"You're joking, right?" I spat in annoyance, throwing my hands up at the ship poking out of the cliff. "Another fucking ship? Oh, but that's not all. I'm not where I just was!"

There was no one around to hear my frustration and I stormed toward the edge of the rocks, scooping up a fist-sized stone and throwing it into the nearby waves as hard as I could with a shout.

"In some fucking—" I grabbed another stone. "—time jumper bullshit—" I threw it just as hard as the last. "—with some greater being asshole making fun of me!"

I panted heavily, visibly shaking with the adrenaline rush before I dropped down to sit on a boulder angrily. I clenched my fists, resisting the urge to hit the stone, as I glared out at the crashing waves. I didn't even get to see the inside of the Tardis. I don't even know where I am or when I am. I turned my glare over my shoulder to scowl at the cliff.

"Not that it isn't damn familiar but really? Let's yeet some poor American fan into a television show and jerk them around from place to place for fun? There's not even real science going on here! You going to tell me I just got a new fancy tattoo that pulls me wherever?" I snapped at the sky before huffing. "Stupid. This is so fucking stupid."

I went quiet, slowly relaxing from my annoyance and anger with every ebb and flow of the waves. I wasn't one to stay angry for long—though I did have a tendency to hold grudges—and with no one around to really get properly mad at, it didn't take long before I was sighing. I rested an elbow on my knee and dropped my chin into my hand.

"Now what?" I murmured. "So much for traveling with the Doctor or even thinking about telling him about why I'm here." I groaned as I realized how I vanished. "God, Nine is going to either think I didn't want to come or will be super suspicious when he sees me again."

There was a rumble from behind me and I hesitantly glanced over my shoulder at the ship. If he sees me again. I don't know where I am or how stable that ship is. I looked up the coast, wondering if I should get up and try to find civilization or food or at least get away should the ship be unstable when the view changed.

Between one blink and the next, a familiar blue police box appeared a ways away. Knowing that there was only one box that could do such a thing, I hastily got up and carefully picked my way over the rocks toward it. It's the Doctor again. How? How does this work? Will this really be me bouncing around his timeline or something? If so, that's hella annoying. I frowned at the thought, knowing that I was going to miss out on a lot of sleep if that was the case. Already I was exhausted from spending the entire day working on my thesis and the night trying to not die from the Slitheen family. And I don't even know how much this universe hopping and time travel affects me. Let's hope the Doctor has a clue… if he likes me, anyway.

I still had reservations as to how… appealing I was to the man as a potential companion. Even if I did bounce around his timeline, that didn't mean he had to like me and my company, which was being forced upon him. Depending on which Doctor this was too, I didn't know what my future self could have done between when I left Nine and now. Future me could have really fucked things up for the current me if I wasn't careful. It felt weird to not trust myself but I wasn't sure how else to think of it as I finally reached the Tardis… and tripped.

"Son of a—"

I grimaced as my hand scraped over a rock and my other arm was grabbed; thankfully preventing me from knocking my head yet again.

"Whoa, there! I got ya."

I was pulled upright and blinked at the beaming face of Eleven as he held my upper arms.

"Fancy seeing you here, Asher. Been waiting long?"

I stumbled for words for a moment as my brain caught up to the fact that he was actually being pleasant and friendly. "Y-Yeah, no. Not long I don't think. Um…"

He lost his smile a bit, eyeing me in thought and concern. "You okay? You seem… lost. More than usual, anyway."

I frowned a little at that, but his lip curled up slightly in jest and I sighed, relaxing my tense shoulders as he let me go. Should just be honest. No point trying to act like I have a clue what's going on here. "Given I don't know where I am, how I got here, or why I seem to have been thrown from your big-eared self to you, I would say that yeah. I'm a bit more lost than whatever you're used to."

"Ah, early days then?" He asked, looking a little upset before the look was gone. "Sorry. There's not much I can tell you."

"Spoilers or whatever, right?" I replied, knowing exactly how poorly knowing the future could turn out if I knew things I shouldn't or vice versa.

He smiled a little with a nod. "Quick as always. What I can tell you, is that we just picked up River who followed this ship here. You know River?"

I looked over at the bushy-haired figure in the distance. "I know of her, I guess. I've only been… here for maybe a day." I glanced at him briefly. "Sorry."

"No, no. None of that," he scolded lightly before hooking his arm in mine—much to my surprise. "Come on. We can do introductions then. I know how much you love introductions."

I scowled. "Then, you'd know I hate them. Is this really necessary?"

He just kept smiling. "It's not often we get to do introductions! It's good for you. Gets you out of your shell."

I wanted to argue with him but we'd come upon River and a young redhead; one of whom turned toward us with a smile.

"Look who I found!" The Doctor beamed, holding up my arm now as though it was a big surprise.

"Ash!" River smiled. "Lovely of you to join us."

"Doubt I have much of a choice," I muttered under my breath as I gave the Doctor a look. "Take it I don't get to know about the whole jumping time and space either?"

"Mm, not much to know, unfortunately," he admitted. "Even I'm still trying to work it all out."

I sighed as River hummed solemnly.

"Early for you then, is it?"

"As early as it gets," I replied. "I'm still trying to get my head wrapped around it all."

"I don't understand," Amy spoke up, looking between us all. "You said she pops around your timeline or something but what does she mean 'early'?"

"Asher is from another universe," the Doctor explained. "It's a bit complicated."

So I do manage to tell him that much at least. Don't know when I tell him but that's something, I mused before glancing at the ship nearby, wondering how off track we were from the plot just because of these introductions.

"So, what's with the ship?" I asked, earning a raised brow from River.

"You don't know?"

They know that I have foreknowledge on some things too apparently. Great… though at least the Doctor isn't mad about it. "Not much to go on. I just came from a ship crashing into the Thames." I gestured to the Doctor. "Practically his calling card, isn't it?"

She smiled at that as the Doctor complained.

"I don't crash them! They crash themselves!"

"What caused it to crash?" Amy asked as River hummed, eyeing the cliff.

"Not me."

"Nah, the airlock would've sealed seconds after you blew it. According to the Home Box, the warp engines had a phase shift. No survivors," the Doctor replied.

River turned to him. "A phase shift would have to be sabotage. I did warn them."

"About what?" The Doctor asked, getting ignored.

"Well, at least the building was empty. Aplan temple. Unoccupied for centuries."

The Doctor rolled his eyes and moved back away from her and over toward Amy and I. Amy raised a brow at him, curious.

"Aren't you going to introduce us?"

"Amy Pond, Professor River Song."

"Ah, I'm going to be a Professor someday, am I? How exciting. Spoilers," River sang with a smile.

"Yeah, but who is she and how did she do that? She just left you a note in a museum," Amy countered before the Doctor shushed her, and River responded.

"Two things are always guaranteed to show up in a museum. The Home Box of category four starliner and sooner or later, him. It's how he keeps score and Asher rather enjoys them."

I snorted, giving the Doctor a look as he moved over toward me instead and the two shared a laugh over that.

"I'm nobody's taxi service," he complained. "I'm not going to be there to catch you every time you feel like jumping out of a spaceship."

"And you are so wrong," River cooed, smiling at me. "We don't need Asher to tell us that."

The Doctor pouted as I shrugged, knowing she was right.

"There's one survivor. There's a thing in the belly of that ship that can't ever die," River added, making the Doctor frown. "Now he's listening."

She began to use her communicator then, and upon her request to boost the device's signal, Amy cooed at the Doctor.

"Ooh. Doctor, you sonicked her."

"We have a minute. Shall we?" River asked then, heading back over and pulling out a blue Tardis-like book. "Where are we up to? Have we done the Bone Meadows?"

"You at least have a way to keep track," I noted, pointing at it. "Maybe I should get one of those."

"No. Don't," the Doctor grumbled, wrinkling his nose. "It's dangerous to keep something like that hanging around."

"What is it?" Amy asked.

"Stay away from it."

"What is it though?" She pressed, as I answered.

"It's a diary. Her past adventures and his future. They're sort of going in the wrong order."

"Like you?"

"No, no. Very different," The Doctor replied with a wave of his hands. "I go forward, River goes backward. Asher just… bounces around."

"Relative to his timeline, anyway," I pointed out. "River's not going back in time."

"Yeah, you lost me," Amy admitted as I shrugged.

"Time travel is messy like that. Imagine how I feel, jumping about meeting everyone in the wrong order."

Then, four small wind tunnels kicked up the sand not too far off, vanishing and leaving four military officers in their places.

"You promised me an army, Doctor Song," the leader of the group complained as he approached and River smiled.

"No, I promised you the equivalent of an army. This is the Doctor."

The Doctor nodded and shook his hand as the man introduced himself.

"Father Octavian, sir. Bishop, second class. Twenty clerics at my command. The troops are already in the drop ship and landing shortly. Doctor Song was helping us with a covert investigation… Has Doctor Song explained what we're dealing with?"

River looked at the Doctor as he eyed her cautiously. "Doctor, what do you know of the Weeping Angels?"

"Well, shit," I muttered, flushing when I realized they'd heard me. "Sorry. Meant for that to be an inside thought. Don't mind me."

Octavian paid no mind to my outburst, moving away to bring down more men and start setting up the base that would be used to blow open an entrance into the catacombs. Full of angels, I mentally noted, seated on a boulder once more and picking at the dirt under my fingernails. God, I hate the angels. Not as much as the Vashta Nerada or whatever the hell that thing was on Midnight, but still. I shivered then, a thought coming to mind. Fuck. I'm going to have to deal with those, aren't I? I jumped then, as something touched my shoulders, whipping around to see the Doctor standing there and patting my shoulders that he'd settled his tweed jacket over.

"You looked cold," he offered, settling down next to me and staring out at the sunset. "I take it you've worked out where you are?"

I hesitated but nodded, not saying anything. I was remaining cautious, uncertain of what I could and couldn't say; what I should and shouldn't do. Foreknowledge was a dangerous thing and while these people were technically strangers to me, they were still people. And I'm a damn bleeding heart. I turned my gaze to my lap, feeling a bit awkward the longer we sat here in silence.

"You don't have to do anything, you know," he said then, drawing my gaze to him as he offered me a comforting smile. "I'm sure this is all very confusing and new to you. You don't need to force yourself to try and live up to your future expectations, or my expectations for that matter."

"You… You realize how stupid that sounds, right?" I muttered, wincing at how rude I sounded and turning away. "What I mean is… Well, what else am I supposed to do? You're expecting someone else, aren't you? A more experienced me, a more comfortable me, a more trusting me. I don't know what I'm allowed to do. I'm assuming I do nothing. I know the future. Some of it, anyway…" I reached up and tugged at the hair tickling the base of my neck which needed a trim. "I… I don't know how you're not upset with me like you are River."

"Who said I'm upset with River?" He questioned, earning a disbelieving look from me. "Oh, alright, but I'm not, really. She's… annoying. Like… Like someone who's teasing how good or bad a show might be."

"And I'm not?" I asked, feeling uncertain as he shook his head.

"Oh, no. No, no. See, you're both very different people, right? She's all… flirty and you're…" He paused, brows furrowed as he tried to think. "Not."

I snorted, shaking my head slightly. "Wow, so descriptive."

"What I mean is, I trust you, Asher," he said, startling me a bit. "I know that's probably hard for you to believe, and I'm sure it might not look like it early on, but you prove yourself trustworthy to me. Trustworthy in so many ways, and kind, compassionate, smart."

He reached out toward me and I eyed him, uncertain of what he was going to do and not entirely comfortable with people touching me. He seemed to almost change his original purpose, lowering his hand from near my cheek and dropping it on my shoulder instead, giving it a comforting squeeze. Like he knows I'm not entirely okay with it… Why?

"All I'm trying to say is that I trust your judgment on this. If you feel I should know something, I trust you to think about it carefully before telling me. If you want to help someone, even if it goes against what you know to be true, I will trust that you know things might change and… and things might not."

I wasn't entirely convinced of that and he seemed to realize that too, bumping shoulders with me playfully.

"The universe is a strange place. Sometimes there are things it can't account for and things you change don't have an effect at all. Already, you've changed things just by existing in this universe and it hasn't collapsed yet," he teased lightly. "Trust yourself, Asher. You might not think it, but you've got a level head on your shoulders and consider things a lot of people would usually ignore."

"Bad things are supposed to happen," I muttered, eyeing him cautiously, not entirely certain about his confidence in me.

"Bad things happen whether you're around to try and stop them or not. Doesn't mean anything that happens is your fault, and that's something you go out of your way to remind me of," he chuckled. "It's nice to give you the same lecture."

I scoffed, looking out over the darkened waters now that the sun had set. "You're such a child."

"And you're not childish enough," he said, though the tone he used made me feel as though he knew a lot more about me than I thought.

I glanced back at him, giving him a once over as he stood and brushed off his pants. "What do you know, Doctor?" I asked softly, drawing his gaze to me and I almost didn't expect him to answer.

"I know that it's a sad thing when leaving everything behind is more refreshing than regretful," he murmured, stepping away with one last pat on my shoulder as I watched him walk back into the camp.

I was a little uneasy about the Doctor after that and kept a bit of distance from him for a while. I was also rather exhausted and figured taking a small nap might be nice. So, I settled at a table near the dropship where River was working, folding my arms over my chest and closing my eyes. I was half asleep, brows furrowed as my mind refused to really settle properly. It kept bouncing to thoughts of what the Doctor knew about me, why I would trust him, when I trusted him, and idle thoughts on what was to come with this adventure with the angels. I heard River calling out to the Doctor as I started to drag my consciousness back out of the sludge of my tired mind, and a hand settled on my shoulder.

"Asher. Come on, then. I know you're tired but River has something for us."

I grumbled under my breath as I peered open my eyes in annoyance. "I'm never going to get proper sleep around you, am I?"

The Doctor cracked a small smile. "You have taught me that any sleep you get is precious and not to be trifled with unless it's important."

I snorted, getting up with a stretch and handing him back his tweed jacket. "I'm more surprised you listened."

"Yes, well, they were rather… potent lessons. Hard to forget them," he replied, awkwardly rubbing the back of his head as I raised a brow.

"Did I throw something at you?"

"What? No!" He said a little too quickly before wincing. "Well, perhaps… perhaps quite a lot."

"Good," I answered, cracking a smile. "You probably deserved it."

He gasped in mock hurt as I headed over to where River was poking her head out of the dropship.

"I'm curious," I hummed, earning a raised brow from her. "They're from the Church, right?"

"That's right."

"Which one?"

Her grin grew. "Ooh, I love when you ask the hard questions," she purred, earning a raised brow from me as the Doctor caught up and pointed a firm finger at her.

"Stop it."

She gasped, holding a hand to her chest in mock hurt. "I didn't even do anything. She was just asking a question."

He narrowed his eyes at her and grabbed my arm, tugging me into the dropship as she replied from behind us.

"All of them."

I opened my mouth to question her further but the Doctor pulled me right on up to the television that was playing a recording of a Weeping Angel with its face covered.

"What do you think?" River asked him as I lightly tugged my hand free, taking a good few steps back away from the flickering, repeating video on the screen. "It's from the security cameras in the Byzantium vault. I ripped it when I was on board. Sorry about the quality. It's four seconds. I've put it on loop."

"Should probably get rid of it," I muttered under my breath, waving her and the Doctor off when they looked at me. "Inside thought again. Sorry."

"It is an angel though," the Doctor pointed out. "Hands covering its face."

"You've encountered angels before," Octavian concluded, getting a nod.

"Once, on Earth, a long time ago. But those were scavengers, barely surviving."

"But it's just a statue," Amy argued.

"Until you're not looking," I answered, eyeing the screen uneasily and tuning out the rest of their conversation as I tried to think.

I had a very important decision to make, after all. I knew what would happen in the next few moments and could change it if I wanted. The Doctor was giving me free rein to do what I wished with my foreknowledge but that didn't mean I was going to use it all willy-nilly. I was hesitant for many reasons. Butterfly effect, those things that eat time, people getting hurt or dying who shouldn't have been, people living who were supposed to die… How much of that would be because of me if I change something? Because I decided to play God with people's lives? I winced at the thought, remembering the Doctor's comforting words from earlier about things not being my fault at all, but I wasn't really feeling the same.

Focus. What's supposed to happen? Amy gets an angel in her eye, it tries to kill her and fails, and vanishes by the end of this. What happens if I stop that? If I prevent it? The angels don't have her to use to mess with the Doctor, she's not a liability that gets left behind, and… oh… Oh, if she doesn't get left behind, then those clerics won't vanish into the crack. Can I do that? It wouldn't be saving just one person but multiple. That means a bigger effect on the universe. One of them could hurt a billion others but one of them could save a billion others. I… I don't know what to do. I watched the Doctor start to leave with the others and reached out to stop him, only to hesitate.

He rushed out the door with Octavian and River on his heels, rambling on about the ship and the angel as I bit my tongue. What would asking him do? It would put pressure on him to solve this. It would give away that someone's going to die. I can't tell him. I glanced behind me as Amy wandered over to the television, feeling guilt well up in me as I fidgetted in the doorway. She won't be harmed either way but… but if I stop this, three people live who shouldn't. Three military people… three church people…

"Anybody need me? Nobody?" Amy called from beside me, making me jump and earning a questioning look from her. "What?"

"Nothing," I replied automatically, earning an eye roll from her as she moved back into the ship and my mind decided to blurt something out to add to my complicated thoughts and feelings on this mess. "Amy?"

"Yeah?" She asked, not looking at me but at the image of the angel which had changed.

"Are we… friends?"

"What's that?" She questioned, finally turning as my eyes flickered to the angel to keep it in place just over her shoulder.

"In the future, I mean… My future, I guess. Your present… Are we… Were we friendly with each other?"

"I dunno," she said with a shrug. "Only known each other a few days. We're not exactly chummy, though, if that's what you mean."

"Right… yeah. Not long enough to figure it out then." Doesn't mean we won't be later… Doesn't mean that my actions now won't change how she feels about me…

I dragged a hand down my face in frustration. There were too many things to consider. Three clerics being alive meant three people who could change the world themselves or who could have kids and grandkids who do that. Saving them also didn't necessarily mean they would stay saved even with my interference. As the Doctor said, the universe compensates for things sometimes and could very well kill them in other ways; ways possibly worse than what I knew. But that wouldn't be my fault. God, why couldn't the Doctor give me advice? I shouldn't be put in charge of decisions like this. I need direction. But the longer I thought about it, the more the guilt in my gut began to grow. Three people's lives were in my hands and I was a bleeding heart.

"Goddammit," I muttered under my breath, moving past Amy toward the television as she went to the door to speak with River.

"Doctor Song? Did you have more than one clip of the angel?"

"No, just the four seconds," River called back as I grabbed the remote off the table and continued to grumble under my breath.

"Stupid Doctor telling me to do what I felt was right. Trusting me to make this choice when I don't even know what the fuck I'm doing. I'm probably going to regret this but hell, I can blame him, right?"

I wouldn't blame him, obviously, but rambling my complaints was helping me cope as my hands shook and I eyed the chest of the angel that was now facing me; nearly dropping the remote when Amy came up behind me.

"What are you doing?"

"Preventing something that is definitely going to cause some shit later," I muttered, pushing the pause button on the remote just as the video turned to static at the end of the loop. "Do me a favor and unplug the tv, Amy."

"Yeah, alright," she muttered, pulling said plug to keep the tv off as I let out a breath of relief and turned away from the screen, leaning against the wall and lightly hitting my head on it.

"Fucking hell, I hate this."

"Hate what?"

"Making decisions," I replied, opening my eyes and nodding toward the door. "Come on. Best tell the Doctor what I messed around with."

"What do you mean? What did you do?"

"Something stupid."

"It's so strange when you go all baby face. How early is this for you?" River asked the Doctor as she flipped through her book and he flipped through the notes on the Weeping Angels.

"Very early."

"So you don't know who I am yet? Ash obviously doesn't either."

"Asher is extremely early. Doesn't know a thing about what's going on." He paused then, brows furrowed. Said she was with me when I had big ears. Early versions of her were only with him a few times. I'd have to ask exactly how long she's been around. He shook his head and went back to flipping. "How do you know who I am? I don't always look the same."

"I've got pictures of all your faces. You never show up in the right order, though. I need the spotter's guide," River replied, making him realize what was wrong with the book in his hands.

"Pictures. Why aren't there pictures? This whole book, it's a warning about the Weeping Angels, so why no pictures? Why not show us what to look out for?"

"There was a bit about images. What was that?" She pointed out but Asher came up behind them and answered.

"The image of an angel is an angel," she said, making the Doctor turn around with a grin.

"Ah, you've remembered something then! Love it when you quote things."

"Yeah, well, I… might have changed some things too, actually."

His smile fell. "Oh. Okay, well…"

He could tell she was worried about it, whatever it was. Younger versions of her needed reassurance but Asher also wasn't sure what she was doing. Was it possible she did something the universe couldn't fix? Yes. Did he think she did that or would do that? No. Not on purpose and not without trying to think of the consequences. It was a hard decision for her to choose whether or not to use her foreknowledge and until she got the hang of it, she was going to question her choices.

"Right. First thing's first," he said, opening his arms and gesturing for her to come over.

She hesitated, confused but stepped forward only for him to grab her in a hug, surprising her and making her stiffen.

"Don't worry about it so much," he muttered in her ear, feeling her tense in his grip before he let go and gave her a smile. "No matter what, I'm sure you are just doing your best and there's nothing wrong with that."

She slowly nodded, not looking entirely convinced but that was just what she was like early on. Until she saw the results of her choice, she would be a bit uneasy about it no matter what the Doctor said to try and reassure her. Didn't mean he would stop or that he wouldn't distract her, of course.

"So, the image of an angel is an angel?" He questioned and she nodded.

"I turned off the recording. It would've come out of the tv as a projection or something. That image of it literally becomes an angel," she explained and he was grateful she was comfortable doing so.

She often second-guessed what she could tell them after changing something and even now he could see her mind running through her words to ensure she didn't give anything away. She's too hard on herself.

"That would explain the lack of pictures."

"You can't look them in the eye either," she added, cautiously. "With how our eyes work, prolonged staring could… could allow an angel to form in your mind."

His eyes widened, having never even considered that, and when he went to question her, he caught her staring at Amy. It clicked then, what she'd changed.

"Amy would have stared into the eyes of an angel," he breathed, making Asher wince but nod as Amy looked between them in question.

"I'm sorry?"

The Doctor waved her off. "It's nothing. Never mind that. It didn't happen so there's no point in worrying about it."

That did little to comfort Asher though, who didn't say anything but wouldn't look at him. There was something else that changed because of what she prevented but he wouldn't think about it now. No point in trying when he didn't know what events in the future could have a connection to Amy having an angel in her mind. Amy looked a bit miffed about being brushed off too, but he would talk to her later. As much as he was fine with Asher making decisions with her foreknowledge, he already knew how confrontational his companions could be about it. And this younger Asher doesn't need to deal with that right now. Amy can wait.

At that moment, there was a loud explosion that make Asher jump with a grimace. The Doctor gave her a pat on the back as he turned to see Octavian, who called out to them announcing that they'd broken through into the chamber.

"Now it starts," he hummed as they gathered with the clerics and descended down into the dark.

Everyone clicked on their flashlights and the Doctor asked for a gravity globe as Amy questioned where exactly they were.

"Where are we? What is this?"

"It's an Aplan Mortarium, sometimes called a Maze of the Dead," River replied as Asher warily eyed the dark around them.

"Something I might find pretty cool if it weren't for the angels."

"But what is it?" Amy pressed as the Doctor held out the gravity globe in front of him; no one paying attention to the fact that Asher spoke of the angel in the plural.

"Well, if you happen to be a creature of living stone…" The Doctor kicked the gravity globe up, lighting the cavernous chamber they were in to reveal thousands of stone statues. "...the perfect hiding place."

"I guess this makes it a bit trickier," Octavian muttered as the flashlights trailed over the statues.

"A bit, yeah."

"A stone Angel on the loose amongst stone statues. A lot harder than I'd prayed for."

"A needle in a haystack," River breathed as the Doctor hummed.

"A needle that looks like hay. A hay-like needle of death. A hay-like needle of death in a haystack of, uh, statues… No, yours was fine."

Octavian went ahead and handed out orders before going off to the side to talk to River as the Doctor used that moment to check on Asher. She'd been quiet and while her younger self was quiet anyway, especially when surrounded by strangers, he could tell she was tense too and worrying about something. So he headed over and lightly bumped hips with her, earning a small glare when she almost dropped her flashlight.

"You're thinking too hard," he hummed as they walked, eyeing the statues around them. "I could hear you from back there."

"Sorry if I feel I have a lot to think about," she grumbled. "Knowing the future kind of does that."

"What I meant was, what's bothering you?" He asked, worried. "You don't have to tell me anything that gives it away if you're not comfortable, but I… I don't like seeing you struggle all on your own. Talk to me, Asher. Anything."

She couldn't look at him but her expression softened into one of concern. "What… What if I knew something that could help someone?" She asked, keeping her gaze on where her flashlight was aimed. "Multiple people but if they were helped then… then something else could change. A lot of things could change in ways I don't know." She finally turned to look at him, eyes holding a tinge of uncertainty. "I know you said it's all up to me. That I am smart or whatever and think things through but… I don't know what to do. I don't want people to get hurt or die but if they don't then worse things could happen."

"There is always the possibility that something worse or something better could happen, or nothing at all," the Doctor explained, understanding her concerns and trying to find a better way to explain things and ease her guilt. "Asher, the best way to deal with all of this? The best way for you to deal with all this? Is to take a deep breath and stop trying to think of all the what-ifs."

She looked at him like he was crazy and the Doctor placed his hands on her arms, leaning toward her to look her in the eyes.

"I know that sounds mad. I know it doesn't really make sense, but for you, that's what you need to do. You have the foreknowledge of one timeline. A timeline that was thrown off track the second you appeared in this world and that means there's going to be a lot of things you can't predict. Foreknowledge or not. Things will change and have changed with or without your help. People die, Ash, and that's not your fault."

"But I could save them," she lightly countered but not sounding convinced of her own argument.

"You can't save everyone. I won't stop you from trying but you have to understand that there are consequences either way. They could live and cause trouble, or be absolutely middling. They could live only to die a moment later of something else out of your control. They could die because you chose to not save them but that wouldn't make their death your fault."

"But—"

He tightened his grip a bit, wanting to smother her with his chest and hold her tightly to him. Instead, he let one of her arms go and placed a hand on her cheek—a pang of hurt flashing through him when she shrank away from the fond touch.

"I swear to you, Asher, unless you are holding the thing that killed someone and you pulled that trigger, their death is not on you. All you need to do is look at this as your life. Make your own decisions and don't worry about every little possible outcome. You shouldn't be placed in that position. You'd go mad. Anyone would."

She nodded her head taking in a slow breath to hold back the waves of emotion and confusion she was dealing with.

"Asher, I trust you to do nothing more than your best, so long as it's not a detriment to yourself. Don't tear yourself up over this. Everything you have changed up until now was something that ended up being the best choice you could make. You even did things without realizing it."

Her gaze snapped up at that, looking an equal mix of shocked and worried.

"And nothing happened," he reassured her. "Sometimes even good things happened. I'll bet you didn't even realize you saved a young man back with me on your first trip."

She opened her mouth to argue when realization dawned on her. "Ganesh… I didn't realize—"

"You're only human, Ash," he offered solemnly, tasting the lie on his tongue but knowing he couldn't tell her the truth now. "You're allowed to forget things and react to situations without thinking. It happens and I find it's so much easier when you stop thinking so hard about your choices and just do what comes naturally to you. Okay?" He breathed, his forehead pressed to hers and his hand holding her neck as she kept her head slightly bowed. "Don't ruin yourself over this, even if it's hard."

She nodded slightly and he let out a breath, pulling away reluctantly and giving her hair a small ruffle to help relax her a little. She was overwhelmed and he could tell how stressed she was. She did offer a mumbled thanks though and he gave her a side hug; rubbing her arm and keeping her distracted as he rambled about a species of pet alien parrots owned by the Aplans.