I frowned, drumming my fingers on my arm as I leaned back in a wooden chair in the caretaker's storeroom. The Doctor was finishing up his preparations and already said he didn't really want me coming with him because my presence would distract the robot given I wasn't also invisible. I didn't mind but I had other things on my mind. Namely, one other thing: Danny Pink.

My memory of this episode wasn't great but I knew the man found a few devices and by picking them up, he ruined the Doctor's plan the first time. This then forced the Doctor to have to try and catch the Blitzer during the parent-teacher meetings which pissed Clara off more and caused a huge falling out between the Doctor, Clara, and Danny. Not that it won't happen anyway but maybe I should try and stop him? If I can prevent Danny from picking up the devices, then there's still a chance they might not hate each other too much?

"It would certainly make Clara happy," I muttered under my breath, still feeling a hint of guilt for upsetting her earlier, even if the Doctor told me it wasn't my fault.

It was trying to figure out the consequences of my future actions that had me in a pickle. Preventing an all-out shouting match was one thing, but Clara also had to admit to Danny who the Doctor was and what she was doing when she was with him. Could this happen later? Sure. Would it go as… well, poorly as if they did it the way the plot I knew intended? Debatable. There were just a lot of things to think about and consider, but the more I worried about it, the more I could feel frustration building up.

"What?"

I yelped, cringing as I felt my chair starting to fall back in my panic at the Doctor's sudden interruption, but my back hitting the floor never came. I hesitantly opened my eyes and let out a sigh of relief as the Doctor lightly pulled my chair back upright with a small frown.

"I've told you not to sit like that," he grumbled.

"And obviously, I learned nothing since you told my future self that after telling the current me the same thing," I teased, offering a small smile. "Sorry."

He rolled his eyes before fiddling with his sonic as he tried again. "So? Why are you overthinking? I doubt it's about my plan, given it's foolproof."

"Who said I was—"

"Ash," he cut me off, staring at me long and hard. "I've known you far too long for you to think you could get away with that excuse."

I rubbed the back of my neck and awkwardly glanced away. "Yeah, alright. I'm overthinking. I get it. Your last self told me the same thing but I can't help it. Changing the plot is—"

"Is a pointless waste of time," he huffed, folding his arms and leaning against the doorjamb to face me. "There is no plot here. There's just life and how it's going now. You might have an idea of how it might go, but that's it. Unless there are absolutely dire consequences, it's hardly something to get worked up about."

"But what counts as dire?" I pushed. "Someone dying? Torture? A broken relationship? Look, I know you can't tell me much because I'm young but you say that things like Donna or Rose or even you being harmed in whatever way, is something that I just let happen."

"You're right," he said, making me stiffen as he approached. "I can't say, but what I can say is that you panicking over your decisions during any of those moments did not help you by the end of it. You reacted the way you felt you should. The consequences of such were there for us to deal with."

I pulled back slightly when his hand cupped my cheek, surprised by the fond action.

"You can't keep trying to do things on your own, Ash," he muttered, pulling back and standing tall once more. "Do what you feel is right and we'll deal with whatever happens when it happens. Now, I'm going to go out there and catch the killer robot, as you so aptly put it. I would tell you to stay put but seeing as you're debating on something I will leave that as a suggestion. At the very least, don't get in my way."

I nodded dumbly, still surprised by the fond touch and that his suggestion was obviously something said to keep me safe, not to be rude. He nodded back and stepped out of the storage room, closing the door behind him as I tried to collect myself and come to a decision. When I did, I was still uneasy about it, but got up and headed out myself in search of Danny. Hopefully, I find him quickly before he finds the first device. He's a maths teacher so… I stepped into the school, orientating the mental map in my head before picking a direction. That way.

Danny Pink was tired as he always was after a long day at work, especially with the upcoming parent-teacher night, but it wasn't the thought of telling parents their child was a disruptive influence that had him bothered. No, it was the new caretaker and whatever his relationship was with Clara. Danny wasn't stupid, after all. Clara obviously knew him in some way and was distracted by the older man, though he was hesitant to think it was in any way romantic. Still, it bothered him and the man put him on edge.

He shook the thoughts from his mind for now, knowing he had stayed rather later than he'd expected, and gathered his things to head home. He wished he could have had dinner with Clara but again, she had canceled. Or, well, he had canceled for her knowing she was about to cancel on him. He would probably grab some takeout instead on the way home. He sighed lightly, exiting his classroom and locking the door only to pause. A green light had caught his attention, flashing just under the fire alarm. He walked over, reaching for it only to jump when someone called out to him.

"M-Mr. Pink!"

He turned away from the device in surprise as a young, out-of-breath woman approached before he recognized her. "Oh, you're the caretaker's…"

"A-Assistant," she offered with a polite smile, subtly moving between him and the fire alarm. "Yes. Sorry, I know it's late. Clara said you might be here."

"You know Clara?"

She nodded. "A bit, yeah. She just wanted to apologize about tonight. She's really upset she couldn't make it."

"And she couldn't just tell me that herself?" He questioned, feeling as though there was something off about this meeting just like how Clara herself was often coming up with excuses.

"It's not that. She, um… She doesn't know I'm here," the woman offered with a grimace. "See, she's been kind of off lately and keeps telling me how she hates canceling on you all the time. I just thought… Well, we're not great friends but I figured I would make sure there are no hard feelings? She really does like you."

"Yeah… Yeah, I know," he admitted, relaxing his suspicions a bit as she rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. "It's um, Miss Watkins, right?"

"Asher," she replied with a wrinkle of her nose. "Miss is a bit formal."

"Then, call me Danny," he offered, nodding down the hall. "Should I walk you out?"

"Oh! Oh, no. It's okay. I'm helping the Doc—The caretaker with some cleaning after hours. It's parent-teacher conferences tomorrow, right? The headmaster wanted us to make sure everything was clean and set up for them. Hard to do it with kids running around, you know?"

"Yeah, I get that," he replied, though she kept walking with him, tucking her hands in her pockets. "The caretaker, what's he like? You've worked with him long?"

"Hm? Oh, kind of? It's complicated but…" She frowned lightly, thinking. "He's a bit rough, you know? One of those people who come off a bit rude even when they're being nice, kind of things. Terrible with people. Not a fan."

"Yeah, I can see that. You were there with the whole maths-PE thing, right? What's that about?"

"He's a bit dense too, to be honest. He's got a thing against soldiers." She held her hands up when he frowned. "N-Not in the way you think! It's also a bit complicated but he's worked with them a lot and has had a lot of issues. He… He was one himself but unwillingly. He doesn't care for what comes with it. Wars and guns and stuff. Not a fan myself, honestly, but I understand the whole protecting people thing, even if I disagree with how it's done. If that makes sense."

"I suppose. He's a bit weird though."

Asher snorted. "Understatement of the century. He likes tech too. Did you see those things he's been putting around the school?"

Danny was surprised she mentioned them. "Yeah. I just saw one outside my classroom. What are they?"

"He's trying to be hip with the kids. Wants to make a 3D hologram-type thing of the corridors. A map or something. Then, show it off later."

Danny scoffed with a small smile. "Yeah, definitely weird."

There was a noise in the corridor adjacent to them, making him turn with a frown and call out.

"Hello?" He took a step toward the hall as Asher hastily came up alongside him.

"Maybe it's nothing? Though it could also be the caretaker. He said he was going to be a bit noisy."

There was a loud bang then and Danny rushed towards the doors leading into the school hall as Asher cursed under her breath.

"No, wait!"

Danny threw open the doors just as Clara spotted them and rushed over as well, but the hall was empty except for the Doctor as he blew the top of his sonic like blowing on a smoking gun. Asher let out a sigh of relief as she leaned against the door frame and Clara hurried over to Danny.

"Danny, what are you doing here?" She asked him as he frowned, eyeing the Doctor and turning back to her.

"I was finishing up stuff for tomorrow," he said, gesturing to me. "Asher ran into me in the hall. I was leaving when I heard a commotion."

"Just me," the Doctor chirped, unbothered. "Sorry. Lots of caretaker things going on. You know how it is."

Asher rolled her eyes at that poor excuse before holding out her arms to herd Danny and Clara away. "Yeah, you two need to go have a talk while I have a completely unrelated talk with the Doctor."

"Hold on, what?" Clara questioned, confused. "But the thing. The caretaker thing—"

"Is dealt with," Asher replied, "because I did something stupid and changed some things. Only issue is there's a lot of dishonesty going around and I would rather not have to play damage control if I don't have to. So, go." She leaned in close to Clara. "Explain things to him. Properly, because this is your one chance to do it right without having both him and the Doctor at each other's throats."

"But…"

Asher shook her head. "But nothing. Do it now the way you want it done or it will blow up. I haven't stopped anything, just postponed it to give you a chance. That's what you wanted, isn't it? Me to do something?"

Clara looked guilty and Danny looked between the two in uncertainty.

"What's going on? What is she talking about?"

"I'll um… I'll explain. Promise," Clara said, lightly taking his arm and walking him out before the Doctor scoffed.

"Well, I'm glad he's gone. Now, we can get back to clearing things up and—"

"He's her boyfriend."

The Doctor stopped, turning to face Asher while picking up one of the devices off a chair. "Sorry?"

"Danny Pink is Clara's boyfriend," Asher repeated, running a hand through her hair.

"PE? That's who she picked?"

"He's a maths teacher. Stop letting his past as a soldier cloud your judgment," Asher said sharply. "Unless you want me judging you for the same thing."

The Doctor bristled at the comment as Asher shook her head.

"Look. I'm not asking you to like the guy, just tolerate him. You won't see him often and believe it or not, but you would've been a little impressed with what he would have done today."

"You changed something."

"Yeah, for everyone's benefit. You and him aren't fighting over stupid shit. Clara isn't having to try and explain things in a tense situation, and I don't have to play damage control or family therapist. Pretty sure I had enough of that back home," she huffed, frowning at him. "He would have come across one of your devices and moved it because he's suspicious of you and Clara. Blitzer would've been tossed in a vortex but only until tomorrow night when it would show up again at the parent-teacher thing. You would've gotten mad he screwed things up this time. Clara would have had to listen to you two bicker and fight. Both of you would've said stupid shit to hurt the other, then he would risk being bait to buy you time to get rid of the Blitzer."

"And you prevented that."

"I got lucky and stopped him before he could touch one of the devices. Made up some shit about you making a 3D hologram map of the school to impress the kids. Yeah. Thing is, Clara can't keep lying about where she's been going when she's canceling her dates. You can't keep interfering in her life just because you don't like someone she chose to date. He doesn't have to be good enough for you, just good enough for her."

He was quiet, eyeing her and slowly approaching before tipping her head up with his hand. "You have quite the mouth on you even when young."

"What? And you want me to use it less? Or maybe more? Should I say 'fuck' more often? Honestly surprised I haven't with how much you piss me o—"

He kissed her forehead, stunning her into silence before grabbing her cheeks in his hand, and squishing them. "I could do with less cursing but you always keep me right. I can't fault you for that, even when I want to."

Her brows furrowed before he let her go and turned to pick up another device on the chairs surrounding them. "Now, that doesn't mean I'll get on with Mr. PE. He'll need to at least prove he isn't completely daft and—" He turned back, but Asher was gone and he sighed, tipping his head back to stare at the ceiling. "And I'm a damn fool who couldn't even hold back for a few days."

I fell backward this time, landing on my ass on a hard floor and still very much stunned at what had just occurred. For one thing, I changed a rather large event that may or may not have altered how the Doctor, Clara, and Danny deal with one another. The other thing was the fond kiss on my forehead that still had me in a stupor. H-He said we're married. It's expected, right? But this wasn't Eleven doing it—someone I expected to just full-on kiss me out of nowhere if we were married. No, this was Twelve. And even Eleven was rather tame. I… I don't know what to think.

So, I didn't. I was good at that. At pushing away things I didn't want to think about. It helped that I had just been jerked to another location and I distracted myself by getting to my feet and brushing myself off. An even greater distraction was the sound of rushing feet and a shouted command as half a dozen armed men surrounded me.

"Don't move!"

I immediately lifted my hands up in surrender, startled and spouting the first thing that came out of my mouth. "I'm unarmed! Don't shoot!"

No one moved as my heart raced and I hesitantly eyed the men who continued to aim their guns at me. Two turned slightly though and moved aside to let a familiar woman step into the semi-circle. Fuck me, I mentally complained as she gave me a once-over.

"I would like to say we were expecting you, except from everything our records say, that's impossible," she hummed, holding out a hand and getting handed a tablet. "Asher Watkins, friend of the Doctor's with an unnatural ability to hop through time and space."

I gaped for a moment before closing my mouth, still not lowering my hands. "Yeah, I'm going to assume the Doctor went and got me noticed, right?"

"You're rather infamous yourself, actually, Miss Watkins," Yvonne replied with a sickly sweet smile. "We have some questions for you if you don't mind."

I again glanced at the armed men. "Don't suppose I have much of a choice."

"Oh, no. Obviously not. Though, I won't let it be said that we were discourteous to you," she offered, gesturing for the men to lower their guns and allowing me to hesitantly lower my arms. "We'll make sure you're perfectly comfortable. After all, you're not really a threat to us."

She turned and started to walk off, leaving the gap between the soldiers but I didn't move, still rather uneasy about what I was allowed to do here. Yvonne was one of those strange people I would wish I never had to meet. It was hard to tell whether she was actually being nice or if everything she did was for a purpose. And how far would she go to accomplish that purpose? She sacrificed her own life and became a Cyberman with a will strong enough to override their orders.

"Aren't you coming?" She asked, pausing to look over her shoulder at me as I shifted my weight uneasily.

"A-Am I allowed?" I asked awkwardly, still eyeing the men as she rolled her eyes.

"Right. American. I thought you'd be more comfortable with guns but yes, you're fine. They wouldn't do anything without my order and we hardly want you dead. As I said, you're no threat to us."

I slowly walked out of the group and caught up with her, swallowing thickly and hoping that the internal panic I was dealing with would continue to hide as well as it was now. My hands were quivering as adrenaline rushed through me, but my voice was somehow mostly steady. I need to ask questions. I don't know where exactly I am in this episode and… I would rather not be on the other end of Yvonne and her duty to the crown or whatever.

"Is this what you would normally do if someone just pops up in your building?" I asked cautiously.

"Oh, no. Trespassers are shot on the spot and anything else that would, as you say, 'pop up' out of nowhere would be captured, questioned, and potentially tested until we could determine if that power was harnessable for ourselves."

I paled at the thought, hoping that things were different for me. I would rather not be dissected or anything because of this ability. I don't exactly like pain, tattoos or otherwise.

"B-But I'm useful?"

"You're the Doctor's closest companion," she stated as though it were fact, despite me not having known the Doctor long. "You might not be a threat to us, but everyone knows what would happen if he found out something happened to you. Doesn't mean we won't do anything, but I do believe we can come to an agreement."

Is it weird I'm a bit annoyed by not being more important? That I'm just a way to get at the Doctor? I pushed the thought aside as we stepped into an elevator and I tucked my hands into my coat, trying to pretend that I was completely safe despite being in Yvonne's hands. Hesitantly, I glanced over at her.

"Where are we going?"

"Well, from what our records state, you're not entirely stupid and might have an idea about something we've found. I would much rather like to get the Doctor's opinion on that but you don't always show up with him. Is he on his way?"

I shrugged. "Dunno. Like you said, I just pop up. He probably doesn't know I'm here."

"We'll be sure to change that. Subtly, of course. Don't want the world knowing who you are."

"Right… So, I'm just going to be the bait to lure him out?"

"Mostly, yes."

"Great," I muttered, hating that I was not only useless but also a hindrance to the Doctor. It's a wonder he tolerates me.

"Ah, apologies, I haven't even introduced myself. Asher Watkins, Yvonne Hartman and you just so happened to pop up in the middle of Torchwood. I would offer you a tour but that can wait for later. We have better things to do," she said, stepping out and gesturing for me to join her.

As expected, she brought me to the room with the large, black sphere. I remembered Jackie commenting how wrong it was but that didn't hold a candle to how I felt.

"Thoughts?" Yvonne asked. "I'm sure the Doctor might have actual answers but still, I'm curious."

"I don't like it, that's for sure," I muttered. "It's like it's there and not there at the same time." I grimaced, turning away from it and bringing a hand up to my mouth.

"What is it?" Yvonne questioned curiously.

"Sorry. It just… It's screwing with my senses. Felt like I might throw up. Dizzy. That's all."

"More of a reaction than what others get. Interesting."

I hadn't meant to be interesting. The last thing I wanted was to be interesting to Yvonne. Still, she didn't say anything more about it as we left the room and she led me somewhere else.

"Do you have any thoughts on the Ghosts?" She asked as we were back in the elevator.

"Haven't seen them," I muttered. "Unless you're talking about spirit ghosts then that's more debatable but I feel like you meant Ghosts with a capital G."

I was lying through my teeth but if there was one thing I learned being the eldest of seven kids in a stricter family, it was how to lie and how to lie well.

"Well, just so you're all caught up for when your precious Doctor gets here, the sphere appeared into this world and the Ghosts followed. They were inactive until we fired particle engines at the spot they came from and the breech opens up."

"Why would you fire anything at a crack between universes?" I questioned her as though she were daft. Which she is.

"We don't know if that's what it is and we needed to test whether it was dangerous or not. We are required to figure out what it is."

I scoffed, hunching my shoulders a bit. "If it were all for science you wouldn't do something so drastic. You lot are just greedy. It's not going to help you, you know. All you're doing is making a hole bigger and allowing more dangerous shit through. I'm not even big on science and even I can tell this is stupid."

"It's a massive source of energy," she argued. "If we can harness it, we won't need to depend on the Middle East ever again. Britain will become truly independent."

"Why?" I asked, getting a confused frown from her.

"Excuse me?"

"Why does Britain need to be independent? Why does any country need that? You lot are already aware there's more to this universe than humans, so why not make Earth independent and stop worrying about internal problems? Peace doesn't come from power and segregation. It comes from cooperation and compassion. This whole Ghost and sphere thing? You should be uniting together to send it back where it came from and repairing the crack in the universe. That's what will save you and give you credit. But nah. Let's make it bigger and more dangerous because we're greedy. Stupid dumbass," I huffed, spitting out the last bit under my breath though she could probably hear me in the quiet of the elevator as it finished and the doors opened.

Two armed guards were there and I stiffened as Yvonne stepped past them and me.

"Take her to her cell. Give her something to eat and set up the tests I asked for."

"What?" I questioned, squirming a bit as the two grabbed me by the arms. "I thought you said you wouldn't do anything!"

"Nothing too damaging," she shrugged off, unbothered. "Blood test and a few other things. You'll still get meals and a bed, after all. We're not savages but don't you think it's interesting, Miss Watkins?" She hummed, eyeing me sharply. "It seems you and the sphere have a bit in common. Popping into another time and place? We don't just come across something like that every day, much less two things. So, enjoy your stay. Don't worry, I'll bring the Doctor over to you as soon as he shows up. I'm sure he'll prove just as useful."

I was bored, dangerously so. Yvonne refused to give me any "outside access" so there was no internet to scroll through, no phone, nothing. Just me in a cell with three meals a day and my only privacy being the adjoined bathroom. Even my backpack would've been nice but I'd left it in the Tardis with Twelve. The only break in the dull routine of constant sleeping or the daily exercising I started to do—thanks to my pent-up anxiety demanding I do something—were the tests. They weren't too bad, honestly. A blood sample, fingerprints, a light skin scraping, and a few other tests I didn't bother to remember. Nothing invasive, nothing too painful or, well, painful to me anyway. Probably another issue to add to my growing list of problems.

I sighed and pushed myself up off the bed, stretching for a while and humming to myself. I had asked for an MP3 player of any kind and was still waiting for it. It was the only exception they were willing to offer. I didn't care for the silence of the cell and I knew I would lose it if I was stuck in here much longer. Already the days were blurring together and I was spending my downtime sleeping more often than anything. It wasn't healthy and mentally I could feel myself having trouble.

I grimaced and started exercising, doing anything I could think of with what I had available. Pushups, squats, light jogging around the edge of my room, jumping jacks, anything. Once thoroughly exhausted, I flopped back onto the ground to catch my breath as the hatch in the door opened and a tray was pushed in along with a water bottle.

"Cheers," I breathed, grabbing the bottle first and carefully sipping it before picking up the tray and sitting on the edge of the bed, thinking.

Dunno how long it's been. Dunno when the Doctor will show up and it's the Tenth Doctor with Rose. This being the damn episode she gets yeeted into the other universe probably means he won't like me by the end of this. Can't do anything about it though. Rose sticking around means no Martha, no Donna, no anyone. I shook my head lightly, tearing through the rest of my meal when the hatch opened again unexpectedly. An mp3 player was slid in with a pair of headphones and I groaned, scrambling for it and immediately setting it to shuffle to find something I liked. Music flooded my ears and I sat back on the floor again in relief.

"Anything is better than silence," I murmured, humming along to the song before settling in for another nap.

It was short-lived though, as heavy pounding on the door broke through my rest and I groaned, wishing my headphones hadn't fallen out while I was out.

"What?" I complained, sitting up and rubbing at my eyes as one of the guards spoke from the other side of the door.

"Another test. Then, Hartman wants to see you."

I groaned, begrudgingly tucking the mp3 into the pocket of the grey sweats I was wearing and running a hand through my hair as I stood. "Stupid. Dunno what she expects to find. Come on. I'm up."

I lazily lifted my hands and locked my fingers behind my head, turning to face my back to the door as the guard came in cautiously. It was the system I had to adopt in order to not be manhandled down every hall and once I knew what to do, I wasn't one to argue. He reached up and pulled my hands behind my back one at a time and cuffed them, before taking my arm and leading me from the room.

We didn't go far, dropping into the room where I had my usual tests for yet another blood draw and a biopsy. I stayed relatively quiet through the whole thing, rather bored and endlessly tired from this whole ordeal. Once they were finished, I was helped up and led back to the elevator, chewing on a chocolate bar I'd been given after the blood draw and fidgetting a bit. When the elevator stopped, I huffed, recognizing the floor we were on.

"Again with the sphere?" I complained though the guard didn't care as he took my arm again and lightly pulled me out; cuffing my hands behind me again once I finished the chocolate. "I really don't want to revisit that chocolate bar."

We approached the room and I wrinkled my nose, already starting to feel off even before seeing the thing, as the guard held the door open for me. I stepped inside begrudgingly, hearing voices and scoffing when I caught sight of the moron who'd finally decided to show up.

"To explore? To escape? You could sit inside that thing and eternity would pass you by. The Big Bang, end of the Universe, start of the next, wouldn't even touch the sides. You'd exist outside the whole of creation," the Tenth Doctor rattled on as Yvonne smirked.

"You see? We were right. There is something inside it."

"I could've told you that," I drawled, drawing their attention to me as Yvonne rolled her eyes.

"You didn't tell us anything."

"Yeah, comes with the whole imprisonment and handcuffs, really," I complained with a sneer. "Hospitality? My ass."

"Asher!" The Doctor called, jumping up to his feet from the steps.

"Yeah, I'm mad at you. You're late." I frowned, not moving any further into the room as he instead bounded over.

"So, I've been told. How long have you been here?" He asked, eyes narrowing as his hand brushed the bandage on the crook of my arm and the other around my right wrist. "What did they do?" He turned toward Yvonne. "What the hell did you do to her?"

"It was just a few tests," Yvonne explained but she wasn't the only one surprised.

"Hold on, are you angry?" I questioned, confused as he frowned at me.

"Of course, I'm angry!" He turned back to her, storming forward. "She said imprisonment. She's handcuffed!"

"For our safety—" Yvonne attempted as the Doctor bellowed.

"Your safety? Asher wouldn't hurt anyone! She's human! As human as the rest of you and you just lock her up and test her however you want?"

"She was like the sphere!" Yvonne tried to tell him. "She popped up out of nowhere. It's in the Torchwood records that she travels with you but you weren't around. We had to make sure she wasn't connected to the sphere."

"Doctor, it's fine," I tried but he turned to me with a snarl that made me go stiff.

"It's not fine! You're not—" He cut himself short, taking in a calming breath before letting it out. "It's not right," he finally said, far calmer than before but still leaving me unsettled.

It was weird to have someone defend me so adamantly. Back home it was always "fend for yourself" and hope that you had the gall to do it; which didn't happen until a few years ago for me. So, for the Doctor to be angry on my behalf was strange and brought back the question of how close we were. Twelve said we were married but… when did that start? At what point did we go from acquaintances to friends to more? We don't even meet in the right order.

The buzz of the sonic drew my attention back to what was happening and I relaxed my shoulders as I brought my free hands around in front of me; rubbing my chafed wrists. The Doctor still didn't look pleased—a frown plastered on his face—but he was listening to Yvonne try and explain things again.

"That's how this all started. The sphere came through into this world, and the ghosts followed in its wake. After that, your companion appeared. What were we supposed to think?"

"She's connected to me, to my ship, not the sphere. Edit your notes: she shows up? Expect me to follow," he said ominously. "Now, show me where the sphere came through."

She nodded, giving me a glance and leading the way as I grimaced and rubbed my eyes for a moment. I'd been distracted from the churning in my gut and my growing headache caused by the sphere but now it was hitting a bit hard.

"Are you alright?"

I was surprised that Jackie asked, having been silent until now but draping an arm across my shoulders in concern.

"Sorry. I'm fine."

"She's not fine," the Doctor huffed in irritation. "She's been tortured for who knows how long."

"A few blood tests and biopsies are hardly torture," I muttered, waving at the sphere with a free hand while the other pinched the bridge of my nose. "The sphere is the worst of it. Makes me sick."

"Yet, another reason why we thought there was a connection," Yvonne grumbled as the Doctor scowled.

"Say one more word about it and I'll walk right out of here and leave you to it. We both know you don't want that, whether you admit it or not," he challenged and she pursed her lips before turning.

"This way."

The Doctor huffed out his nose before stuffing his hands in his pockets as we started to follow her back to the elevator. We kept a bit of distance between us and Yvonne, so I felt safe enough to question him.

"Why were you angry?" I asked, earning a small frown and a once-over from him.

"You're being mistreated. Why wouldn't I be?" He questioned before his gaze softened. "You look young."

"Gee, thanks," I scoffed as he rolled his eyes.

"You know what I mean. How long has it been for you?"

"Dunno. No way of telling time in the cell but I've only met you a few times. Your last self once, back with the Slitheen, and your future selves twice. First time meeting this you." I glanced at him as his expression shifted. "Sorry, if that's not what you're expecting."

"No, no. It's fine," he argued lightly. "You're still you, as you so often tell me."

"Yeah, but you change bodies and personalities. I'm still me just older, more experienced, knows you better—"

"You know me well enough, even now," he hummed, reaching an arm across my shoulders and giving them a squeeze.

It was nice, I had to admit and once in the elevator, I leaned into him a bit. I was embarrassed to do so, but I was tired again after being imprisoned for so long and it was nice to have some comfort. He didn't mind either, tightening his grip on my shoulders before we walked out and into the area where Yvonne's office and the Ghost Shift room was. Yvonne kept walking but he stopped and pulled over her office chair and lightly pushed me into it.

"Stay here. Rest for a bit," he said and I reluctantly nodded, letting him walk off toward the far wall with Yvonne.

Jackie stayed with me though, being the ever-concerned mother she was. "You need anything, dear? Should I ask them for water or something?"

"It's okay. I'm fine, really. Just tired," I told her with a small smile. "Thank you, though."

"Course. Rose has mentioned you and you were always nice even when the Doctor was being a twat," she huffed, eyeing him as he spoke to Yvonne. "I might not know a whole lot about this whole thing or your bouncing around or whatever, but it's nice to have someone who sees some sense."

Getting praise from Jackie too? Weird, I mused as she walked over to the window and I watched the Doctor and Yvonne head back toward us. I caught him putting his 3D glasses away and wondered what I would look like to him while he wore them, before begrudgingly remembering that I'm probably a bigger problem than Rose when it came to what was going to happen at the end of this. Not much I can do either. Cybermen have to show up to get destroyed. Daleks for the same reason so I can't tip off anyone about them early… right? I frowned lightly, trying to think as I folded my arms and leaned back in the rolling chair idly.

If the Cybermen are bleeding through from that parallel universe, then it would be better to let them come through so we can cut their numbers. Otherwise, the other universe has to deal with a hell of a lot more… but at the same time, I can't warn anyone about the Daleks because they take out a lot of the Cybermen. Warning against either would mean more enemies for someone to fight possibly meaning the end of both universes. I closed my eyes with a heavy sigh, annoyed. Nothing. There's nothing I can do here. Not for that and not for Rose. God, the Doctor's going to be pissed by the end of this.

"So, you find the breach, probe it, the sphere comes through six hundred feet above London, bam," the Doctor said, poking his head through the door and leaning on the frame, drawing my attention. "It leaves a hole in the fabric of reality. And that hole, you think, 'Oh, shall we leave it alone? Shall we back off? Shall we play it safe?' Nah, you think let's make it bigger!"

I snorted, giving Yvonne a look. "Told you." I glanced at the Doctor, wrinkling my nose. "They're just greedy. It's an energy source and they want to make Britain independent. Power and money, that's all it is."

He rolled his eyes. "Of course. Humans never change, do they?"

Yvonne frowned though, storming out of the room past him. "Look, you can see for yourself. Next Ghost Shift's in two minutes."

"Cancel it," the Doctor demanded as Yvonne walked past him.

"I don't think so."

"I'm warning you, cancel it."

"Oh, exactly as the legends would have it. The Doctor, lording it over us. Assuming alien authority over the Rights of Man," Yvonne huffed and I stood.

"Okay, then what if I say it?" I cut in, making her frown.

"You?"

"Yeah. I'm not about to say specifics but you've got info on me, right? So, you've seen what happens when I warn against something. Bad shit happens, right? You don't like when an alien tells you no, so here's me—human—telling you to cancel it."

"Why didn't you tell us to cancel it before? Why wait?"

I rolled my eyes, leaning on the doorframe. "You wouldn't listen to me before. Fun fact about the Doctor: his authority is valid for his companions as well. He backs me up, you have to assume something I said is worth being listened to. That, and I look young, inexperienced." I shrugged. "My grandparents pulled the same shit. Seven years working with dogs and the moment I tell them they're mistreating their dog who is obese and reactive they argue that I don't know anything because they're older. Point is, you know what you're doing is wrong and you have multiple people telling you that you're fucking it up. You can start off defensive as you want but at the end of the day, you know we're right. Though, you're the boss, right? Do what you want. Just remember whose head it'll be on when it all goes to shit."

Yvonne was silent for a moment before sighing and giving in. "Fine. I suppose it makes sense to get as much intelligence as possible. But the program will recommence, as soon as you've explained everything, Doctor."

"I'm glad to be of help," he replied, offering me a small smile of appreciation as she told her staff and I moved to sit down again with a yawn.

"Tired?" The Doctor asked, pulling up a seat himself and settling down beside me as he propped up his feet on the desk.

"Mm, yes and no. Confinement means there's nothing to do but sleep. So, do I need to sleep? No. Does my body demand it? Yeah, a bit."

Yvonne came back in and sat down in her office chair, brows furrowed in annoyance but begrudgingly doing as she said she would and asking questions.

"So, these ghosts—whatever they are—did they build the sphere?"

"No," I said before the Doctor could assume anything, though he did raise a brow. "They're unrelated. Sphere punched through the universe and the Ghosts saw an opportunity and followed."

"And how do you know all these things?" Yvonne challenged. "Why talk now?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you and… there's nothing I can say now that will stop what's going to happen. This mess started the moment the hole in the universe showed up and not even the Doctor could predict what's about to happen."

"Bit ominous, Ash," the Doctor muttered, though he looked serious and concerned as I shrugged and folded my arms over my chest, sinking into myself a bit.

"There's nothing I can do even if I wanted to. This is something that can't change."

And that was the only warning I could really give him. As much as I wanted to say more, I knew that I couldn't. Trying to save Rose couldn't happen and even hinting at that could ruin everything the Doctor was about to do. The second he knows someone's going to die or vanish and move out of his grasp, he puts his all into trying to change that. If he does, worse could happen. Rose gets a chance to live a good happy life in another universe. Changing that could mean she dies in the Void. The Doctor can't know anything more. I have to bite my tongue. That's all I can do.