It was a bit of an anticlimax really. Outside looked like the countryside - a surreal, perfect version of the countryside, with crystal clear lakes and a sun-dappled golden ground - but a countryside all the same.

Noelle peered through the doorway. She looked up at the Doctor, who was leaning over her to get a look himself.

'Is this the right place?'

The Doctor looked down at her. 'Pass me a rock.'

Confused, she picked up a pebble and passed it to him. He licked it. Noelle pulled at face at the ground.

'Well, this is definitely France.'

'You could tell that by licking a rock?'

'It had a French twang.'

Noelle peered back up at him, looking not a lot unlike a mischievous pixie. 'Hey, how do you know when you've reached Blackpool? The rock tastes like strawberry. Badum-tss.'

The Doctor scrunched up his eyes and headbutted the doorframe.

'Oh come on, it wasn't that -'

'Shh.' She was about to protest when she heard it.

If she had a glass of water, it would be rippling. If she had jelly on a spoon, it would be wobbling.

Noelle looked up at the Doctor. The Doctor looked down at Noelle. She leaned further out of the doorway just in time to see a large, khaki green bulk disappear into a dense forest.

'That,' she said, 'was a dinosaur.'

'That was an Apatosaurus - which means we are roughly in the right time period.'

'Roughly?'

'Well, can't exactly pick up a newspaper now, can we?'

'You don't have some built-in monitor for that? Checking the date?'

The Doctor scratched his head. 'Probably.'

'How can you not know?'

The Doctor just stared out at the scenery. Noelle thought he wasn't going answer, but after a pause he said, 'I sort of borrowed it. Prematurely. Without asking.'

'You stole it?'

'I was going take it back!' He frowned. '... Eventually.'

'Really?'

The Doctor smiled wanly, stroking the blue doorframe. 'No, probably not.' He remained gooey-eyed for a moment before clapping his hands together (causing Noelle to jump) and picking the bird-cage back up. He pushed both doors fully open. 'Alright then, here we go.' He squeezed passed her, lifting the cage over her head. He had walked about ten yards before he realised she wasn't following. He turned and saw her hovering in the door way, looking uncertain. 'Well come on, then!'

'What if we get squashed? Diplodocus and all that, remember? Messy. Unfortunate.'

'Never mind that! Where's your sense of adventure? Once in a life time chance, right here, waiting for you.' She looked at the small dinosaur. 'Can't we just let it go here?'

'How would you like it if I dropped you off in Cardiff?'

She pulled a face before peering back into the console room. 'Will the Tardis be safe if we just leave it here?'

'Don't worry, she's a clever ship. I turned the Hostile Action Displacement System on; it'll relocate itself if it's in immediate danger.'

Noelle weighed up her options. She looked at the Doctor, standing there with a crooked smile on his face. He knew she was going to come along. That irritated her for some reason, and a small part of her deep down inside told her to stay just to prove him wrong. 'Fine.' She shut the door behind her and walked over. The Doctor grinned even wider. Idiot, she thought. But before long she was smiling too, unable to stop.

'So where are we heading?'

'That is a good question.'

'You don't know? I thought you had a plan!'

'I do. We're looking for a herd of Compsognathus Longipes... es... Longipeses? Longipeses.'

'We're just going to walk around until we spot some? That's your plan?'

'Admittedly, it's not my best.'

'What if something huge and non-veggie spots us?'

'In that case, I would suggest we run.'

Noelle stared up at him. The Doctor beamed back down at her.

'You're insane. Like, actually properly.'

'I did warn you.'

'I didn't think-'

'Humans rarely do. You're all funny like that.'

'Hey, pot, kettle and black! What if the Tardis disappears and something's chasing us? What's the plan then - run faster?'

'That... That is a good point. And also - rude - my plans aren't that bad.'

'No?'

'No. 'Run faster,'. As if. Best thing to do in a situation like that? Hide.'

Noelle said nothing, exasperated. The Doctor grinned and let go of the cage for a second to squeeze her elbow. 'We'll be fine.'

Noelle just glared at him.

'Look, there's something over there now. See? Not such a bad plan after all.'

He was right; there were some small figures in the distance. However, the closer they got, the larger the creatures seemed.

'Doctor? I don't think those are... Compso... Compso-'

'Compsognathus Longipeses? Yes. No, I don't think they are.' He suddenly did a u-turn, steering Noelle along with him.

'What are we doing?'

'I don't about you, but I'm hoping they didn't see us.'

Despite herself, Noelle snorted. 'Doyouthinktheysaurus?'

The Doctor laughed, then stifled himself. He whipped his head around. 'Well, if they didn't before, they have now.'

Noelle smiled. 'You're kidding.' The Doctor said nothing. Noelle stopped smiling. 'You're not kidding.'

They both began to walk a little faster, then broke into a flat-out sprint. Noelle glanced over her shoulder to see the figures getting closer. Her eyes went wide. 'Where are we running to?'

'Into the trees! If we go to the Tardis and they catch up, it'll just disappear!'

They eventually reached the forest, but no luck; the trees were too tall and there no branches until about mid-way, which was about 30 feet higher up than Noelle would be if she was standing on the Doctor's shoulders. Noelle turned to the Doctor. 'What now?'

He didn't say anything.

'Doctor! What do we do now?'

The Doctor looked into the cage. 'I'm sorry.'

At first, she thought he was talking to the dinosaur. Then her blood went cold. 'Doctor?'

He turned to her. He put his hands on her shoulders. His face was in hers, his eyes level with her own. 'I am so sorry.'

'No.' Noelle mumbled. 'No. Think of something. Come on!'

They were getting closer.

The Doctor looked around, his forehead creased. She could see him calculating desperately.

'Come on, let's go.' She tried pulling at his sleeve. He wouldn't budge. 'Doctor!'

The Doctor snapped his fingers, suddenly back to normal. 'Noelle. I need you to run to the Tardis. Here-' He pressed the key into her hand. 'Now, once you've got in... No. Okay, new plan.' He took the key put her hand and put his sonic screwdriver there instead. 'This button- that one- press it. It sends out a signal. I'm going to run to the Tardis, and you're going to take the cage and run toward those dinosaurs. I'll pick you up before they reach you, okay?'

She stared. 'What?'

'No time to argue. Do this and we'll both get out alive. Okay?' No response. 'Okay?'

Noelle swallowed. 'Okay.' She picked up the cage. 'Okay.' She started running.

When she saw the herd of dinosaurs she immediately began to veer away out of instinct before remembering her job. She stopped. She put the cage down and lifted the screwdriver above her head. She could hear the buzz as it worked, emitting a signal. 'Come on Doctor.' She whispered. 'Come on!' She squeezed her eyes shut. She could hear them still. Their footsteps. Their snarls.

Their breath.