To the Stars and Back

by riverofmemories

Tagging along in the TARDIS after being rescued from a situation she was sold into, Jayden O'Connors finds that there's much more to life than expected. When the Doctor's involved, it's full of adventure, other worlds, saving lives, and quite a bit of running. But the clock is ticking, and even a Time Lord from Gallifrey can't help her run forever.

26. The Unicorn and the Wasp

"You always look as if you're coming straight out of whatever time we go to," laughed Donna as she emerged from the massive closet the TARDIS kept its wardrobe in. Jay, having waited outside for her, glanced over and grinned back at her. Donna looked as lovely as ever in her purple flapper-style dress.

"I don't know," teased Jay with a hint of a forced smile as the pair set off, swiftly walking towards the control room. The Doctor had impatiently promised to wait for them there, annoyed that they were going to take time to choose outfits again. Jay had cheekily promised him five minutes in return, and the Doctor had playfully scowled before shooing them off to change. "You could fit in, too."

They made it to the control room in record timing. The Doctor was there, just as he'd promised, bouncing on the balls of his feet. Neither of the women were surprised to see that he'd remained in his usual pinstriped suit, content to go out and travel time and space as he was. He offered a playful wink and flounced over to the doors, calling "Took you long enough!"

The Doctor was the first out, and Jay shook her head. She didn't miss the way that he did a casual, quick look, searching for danger. When he didn't find any, he stepped out of the way, feet crunching in the bright green grass beneath his feet. "Smell that air," he hummed as Donna and Jay spilled out after him. Jay closed the doors behind her, patting the TARDIS doors and ensuring that her necklace was tucked beneath her clothes. "Grass, and lemonade, and a little bit of mint. A hint of mint. Must be the nineteen-twenties."

Donna threw him a startled look, not looking as if she wanted to believe him. "You can tell what year it is just by smelling?" she demanded, eyeing him like she'd forgotten he wasn't human for a moment.

Jay snorted loudly and elbowed the Doctor with a smirk. "No," she told Donna, "if that lovely car coming up the driveway didn't give it away," she pointed at the old, antique vehicle that was rolling up the driveway, "he also plotted the coordinates himself and told me this was where we were going."

The Doctor gave her a rather pinched look, not at all happy that she'd ruined his playful entrance for them. Annoyed, he ushered them onward, to hide behind a bush as others began to arrive at the big, beautiful manor that they'd landed beside. It was clearly the home of someone who had great wealth. Enough money to unnerve Jay, actually. She tugged lightly at the Doctor's sleeve. "You're sure this is the nineteen-twenties?" she whispered when he glanced at her.

He huffed, insulted by the insinuation. "Of course it is."

"But you're sure? You do have a habit of landing us in entirely different places."

The Doctor sputtered, annoyed, and then glanced at Donna when she suddenly shushed them, eager to listen in on a conversation starting as someone went to greet the newcomers. "Yes," he whispered in her ear. "I'm sure."

"-step lively!" a man was saying confidently as another clambered out of the car that had driven up the driveway. They both paused when another dismounted a bike he'd ridden to the manor, offering friendly smiles.

"Hello, Reverend," greeted the one who'd stepped out of the car.

"Professor Peach! Beautiful day. The Lord's in his Heaven; all's right with the world," the reverend answered with an equally as warm smile.

Something about the reverend unnerved Jay, she decided with a frown that she hid quite quickly when she saw Donna excitedly looking her way. She kept it to herself, figuring that she'd merely keep an eye on him if the need arose. She considered telling the Doctor, but he was pouting, looking rather disappointed that they weren't impressed with him. She'd talk to him later.

"Reverend Golightly! Lady Eddison requests you make yourselves comfortable in your rooms. Cocktails will be served on the lawn from half-past-four," said the man who'd been helping Peach with his bags. He offered them a kind smile, dark eyes darting between them before he turned and headed for the manor.

"You go on up," Peach told the reverend. "I have to check something in the library. Alone," he added when the reverend cocked his head in curiosity.

Jay frowned when the reverend made an odd sound in the back of his throat. "This is supposed to be a party, Professor! All this work will be the death of you." But he hurried off to do as he'd been told, and Peach swiftly strode after him, fully intending to find the library.

When they'd gone, the Doctor, Donna, and Jay stepped out of the bush they'd been hiding in, excited. Donna cheerfully declared, "Never mind Planet Zog! A party in the nineteen-twenties! That's more like it!" She exchanged a grin with the Doctor, and Jay merely sighed. She couldn't bring herself to believe this was going to be much different from the parties she'd attended in the future. Except maybe there was a bit more danger. Something always happened, no matter what they wanted.

"Problem is, we've not been invited." The Doctor flashed them a grin, and Jay sighed heavily, shaking her head as he produced the psychic paper he'd stashed in his suit pocket. "Oh, I forgot," he said, "we have been invited."

Jay snorted and elbowed him lightly once more. "You knew there was a party going on here," she said, unsuccessfully fighting back her smile. "Don't try and fool us, Doctor."

His grin widened and he offered her his arm. "Well then, shall we?" he asked them, offering his other arm to Donna as Jay shook her head in amusement, but took it regardless, feeling more secure about everything as she did so. Donna copied her, taking his other arm with near-glowing eyes. Her face was bright with excitement, and Jay noted that. Donna preferred time travel to space, it appeared.

Jay fumbled with her necklace with her other hand as they crossed the beautiful green lawn, their gaze scanning for people and beautiful music playing in their ears. Jay tipped her head to listen. She recognized the music, though she had no idea who was performing it. The sound was much richer than it was when the song played in her time, with odd instruments that she knew for a fact didn't exist in this time.

Donna dropped the Doctor's arm to wander ahead with excitement, though she did throw several, small glances over her shoulder to ensure she didn't get too far ahead of them. Jay was content to remain beside the Doctor, her arm still wound through his. As they walked, he suddenly bent his head towards hers and whispered, "Any attacks?"

"Not anytime soon, I don't think," she promised quietly, pausing to shake a hand out thoughtfully, her other tightening briefly on his arm when pins and needles shot through up to her knuckles. "Only in the fingers right now." She flashed him a bright smile, blue eyes warm with fondness. "I'll be fine." She nudged him. "Company."

He straightened. Sure enough, a woman in a maid's outfit had noticed them and straightened. Her eyes widened and she gave what was a large, albeit slightly forced smile. "Good afternoon," the Doctor called.

A man dressed neatly approached them as they looked around curiously at their surroundings. "Drinks?" he offered politely, smiling pleasantly.

They offered their demands and as he left, another man - the one who'd helped Peach with his bags, Jay recognized, declared, "May I announce: Lady Clemency Eddison." He gestured grandly to an older woman who'd emerged from the manor, clad in fine clothes and wearing a peaceful, carefully crafted look upon her face. Jay cocked her head, studying her. She seemed alright, though there was a sadness to her that made no sense, given the circumstances. She strode over to them immediately and didn't hesitate to take the Doctor's hand when he offered it to her in greeting.

"Forgive me, but who exactly might you be…?" Lady Eddison's gaze darted swiftly between them, suspicious yet not overly so. "And what are you doing here?"

"I'm the Doctor," he replied cheerfully, "and these are Miss Donna Noble of the Chiswick Nobles, and her cousin from America, Miss Jay O'Connors." Jay wrinkled her nose, exchanging an amused look with Donna. If they were cousins, Jay thought, then the Doctor was human. He offered Lady Eddison the psychic paper, and she swept her gaze over it intently. "We were thrilled to receive your invitation, my lady. We met at the Ambassador's reception."

"Doctor!" cried Lady Eddison despite having clearly not recognized him. "How could I forget you? But one must be sure with the Unicorn on the loose." When she saw the confusion on their faces, she clarified, "The jewel thief! And nobody knows who he is. He's just struck again, snatched Lady Babbington's pearls right from under her nose."

"Funny place to wear pearls," joked Donna under her breath and Jay sucked in a sharp breath, fingers flexing on the Doctor's arm as she fought the urge to snort. She got the feeling such a thing wouldn't be welcome in their current choice of company.

Lady Eddison looked over her shoulder when the man who'd announced her name announced two more. "May I announce," he called, and Jay peered around the Doctor at the two, "the Colonel Hugh Curbishley, the Honorable Roger Curbishley."

"My husband," added Lady Eddison to the three she was speaking with. "And my son."

"Forgive me for not rising," said Colonel Curbishley. "Never been the same ever since that flu epidemic back in eighteen." He offered a polite smile, and Jay took the moment to study the newcomers. The colonel was older, with gray hair and a thick mustache. He was seated in a wheelchair that his son was pushing around for him, and he looked pleasant enough. The son was rather handsome, in Jay's opinion, with dark hair and light eyes that shone like the sun when he turned his attention from Donna to the servant who'd offered them drinks. Jay had to bite her lip hard to fight back her smile. Looked like he had a special someone.

Donna blinked suddenly before leaning in to whisper to the Doctor, "How come she's an Eddison, but her husband and sun are Curbishleys?"

"The Eddison title must descend through her," guessed Jay, leaning around the Doctor to tell Donna. The Doctor nodded curtly in confirmation. "One day, Roger will take over the property and such, Donna." She cocked her head. "My father was very insistent on having a son so a girl wouldn't inherit his company. But it still would have been the same for anyone I married. Because we were the most powerful family, they would have inherited my last name."

"Well," said Donna cheerfully, "you won't have to worry about that anymore."

Jay nodded her agreement before straightening, cocking her head and eyes sharpening with interest. Another woman, dressed in a lovely flapper dress, had arrived. Her red hair gleamed in the sunlight, and she smiled in a charming manner, but Jay didn't trust her for an instant. Robina Redmond, she was announced as, but Jay merely huffed as Lady Eddison gushed, "She's the absolute hit of the social scene. A must. Miss Redmond!" she called, and Robina came to greet her with a warm smile.

The reverend returned from wherever he'd gone a moment later, and as he was introduced as Reverend Arnold Golightly, the Doctor leaned in and muttered in Jay's ear, "You don't like him?" She blinked at him in surprise, and then realized he'd probably seen her faint expression of distrust and unease.

She flushed, clearing her throat as a conversation regarding a break-in to the reverend's church was started. She said under her breath, "Nor Robina Redmond. But she's not so bad. Just...I get the feeling she's lying about something, and her voice...the way she speaks sounds forced. Fake. Reverend Golightly, however...I don't like him. At all." She frowned at the man, serious, and the Doctor inclined his head thoughtfully, taking note of that. Jay's instincts had proven correct time and time again; there was no reason he couldn't trust them now.

"We'll keep an eye on them," he murmured as Roger suddenly declared to Lady Eddison, "What about this special guest you promised us?" The Doctor patted Jay's hand comfortingly and she squeezed his arm back, not doubting that he would, but simply disbelieving that anything good would come out of the end of the day.

"Here she is," declared Lady Eddison, gesturing to a woman that had appeared. She was rather regal looking, thought Jay, with a tall stature and straight back. She smiled almost timidly at them, her blonde hair neatly curled under in the typical 20s style. Any other would have thought her happy, but Jay frowned at her, noting the sadness hidden in her gaze.

"Who is that?" whispered Jay, but the Doctor merely shook his head, puzzled when Donna glanced at him for an explanation, too.

Everyone started clapping, beaming at the woman, and she flushed. "No, no, please. Don't. Thank you, Lady Eddison, but honestly, there's no need." She paused when she noticed the Doctor, Donna, and Jay, and offered her hand to the Doctor. He took it, giving it a firm shaking. "Agatha Christie," she said.

"What about her?" demanded Donna, confused.

"That's me."

Donna's confusion turned to shock. "No," she gasped. "You're kidding!"

Jay stifled a giggle as she offered her hand politely to Agatha, too. Agatha shook it with a hint of surprise, and the Doctor, delighted, launched into an excited speech. "Agatha Christie!" he cried. "I was just talking about you the other day! I said, 'I bet she's brilliant!' I'm the Doctor, and this is Donna," he nodded to her, and then beamed at Jay, "and this is Jay. I love your stuff, by the way! What a mind, you fool me every time. Well." He paused. "Almost every time. Well, once or twice. Well. Once. But it was a good once, a really-"

"Doctor!" cried Jay, cutting him off as Donna snorted beside him. "You're rambling."

He smiled sheepishly and Agatha looked between the trio with interest before focusing on Jay and the Doctor. She tipped her head just a fraction. "You make a rather unusual couple…"

Donna nearly burst out laughing when she saw the looks on their faces. Jay's cheeks turned crimson as the Doctor hastily cried, "Oh, no, no, no, we're not...we're not married. Not even a couple."

Agatha furrowed her brow lightly, and Jay frowned a little at the Doctor, somewhat hurt by how quickly such a thing had been thrown out there. "Well," she said, clearing her throat. "Obviously not." Agatha gestured to their hands. "No wedding ring."

"Oh, you don't miss a trick," the Doctor breathed, and Jay fought the urge to roll her eyes. As observant as the woman was, it wasn't impressive to notice lacking wedding rings. Well, she supposed it was when the Doctor launched into a rant, but still.

"I'd stay that way if I were you. The thrill is in the chase," Agatha said, and Jay didn't miss the flicker of grief in her face. "Never in the capture."

Ah. So that was what made Agatha so sad. Something had happened and hurt her through love. Jay fought the urge to give her a sympathetic look, doubting she'd appreciate it. Lady Eddison approached, offering a distraction with sparkling eyes, and within seconds, others were there, too. Mrs. Christie, I'm so glad you could come," Lady Eddison nearly crooned. "I'm one of your greatest followers. I've read all six of your books. Is...is, ah, Mr. Christie not joining us?"

Agatha's gaze was as sharp as flint. "Is he needed? Can't a woman make her own way in the world?"

Oh, Jay quite liked her. She'd have loved to put Agatha Christie in front of her father. Jay would be willing to bet millions that she could have Mark O'Connors spinning circles around himself within seconds.

As the others began chattering, the Doctor murmured a "be right back" in Jay's ear and dropped the arm she'd been holding onto for some time now. She watched him go curiously as he wandered over to Colonel Curbishley and politely take his newspaper, quickly planting his glasses on his face. Donna came closer, and the pair of women eyed the Doctor with interest as Lady Eddison sent her maid, a woman she called Miss Chandrakala, to fetch Peach.

The Doctor suddenly beckoned them over with a deep frown on his face. Jay and Donna exchanged curious looks and hurried over, wondering what he could possibly be so concerned about when they'd only just gotten to the party. "The date on this newspaper," he said when they were close enough. "It's the day Agatha Christie disappeared."

Jay blinked. She'd heard Agatha Christie's name before. The woman was famous in her time, too, but Jay hadn't read any of her books. Hadn't been allowed to, although she'd never understood why. Then again, her father had only thought news pieces good enough for them to read, and even that pushed it sometimes, simply because he'd not agreed with the opinions there. She hadn't known she disappeared, though.

"She'd just discovered her husband was having an affair," said the Doctor softly.

Donna gasped and looked over her shoulder at the other woman, who laughed at something Lady Eddison said. "You'd never think to look at her. Smiling away."

"Wouldn't you?" Jay asked just as quietly, frowning at the pair. "It's all over her face. She's sad - so sad." She fingered the necklace hanging from her neck, wondering what she'd hear if she took it off, but a look from the Doctor had her deciding otherwise.

"She's British, and moneyed," said the Doctor firmly. "That's what they do: they carry on. Except for this one time. No one knows exactly what happened, she just...vanished. Her car will be found tomorrow morning by the side of a lake. Ten days later, Agatha Christie turns up in a hotel in Harrogate. Said she'd lost her memory. She never spoke about the disappearance 'til the day she died, but whatever it was…"

"It's about to happen," finished Donna softly, looking horrified with the idea.

Jay opened her mouth to say something else, but was cut off by a series of screams that suddenly filled the air. She snapped her head around, blue eyes wide. Quite a bit of practice had her tensing her muscles in preparation, her fingers sliding down to gather her dress in her hands. She was ready to run if she needed to.

"Professor! The library! Murder! Murder!"

And they were running.

---

Jay stayed back as she watched the Doctor slam to his knees beside the body of Peach, who lay prone on the floor of the library, just as the maid had explained between her tears and frantic terror. Dead. Her stomach twisted as she studied him. Memories of other deaths flickered through her head. Logically, she knew they likely had nothing to do with them. But why was it that someone had to die? Each and every single damn time they went somewhere?

"Jay?" whispered Donna, and Jay ripped her eyes away to look at Donna. "Are you okay?"

"No," murmured Jay truthfully, not trying to hide it. What was the point? "Not really."

"Bashed on the head," the Doctor reported, flicking his glasses down onto his nose. Agatha frowned at him from where she stood, peering over his shoulder. "Blunt instrument...watch broke as he fell." He paused as he checked the time on the watch, cocking his head. "Time of death was quarter past four."

Not too long ago then, Jay silently mused, her gaze shifting to a piece of pipe that was lying nearby. Donna followed her gaze and carefully picked it up, ensuring not to touch any part that was slicked with blood. She wrinkled her nose in disapproval, not too excited to be doing so. "Bit of pipe. Call me Hercule Poirot, but I reckon that's blunt enough."

Jay pressed her lips together, looking away. She felt queasy, just imagining how such a death would have gone. It was odd, the idea of death coming from the hands of another human. It was oh, so rare that such a thing happened in the wild life they lived. A grimace flickered over her face when other voices drifted through the open door. People had gathered in the doorway to peer in nosily, and Jay clenched her jaw, wanting nothing more than to punch them when she heard their shocked gasps and cries, as if it were no big deal that someone had died - merely exciting.

Sensing the temper that was rising when he looked over at her, the Doctor hastily rose to his feet, not hesitating to grab her wrist. "Jay," he hissed in her ear in warning, and she flashed him an angry look back.

Maybe the death of Jenny - the deaths of those who'd died at the hands of the Exapno and hydra - didn't rip her soul apart like they once had, but...to hear these people muttering about death with so little grief or horror...as if it were entertainment…

Not wanting a repeat of the Titanic, he kept a grip on her wrist and flashed his psychic paper around at those who were nosing their way in. Donna came to hover closer with Agatha, who was watching them all with those wide, observant eyes. "Chief Inspector Smith from Scotland Yard," lied the Doctor with ease, and he slid his psychic paper away, doubting someone as clever as Agatha Christie would be fooled by it. "Known as the Doctor. Miss Noble and Miss O'Connors are the plucky young girls who help me out."

Donna threw him a hint of an angry look, threatening. "I'll show you plucky, spaceman," she hissed, and the Doctor made a movement for silence even as he winced, somewhat nervous of what that meant.

"Go into the sitting room," ordered the Doctor, "and I will question each of you in turn."

Agatha's gaze slid to him, and the young author took it upon herself to shoo them away, flashing a curious look at the trio. "Come along, do as the Doctor says. Leave the room undisturbed," she said, voice fading as they headed further down the hall.

Donna waited until they had gone to punch him in the arm sharply. He yelped, looking at her with a stunned look. "Plucky? I'll pluck you in a minute."

He pouted, and Jay fought the urge to laugh. Idiot, she thought rather fondly. He was admittedly easy to offend and upset with such things. She flicked his fingers with her other hand to get him to let go of her wrist. She shook it out thoughtfully, feeling for pins and needles with a frown. She couldn't figure out if an attack would come sooner or later. If things stayed as they were...more likely later, but one could never be too careful. "What'd you grab me for?" she demanded.

He pointed firmly at her in quiet warning. "That look on your face," he told her, "was the same one when you broke the nose of that man on the Titanic." She sputtered, rather offended. "As annoyed as you get, Jay, don't attack anyone."

She made a threatening motion, glaring at him. "I never said I would," she protested.

Donna peered at her in interest, eyes wide. "You broke someone's nose?"

"Long story short," Jay grumbled, "he was a jerk and I have no regrets. But Doctor...I'm not playing detective just to entertain a bunch of rich men and women who have nothing better to do with their time. A man is dead, and they don't care." Her voice cracked on the last few words, and the Doctor pressed his lips together in a hard line, expression softening.

"I know," was all he said, voice gentle. "But that's why we do care." He whirled around and dropped back to the floor, shoving his hand into his pocket. "Anyway, the last thing we want is PC Plod sticking his nose in, especially now that we've found this!" He removed what looked like a Q-tip from his pocket. Jay cocked her head, wondering what the hell he had those for. He slid it into something on the floor and showed them the slime that dripped from it. "Morphic residue. It's left behind when certain species genetically re-encode."

"Morphic doesn't sound very nineteen-twenty-six," commented Donna with a frown. "So the murderer is an alien?"

The Doctor nodded thoughtfully. "Which means one of that lot is an alien in human form."

Jay straightened, her eyes snapping to him. "There's two of them," she said. "Robina and the reverend...I don't like either of them, they both make me uncomfortable." She shifted her weight, biting her lip. "Something's odd about the pair of them, though I'm not certain it has to do with them both or that they're working together. Almost as if they're different for separate reasons."

"I'll keep a close eye on them," promised the Doctor. He wrinkled his nose as he sniffed at the slime.

"Think about it," said Donna quite suddenly. Her eyes flickered with excitement and she bounced on the balls of her feet. "There's a murder, a mystery, and Agatha Chrstie. Isn't that a bit weird? I mean, Agatha Christie didn't walk around surrounded by murders. Not really...that's like meeting Charles Dickens, and he's surrounded by ghosts at Christmas."

The Doctor made a small, uncommitted sound, and Jay choked on a laugh, stifling it hastily. Just recently, he'd been convincing him to tell her more and more stories about his time with Rose. And Jay knew for a fact that such a thing had occurred not long after the Doctor had first met Rose, when he'd worn a different face, straight in the heart of Cardiff in another century.

"Next thing you know," continued Donna. "You'll be telling me it's like Murder On The Orient Express, and they all did it!"

"Murder on the Orient Express?" echoed Agatha as she swept back into the room, looking rather curious about the idea. "Marvellous idea."

"Tell you what, copyright Donna Noble," said Donna with a beaming smile that had Jay rolling her eyes playfully at her friend, "okay?"

"Donna," muttered the Doctor warningly, albeit with amusement. "Agatha and I will question the suspects. Jay, Donna, you two search the bedrooms. Look for clues." He glanced at Agatha with sharp eyes, and then murmured in a low voice, leaning close, "Any more residue. You'll need this." He passed Donna a magnifying glass, drawing a snort from his other companion. Donna stared blankly at him, unamused. "Go on," he said cheekily. "You're ever so plucky."

Donna made a threatening motion with the magnifying glass, and Jay faltered when she turned to leave. The Doctor gave her a reassuring smile; Jay got the feeling that he was merely sending her with Donna to keep her away from the people she was angry with. Understandable, but annoying.

"Be careful," she grumbled in warning, and then whipped around and hurried after her red-haired friend.

"Same to you," the Doctor called after her, a hint of a frown on his face as he saw her shake out her wrists. He'd have to have a word with her soon. She'd had an attack recently enough that he wasn't too concerned, but the attacks had been worse as time went on. Enough so to be concerning. Even a few seconds longer mattered when your heart stopped pumping blood through your body. Determined to distract himself, he whirled around to face Agatha. "Right then! Solving a murder mystery with Agatha Christie...brilliant!"

She gave him a rather cool look, entirely unimpressed with his behavior. "How like a man to have fun while there's disaster all around him." The Doctor grimaced in apology and Agatha said sharply, "I'll work with you, gladly. But for the sake of justice - not your own amusement."

He winced. "Sorry. Right. Shall we?"

She nodded curtly and took the lead.

---

"Ugh," grumbled Jay, planting her hands on her hips and glaring up and down the halls. They'd been searching the manor for quite a while, but had come up with absolutely nothing. Now, she watched as Donna peered boredly in a variety of rooms, one after the other, doing a quick, unsuspicious sweep before closing the door.

It drove Jay nuts, thinking of everything else they could be doing. Someone was out there murdering other people. And they were uselessly searching rooms that were coming up empty handed.

"Oh!" gasped Donna quite suddenly. Jay spun around, curious, and found Donna jiggling a locked door. "It's locked," she told Jay with a startled look over her shoulder.

"You won't find anything in there." Donna and Jay jumped, spinning around to find the hired help from the gardens before them, the one who'd been announcing names to those who were already present. His gaze was wary, darting between the two newcomers to the manor. His creased face was hard with nervous anger, as if he wanted to tell them to get lost but didn't dare. "Lady Eddison commands it to be locked."

"And," declared Donna, deciding that they needed to investigate, "I command it to be otherwise. Scotland Yard." She smiled like a shark. "Pip-pip." Greeves sighed heavily, and Jay urged Donna aside as he moved over to unlock the door. "Why's it locked in the first place?"

Greeves paused in unlocking the door to look back at them. Finally, he returned to his work and said quietly, "Many years ago, when my father was butler to the family, Lady Eddison returned from India with malaria. She locked herself in this room for six months until she recovered. Since then, the room has remained undisturbed." He swung the door open, and then stepped aside for them. "There's nothing in here."

Donna cocked her head as she stepped in, tugging Jay along behind her. Jay said nothing, merely frowned at the dusty room. "How long," said Jay softly, looking over her shoulder at Greeves, "has it been empty, sir?"

"Forty years," he answered, and then left without a backwards look. Likely to inform Lady Eddison, Jay would guess. She thought nothing of it, only kicked the door shut behind him. Her blue eyes swiftly studied the room with interest.

"I wonder why she'd seal it off?" said Jay aloud as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. She tugged at it thoughtfully, noting that it needed to be cut. She rolled her eyes at her own thoughts. Now wasn't the time. Still, as Donna investigated near the window, seeking, Jay approached the rather large teddy bear on the bed and poked it once with a frown.

She jumped when Donna suddenly cheered, "Nineteen-twenty-six! They've still got bees! Oh, what a noise!" Jay spun around to look and found Donna beaming at a small bumblebee that was floating lazily around on the windowsill. "I'll let you out," she said happily, and Jay listened to the soft buzzing with amusement.

But when the buzzing increased, her soft smile was replaced with a frown. "Donna, what the hell is-"

Glass shattered and Donna began screaming. Jay screamed, too, when she saw the creature that had slammed through the window. Donna scrambled back, trying to escape the wasp that was nearly as large as they were, and Jay flew over to help drag the tripping woman to her feet. "Get up!" gasped Jay, and Donna slammed her back into the wall as she finally succeeded.

The wasp buzzed threateningly, lashing out with its massive stinger, and Jay spun out of the way, pressing her back to the wall with wide eyes. It wasn't possible, she wanted to declare despite knowing otherwise. She'd been with the Doctor long enough to know better. Donna screamed for the Doctor, even as her clever mind developed a solution Jay admitted she'd have never noticed herself.

Donna grabbed Jay's hand, squeezing it, and used the other hand to lift the magnifying glass. It caught the sunlight, and the wasp recoiled, buzzing angrily. Jay's free hand grappled for the doorknob and she gasped as she successfully yanked it open, spinning through the entryway. Donna slammed the door behind her, and ripped out of the way just in time for the wasp to try and slam through the door.

Jay and Donna both shrieked, jolting back as wood splintered. Jay's heart thundered in her chest as she stared at the black stinger left behind. She distantly heard the pounding of feet, and when she ripped her gaze away, a cry of relief left her throat. "Doctor!" she gasped as he came flying towards them. Agatha was only a few steps behind him, her blue eyes wide with interest. The Doctor yelped, nearly slamming into Jay. She grabbed his arms and he gripped her elbows in surprise. "It's-"

"A giant wasp!" squawked Donna, finishing her sentence with a shaken look. When the Doctor frowned, and Agatha snorted delicately in disbelief, murmuring something about "silly little insects," Donna snarled, "When we say giant, I don't mean big. I mean flippin' enormous! Look at its sting!"

She jabbed a finger at the stinger stuck in the door, and the Doctor gawked as he stared at it, releasing Jay in favor of ripping the door open. "Let me see," he muttered, immediately searching for the massive wasp. "It's gone," he reported as he studied the empty room, cocking his head. "Buzzed off."

"But that's fascinating," murmured Agatha, kneeling to investigate the massive stinger. Jay smacked her hand away lightly when she tried to touch it, warning her against it. The Doctor rushed over to collect some of the slime that dripped from the stinger, using the Q-tip and the vial he'd brandished earlier, before they'd gone off. "Giant wasp...well, tons of amorphous insectivorous lifeforms, but none in this galactic vector…"

Agatha looked at him as if he was insane, and Donna patted her shoulder lightly in a form of comfort. She didn't understand anything of what he'd just said either. Jay, on the other hand, furrowed her brow and asked, "But there are some in other galactic vectors?"

"Oh, plenty of types." The Doctor nodded confidently. His gaze slid to hers for just a moment before shifting back to look at the slime. "Creature this size...wouldn't be defenseless. It's got to be able to grow a new one of these…"

"Can we return to sanity?" declared Agatha suddenly, suddenly frustrated and flustered. She held her hands up, moving away with a hint of a scowl. Jay threw her a sympathetic look; it was difficult, being thrown into a situation you'd never thought possible. "There are no such things as giant wasps!"

The Doctor rocked to his feet, pushing the vial of slime into his pocket with a wide smile, eyes gleaming with fascination. "Exactly! So, question is, what's it doing-"

A muffled scream from outside drew their attention, and the Doctor jolted around as something that had to have been massive struck the earth outside. He heard the thud, saw Jay and Donna flinch from the impact that neither had felt. "Come on!" he cried, bolting for the door. They flew after him, Agatha right alongside them.

Silently, the Doctor admitted to himself that having Agatha Christie as one of his companions wouldn't have been half that bad. She was clever, observant, and, he supposed, not intended to join him, seeing as she would disappear later in the day or evening.

Jay shook her wrists out as she stormed down a flight of stairs after them, her brow furrowed in frustration. She got a bad feeling, she thought to herself, as they burst into the bright afternoon sunlight. The lazy, beautiful gardens surrounding the manor looked no different. But she heard a shockingly loud buzz, and she tripped to a halt, immediately turning and searching the air desperately, even as she was left behind.

Well, she thought as she scrambled after them, she wasn't left behind, for the poor, injured Chandrakala wasn't that far from where they'd emerged. But she was clearly dying, her gaze blearily searching the beautiful blue sky above her. As the Doctor and Agatha knelt beside the woman, speaking urgently to her, Donna stepped back. Jay came to stand beside her, worried as Donna's eyes flickered with grief despite the fact that neither of them knew this woman before them. She took her hand and gripped it tightly. There was nothing that could have been done, Jay told herself, studying the injured servant as she took her last and final breath.

Nothing.

"There!" the Doctor suddenly shouted, pointing as another loud buzz was heard overhead. Jay cranked her head back. Sure enough, there was a large wasp flying overhead, its wings beating furiously to keep it aloft. "Come on!" the Doctor shouted, charging off again. Jay faltered, looking over her shoulder at the woman's body. But she took a deep breath and forced herself to follow with the others.

"Hey, this makes a change!" cried Donna with a breathless laugh as they thundered back up the stairs they'd come down. "There's a monster - and we're chasing it!"

"Can't be a monster," denied Agatha. "It's a trick! They do it with mirrors - by all that's holy!" She stumbled to a screeching halt when the Doctor and Donna did, stunned by the sight of the massive wasp that hovered at the top of the stairs. The Doctor beamed at it, delighted, but the wasp flew at them, ignoring the Doctor's protests.

When the wasp tried to attack them, Donna brandished her magnifying glass, and it hurriedly fled. Jay didn't bother to chase it this time as the Doctor took off with Agatha, merely standing there. She heaved for air, the buzzing ringing in her ears. Donna faltered when she heard how Jay's breath rasped in her throat, her eyes wild. "Jay?"

"I'm fine," rasped Jay, rubbing a hand down her face. "It's just...there's so much death here. Why? Why is this wasp thing targeting such people? Why those particular people? What do they know that we didn't?" She made a wild gesture. "We're just...just running in circles, and I doubt the Doctor and Agatha got anything useful from those hypocrites down the hall," she added, spitting the words.

She was frustrated, so very frustrated, that they couldn't seem to prevent another murder from taking place, and Jay got the feeling that the poor woman downstairs and outside wouldn't be the last.

Donna's expression softened. "Come on, sweetheart," she said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Let's go find the Doctor...maybe you should talk to him, slow him down some." Jay nodded her agreement tiredly; he did tend to get ahead of himself sometimes…

They tracked him down fairly quickly; he and Agatha hadn't gone far. They found him frowning at the group that had emerged from their rooms - every single person present in the manor, excluding the staff. It had Jay raking a hand through her hair in frustration, debating what she'd hear if she removed the stone that hung at her neck, gleaming softly in the light of the hallway.

"Let's get them all downstairs," muttered the Doctor to Agatha, who agreed. She went to start shooing them all down to a drawing room, and the Doctor retreated to join Jay and Donna, frowning. "We didn't see which room it went into," he muttered, gaze darting this way and that as he debated who it could possibly be, "and we didn't come up with anything in the stories they offered to provide which one could have done it…"

"Doctor," Jay rasped, and he paused, studying her closely as she once more shuck out her tingling hands. His concern deepened; she only ignored him and said, "Someone is dead. We should have been able to stop that one." Images flickered through her head - images of screaming men and women and children as they fled ash and fire, images of Jenny, of Theseus, of so many more.

Everyone had bad days, as the Doctor had put it, and Jay supposed this was going to be one of hers.

"We're running in circles," she said, just as she'd told Donna. "We need to slow down, take it step by step, and figure out what to do. I don't think running around's going to do us much good this time. And, to be perfectly honest...I'd like to just sit and think all of this," she made a motion to the hall, the commotion, "through rather than just run around and increase my chances of another pain spree, if you don't mind. Something's different here, something we're not seeing. These people...they're all connected somehow. I just...don't know how."

The Doctor studied Jay for a good long moment, debating how to answer. She stared him down, somewhat unnerved by the fierce look he wore. But then he touched her arm fondly and said, "Come on," and she sighed heavily in relief. Donna backed off, giving them room to talk as they started to follow after the others. "Nightmares?" he guessed in a low voice.

Jay winced. She'd had several as of late. She didn't bother to confirm or deny it, merely shaking off the sweaty fear that immediately crept through her veins just thinking about it. She wasn't going to think about them, which meant moving past them entirely. Rather than answering him, she said, "Nightmares or not, people are dying, and we need to focus on preventing more deaths."

His frown deepened. "Jayden," he said warningly.

She sighed heavily and folded her arms as they walked, her pace slowing ever so slightly so they'd have more time before they arrived at the drawing room. "Yes," she grumbled. "Nightmares. And I'm not telling you about them. But I didn't sleep well before we came out for this, so..."

He huffed unhappily, but didn't force her. Instead, he changed the subject, asking, "Agatha and I didn't get anything useful from the stories we heard earlier...did you hear anything important? What about Robina Redmond and Reverend Golightly makes you not trust them? What in particular?"

Jay eyed him for a moment, surprised that he'd not pushed harder. He'd begun to do so more often recently - out of concern, she knew, but it was still surprising he'd not. Then again...it probably meant there'd be some particularly heavy pushing about the matter once this was over and they were back in the TARDIS.

"I don't know," she admitted, waving Donna forward to join them. Donna linked arms with Jay, reassuringly smiling at her, and Jay felt a flicker of relief for her. She was glad Donna was there. Her friend was a comforting presence and oftentimes kept the Doctor from pushing too hard about one thing or another, just as Jay did for her. "Like I told you earlier, it's different for each of them. They're both hiding something, but Reverend Golightly's is a bit more serious, I think, then Miss Redmond. Miss Redmond just...sounds fake. He's more dangerous."

The Doctor nodded thoughtfully, taking that into consideration as his sharp mind scanned various possibilities. "We'll see what Agatha thinks," he decided, and Jay frowned. Was her opinion not enough? Noticing, he hastily reassured, "I'm curious. I want to see what she can figure out."

Jay was still not entirely happy with that, but she nodded nonetheless and fumbled with the necklace she wore. "Alright," she agreed, offering a small smile as gratitude to show she appreciated the concern he'd given her.

He merely smiled back.

---

They found the group gathered in the drawing room to be a disastrous mess. Lady Eddison was crying softly over the death of her maid, while the youngest servant - a near child named Davenport - was frowning at her in thought. As the Doctor, Jay, and Donna entered the drawing room, he said, "Excuse me, my lady, but she was on her way to tell you something."

Lady Eddison sniffled and dabbed at her eyes, her gaze full of raging grief. More than a maid, thought Jay to herself. There was something else going on here. And the way Agatha was watching her, Jay knew Agatha thought the same. The Doctor, too, for he said calmly, "She said, 'The poor little child.' Does that mean anything to anyone?"

From his wheelchair, Colonel Curbishley looked around at everyone else and shook his head. "No children in this house for years, and highly unlikely there will be," he said, glancing at his son and Davenport, who flushed and avoided his gaze.

In a shaken voice, Lady Eddison said pleadingly, "Mrs. Christie, you must have twigged something, you've written simply the best detective stories."

The others joined in, and Agatha was taken aback, stammering, "But...but I'm merely a writer!"

"But surely you can think of something," coaxed Donna. "Agatha, it's like one of your stories! That's gotta mean something!"

Agatha was firm, however, and shook her head. "But, what? I've no answers. None, and I'm sorry, all of you, I'm truly sorry, but I've failed. If anyone can help us, it's the Doctor - certainly not me." Flustered, she left the room and after a moment's hesitation, Donna went after her. Jay considered going with them, but decided against it, choosing to stay with the Doctor. Her fingers tugged on her necklace thoughtfully, and she turned to him, mouth open.

"No," said the Doctor without waiting to hear what she was going to ask, and Jay sputtered furiously. He wasn't even looking at her. He was watching the group clustered in the drawing room with interest, trying to debate which one he should be paying the most attention to.

"I didn't even get to ask!" she cried. The Doctor threw her a rather stern look, and a pout slid onto her face. He pretended to not notice, even as she put her hands on her hips and said rather sharply, "I bet I could hear who it is."

"The point of getting that stone fixed for you," the Doctor retorted, "was so you wouldn't hear things."

Jay scowled at him and then turned away, deciding she could at least make herself somewhat useful by talking with those who were there. Even just one little clue… But she found herself avoiding Robina and Reverend Golightly. Instead, she gravitated over to Lady Eddison, who was still crying quietly. Some help her husband was, thought Jay grumpily, and her son was so awkward, the poor guy. He didn't have any idea as to how to help her.

So, Jay sat herself carefully on the seat beside the older woman, touching her arm lightly. "Are you alright, Lady Eddison?" she said softly.

"Oh, thank you, dear," sniffled Lady Eddison, swiping at her eyes again. "I haven't been a good host-"

"You just lost someone," said Jay softly, smiling kindly at her. "Don't worry about being a host right now. We all understand. At least, I know the Doctor, Mrs. Christie, Donna, and I understand. I can't say anything about the rest of them." Jay sighed heavily, tugging thoughtfully at a lock of blonde hair.

She'd been sitting with Lady Eddison, comforting her, for a short while when Donna and Agatha came rushing back in, quite suddenly. "Donna?" demanded Jay, rising to her feet immediately, her blue eyes widening with concern. Had Donna run into the giant wasp again? "Donna, what's-"

"Doctor, look what we found!" Donna cried, shoving a small, simple box into his hands. The Doctor shushed them as the others immediately found their interest spiked, looking over. He shooed the two women from the room and Jay smiled reassuringly at Lady Eddison before rushing after him. She wasn't about to be left out, not for one moment.

She swept into a study a few doors down only a step behind Donna, catching her wrist lightly. "What is it? What did you find?"

"A box," she declared, watching excitedly as the Doctor set the box on the desk and dug out his sonic screwdriver. The blue tip buzzed softly as he unlocked it, letting Donna expertly saunter a little closer to block the view of it from Agatha. Jay followed suit, and soon, all three of them were hovering over his shoulder. Jay didn't miss the flicker of annoyance that crossed his face and quickly moved back a little to give him some more room.

"Oh, someone came here tooled up," said the Doctor as he flicked the box open with a grin. It was filled to the brim with a variety of tools - none of which would be used to murder anyone else. But they certainly could be used for thieving. "The sort of stuff a thief would use."

"The Unicorn," gasped Agatha. "He's here!"

"The Unicorn and the wasp," murmured the Doctor with a furrowed brow, wondering if the two were connected. He glanced up when someone came in. It was the older servant, Greeves, with a series of glasses. He left the drinks with a tight, unhappy smile, and then left, likely to report about whatever it was he heard to his mistress.

Jay wouldn't be surprised, she thought as she took her drink and sniffed thoughtfully at it. She wrinkled her nose and chose to set it aside, not finding the soda all that interesting for the time being. "Doctor," she said, glancing at him as he dropped into a seat, thinking, glass in hand. "The vial of slime...what'd you find?"

"Vespiform sting." He swirled his own glass after grabbing it, thinking aloud. "Vespiforms have got hives in the Silfrax galaxy...but for some reason, this one's behaving like a character in one of your books, Agatha." He sipped at his drink, nodding at her.

"Come on, Agatha," prompted Donna gently, eyes gleaming. "What would Miss Marple do? She'd have overheard something vital by now, because the murderer thinks she's just a harmless old lady."

"Clever idea." Agatha's eyes lit with interest and she straightened, studying Donna with a hint of a smile on her face. "Miss Marple? Who writes those?"

"Copyright Donna Noble, add it to the list," said Donna proudly.

"Donna," murmured the Doctor, and the odd tinge to his voice had Jay setting her glass aside, narrowing her eyes. He looked startled, as if something completely unexpected had happened. He set his glass aside almost immediately, rocking forward. As Donna sighed and mumbled something along the lines of "oh, alright," he shook his head wildly. "Something's inhibiting my enzymes-"

"Doctor?" rasped Jay, concerned when he suddenly yelped and rocked forward again, body shuddering in agony. She knew such movements and felt a brief, irrational flicker of terror. Had she somehow passed on her own illness? No. The Doctor would have warned her sooner if she could do so.

"I've been poisoned," he managed to get out, fingers curling into a fist over his hearts. His face was creased with immense pain, and Jay bumped Donna aside when she faltered, not sure of how to help him. Jay's eyes blazed with determination. He wasn't human. He wasn't human. Not like them. He'd be okay - he just needed to tell them what to do.

Agatha sniffed at the glass he'd put aside an d set her mouth in a grim line. "Bitter almonds! It's cyanide - sparkling cyanide."

"What do we do?" demanded Donna in a panic, terrified by the idea.

Jay touched the Doctor's shoulder and echoed Donna's request gently. "Doctor," she insisted as he coughed, trying to clear the pain away by banging a fist on his chest. "What do you need us to do?"

The Doctor lurched to his feet, stumbling, and Jay shifted with him, trying to help without getting in the way. "Kitchen," he gasped, and she nodded. "Ginger beer."

Jay's eyes flashed with determination. "Donna, Mrs. Christie, help him get to the kitchen," she snapped fiercely and then tore off, barreling out of the room. She shot down the hallway, her heart thundering in her chest as she raced around a corner and down a flight of stairs, aiming for the kitchen as she'd been told.

She knew what kind of pain he was in. She wondered if it was akin to what she felt every time those pins and needles rose up in her arms and legs. She hoped not. No one in this world deserved to feel what she did when her time ran out and an attack came.

She scared a woman into a screaming mess when she burst into the kitchen and nearly screeched, "Ginger beer!"

"I beg your pardon?" sputtered Davenport, who'd been in the kitchen to help prepare dinner.

"Ginger beer!" she snapped again, impatient. "Tell me, where is it?"

He pointed, and she hurtled over to the shelf he'd aimed for. She found the bottle just seconds before the door opened again and the Doctor, Agatha, and Donna stumbled in. She held it aloft triumphantly, and the Doctor nearly crashed into her in desperation as he grappled for it. She pressed it into his hand and backed off as he chugged half of it before pouring the rest of it over his head. Jay wrinkled her nose at the smell, eyes wide.

"I'm an expert in poisons, Doctor," Agatha was crying over the commotion. "There's no cure! It's fatal!"

"Not for me!" he barked back, voice hoarse with pain. "I can stimulate the inhibited enzymes into reversal - protein! Jay, Donna, I need protein!"

H groaned as pain shot through him again and Agatha and Donna went to work right alongside Jay, scrambling to find what he needed. Protein, protein, protein, chanted Jay silently - until Donna held a jar aloft and shrieked, "Walnuts?"

"Brilliant!" he shouted, snatching it from her. He dumped a solid amount into his mouth as they returned to him, anxious. His mouth shoved full of walnuts, he made a mild gesture, trying to indicate what he wanted.

Impatient and desperate to help, he and Donna launched into a game of charades that made Jay want to strangle them both. It was incredibly unhelpful, hearing Donna guess several incorrect things. Agatha looked as frustrated as she felt until he shouted, "Salt! I was miming salt! I need something salty!"

"What about this?" cried Donna, offering a brown bag of straight up salt, and Jay snorted loudly when he denied it, claiming it was too salty. When Agatha offered a jar full of something Jay couldn't identify, the Doctor scarfed it down, too, and then made a new motion, still chewing. Jay stared at him in exasperation.

"Just eat and then talk." He gave Jay an equally as exasperated, yet annoyed look, indicating himself as to point out that he was in the middle of trying to stop himself from dying or regenerating because of a poison.

"It's a shock!" he said, making the motion again. "Look! Shock! I need a shock!"

"Right then, big shock!" Donna sucked in a deep breath, face set in determination. "Coming up!"

Nothing in this world or another could have prepared Jay for what happened next.

Donna took a big, tight hold of the lapels of the Doctor's pinstriped suit and yanked him to her, kissing him fiercely. A moment later, she shoved him back just as hard, giving him the room he needed to exhale what looked like a cloud of smoke. Silence fell; everyone stared at him in shock. Jay could have cared less about the damn smoke. She was staring at Donna as the Doctor wiped his mouth. "Detox!"

Jay's mouth opened and closed for a moment before she said weakly, "I suppose that was a good shock then, eh?"

Donna threw her a dirty look. "Not one word," she hissed, and Jay held her hands up in surrender.

"Whatever you say, Donna," she muttered, running a hand down her face and slumping against a nearby counter. She rubbed a hand over her heart to soothe its thumping, racing beat, hoping that the Doctor wouldn't give her a heart attack before the day ran out. "Doctor," she asked hesitantly, and he glanced at her with a warm grin. "Are you okay now?"

"Right as rain," he chirped happily. "And ready to puzzle out this mystery of ours. Care to join me for dinner, Jay?"

She snorted softly, but found herself grinning back at him.

---

Night found the residents - permanent and temporary - settled at a massive wooden dining table for supper. Jay eyed the food with distaste, not all that excited about the matter. After all, she'd been to plenty of wealth-ridden dinners, and they never went well. Something bad happened, or she found herself bored to tears by the conversation.

The Doctor, at least, didn't seem all that interested in eating either. He eyed the plate before him in distaste. "A terrible day for all of us. The professor was struck down, Miss Chandrakala taken so cruelly from us...and yet we still take dinner."

"We are British, Doctor," Lady Eddison told him with pride, lifting her chin. "What else must we do?"

"Properly mourn the dead?" muttered Jay, wincing when Donna hushed her with a warning kick under the table. The Doctor gave her a pointed look, too. Shush. She got it.

The Doctor continued as if Jay and Lady Eddison hadn't spoken. "Then someone tried to poison me. Any one of you had the chance to put cyanide in my drink, but it rather gave me an idea." The reverend questioned it, and the Doctor cocked his head. "Well...poison. Drink up!" He smiled a little as he gestured casually to the dinner table. Everyone stared at him suspiciously, and he rolled his eyes. "I've laced the soup with pepper."

Jay snorted aloud, not caring now if it was proper or not. Idiot, she thought fondly as Colonel Curbishley mused, "Ah, I thought it was jolly spicy."

"But the active ingredient of pepper is piperine, traditionally used as an insecticide." The Doctor flashed a grin at them all. "So...anyone got the shivers?"

Jay jumped when there was a crack of thunder, followed by a nasty flash of lightning. The window was thrown open by a massive gust of wind and the room went dark as the candles were blown out. Jay felt a shiver of fear go down her spine and instinctively, she desperately reached out to grasp for someone's hand. She was confident it was the Doctor who caught her hand, squeezing it in reassurance as he ordered them all to listen.

The buzz in the air made Jay's face pale, but her head snapped in the direction of Lady Eddison's voice when she whispered, "No, it can't be!"

She knew something.

She knew a lot of something.

"Show yourself, demon!" cried Agatha in the darkness.

Move, a voice whispered in the back of her head. Jay froze, remembering that voice. It had been that voice who'd warned her when Jenny had been shot. It spoke truth, and she was inclined to listen to it - especially when it nearly roared in the back of her head, MOVE NOW!

Jay's gaze darkened and she ripped her hand free and shoved her chair, not caring when it tipped and tumbled back to the floor. She heard people shouting and trying to hear one another over the buzz as it vanished, but Jay merely hurtled herself under the table, wincing when she heard something thud rather sharply into the place she'd been sitting.

She cowered there until the room began lighting up again. Candles were lit again, matches struck. And only when the Doctor called her name did she emerge, staggering to her feet with wide, frightened eyes. "Jay," Donna called in relief, hovering behind the Doctor in a doorway with Agatha and Greeves.

"Alright?" the Doctor demanded, gaze sweeping over her to ensure just that.

"No," breathed Jay, gaze locked on the knife that had embedded into the table, straight through her bowl of soup, which dripped to the floor. Her body trembled violently as Lady Eddison cried out about her missing Firestone, as Davenport croaked Roger's name. Slowly, Jay looked, and her knees buckled when she saw that the young man was very clearly dead, a second knife driven through his back.

"Got you, sweetheart," said a voice in her ear, and Jay took a shaken breath.

Not only had someone else died - and someone who was so very young, at that, but someone had tried to stab her.

Someone had actually tried to stab her, as if sensing that she could figure out more than what the others could.

And by the black expression on the Doctor's face, he'd realized it, too.

---

The Doctor was most certainly not happy. It was one thing, he felt, to try and poison him. But to try and stab one of his friends was unacceptable - and, he couldn't help but feel, particularly interesting. Perhaps, had the attack been made on Donna, he'd have let it pass as circumstance, coincidence, something akin to such things. She was his companion, the more vocal of the two - the one out in the sunshine, where she was obvious and seen, while Jay was quieter, hovering in her shadow on more than one occasion.

But they'd gone after Jay - Jay, who'd expressed particular distrust in two distinct individuals. Jay, who wasn't necessarily entirely human, with that little bit of extra mixed in. Jay, who was clearly unnerved by the attack, though she hid it well as she sat pressed up to Donna, who had wrapped an arm around her shoulder in comfort. Agatha sat on Jay's other side, looking thoughtful.

"That poor footman," Donna was saying softly. "Roger's dead and he can't even mourn him. Nineteen-twenty-six...it's more like the dark ages." Jay murmured her agreement, and Donna hugged her tighter for a moment before releasing her entirely.

"Did you inquire after the necklace?" asked Agatha, choosing to ignore that statement.

"Lady Eddison brought it back from India," said Jay hoarsely. "It's worth thousands."

The Doctor hummed in thought, throwing her a concerned look before shifting his attention to other matters. He'd check on her further later, when they were out of danger. She was alive now, and that was what mattered. "It can sting, it can fly, and it could wipe us all out in seconds. Why is it playing this game?"

"Every murder is essentially the same." Agatha's voice was quiet, but firm. She scanned each of them in thought. "They are committed because somebody wants something."

"What does a Vespiform…?" Jay checked with the Doctor. He nodded curtly. "What would a Vespiform want?"

"Oh, stop it, the murderer is as human as your or I." Agatha frowned at them both, and then at Donna.

The Doctor's eyes flew wide in surprise. "You're right," he breathed, flying over. He dropped to his knees before Agatha, staring up at her face in wonder. Donna and Jay exchanged curious, interested looks. "I've been so caught up with giant wasps that I've forgotten! You're the expert!" Agatha, flustered, waved him off, but the Doctor shook his head. "Plenty of people write detective stories, but you are the best! And why? Why are you so good, Agatha Christie? Because you understand! You've lived...you've fought...you've had your heart broken." He took her hand tightly in his, squeezing it comfortingly. "You know about people, their passions and their hope, and their despair, and their anger. All of those tiny, huge things that can turn the most ordinary person into a killer! Just think, Agatha! If anyone can solve this, it's you."

Agatha searched his gaze for a handful of seconds. Finally, she nodded curtly. "Right," she whispered, offering a hint of a smile in turn. "Gather everyone back in the drawing room. It's time we found our killer."

The Doctor rose to his feet. "Donna, Jay, coming?"

"Of course." Jay rose to her feet, brushing herself off. He didn't miss the wary way she hid her shaking hands behind her back. He found himself curious; why had the attempt shaken her so much more than anything else ever had? She had faced down Daleks, the Master...why was this scaring her so much? Of course, she could have been killed only a short time ago, but still!

He'd find out later, he told himself, when things had calmed down. When they'd found the murderer.

It took a shockingly small amount of time to herd everyone to where they needed: calmly sitting in the very drawing room they'd entered time and time again over the course of the last day. And when they had, Jay and Donna settled themselves onto a sofa. The Doctor eyed them all, gaze lingering momentarily on Reverend Golightly and then Robina Redmond. But he shook that off and announced, "I've called you here on this endless night, because we have a murderer in our midst! And when it comes to detection, there's none finer. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you...Agatha Christie!"

Speech finished, the Doctor comfortably sank down onto the sofa beside Jay. She glanced at him warily, and he winked before returning his attention to Agatha.

"This is a crooked house - a house of secrets," she began, standing at the head of them all. Her gaze was sharp, her spine straight as she held herself proudly. "To understand the solution, we must examine them all. Starting with you, Miss Redmond." She rounded on the woman, who looked startled, declaring her innocence. The Doctor felt a flicker of pleasure, glad they'd get her out of the way first.

"You've never met these people, and these people have never met you," Agatha continued, studying Robina confidently. "I think the real Robina Redmond never left London. You're impersonating her."

Jay rocked forward, alert, and the Doctor felt a smile tug at the corner of his mouth as Robina sniffed. "How silly!" she snapped. "What proof do you have?"

"You said you went to the toilet. Earlier today, Miss Noble and I found this," she showed the small box of tools she and Donna had found earlier in the day to those before her, "on the lawn. Right beneath your bathroom window. You must have heard that Miss Noble was searching the bedrooms, so you panicked, ran upstairs, and disposed of the evidence."

As Donna exclaimed in understanding, Jay leaned in and murmured in the Doctor's ear with a grin, "I told you. I told you something was off about her." He nudged her in response, pointed. Hush.

"The tools of your trade," Agatha said as Robina sniffed again and looked away, refusing to acknowledge that they were hers. "Miss Redmond. Or should I say...the Unicorn?" Jay and Donna rolled their eyes at the exaggerated gasps that came from those in the room. "You came to this house with one sole intention: to steal the Firestone."

Robina stared Agatha down for a handful of moments. Finally, she rose from her seat, scowling. When she spoke now, her eyes flashed with annoyance and Jay jolted in surprise at the shift of voice and mannerisms. She was so very clearly American as she said dryly, "Oh, alright then, it's a fair cop. Yes, I'm the bleedin' Unicorn. Ever so nice to meet you, I don't think. I took my chance in the dark and nabbed it." She pulled the very gem-studded necklace they'd been discussing from her dress and studied it for a moment before tossing it to the Doctor, who barely caught it. "Go on then, you knobs, arrest me and sling me in jail."

"So...is she the murderer?" questioned Donna, looking somewhat confused.

"Don't be so thick," snapped Robina. "I might be a thief, but I ain't no killer."

Agatha looked satisfied with the result of her deduction. "Quite. There are darker motives at work, and in examining this household, we come to you, Colonel!" She turned her attention onto Colonel Curbishley, who scowled at her half-heartedly. The Doctor wouldn't hesitate to admit that he let himself zone out for the next few moments, rather bored of the somewhat shocking realization that was revealed: Colonel Curbishley wasn't as wheelchair-ridden as he'd claimed for the last eight or so years. It did make him snort softly in amusement.

Humans were so thick, sometimes.

Shaking her head after declaring Colonel Curbishley innocent, Agatha turned her attention back onto more important matters. "Let's return to this," she sighed, holding her hand out towards the Doctor. He pressed the Firestone into her hand, and she held it aloft, studying it closely. "The Firestone has quite a history...Lady Eddison, you brought it back from India, did you not? Before you met the Colonel, you came home with malaria. You confined yourself to this house for six months, in a room that has been kept locked ever since, which I rather think means-"

"Please," whispered Lady Eddison, her voice breaking as tears rose to her eyes, "stop."

Agatha's face softened, but she didn't. "I'm so sorry, but you had fallen pregnant in India. Unmarried and ashamed, you hurried back to England with your confidant, a young maid later to become Miss Chandrakala."

The colonel turned a shocked, horrified look on his wife as she sobbed, "My poor baby. I had to give him away...the shame of it…"

"Clemency...you never said a word," cried Colonel Curbishley.

"I had no choice! Imagine the scandal! The family name! I'm British," she added, squaring her shoulders. "I carry on."

"And it was no ordinary pregnancy. 'Scuse me, Agatha, this is my territory." She nodded, backing away to let the Doctor talk. Rather than rising, he merely said, "But when you heard that buzzing sound in the dining room, you said, 'It can't be.' Why did you say that?"

She faltered, but then began to speak. Her voice trembled, but remained clear. "It was forty years ago, in the heat of Delhi, late one night. I was alone. And that's when I saw it, a dazzling light in the sky. The next day, a man came to the house. Christopher, the most handsome man I'd ever seen. Our love blazed like a wildfire, and I held nothing back. In return...he showed me the incredible truth about himself. He'd made himself human to learn about us. I loved him so much, it didn't matter that his true form was...was a giant wasp. But he was stolen from me." Her voice cracked with pain and Donna uttered a soft sound of sympathy.

"Eighteen-eighty-five, the year of the great monsoon. The river Jumna rose up and broke its banks. He was taken at the flood. But Christopher...he left me a parting gift, a jewel like no other." Lady Eddison gestured to the Firestone. "I wore it always. Part of me never forgot, so I kept it close. Always."

"Just like a man," sneered Robina, and Jay shot her a dirty look, silently urging her to shut up. "Flashes his family jewels, and you end up with a bun in the oven."

Agatha ignored her. "A 'poor little child.' Forty years ago, Miss Chandrakala took that newborn babe to an orphanage, but Professor Peach worked it out. He found the birth certificate."

"Oh," gasped Donna, pointing at Agatha in realization. "That's maiden! Maiden name!" Agatha nodded curtly. "So...she killed him?"

"Donna," sighed Jay with a fond look. "Just wait, would you? Let Agatha finish."

"Miss Chandrakala feared that the professor had unearthed your secret. She was coming to warn you. But Lady Eddison is innocent, because at this point...Doctor!"

The Doctor rocked to his feet. The pair exchanged places; the Doctor went to stand before them all and Agatha seated herself at Jay's side. Jay didn't mind, even offering Agatha a kind, warm smile in greeting. "Thank you," said the Doctor loudly. "At this point, when we consider the lies and the secrets, and the key to these events, then we have to consider...it was you, Donna Noble!" Donna gawked at him, horrified. "You said it, all along. The vital clue. This whole thing is being acted out like a murder mystery. Which means it was you, Agatha Christie!"

"I beg your pardon, sir!" snapped Agatha.

Donna gestured to Agatha, frowning in confusion. "So...she killed them?"

"Donna," sighed Jay. "Honestly."

The Doctor snorted. "No! But she wrote those clever, brilliant books, and who's her greatest admirer? The moving fingers points at you, Lady Eddison." He pointed at her, and she huffed at him to leave her alone. "Just think, last Thursday night, what were you doing?"

Jay straightened suddenly, her gaze narrowing as she realized he was getting at something - something she couldn't remember, but really felt she ought to have. She watched Lady Eddison intently as the older woman stammered, "I was...I was in the library. I was reading my favorite Agatha Christie, thinking about her plots and how clever she must be. But...but how is that relevant?"

"Just think," Jay breathed, "what else happened on Thursday night?"

The Doctor beamed at her in pride and then rounded on Reverend Golightly. He looked befuddled by the sudden attention after not having been addressed at all during all of the odd accusations and reveals. "I'm sorry?"

"You said on the lawn, this afternoon. Last Thursday night, those boys broke into your church." The Doctor stared pointedly at him until he nodded curtly, confused.

"That's correct, they did. I discovered two of them. Thieves in the night. I was most perturbed. But, I apprehended them."

Jay shot to her feet, understanding slamming through her, and the Doctor gave a whoop of excitement, pleased she'd figured it out, too. "But Reverend Golightly," she said, staring at him with distrust, "you are a man of God, are you not? A man in his forties, too. You couldn't have possibly stood against two strong young boys. And you're forty exactly." Lady Eddison gasped in realization. "Your child, Lady Eddison," Jay said, glancing at her. "He'd be forty now, yes?" She waved to him. "He's come home."

The Doctor's excitement faded as he frowned at her. "I was going to say that," he complained and she rolled her eyes, sitting back down and lifting her eyebrows. Well, get on with it then, that look said, and he beamed at her. "You said you were taught by the Christian Fathers, meaning you were raised in an orphanage," the Doctor told the reverend as he grew angry with the Doctor, rising to his feet with a scowl. "You found those thieves, Reverend, you got angry! A proper, deep anger for the first time in your life, and it broke the genetic lock. You've changed. You realized your inheritance, after all of those years - you knew who you were. Agatha, the Firestone?"

She passed it over and he held it aloft with narrowed eyes. "And then it all kicks off, because this isn't just a jewel. It's a Vespiform telepathic recorder! It's part of you - your brain, your very essence. When you activated, so did the Firestone. It beamed your full identity directly into your mind. And at the same time, it absorbed the works of Agatha Christie, directly from Lady Eddison. It all became part of you. Mechanics of those novels formed a template in your brain. You've killed in this pattern, because that's what you think the world is. Turns out, we are in the middle of a murder mystery. One of yours, Dame Agatha!"

"Dame?" she echoed, shocked.

"Oh, sorry, not yet," the Doctor answered hastily.

Donna pointed at the reverend, frowning. "So...he killed them? Yes? Definitely?"

Jay nodded, rolling her eyes and leaning briefly into Donna. "Yes, Donna. It was him." She'd known there was something off about him. She narrowed her eyes warily as Reverend Golightly rose to his feet.

"Really," he said rather icily, "this has certainly been a most entertaining evening, but you can't believe any of this surely, Lady Edizzz-" He broke off, and Jay stared at the way the buzz seemed to emulate from him now, as the reverend struggled to push out words past it. The Doctor lifted a brow in challenge. "Lady Edizzzon."

"Little bit of buzzing there, Vicar?" said the Doctor in a smug, somewhat mocking manner, and Jay threw him a look just as the reverend snapped at him to not make him angry. "Why?" the Doctor challenged him. "What happens then?"

"Damn it!" snarled the reverend, and Jay stiffened as his expression shifted into one of rage. "You humanzzz! Worshipping your trivial sky godzzz! I am so much more! That night, the universe exploded in my mind! I wanted to take what wazzz mine! And you, Agatha Christie, with your railway station bookstall romancezzz...what'zzz to stop me from killing you?"

The buzzing made it rather hard to understand what, precisely, Reverend Golightly was saying, but Jay got the meaning when he was surrounded by a blinding purple light. He became wasp they'd seen earlier that day and Lady Eddison sobbed her apologies, reaching for her child even as Colonel Curbishley dragged her back into a corner with Greeves and Robina, urging, "No, no, Clemency, keep away, my darling!"

The wasp swung at the Doctor, who leaped back, and then turned on Donna and Jay. Jay didn't hesitate to tackle Donna onto the sofa, shoving with all of her weight so that the sofa tipped with them on it. Donna squawked when they hit the floor, tumbling over one another, and were showered by wood and fabric where the stinger caught the furniture.

When the Vespiform had moved away, Jay and Donna popped up to peer at what was happening - just in time to see Agatha lift her hand into the air. "No!" she shouted, showing the Vespiform the Firestone. "No more murder! If my imagination made you kill, then my imagination will find a way to stop you, foul creature!" She tore off, disappearing through a doorway. The Vespiform flew out after her and the Doctor shouted for his friends before running after her.

"Come on!" gasped Jay, throwing herself after them. Donna followed suit, only half-a-step behind.

They burst through the front door, slamming the door shut behind them. The Doctor was sprinting across the lawn when Jay spotted him. She shot after him like a rocket, yelling Donna's name to indicate she'd spotted him. The Doctor stumbled to a halt when Agatha, having clambered into one of those old, antique cars they'd been admiring earlier, honked the horn and shouted, "Over here! Come and get me, Reverend!"

"Agatha!" shouted the Doctor to her as Donna and Jay tripped to a halt beside him. "What are you doing?!"

"If I started this, Doctor, then I must stop it!" she yelled back, and then the car was zipping off.

The Doctor stared after her for a moment, lips pressed into a hard line. And then he was bolting for another car, his sonic screwdriver already in hand. "Come on," he called over his shoulder, and Donna and Jay scampered after him. They piled into the car, Donna making herself at home in the passenger seat and Jay in the back, her fingers already gripping the seats nervously. Her last experience in a car hadn't been all that much of a good one. For one, it had been installed with ATMOS. And secondly...she'd gotten rather ill from it.

Still, as the Doctor got the car started, hitting the gas and shouting about how rubbish cars in the 20s were regarding speed, Jay called to him, "Do you even know how to drive this thing?"

He gave her a dirty look, and she shrugged, deciding to pretend she'd not spoken at all. Instead, she focused on the worried Donna, who called over the roar of the engine and the wind rushing by, "You said this is the night Agatha Christie loses her memory."

"Time is in flux, Donna!" He shot her a wide-eyed, frantic look. "For all we know, this is the night Agatha Christie loses her life and history gets changed."

"Where's she going, do you think?"

"The lake! She's heading for the lake - what's she doing?!"

Jay yelped when a few minutes later, the car ripped to a halt. Agatha had clambered out of the vehicle and stood at the edge, her hand holding the Firestone tightly. It glowed a beautiful purple, light emanating from it in a shimmering way. The Vespiform hovered, locked onto it and buzzing angrily. "Here I am!" she shouted as the Doctor, Donna, and Jay piled out of their car. "The honey in the trap. Come to me, Vespiform…"

"She's controlling it," realized Jay, grabbing Donna's wrist when Donna nearly bolted for her in worry.

"Its mind is based on her thought processes," explained the Doctor in a hushed manner. "They're linked!" Slowly, they made their way over to her. Agatha looked quite proud, though there was some fear and even sadness on her face.

"Quite so, Doctor," she said softly. "If I die, then this creature might die with me."

The Doctor's face hardened. Not on his watch. He slid between Agatha and the Vespiform, and coaxed, "Don't hurt her! You're not meant to be like this. You've got the wrong template in your mind-"

The Vespiform buzzed angrily, and Donna's face hardened. "It's not listening," she said, snatching the Firestone from Agatha, who gasped in surprise. Jay squawked, trying to stop her as she reeled her arm back, but before she could, Donna had thrown the stone as hard as she could into the lake. The Vespiform chased after it, slamming into the water so hard they were sprinkled with droplets of lake water. Jay stared in horror at where the creature was drowning itself, a bright purple glow the only sign as to what was there. Sorrow flooded her.

"Donna," said the Doctor softly, just as sad about the matter as she was. Agatha looked upset, too, and though Donna had done it, she looked as if she hated what she'd chosen to do. "That thing couldn't help itself."

"Neither could I," mumbled Donna defensively, even as guilt and misery crossed her face. Knowing how she felt, Jay reached out and took her hand, giving it a comforting squeeze.

"Death comes as the end...and justice is served," Agatha whispered. Jay hummed her agreement, and then snapped her head around to look when Agatha suddenly collapsed with a cry of agony. Her stomach churned nervously as the Doctor bent to help her, his face full of horror.

"Doctor," Donna fretted nervously, worried that this was her doing, "is she okay?"

He helplessly stared at the pained woman. "It's the Firestone! It's part of the Vespiform's mind. It's dying and it's connected to Agatha-" He cut off when the woman suddenly fell limp, astonishment flickering over his features. "Oh. He let her go. Right at the end...the Vespiform chose to save someone's life." He smiled fondly at the clever author, admiring her - and the creature who'd perished. "Of course," he said suddenly, realizing the truth. "The amnesia...wiped her mind of everything that happened. The wasp, the murders…"

Jay crouched beside them, smoothing Agatha's hair from her face. "And us," she said, "right? She'll forget about us, too."

The Doctor nodded in confirmation, gently gathering Agatha into his arms to carry her. Jay hovered, ready to help if she could. "We've solved another riddle," he added suddenly. "The mystery of Agatha Christie - and tomorrow morning, her car gets found by the side of the lake. A few days later, she turns up in a hotel at Harrogate, with no idea of what just happened. No one will ever know."

Jay considered the others who would know the truth as they began to walk for the cars, Donna beside her. The others were of too much money to consider talking about the matter. It'd be shameful to discuss the matter, so naturally the matter of the Vespiform would be kept quiet.

Jay paused just once, looking back at the lake in which the Vespiform had drowned in. Somewhere, in the back of her mind, she prayed that the Firestone remained hidden beneath its surface until the end of time - and that Reverend Golightly, no matter how much he'd scared her, rested in peace.

---

After leaving Agatha Christie in the front of the Harrogate hotel, awake albeit not remembering anything about what had taken place at the manor regarding the Vespiform, Jay found she was quite tired. Seeing as she'd been running, worrying, and nearly been killed on top of not having slept well as of late, she decided to leave the Doctor to do whatever it was he was doing with Donna and go and do just that: sleep.

She heard Donna cry out about something in excitement, but merely smiled to herself, glad to hear that Donna was enjoying whatever the Doctor had decided to show her. Somewhere in the back of her head, Jay decided it must have been related to Agatha. Donna had been expressing some concern about Agatha Christie's fate, and the Doctor had always been good at reassuring her about such things.

After a quick shower and change of clothes, Jay meandered into the TARDIS kitchen, listening to her wonderful song. She'd abandoned the necklace for the time being, content to enjoy the safety of the TARDIS. She dug out a mug and went to work on preparing tea, figuring it'd help her sleep in the long run.

She was in the middle of pouring the hot tea when a voice said from the doorway, "Mind if I join you?"

Jay swore under her breath when she nearly poured boiling hot water over her hand, having jumped. Shooting a hint of a glare over her shoulder, she sighed. She made a mild gesture, indicating she didn't mind though she found that she sincerely did, because she sure as hell knew where this conversation was going. And she was most certainly not in the mood to discuss her recurring nightmares when she'd already told him here and there about them.

So, she decided, pulling another mug down for the Doctor, she chose to put off the conversation in favor of asking, "Why did the Vespiform try to kill me? Did it overhear me talking about it? I never thought that he was close enough to overhear something, but…"

The Doctor thought it over carefully as he came to stand beside her at the counter. She slid him a cup of tea, and he blew on it before taking a thoughtful sip, brow furrowed. "Some species are sensitive," he said slowly, "to senses of danger. I have a theory, meaning he might have gone after you for the same reason he poisoned me."

"Danger? You thought it considered us dangerous?" Jay was baffled. Sure, the Doctor could be considered dangerous, she supposed. He'd been wielding his cleverness like a sword the entire time they'd been there. But-

A bell went off in her head. Move, the voice had whispered. MOVE NOW!

Jay's breath hitched. "I'm dangerous?" she rasped.

"No," the Doctor reassured gently. "Not to us. But it might have sensed the poison, which is dangerous in itself."

Jay was comforted a little by that. It wasn't her. Never her. But...it could have been. She had been the one to deliver death and destruction to Pompeii, her who'd failed to save so many lives. Wherever she walked with the Doctor, death followed.

She shook her head once to clear it, refusing to let her mind fall into old paths once more. She was getting better, she told herself. She wouldn't let herself sink back into such depressing thoughts. Maybe people had died again, but this time...they'd saved at least some, just as they did every time.

She sipped at her tea, thinking it over for a few moments. She could feel the Doctor watching her, waiting, and she slowly lowered her mug. "I heard the voice again. It was the same one from when...when Jenny died. It told me to move when the lights went out, and if I hadn't…"

The Doctor lowered his tea, too, frowning deeply. "You heard a voice?"

"Just in my head." She tapped her head lightly, smiling nervously. "It's not happened more than twice, but I've learned to listen to it, I suppose." She bit her lip. "I'm not...I'm not going crazy, am I?"

"Of course not." Not that the Doctor apparently knew what to do about the fact that she was hearing voices in her head. "It's not saying anything suspicious to you? Not telling you to do anything you wouldn't normally do?"

"No, it's just been in bad, life-threatening situations. With the knife, and then when Cobb was going to shoot at you," she murmured back, biting the inside of her cheek. "If I'd listened to it faster the first time-" She didn't let herself finish that statement. No more, she'd told herself. She wasn't going to think like that, not anymore. "Anyways, is it something I should worry about, do you think?"

"Mm," he hummed, "not for now. If it starts saying other things, or starts happening more often than not, ell me immediately." His gaze was serious as he searched hers.

"Okay. I will," Jay promised him. She smiled faintly, and he offered a grin in return, taking a deep drink of his tea.

A peaceful silence fell over the pair as they drank their tea, and Jay found herself relaxing as the TARDIS's song swelled comfortingly in her head. Wherever they went next, she told herself, she would be safe, so long as the Doctor and the TARDIS were there.

---

Some expressed excitement about this episode, and I hope it lived up to your expectations! :) Next, we're onto something I've been super excited about: the Library. ;)

Thanks to the lovely reviewer (bored411) as well as those who favorited and followed! I appreciate it immensely. :)