The last thing which a dweller in the deep sea would be likely to discover would be water. He would be conscious of its existence only if some accident brought him to the surface and introduced him to air. Man, throughout most of his history, has been only vaguely conscious of the existence of culture and has owed even this consciousness to the contrast between the customs of his own society and those of some other which he happened to be brought into contact.

- Culture and Personality, Ralph Linton (1945).

When Glenda Hopkins woke up, it was mid-morning and she had a horrendous migraine. The right side of her head seemed to be almost pulsing in time to each throb, it was so severe. It left her feeling fatigued, despite the fact that she had slept for nearly nine hours. Getting out of the hammock now seemed like a more insurmountable task than getting inside it, but it had to be done. With a stiff body — hammocks like the one she had slept in were not the best — she hobbled out of the tent, attempting to stretch the tautness out of her limbs.

The community was awake by this point and had been for quite some time. A bulk of the people there were children, most below the age of ten. On occasion, Gilly would see an adult or young teenager, but they would disappear from her sight within the next second, busy with their duties. Those who lingered, the children, stared and maintained a wide berth. A few were curious but a majority were fearful, slipping off to tell a parent.

Walking seemed to make her headache worse as well as make her feel nauseated. Squinting, Gilly attempted to find her way back to the building she had left the Doctor in and wandered in the direction where she thought it was. Unfortunately, she was disorientated and went in the opposite direction, to the river. Not far from the waters on a long picnic table, were a large pack of children and three women: a blonde, brunette, and a red head. If Gilly's head hadn't been bothering her as much as it was, she might have had a humorous thought about it being a joke come to life.

The blonde spotted the albino first and gestured for her to come over. "You must be one of the visitors Alsa and Gar found. Jeffip told us earlier this morning during the first meal. I'm Dela."

"I am Lorelai," the brunette greeted.

The ginger, distractedly wiping off the face of a child, murmured, "Jolene."

"Call me Gilly, don't let the Doctor try to convince you otherwise," the ex-mortician got out, wincing. Even just talking seemed to make the throbbing worse. She sat at the table, clutching at the point of origin with her right hand.

Lorelai asked, "Are you in pain?"

Gilly started to nod glumly before groaning at the motion and hissing out through gritted teeth, "Yes. Migraine, I think. Ow."

"Did you get into the fruit wine?" Jolene questioned airily. "It goes down smooth but always attacks with a vengeance the next day."

"I don't drink, especially not moonshine," came the flat answer. "I probably didn't sleep right. Going to sleep with wet hair likely didn't help, either."

"That's stupid," a child piped up. "You get sick, blargh!" He made a series of high-pitched renditions of retching.

"No!" Another argued. "You only do that when you're a parent if you're having a baby."

"She's not a parent," the first denied.

"Is too," the second countered shrilly.

A third joined in scornfully, "Is not, Mum said she's a vis-tur."

Gilly said nothing in her defense, only laid her head down on the cool wood and covered her pulsing, throbbing skull with her arms. It was all an attempt to block out the childish arguing that was like stabs to her brain… Even though the brain lacked any nerves that had pain receptors in the first place, Gilly swore the pain intensified the longer she remained outside. If standing up and walking didn't make everything ten times worse, Gilly would have attempted to find somewhere else to wait out the migraine. As it was, she was trapped here with the three mothers and their seventeen children until further notice. She cringed at the thought before letting out a small cough.

When the Doctor entered Professor Jeffip's office, he had to bite back a mild explicative. Not usually the one to curse, it had taken some effort to keep it nonverbal for the sake of the child in the room, when he was actually upset enough to swear. The girl who had led him to the office from the infirmary gave him an odd look for the muffled choking sound he made before she exited. The Professor looked up from the sonic screwdriver he dissected in askance.

"Be careful with that," the Doctor finally managed to get out, cuss-free. "You have no idea what—"

Jeffip interrupted, completely unconcerned, "It's a sonic tool, and I was merely examining its acoustic accelerators. No need to fret…" He toyed with the casing in his hand before taking of the jeweler's eyepiece he wore. "We used to have devices like this, but the size of a room." The Doctor felt moderately embarrassed by this but hid it well as he took his cleaned shirt from a hanger in the room. It was still a bit damp but the Time Lord paid this no mind.

"Your scientific credentials are certainly impressive, Doctor." Jeffip offered, referring to the psychic paper. "I had assumed that you were a Doctor of medicine, not one of science, from what your mate inferred."

"Glenda?" The Doctor asked, frowning as he got a nagging sensation that he had forgotten something extremely important as he buttoned his shirt. "We're not exactly friends yet. She's just a companion, not by choice but necessity… I had thought that I never would again, promised myself that after what had happened last time, but things change."

"I understand," the old man said gravely, not really understanding at all, having misinterpreted what the Doctor had said, just as the Time Lord had misinterpreted what Jeffip had said. "Circumstances make unwilling participants of us all. But we have to make do."

The Doctor wasn't paying attention, frowning as he tried to work out what he had forgotten. His head throbbed from where he had been bludgeoned with half a brick. Wincing, he brought a hand to his bandaged head, thinking it to be the cause of his absentmindedness. "Alsa can be very stubborn, will not take 'no' for an answer if she can help it. She, Gar, and your… companion brought you here."

"She's a smart child," the Doctor remarked neutrally as he took his suit jacket down from another hanger. Privately, he thought to himself, And vicious!

"Yes, one of mine, I think. She's bright and aggressive, not an appealing combination."

"No…" The Doctor muttered as he took his damp suit jacket back off and returning it back to the hanger. He would have to wait for it to dry. He thought over what had been said previously. "How did they manage to bring me here? Glenda isn't strong enough to carry me, even if she did have help," the Time Lord pointed out.

"By wheelbarrow, they brought you a long way. The children, I believe, are still resting. Glenda is awake, if the amount of worried children who have appeared in my office within the last hour were any indicator."

"Did they? Did they? A wheelbarrow, imagine that," the Doctor whistled as he stopped next to the desk and discretely glanced at a tray that held everything from his many pockets. Besides his sonic screwdriver that was clamped into a vise with its casing removed, there was his psychic paper, a ball of string, his pocket Gallifreyan-Cymraeg phrasebook, a bag of kola nuts, a yo-yo, his collection of coins from a dozen different planets, the everlasting matches, the TARDIS key, a teaspoon, and everything else of his. But one thing caught his eye, reminding him starkly of what he had forgotten. It was a transparent bottle of anti-radiation pills marked aɬʒonpoɾnow gɛɾos ɛθldɑɹɪ.

This time, he actually did curse, making Professor Jeffip gaze at him disapprovingly. "Oh, I'm so thick! I had completely forgotten. Glenda needs her medication, now." Snatching the pill bottle, he ran out the door. Jeffip grabbed his walking stick that had been fashioned from a piece of aluminum pole. As the old man stood up from his chair, the Doctor burst back in the office, looking frantic. "Do you know where she is? Where did they last see her?"

"By the river with the other women. I will take you." The pace Jeffip set was much, much slower than the Doctor would have liked and he was tense with agitation. The Professor attempted to hold some conversation, but the Doctor wasn't in the mood for small talk, his answers short and blunt. "Glenda had confessed that the both of you are aliens. She mentioned a place called Earth…" He didn't get an answer, the Doctor was too busy looking around for a collapsed albino. Jeffip tried again, "We always knew that there must be extraterrestrial civilizations, but we had never encountered any, not until the Fortress and, now, the both of you. I have many questions, of course."

The Doctor wasn't interested, his reply was curt, "I'm sure you do." In the distant, if he really strained his hearing, the Doctor could detect the sound of running water. Without further remark or comment, he took off running, using the sound to guide him. Jeffip let out a sigh but didn't protest the sudden departure. Jeffip couldn't hear the water himself, but the fact that the Doctor appeared to know where he was going, had the Professor conclude that the Time Lord could.

The Doctor had spotted Gilly almost immediately, slumped over the table and covering her head. He put on an extra burst of speed and skidded to a halt beside her. "Glenda? Glenda! Can you hear me?"

"…Stop… shouting… head hurts…" Came the weak response, an eye wearily opened to glare at him before she winced and closed it tightly.

"I need you to stay with me and take this." The Doctor supported the limp woman as he popped open the bottle with one hand, explaining urgently, "It's been over twenty-seven hours by now, the medication's worn off. You need a dose now."

Gilly groaned, "Can't… gonna throw up…"

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "I should have been more careful. It's my fault, but you need to take this!" Taking a nearby cup filled with cool water that the women had been trying to coax Gilly to drink earlier, he stuffed a pill in her mouth and cajoled her to drink the water. The ex-mortician shuddered, her countenance, which had already been a deathly pale, turned a whiter and sicker shade. "Head between the knees, deep breaths… There you go, that's it… I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

She gasped, "You and me both." Gilly maintained her upright fetal position for several long minutes before gradually easing out of it, looking worse for wear but no longer as if she would keel over in the throes of death. "Next time, I should have some on me… Just in case."

"No, it's my fault, I need to be more care—"

Gilly interrupted, "Yeah, I'm the kind of person who blames an unconscious man for being unable to do anything. Not likely. Let's call ourselves even. Failing to stop you from getting your brains scrambled kind of led to this situation in the first place. Best thing to do is to prevent it from happening again, so take note: no more underestimating feral children."

The Doctor huffed out a half-hearted laugh, "Note taken. Also, in the spirit of hindsight, I'll make sure you have a small emergency supply of your own when we get back to the TARDIS. This won't happen again if I can help it."

The ex-mortician nodded wearily, rubbing her neck which was beginning to ache. "You'll be hearing no complaint from me on that front," she murmured. "Some pain pills wouldn't be remiss, either."

"Any pain you're feeling should be gone in a moment or two," the Doctor assured her. "The medication needs a chance to completely take hold first." Gilly nodded slowly, trying not to make any sudden moments in the hopes to avoid making her gradually fading headache worse. The last thing she wanted was a rebound or a flare up.

At this point, a new voice made itself known, "Ah, so you are a doctor in more than just a title." A woman who looked just as old as Jeffip appeared, walking with the professor. Clearly in her sixties, she smoothed her thinning, grey hair. She had an almost scholarly air about herself as she eyed the two of them, her gaze sharp and assessing. Then she smiled and raised her left hand in greeting. "Welcome to New Acropolis. I am Jennver, leader of the Council."

"She is also our only remain obstetrician," Jeffip added. "What a happy coincidence, we now have someone to help with birth, maintenance of health, and eventual death. The cycle of life."

"Yes, fancy that," the Doctor grimaced. "But I'm not really that kind of doctor. I dabble. Bit of this and that, more that than this, I think." His explanation was purposely vague, an attempt to distract the two elders of New Acropolis. He didn't really enjoy the line of thought that Jeffip's words inspired, a sort of permanence.

"Alsa told me about the two of you last night. Her holograms were surprisingly unflattering."

"Aw, she just didn't get our good side," the Time Lord joked. "Although, considering she took a three-dimensional images that covers every possible side, that's just unforgiveable."

"More like you aren't terribly photogenic, Doctor," Gilly jabbed. "I have the feeling if given the choice, you'd rather not appear in any lasting images."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," he demurred smoothly, eyes taking in his surroundings, namely the cloud of kids surrounding the three young mothers. He changed the subject, "All this children… They vastly outnumber you, bet around ten to one, easily."

"We all understand our duties." Jennver's expression was a politely blank mask. "There is no other choice. The —"

"— The women have to have lots of babies, but the boys don't really matter and are open game to be eaten by ghosts. Repopulation's the number one concern, innit? Either way, none of them need to learn how to read or do maths, do they?" The Doctor interrupted, a deceptively warm smile on his face. His eyes, however, were cold.

The old woman bristled but maintained a strained politeness, "As I said, with the circumstances we don't have much of a choice. In a single moment, we were left with only thirteen women of childbearing age. Everyone, and I mean everyone, lost their rights when that happened. We'll never have the life we used to lead ever again, not in this lifetime nor the next or the one after. With this way of life, we have established a functioning society by adhering to a clan structure. We now have 148 girls and women. The eldest of the girls are almost adults and will be able to have children of their own. The pressure of responsibility with decrease with each generation."

Jeffip quickly added, "I have calculated that an average of ten children would suffice, and then six for the next generation after. We can't expanded beyond the settlement's ability to feed itself, of course."

"Of course," the Doctor echoed.

Gilly frowned but said nothing.

It was late afternoon, and much had happened throughout the day before Gilly came to the breaking point.

After the leftover aches had dissipated and both herself and the Doctor had gotten something to eat, the Time Lord left with Jeffip and Jennver, giving Gilly the stern order to rest. The albino had easily agreed with the retort that he stay out of trouble. The Doctor didn't dignify her with a response. As soon as the children were taken care of and both Lorelai and Jolene had agreed to babysit for the blonde, Dela took it upon herself to be Gilly's guide.

Gilly estimated that the survivors had been reduced to a pre-Industrial Revolution stage of society, this thought being given credence when she spotted the fields with various crops. Dela excused herself to talk with Jennver and the albino contented herself with the company of the working children. After a brief hesitation, more on the children's part than her own, Gilly joined in on the harvest, being eagerly dictated on what and what not to pick. She thought that blue was a weird color for a fruit that looked like strawberries. A sample revealed that it contained a savory flavor, reminiscent of tomatoes that had the same umami component that gave that brothy, meaty taste. Gilly ate another on the sly.

Eventually, the Doctor made his own way over to the fields, sending a disapproving look in her direction. It was obvious that working in the fields had not been under his list of actions that equated to resting, even if she was only harvesting fruit. She offering of a savory blue strawberry did little to distract him. Jennver did a much better job, her voice cutting off whatever lecture that the Doctor had been about to deliver to Gilly. "You had known about the Fortress before you had arrived, but were you also aware that Acropolis had been destroyed?"

"Yes," came the answer, swift and to the point.

Dela spoke up, her calm and just as direct, "Did you know that there were survivors?"

"No," the Doctor admitted, expression shifting slightly before it rested on neutrality.

"But now that you know, you must have new plans," Jennver prodded.

Now the Doctor looked just as confused as Gilly felt through this discussion. "Er, I s'pose… What do you mean exactly?"

"The both of you would be invaluable here," Dela attempted. "Your ability to fix comms and medical knowledge, among other things." In the second half of the last sentence, the blonde had glance briefly at Gilly, making the ex-mortician uncomfortable.

Please don't tell me she was implying what I thought she was implying, Gilly despaired silently to herself. It colors everything that she showed and told me in the past two hours in a light that just makes everything creepy.

The Doctor, meanwhile, floundered as he was essentially being put on the spot. He couldn't flat out refuse to offer his services, especially not since his and Gilly's host had been so gracious to them both thus far. It would unspeakably rude, and while the Doctor wasn't always the most polite person around, this was a line he wouldn't cross, unintentionally or otherwise. "I am happy to help out," he offered diplomatically. "I'm up for odd jobs, tinkering, fixing up, anything within reason. Nothing that changes too much, since I'm not supposed to interfere, but, well, that ship sailed a while ago, it looks like."

Jenner was beaming, thrilled by the Doctor's response. "It's settled then. See what the two of you can do. There's a Council meeting tonight, you're both welcome to come to it."

That had been some time ago, and it appeared the Doctor was getting as twitchy as Gilly was by the time she finally snapped. Dela's company had been nice and the other parents they had been introduced to were friendly, but there had been some topics where the two time travelers and the Acropolis survivors butted heads. The debate concerning the ethics of scavenging supplies from the city being a main issue. But that had only been the cover for the real issue that had been nagging at Gilly: none of the parents ever wanted to leave the settlement if they could help it.

One of the parents, a blacksmith called Fladon, summed up the general consensus quite neatly after he had been asked if he was truly satisfied living in tents while under the shadows of some of the most beautiful buildings ever constructed. Flatly, he told the two of them, "Living in the shadows is better than dying in the light."

"Fatalism at its best," Gilly murmured, feeling a dull anger course through her. "Stick your head in the sand and let the universe do its own thing."

Fladon bristled, "Given how we ended up here in the first place, how everything was ripped away from us in an instant, it's a perfectly rational response, wouldn't you say?"

"No," the ex-mortician retorted immediately, her last bit of self-control breaking away. "If I was in your place, I'd fight it all the way. If you give up, you die. This isn't living, this is surviving… a half-life." She looked around herself, taking in all of their surroundings. "No, this isn't a way to live at all, but a way to just barely squeak by. A step away from total surrender if you haven't become resigned to defeat already."

Evening fell, and by now Gilly had calmed down. She had spent the rest of her day by herself, unwilling to be in anyone's presence. She wasn't one for sulking, but she wasn't in the mood to deal with stubborn defeatists. The Doctor had been out collecting information and doing odd jobs like he had promised. He seemed to have taken a liking to Dela, and the two of them spent the better part of the rest of the day talking. The wayward companion only ran into the Time lord as he was making his way to the Council meeting.

"Oh, there you are," he said. "I had been wondering where you ran off to."

Gilly shrugged. "I had to calm down before I put my foot any further in my mouth. I bet you had to do plenty of damage control as it was."

"A bit, yeah," the Doctor agreed neutrally but the albino still grimace, recognizing that he was just trying to be nice by choosing not to reveal how much her words had angered their hosts. "Are you coming to the meeting?"

"I probably shouldn't, even if I had any desire to. I'd end up snapping at them again," Gilly declined.

"Well, in that case, can you do me a favor?"

"Sure, what?"

"Can you get my coat and belongings? I never got them back from Jeffip, they're still in his office." To be honest, he almost felt naked having empty pockets, the concept a strange on for him to consider. It had to have been a few centuries since the last time he done it. It was also novel for him to not have to come up with a rescue plan for his friends from any immediate danger. This companion wasn't half-bad at listening to his instructions. Well, except for the resting bit. He was still at little peeved at her, but there wasn't much of a point for him to lecture her right now.

"Sure, which building?"

"The same one with the sort of infirmary, you know where that is?" When she gave a nod, he continued, "Right, well, it's not far from that room. Two lefts, a right, another left, and it's the third door down."

"Alright, see you later, I guess." Gilly made to leave but the Doctor called her back after a second.

"Oh, and before I forget, we're leaving after the meeting. This is the best time to leave without alerting anyone." He was gone before she could get a word in edgewise. Gilly had managed to find the building with some help from Dela who she had ran into. Of all the Acropolis survivors, the blonde was the most likeable and the easiest to talk to. She had a calm and soothing presence that coaxed others to relax around her. The ex-mortician found herself telling Dela all about her home and her family, even going so far as to mention her sister, something Gilly hadn't done in a long while. But Gilly had learned about Dela too: about her lover Gyll, her dream to someday leave the settlement, her hope that her children could find their own happiness.

The night had grown that much darker and brought the scent of rain with it by the time they ran into the Doctor, Dela having convinced Gilly to join her in going to the Council meeting. The Time Lord was furious, but his wrath wasn't directed at either woman. The albino had the feeling that the cause of it was the meeting. Suddenly, she was glad that she hadn't been there to witness whatever had made the Doctor that angry in the first place.

"You're angry," Dela noted warily.

"Yes," came the curt reply as the Doctor took the proffered coat, its pockets once again full with all his possessions. The sonic screwdriver was offered separately, this casing still open as Gilly wasn't sure she could put it together without breaking anything. The Time Lord fiddled with it as Dela spoke again.

"You're leaving, aren't you? Both of you."

"Yes." The sonic was in full working order once again. The three of them started walking.

There was a beat of silence. "Take me with you."

Gilly couldn't say that she was exactly surprised by this, the blonde had certainly been hinting at this often enough during their discussion earlier, but the ex-mortician knew just as well as Dela knew what the answer would be.

"No, it's too dangerous. I have my hands full keeping track of Glenda as it is." Gilly didn't even bother correcting him this time. The discussion was purely between the Doctor and Dela.

"I wasn't talking about the Fortress." She paused before starting again. "I can't defend the settlement like Jennver and Fladon can. I want to travel with you in the TARDIS, be like… Rose."

The Doctor stopped. They had talked a lot that afternoon. "No," he told her shortly, his voice quiet. He started walking again. "New Acropolis is borderline viable," he told her gently. "If I take even one person away from it, there's a chance that everyone dies. Everyone. You can't leave. You can't."

Dela knew this already. Somewhere deep within herself, she knew this. That didn't stop her from being bitter about it. "That's it then? Because of something that happened years ago, something too big to comprehend, there are no more choices? Just a treadmill of obligations and duties with no chance of escape?"

"Yes," he answered flatly.

The three of them had entered the same building that housed both Jeffip's office and the infirmary. There was a back way that presented the quickest route of exit, if they could just find it. They entered the wrong room. It contained a bed and various toolboxes. There was something on the bed covered with a silvery sheet that appeared to be made from a very thin foil. With one glance, Gilly knew immediately what it was, having seen it many, many times before.

The ex-mortician entered the room first, gliding across the floor next to where the body lay. She pulled back the covering to reveal a cadaver that was once a teenaged girl. The corpse wore sport white shorts and a camisole top. There was a grey rag covering her face. Something about that rag bothered Gilly. Why cover the face with a rag if you were already covering the body?

"Alright?" She faintly heard the Doctor ask.

"That's Jall, my first born. It happens. She had been in the city and was killed by a ghost." Dela's voice sounded wet, as if she was about to cry.

"That's been bothering me," the Doctor remarked quietly. "From what I heard, the ghosts don't usually leave a body. They vanish into thin air with their victim. So, what's that flannel for, do you think?" Gilly reached out and removed the rag at the Doctor's silent prompt, only to swallow back a scream a moment later.

Jall's eyes, they were gone. Empty sockets glared balefully up at them in silent accusation.

A/N: And here we are with another chapter. This one was, hmm, difficult to write and required me to step back from writing this story and take a break. I had to take a critical look at the plot and where I'm going with this. I was originally planning to follow the time line strictly presented by cannon, but it appears some changes needed to be made and will be made.

Originally, after the Eyeless arc, we were going to do the Next Doctor, Judgment of the Judoon, the Slitheen Excursion, and then we would do the Prisoner of the Daleks.

However, realism decided that it couldn't remain silent any longer and protested, so therefore, this will be the new order:

1.) The Eyeless

2.) The Next Doctor

3.) Prisoner of the Daleks

4.) The Slitheen Excursion

AND

5.) Judgment of the Judoon

These are the only changes made thus far. I'll be sure to announce more as they come. Anyway, each arc will be about six chapters each with plenty more arcs after the Judgment of the Judoon. If I had to guess, there will be about 21 - 23 arcs total with one epilogue. There will be no sequel.

Concerning this chapter specifically, I only have three things to say:

1.) Concerning the OC named Lorelai, I got the name from the German legend of a water spirit that drowns people.

2.) Concerning the OC named Jolene, I got the name from the song 'Jolene' which describe a woman with the same physical attributes.

AND

3.) In the book 'The Eyeless', around this point of the story when the Doctor is talking with Alsa, it mentions him singing a tune when he says "What's it all about, Alsa?" The tune mentioned, as I discovered, is a reference to the song 'Alfie' by Burt Bacharach. The line referenced is "What's it all about, Alfie?"

So, reviews. They're beautiful things. While they don't force me to write any faster than I feel like writing, they are terrific at stroking my ego and allowing it to be deflated to a more reasonable size. Please continue to do so at your own leisure.