue and made of wood, with windows… "Maybe it's just some weird… work station, I don't know." But Brittany was curious, and she broke off to go check it out. Santana wasn't going to get split up from her, especially here, so she went, too. Brittany looked back at her, reaching for the door handle, as though to ask whether or not she should. "It's probably locked." Brittany tried anyway… and it opened.

At the same time, the girls discovered something that did not add up. They looked at the box on the outside, really looked at it, then looked again inside… it drew them right in.

X

"It's probably nothing," the Doctor told Martha as they walked back to the TARDIS. He'd made them go back before they'd really finished their tour, claiming to have had 'a feeling.' "Wait, do you hear that?" he asked, staring back at her.

"Hear what?" she asked, as they went up to the door and he put in the key. He frowned, feeling it resist for a moment, but then it opened, and as the door swung open, Martha could finally hear what he'd heard: the phone was ringing. He hurried to pick it up, while Martha stepped in and shut the door.

"Hello?" the Doctor answered the phone, an unmistakable curiosity in his voice.

"Doctor!" a great big voice replied, and when he recognized it, he was floored.

"Brannigan? Is that you?" At the sound of the cat man's name, Martha looked up. The Doctor shrugged at her: he had no clue either.

"Yes, it is," Brannigan answered, and the Doctor couldn't place the tone in his voice; something bothering him, for sure, but there was something else. "You told us how to contact you, see, and now… We need your help, Doctor."

"Tell me where to find you, we're on our way," he moved around the console, flipped a lever, and the TARDIS took off.

X

Already finding the big room in the small box had been one thing. Finding corridors that led even further into the box had been another. Santana had just been about to reach for a doorknob when the ground gave a shake, and both she and Brittany were nearly thrown off their feet.

"What was that?" Brittany asked.

"I don't know, but we should probably get out of here," she held out her hand again, and Brittany quickly took it as they retraced their steps and found their way back to the first room, then came to a stop. They weren't alone. There were two of them, a man and a woman, both of them staring back at the girls.

"What?" said the man.

TO BE CONTINUED (TUESDAY)