Author's Note:

Well, it's Saturday so that means it's also Update Day! Now, this chapter is where the plot of The Eleventh Hour really comes into play so we'll be in script-vile for the next few chapters, still, I've tried to add as much original content as the story would allow. Let me know how I did!

Oh, and thank you all so much for the lovely reviews! You guys are awesome! Every time one pops up in my inbox I get the overwhelming desire to sit down and write which has been brilliant for keeping my muse going!

Chapter Three

Cops and Robbers

Wilfred groaned and closed his eyes in an attempt to alleviate the pounding in his head which had been present since the Doctor had climbed out of the TARDIS some time ago. He had no way of knowing exactly how much time had passed but one thing was for sure, it was more than the five minutes he'd been promised. Not that it really matter, in fact Wilf found the reprieve nice in spite of the discomfort in his head, for it gave him time to think. When he'd run aboard the TARDIS at Donna's wedding he hadn't thought about it, he'd just known that he'd never be able to forgive himself if he let he let his friend walk to his death alone, so he'd gone.

He didn't regret it, how could he, but he couldn't help but wonder, what now? If their gravity defying crash landing had taught him anything it was that he was not nearly as resilient in his old age as the Time Lord was. His body still ached from the beating it had taken and he had yet to figure out how on Earth (or wherever they were, to be honest he wasn't sure) he was going to get up to the door and out of here which left him wondering if maybe I would be best if he headed back home to his own time once they got out of this mess. But then the Doctor would be alone again…

He heaved a sigh, set the thoughts aside to be considered later and massaged his temples gently before forcing himself to his feet for the first time since the crash. His joints protested the movement loudly, creaking and cracking audibly as he stretched himself out and looked around the demolished library for another way out. He had no doubt that the Doctor would be back for him but surely it couldn't hurt to have a look around in the meantime…

He was just clambering over a bookshelf, which would have been mounted on the wall is the world had managed to stay the right way up, when he heard it. The ringing of a cloister bell which seemed to resonated from every direction. "What the…" the elderly man whispered as the TARDIS began shaking once more.

He staggered towards the nearest wall, which happened to be the one which should have been the floor, and leaned up against it for support. It occurred to him, as he flattened himself against the hardwood, that floors becoming walls and gravity changing direction at will really wasn't something he should consider normal, nor would he have before meeting the Doctor. Did everyone fall into his world this quickly, he wondered, or was he just looking for the change? Before he could really contemplate his most recent questions, however, the TARDIS gave a massive jerk and he found himself lying on the wall he'd been leaning against which was now the floor once more.

"Bloody hell…" he winced as he stood up, watching in fascination as the water poured down from above, enough of it finding its way back home that the pool filled up about halfway. The rest rained down around him, soaking his clothes once more, but he had to admit that he didn't find that part nearly as fascinating. Nor was he enjoying the cloister bell which was still ringing away as though it was some kind of warning, which, come to think of it, it probably was… Once again his thoughts were cut off by a sudden distraction though this time it was in the form of a yell growing closer and closer that sounded something like –

"Geronimo!" the Doctor cried, plummeting from above and landing in the pool with a massive splash.

"Doctor!" Wilf was at the water's edge in a heartbeat, searching for his friend amongst the waves.

The Time Lord's head broke the surface after only a moment, a manic grin on his face again. "Hello, Wilf!" he said brightly, pulling himself out of the pool with all the coordination of a soaking wet puppy and going so far as to shake his head dry in the process, "Run!"

"Run?" the old human repeated dubiously, his head pounding once more, probably from the cloister bell this time.

"Yeah," the Doctor, who had managed to haul himself back onto dry land, grabbed his companion's hand and tossed him yet another grin, "Run."

And they were off, tearing through the TARDIS faster than Wilfred would have liked but the alien's grip on his hand gave him no choice. By the time they reached the console room the elderly man was aching all over and leaned heavily against the controls for support. The Doctor, on the other hand, seemed energized, zooming about his machine flicking switches, hitting buttons and pulling levers at a frenzied pace, worry playing on his face.

"The bell's a warning then, is it?" Wilf asked, voicing his thought from earlier.

"Engines are phasing, she can't get stabilized to repair. She needs a trip, into the future, should stabilize her. Just five minutes though, I promised Amelia five minutes," came the disjointed reply, and then, without warning, the alien smacked himself on the forehead. Hard. "Oh you stupid, stupid, stupid. It was right there! You should have seen it!"

The old human frowned in confusion, and, in all honesty, concern. "Amelia?" he asked, picking the first question that came to mind, before allowing the others to come tumbling out as well, "Who's Amelia, Doctor? And what did you see where? And why are ya hittin' yourself!?"

But the Time Lord didn't chose to ignore the barrage of queries, pulling one final lever before him instead. The TARDIS began pulsing almost as frantically as her pilot had been running around, and both men grabbed the console for support as the erratic flight began.

"C'mon, Old Girl," the Doctor encouraged loudly, "C'mon!"

Steam (and a bit of smoke) poured from the console, sparks danced around them, and the TARDIS herself was making more noise than Wilf had ever heard out of her. And then, quite suddenly, it stopped. Well, the noise and movement at least, and the sparks for the most part, but the steam and smoke carried on undaunted.

"Good girl," the elderly man whispered, and paid for it with a lung-full of steamy smoke. He didn't even stop to consider just when the TARDIS had become more than a machine in his mind; a lot of his thoughts seemed to be changing since following the Time Lord aboard and he found that he was alright with that. And speaking of the alien he was stumbling out of the ship, a handkerchief covering his mouth. Cursing his wandering thoughts, Wilfred hurried after him.

He stepped out of the TARDIS and was met with the sight of a somewhat overgrown back yard, an old swing set off to one side and a modest house a ways in front. The Doctor was looking around and Wilf got the feeling from the look in his eyes that something had gone just a bit wrong. He was about to voice his concerns when the Time Lord took off towards the house, calling for the mysterious 'Amelia' as he went.

"Amelia! Amelia, I worked out what it was. I know what I was missing! You've got to get out of there!"

"Doctor!" Wilfred called, hastening to keep up and reaching the alien's side as he worked at unlocking the back door with his sonic screwdriver, "Doctor, what's going on?"

But again the Time Lord neglected to reply, hurrying through the door the moment the lock clicked open and racing up a flight of stairs calling out the whole way. "Amelia? Amelia, are you alright? Are you there?"

Wilf groaned and trudged dutifully after the alien, there was no point in trying to keep up, he was much too sore for that. The sound of the sonic screwdriver resonated from the top of the stairs along with the Doctor's worried voice as he continued to shout his warning about a 'Prisoner Zero' for all to hear. And then, quite suddenly, his voice cut off, there was a heavy thud and then silence. The old human froze about halfway up the stairs, gripping the railing tightly as he strained his ears for any other sounds. If the war had taught him anything it was that when the world suddenly went silent, it was best to follow its lead. It was only when he heard the floorboards creaking above him that he dared to move once more. He crept slowly and carefully up the stairs, stopping when the landing came into view and peering about for the Doctor and whatever had caused him to stop talking. The sight that met his eyes was not what he'd expected.

A young women, all fiery red hair and long, shapely legs, was tugging down the skirt of her police uniform and tucking her hair under the matching hat as she marched out of one of the two rooms at the top of the stairs. Wilfred shrunk down further out of sight and took a moment to compose himself. Out of all the things which could have caught him off guard since he started travelling with the Doctor he was blindsided by an attractive young policewoman in a short skirt. He could hear Donna's mocking voice in his head already. But there was still the question of what had happened to the Time Lord and why the police were running about this particular house. The only scenario he could come up with was that something had happened to 'Amelia,' whoever she was, and the Doctor had mentioned a Prisoner Zero…

Shaking his head, Wilfred attempted to rid himself of the thought. If something had happened to the 'Amelia' girl then the Doctor was her best bet and he had to find him. Carefully the old human raised himself up and peered out between the railings once more, watching as the young policewoman leaned up against them and following her gaze to the end of the hallway where the Doctor sat crumpled against a radiator apparently unconscious. Worry surged through him at the sight but he remained where he was. The last time he'd run to someone's aid it had cost the Time Lord his life… Well one of them… He frowned, did regenerations work like that? But the young woman's voice pulled him free of his thoughts before they could go any further.

"White male, mid twenties, breaking and entering. Send me some back-up. I've got him restrained," she spoke into her radio calmly, before turning to the alien who was clearly coming around. "Oi! You, sit still."

"Cricket bat," the Doctor slurred, frowning at the sound and speaking again more slowly, "I'm getting cricket bat."

Despite the situation Wilf rolled his eyes. A cricket bat would explain a lot.

The young policewoman looked unimpressed. "You were breaking and entering."

The Time Lord blinked up at her slowly and then, without warning, jumped to his feet only to be tugged down again in an uncoordinated heap by the handcuffs fastening him to the radiator. "Well, that's much better," he noted, gazing down at the cuffs with wide eyes but seeming otherwise unperturbed by his situation, "Brand new me. Whack on the head, just what I needed."

If he hadn't been attempting to stay hidden Wilf would have argued that point but as it was he settled for moving up a few stairs and trying to catch the alien's eye. If this woman had called for backup he couldn't stay hidden on the staircase for much longer but leaving his friend to the human authorities wasn't an option either. God knows what kind of trouble he'd get himself into…

"Do you want to shut up now?" the redhead said coldly, effectively ending both men's trains of thought, "I've got back up on the way."

"Hang on" said the Doctor suddenly, his eyes regaining some of their usual sharpness, "No, wait. You're a policewoman."

"And you're breaking and entering. You see how this works?"

"But what are you doing here? Where's Amelia?"

Wilfred couldn't see the policewoman's face but if the sudden stiffening of her shoulders was any indication he figured the Time Lord had just touched a nerve. He leaned as far onto the landing as he dared and tried once again to catch the Doctor's attention but to no avail.

"Amelia Pond?" she repeated, her voice only adding to the old man's suspicions.

The Doctor, however, must still have been a bit fuzzy for he seemed to miss the warnings. "Yeah, Amelia. Little Scottish girl. Where is she? I promised her five minutes but the engines were phasing. I suppose I must have gone a bit far. Has something happened to her?"

"Amelia Pond hasn't lived here in a long time," the policewoman replied in her own Scottish accent.

Wilf frowned again. How far was 'a bit far..?'

The Doctor looked slightly horrified. "How long?" he demanded.

"Six months."

"No. No," came the Time Lord's disbelieving reply as he leaned back against the radiator, "No. No, I can't be six months late. I said five minutes. I promised."

The policewoman turned away and Wilfred barely had time to shrink down out of sight before she was walking towards him, fingering her radio. But it was the look on her face which caught his attention, a look of shock and disbelief which caused him to wonder again just how far 'a bit far' really was.

The Doctor also seemed to take her reaction as reason to be concerned and he crawled forward as far as the handcuffs would allow. "What happened to her?" he asked desperately, "What happened to Amelia Pond?"

The redhead took a deep breath, steeling herself before speaking into her radio once more. "Sarge, it's me again. Hurry it up. This guy knows something about Amelia Pond."