Katy's head was spinning as she awoke, blinking rapidly as her surroundings slowly came into focus. The last thing she could remember was visiting Space Vegas with the Doctor and Rose, the night having ended with them escaping from a casino prison and quite possibly being banned from the entire planet. She relaxed against the soft pillow she was laying on as she realised, she was still in her bed.
Her bed.
After six months of travelling with the Doctor, it still felt strange to acknowledge part of the TARDIS as 'hers'. But somehow the living machine was starting to feel more and more like the home she had wished for ever since she was a little girl. Rolling over onto her side, she pulled her duvet closer to her, deciding to try to catch a few more minutes of sleep. Her forehead wrinkled as she spotted a picture on her nightstand, one she was pretty sure wasn't there the night before. It was of her and the Doctor's eleventh incarnation, both with wide grins on their faces. The Doctor had slung his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close to him, with her hand reaching up to intertwine their fingers.
"I'm jumping through the timelines even in my sleep now?" Katy groaned, pulling her duvet over her head, thinking it was no wonder she felt so jetlagged.
Suddenly, a sound resembling an alarm clock started to blare all around her, as Katy let out a cry of frustration. She threw her duvet away from her, running a hand over her face, noticing how the portholes that covered the walls of her bedroom had turned from a comforting orange to a bright red.
"Five more minutes...three, even! C'mon, girl. Work with me here" Katy pleaded, as the alarm stopped for a moment.
Letting out a sigh of relief, Katy relaxed back down against her pillows, her eyes fluttering shut, intending to savour every second of—
"Seriously?!" Katy groaned as the alarm noise began again.
"Okay, okay. I'm up! What's the rush for?" Katy sulked, jumping up in her bed, and swinging her legs over the edge.
She was just slipping on her dressing gown when the Doctor burst into her room, an excited expression on his face, waving his psychic paper around in his hand. She immediately noticed he wasn't wearing his bowtie, nor his usual tweed jacket, the top two buttons of his shirt undone. It wasn't exactly uncommon for him to race in unannounced, but he wasn't usually so...underdressed.
"You know, there's this thing called knocking—" Katy began, as the Doctor rushed to approach her.
"House call! We haven't done one of these in years" The Doctor exclaimed, showing her what was written on the psychic paper.
"Please save me from the monsters. Sounds dangerous...and you're about to plot the coordinates, aren't you?" Katy snorted, as the Doctor grinned at her.
"C'mon, c'mon. Get dressed, or Amy and Rory will come looking for us" The Doctor told her, before racing back into...
Her bathroom.
She peered inside to find his bowtie hanging on the edge of the basin, as the Doctor tugged his jacket over his shoulders. It took a few more moments for her brain to put two and two together as her eyes doubled in size. He had been in her bathroom when she had woken up.
"...What were you doing in there?" Katy frowned.
"Well, you were...ah. Ah! You're not the Katy from last night. Yesterday! Yes, right. I should go..." The Doctor stuttered over his words, grabbing his bowtie.
"Wait, did you sleep—" Katy started, as the Doctor reached out to place his finger over her lips.
"Spoilers. Lots and lots of spoilers. Messy spoilers. Not spoilers we need to be discussing" The Doctor ranted, as she quirked an eyebrow at him, causing him to pull his hand away.
"I say we do" Katy retorted.
"Monsters now. Talk later" The Doctor insisted, backing away toward her bedroom door.
"You always say that" Katy grumbled, as he gave her a cheeky grin before opening the door and making a quick getaway.
The smile soon faltered as he turned the corner away from her bedroom, running a hand through his hair. The TARDIS made a humming sound all around him, in a way that seemed like it was almost mocking him. There were some things that Katy was definitely not ready to know.
"You couldn't have warned me she had jumped?" The Doctor complained, pulling his tie on with a scowl.
He rolled his eyes as the TARDIS made a crackling sound, one that he was all too familiar with.
She was laughing at him.
The Doctor kept his eyes glued to the console as he heard Katy's footsteps approaching, hearing a few muffled sniggers from Amy and Rory beside him. Tapping a few numbers out on the typewriter, he finished plotting their new course, sending the group off into the vortex. He wasn't sure he could meet her eyes after their awkward encounter that morning. He wondered where the Katy he had been with yesterday had gone. Back in time? Forward? To some version of himself, he didn't even know about?
"You two aren't fooling anyone, you know" Amy teased, as Katy rubbed at her eyes, still half asleep.
"Huh?" She yawned.
"I bet he hasn't given her a bunkbed" Rory murmured, as Amy nudged him with her elbow.
"Not the Katy from last night. Younger. Much younger" The Doctor exclaimed, as the pair froze.
"Rude" Katy huffed, crossing her arms.
"Oh..." Rory trailed off, with a guilty expression.
"Yes, oh. Grab a jacket, it's midnight out there" The Doctor announced, as the three did as they were told.
As soon as Rory opened the TARDIS doors, Katy found the Doctor's advice was correct, feeling a chill in the air. She grabbed her black jacket from the rails in the console room, shrugging it over her shoulders as Amy and Rory exited the TARDIS, avoiding the puddles that surrounded the time machine. Katy's forehead wrinkled as she found a scarf was being placed around her shoulders, one she didn't recognise. After their bedroom antics that morning, the gesture felt strangely domestic to Katy.
"Like I said. Cold out" The Doctor explained, wrapping it around her shoulders a few times.
"So, monster hunting. Who you gonna' call?" Katy grinned, earning a snort from the Time Lord.
"The awesome foursome" The Doctor announced, in a dramatic tone as Katy burst into laughter.
"Oh my God, never say that again. Like ever" She giggled, as the pair walked out of the TARDIS, their shoulders shaking as they laughed.
"No offence, Doctor. But we could get a bus somewhere like this" Rory stated, his eyes searching their surroundings.
They had landed beside a grim-looking block of flats, with garbage littering the streets, and graffiti coating the walls. After having spent almost three months stuck in 1913, Katy was just happy to be back in the 21st century. She tilted her head to the side when she noticed that the air around the building seemed to pulse with energy. Something was using an insane amount of power within, that was clear to her.
"Well, I suppose it can't all be planets and history and stuff, Rory" Amy pointed out.
"Yes, it can. Course it can. Planets and history and stuff. That's what we do. But not today. No. Today, we're answering a cry for help from the scariest place in the universe. A child's bedroom" The Doctor informed them.
Reaching out for the Doctor, Katy dipped her hand inside his jacket, feeling for the sonic screwdriver inside his pocket. Amy bit her lip as she watched the Doctor's cheeks redden as Katy dug her hand further inside his pocket, eventually pulling out the device, oblivious to the way the Doctor had tensed.
"Which setting for energy patterns?" Katy asked, as the Doctor let out a forced cough.
"...Setting 36" The Doctor answered, straightening his tie, as Katy scanned the air around them.
"Weird readings. Something is using a lot of psychic energy" Katy told him, showing him the results.
"Strange spikes in the data. Doesn't seem to follow any sort of artificial pattern" The Doctor mused.
"Doctor, you said we were looking for a kid, right?" Amy asked, as they marched toward the front door of the building.
"Exactly. A scared kid. A very scared kid. So scared that somehow its cry for help got through to us in the TARDIS" The Doctor informed them, finding the door was unlocked, barely hanging on its hinges.
"Maybe that's why the energy readings are spiking. What happens to kids at night?" Katy suggested.
"Bad dreams" Rory said, as they made their way to a lift that was making a creaking noise.
"I used to have this one nightmare about our gym teacher. Mr Reynolds. Worst breath you've ever smelt" Amy stated, pressing the lift button.
"He was the one with the unibrow, right?" Rory grimaced, remembering the teacher well.
"Mine was waking up in class at the Academy. Naked. Luckily, only happened once or twice when I was awake" The Doctor informed them, as Rory gave him a questioning look.
"I used to have night terrors when I was in care" Katy shrugged, as the lift dinged, and the doors opened.
"About what?" The Doctor inquired, as Katy's face paled.
"...Oh, just this and that. You know, spiders and stuff" Katy mumbled, cringing at how bad the lie was.
She could hardly tell him the truth about what used to keep her up at night. Still did sometimes. With a shake of her head, the four entered the lift and began their search for the mysterious kid. They started from the top floor and worked their way down, meeting an array of people, none of whom seemed to appreciate the late call. And the other tenants simply didn't open their doors. How were they supposed to find the kid?
"Hey. Any luck?" Amy questioned, as they met back up after an hour of searching.
"Three old ladies, a traffic warden from Croatia and a man with ten cats" The Doctor answered, piquing Katy's interest.
"Which flat are the cats in? I better ask them some follow-up questions" Katy suggested, as the Doctor tapped her on the head with his sonic screwdriver.
"You two try the next floor down. We'll keep looking up here. Catch you later" The Doctor suggested, gesturing for Katy to follow him.
"Okay" Amy mumbled, her eyes narrowing as she watched the pair walk away.
"We're not going to see the cats, are we?" Katy pouted, once they were out of earshot.
"I found the boy. Four doors down" The Doctor informed her.
"And why aren't we bringing Amy and Rory?" Katy inquired, as they approached the flat they had been searching for.
"Could be dangerous" The Doctor pointed out, knocking on the door a few times.
"Oh, but it's alright to bring me along then" Katy huffed, as the Doctor propped his arm against the door and leaned in close to her.
"Don't worry. I'll protect you" The Doctor smirked, just as the door was opened from the inside.
Katy had to muffle her laughter with her hand as the Doctor fell into the flat, with a deafening thud. He winced as he pushed himself up onto his elbows, finding a tired-looking man looming over him, where he was a mess of limbs on the floor. Very cool Doctor, he thought to himself.
"My saviour" Katy mocked, in a teasing tone.
"Hello" The Doctor announced, grabbing his psychic paper and holding it up to the man who was still gawking at him.
"...Oh. Right. That was quick" The man frowned, as the Doctor jumped to his feet.
"Was it?" The Doctor exclaimed, checking the paper for himself.
"Claire said she'd phone someone. Social Services" The man continued, as the Doctor nodded, quickly.
"Yep. Yeah, that's exactly who we are. Uh, my apologies for my colleague. He's new" Katy told him, whispering the last part.
"Right. Well, it's not easy, you know, admitting your kid's got a problem" The man confessed, in a defeated tone.
"You've got a problem. I've got a problem. I bet they're connected, I'm the Doctor. This is Katy. Not with an IE. Just a Y. What can I call you?" The Doctor blurted out, in an almost giddy tone.
"Alex" The man replied, holding his hand out to the Doctor.
"Hello, Alex" The Doctor nodded, shaking his hand before ushering Katy inside, wanting to get to the bottom of their mystery.
"So, tell me about George" The Doctor exclaimed, as Katy wondered how the Doctor guessed that was his son's name.
She soon found her answer when she spotted the name written on the bedroom door beside the Time Lord. The flat appeared nice enough, if a little small, and the decor was a few decades out of date. But it was clean and homely, with all the children's toys tidied away and stacked up on nearby shelves. Katy took a closer look and found there even appeared to be a thin layer of dust on the toys, almost like no one had played with them for months.
"Ever since he was born he's been a funny kid" Alex murmured, as Katy went to sit down beside the Doctor on the lime green sofa.
"Funny's good. We like funny, don't we?" The Doctor stated, nudging Katy with his elbow, who nodded enthusiastically.
"He never cries. Bottles it all up, I suppose. Tell him off, he just looks at you. He was eight in January. I mean, he should be growing out of stuff like this, shouldn't he?" Alex suggested, as the Doctor flipped through the pages of one of the family's photo albums.
"Maybe. It's got worse, though lately?" The Doctor guessed.
"Yeah. We talked about getting help. You know, maybe sending him somewhere. He started getting these nervous tics. You know, funny little cough, blinking all the time. But now it's got completely out of hand" Alex continued, as Katy's eyes narrowed.
"So, the kids got issues and you plan to send him away? What could go wrong, eh?" Katy muttered.
"We don't know what to do, alright? He's scared to death of everything!" Alex insisted.
"Pantaphobia" The Doctor announced, earning confused looks from Katy and Alex.
"What?" Alex questioned.
"That's what it's called. Pantaphobia. Not a fear of pants though, if that's what you're thinking. It's a fear of everything. Including pants, I suppose..." The Doctor trailed off, as Katy shook her head.
"He goes off into his own little world sometimes. Go on" Katy told Alex.
"He hates clowns. Old toys. He thinks the old lady across the way is a witch. He hates having a bath in case there's something under the water. The lift sounds like someone breathing. Look, I don't know. I'm not an expert. Maybe you can get through to him" Alex sighed, clearly at the end of his rope.
"We'll do our best" The Doctor nodded.
"Maybe it was things on the telly, you know?" Alex said, as the Doctor made a humming noise, more interested in solving the Rubik's cube in his hands.
Katy couldn't help but snort at the sight of the Doctor's growing frustration as he rapidly turned the small blocks in his hands. She then turned her attention back to the young boy who was bundled up under his duvet, an uneasy expression on his face. Katy noticed once again that even though his room was filled with toys, it looked like none had been played with. She wondered whether George was too scared to even touch them.
"Scary stuff, getting under his skin, frightening him" Alex continued.
"Right" The Doctor muddled, biting the edge of his thumb, his eyes never leaving the Rubik's cube in his hands.
"We stopped letting him watch. Then Claire thought it might have been something he was reading" Alex informed them, as the Doctor finally looked up from the toy.
"Great. Reading's great. You like stories, George? Yeah? Me, too. When I was your age, about, ooo, a thousand years ago, I loved a good bedtime story. The Three Little Sontarans. The Emperor Dalek's New Clothes. Snow White and the Seven Keys To Doomsday, eh? All the classics" The Doctor grinned, leaning back on the small bed, oblivious to the strange looks he was getting from everyone in the room.
"He, uh...had a very eccentric childhood" Katy exclaimed, as Alex gave a slow nod, seeming even more confused.
"Rubbish. Must be broken. I hate those things" The Doctor muttered, chucking the Rubik's cube across the room, as Katy let out a loud cough, slapping the Doctor's arm.
"Better tidy it away, though, eh? How about in here? No. Not in the cupboard. Why not in there, George?" The Doctor asked, having grabbed the toy off the floor and gesturing to the wardrobe behind him.
George appeared horrified at even just the thought of opening the cupboard, his breathing uneven, clutching at his duvet. It was like the Doctor had suggested they cut off the boy's hand, not opening a door.
"It's a thing. A thing we got him doing ages back. Anything that frightens him, we put it in the cupboard. Creepy toys, scary pictures, that sort of thing" Alex explained.
"And is that where the monsters go? Yeah" The Doctor realised, as Katy pushed herself up from the bed.
"There's nothing to be scared of, George. It's just a cupboard..." The Doctor trailed off, reaching out to run his finger down the cupboard door, landing on the tiny key in the lock.
A sudden hammering at the front door made every person in the room jump, as for a split-second Katy was afraid the sound had come from inside the wardrobe. Geroge was trembling in his bed as Alex gestured to the front door where the sound had really come from.
"I'll just...just answer that" Alex stuttered, trying to calm his own frantic heart.
Katy let out a sigh of relief as Alex walked out of the room, stepping forward, wanting to peer through the curtains in George's room when she realised the Doctor's hand was now clasped around her own. She wasn't sure whether she had reached out for him or he had reached out for her, but their fingers were tightly intertwined.
"Doctor...you can let go now" Katy stated, holding up their hands, as the Doctor gave a frantic nod.
"Yes. Right" The Doctor murmured, averting his eyes from her gaze.
Just as they heard the front door open, Katy jumped up onto George's bed and looked through the window to find a sweaty, balding man looming outside. He had a dog on a metal chain, and something hidden in the waistband of his jeans. A weapon, maybe. She watched as Alex allowed the man into the small flat, their conversation echoing into the room.
"You know how I hate to mention it, but it's that time again. And you know I like my money prompt" The man stated, in a threatening tone, as Katy turned to find George shaking again.
She ushered the Doctor over to shut the bedroom door, thinking the kid had enough to worry about, without adding money woes into the mix. She had only been a year or two younger than George when she first arrived on Earth and was terrified for every little thing around her. She didn't understand the humans or their ways. She couldn't figure out what their intentions were and that scared her to death. She wondered if George felt the same way.
"You know, I was scared of lots of things as a kid too. I used to hide under my duvet every night because I was so afraid of the dark. Are you, George?" Katy asked, as the boy nodded, timidly.
"I wanted to be brave like my family was. They weren't scared of anything. But I didn't know" Katy continued, piquing George's interest.
"But you learnt?" He questioned, in a quiet voice.
"The trick is sometimes it's enough to just act brave on the outside, and the rest comes later. But...you still have to take the first step. Doc, hand me your screwdriver" Katy exclaimed, as the Doctor wandered over to her, giving her the device.
"You trust me? I can help you be brave, George" Katy insisted, as he gave her a sharp nod.
"Alright. I'm gonna' turn your light off. Just for a minute. I'm not going anywhere" Katy told him, before she reached out to switch the lamp off, leaving the room only illuminated by the dim street lighting.
George pulled his knees up to his chest, hiding his face as he tried not to let out a scream. A strange whirring sound soon caught his attention, as he peered up to find Katy shining the sonic screwdriver light onto the nearby wall.
"Let's see...this ought to..." Katy murmured, as the screwdriver grew brighter, the light growing a hazy green.
"You'll like this" Katy grinned, placing one of her hands in front of the light.
With the help of the advanced technology the sonic screwdriver possessed, she was able to project shadow puppets onto the wall, as she curved her fingers into the shape of a dog's head. George's eyes widened as the shadow morphed into the image of a running dog, its shape so concise he could see the fur on its back. Katy made a barking sound next to him, making the little boy laugh, as he crept out of his duvet. Changing the shape of her hands, she was able to project the image of a dolphin onto the wall, imitating the animal jumping out of waves.
"Don't expect me to make a sound like a dolphin, alright kid?" Katy exclaimed, ruffling George's hair, whose smile grew wider.
"See, the dark isn't so bad...and sometimes fears...they're just that. Fear. Sometimes there really is nothing to be scared of" Katy explained, switching off the screwdriver and standing up to switch the light back on.
With the room now illuminated again, she turned back around to find the Doctor staring up at her with a look of...something she didn't understand. She was pretty sure no one else had ever looked at her that way before. But he kept doing it. Gazing at her like she was some sort of wonder.
"What?" Katy frowned, as the Doctor shrugged quickly, pulling his eyes away.
"How does a screwdriver do that?" George inquired, crawling over toward the Doctor.
"It's sonic. It can do other stuff too" The Doctor informed him.
"Please may I see the other stuff?" George asked, politely.
"You may" The Doctor replied, shining the screwdriver on the other toys in the room as they all whirred to life.
"Ah, pretty cool, eh?" The Doctor grinned, as the toys spun and lit up the room.
"No tears from George, that's what I've heard. Go on, give us a smile, there's a brave little soldier. Bit rusty at this. Anyway, let's open this cupboard, eh?" The Doctor announced, standing to his feet as Katy's mind came to a grinding halt.
"What did you say?" Katy gaped.
"Cupboard. Time to open it—" The Doctor started, as Katy cut him off.
"No. About being rusty at this. Like you've..." Katy trailed off, as the realisation suddenly hit her.
The Doctor had children.
Or at least, had at one point. Why had he never mentioned them? She had been travelling with him all those months and she still felt like she barely knew him sometimes.
"There's nothing to be...off the scale. Off the scale. How?" The Doctor frowned, after scanning the cupboard and reading the scan results.
"Right. Sorry about that. So, have we got this thing open yet?" Alex asked, as he stepped back into the room after his landlord had left.
"No! No, no, no. You don't want to do that" The Doctor cried, rushing forward to stop him.
"Why?" Alex retorted.
"Because George's monsters are real" The Doctor announced.
"You're supposed to be a professional. I'll never get him to sleep now. It's so...irresponsible" Alex complained, as the Doctor led them toward the kitchen.
"No, Alex. Responsible. Very. Cupboard bad. Cupboard not bare. Stay away from cupboard. And there's something else. Something I've missed. Something staring me in the face" The Doctor sighed, grabbing three mugs.
"Look, I'd like you to leave, please. You're just making things worse. Will you stop making tea? I want you to leave" Alex told him, grabbing the mugs from his hands.
"No" The Doctor huffed.
"What? What do you mean no? Get out. Leave!" Alex cried, making Katy snort.
"Great, now you've got him quoting Jojo" Katy mumbled, as both men gave her a confused look.
"You know...get out, leave, right now. It's the end of...you and me...not big noughties fans, huh?" Katy winced, attempting to sing the song, in a tone-deaf pitch.
"Alright, enough. I don't care who you are or what wheels have been set in motion. We'll sort it" Alex insisted, as the Doctor wandered over to the fridge to pull out some milk.
"I'm not just a professional. I'm the Doctor" He stated.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Alex questioned.
It means I've come a long way to get here, Alex. A very long way. George sent a message. A distress call, if you like. Whatever's inside that cupboard is so terrible, so powerful, that it amplifies the fears of an ordinary little boy across all the barriers of time and space. Through crimson stars and silent stars and tumbling nebulas like oceans set on fire. Through empires of glass and civilizations of pure thought, and a whole, terrible, wonderful universe of impossibilities. You see these eyes? They're old eyes. And one thing I can tell you, Alex. Monsters are real" The Doctor ranted, as Alex tried to take in what he was saying.
"...You're not from Social Services, are you?" He realised.
"Now you're getting it" Katy grinned.
"First things first. You got any Jammie Dodgers?" The Doctor asked, making Katy roll her eyes.
"Oh, no. Once you get started eating, there will be no stopping you. So, that settles it...I'm gonna' open the cupboard" Katy announced.
"But he said—" Alex began, as Katy cut him off.
"Monsters. Yeah, I heard. Well, I'm something of a monster myself, so let's go see what they've got" Katy grinned, marching off to George's bedroom.
"She's kind of..." Alex trailed off, searching for the right word.
"She sure is" The Doctor replied, proudly.
Katy watched on as the Doctor cracked his knuckles and let out an overly dramatic exhale, psyching himself up to open the cupboard. Alex stood behind him with George clutching at his leg, barely able to look. Agonisingly slow, the Doctor stepped forward, pressing his ear to the cupboard door before unlocking it. Reaching out to touch the door handle, Katy could see Alex jump back a step. With a sigh, Katy rushed forward and swung both doors open before anyone could stop her and found...nothing out of the ordinary inside.
"I don't understand it. It has to be the cupboard. The readings from the sonic screwdriver, they were..." The Doctor trailed off, peering inside to only find clothes and a few toys.
"The readings came from the bedroom, the sonic never pinpointed where exactly" Katy pointed out, as the Doctor rushed out of the room, returning with the photo album a few seconds later.
"How old is George, Alex?" The Doctor questioned.
"I told you. Just turned eight" Alex replied.
"So, this is you and Claire. Christmas Eve, 2002, right?" The Doctor continued, showing Alex a picture, who nodded slowly.
"Couple of weeks before George was born. Tell me about the day he arrived. Must have been wonderful" The Doctor suggested, as Alex's brow furrowed.
"Well, it was the best day of my...life" Alex answered, his head beginning to spin.
"You don't sound so sure" Katy stated, as Alex glared at her.
"What are you trying to say? Look, I don't like this. I've told you before, I want you to go" Alex told them, gesturing to the door.
"What's the matter, Alex?" The Doctor pushed.
"I can't...oh, don't. Oh, this is scary" Alex panicked, finding his memories were becoming jumbled.
"No, Alex, this is scary. Claire with baby George. Newborn, yes? Less than a month after Christmas" The Doctor stated, thrusting the album toward him.
"So?" Alex retorted, as Katy took a closer look.
"Holy shit. Claire's not pregnant" Katy exclaimed, pointing to the woman who showed no signs of being pregnant.
"Well, of course not. Claire can't have kids!" Alex cried, as Katy raised an eyebrow.
"I'm sorry, what?" Katy frowned.
"We tried everything. She was desperate. As much IVF as we could afford, but. Claire can't have kids. How? How can I have forgotten that?" Alex gaped, as the three slowly turned to George.
"Who are you, George?" The Doctor questioned, looking at the little boy who was gawking up at them from where he was perched on the end of his bed.
Katy gulped as the toys in the room began to shake until she could feel the ground beneath her feet all but vibrating with power. She twisted around to look at the cupboard, finding an impossibly bright light being emitted from inside. And it was all down to George.
"Doctor—" Katy started, when the door sprung open and the light blinded her.
Katy let out a scream when she felt an invisible force grabbing her and dragging her toward the cupboard. She tried to reach out for the Doctor but he was already too far away from her.
"George! George, what's going on? Are you doing this?" The Doctor shouted, as Katy's feet slipped against the ground.
"Doctor!" She cried, before she was pulled into the cupboard, and everything went dark.
Katy awoke to a hand patting her cheek, her eyes fluttering open to find the Doctor above her. He let out a sigh of relief, lowering his head to her shoulder for a moment when he saw her stirring from her sleep. Katy pushed herself up onto her elbows as she looked around the dark room, finding they appeared to now be in some sort of mansion.
"You're okay. Good. Good. Right, time to get out" The Doctor exclaimed, grabbing her arm and hauling her to her feet.
"You...you jumped into the cupboard. We went into the cupboard. How can it be bigger in here?" Alex gaped, his eyes darting around the massive room.
"More common than you'd think, actually" The Doctor huffed.
"...Wait, you jumped into the light? The hell were you thinking?!" Katy exclaimed, slapping his arm.
"Well...you were in here, weren't you? What else was I supposed to do?" The Doctor argued.
"Uh, get me out from out there where you could actually help" Katy explained, as the Doctor pursed his lips.
"Fair point" He mumbled.
"Where are we?" Alex questioned, pulling himself to his feet, and staring down at a table with some food laid out.
"Dolls' house. We're inside the dolls' house" The Doctor informed them, as Katy picked up one of the plates on the table, surprised to find it was wooden.
"No, no, just slow down, would you?" Alex said, waving his hands in the air.
"Look. Wooden chicken. Cups, saucers, plates, knives, forks, fruit, and chickens. Wood. So, we're either inside the dolls' house or this a refuge for dirty posh people who eat wooden food. Or termites. Giant termites trying to get on the property ladder. No. That's possible. Is that possible?" The Doctor ranted, throwing some of the wooden food at Alex for him to catch.
"Off topic, Doc. Way off topic. We need to figure out what George is" Katy insisted, rushing over to a nearby door.
"He's using a perception filter. Some kind of hugely powerful perception filter. Convinced you and Claire, everyone. Made you change your memories. Now, what could do that?" The Doctor murmured, as they wandered down a dark corridor, hearing creaking noises from all around them.
"About ten thousand species. We need to narrow it down" Katy pushed, glancing behind her.
She could swear she felt eyes on her. She backed up a few paces to peer into a doorway they had passed, but found it was empty. There was definitely something following them. She was sure of it.
"Let's go in here. Figure out a game plan" Katy suggested, ushering to a door on the other end of the corridor.
"So, Claire can't have kids and something responded to that. Responded to that need. What could do that?" The Doctor pondered, as they raced inside and Katy slammed the wooden door shut.
"I thought you were the expert, fighting monsters all day long. You tell me" Alex huffed.
"Oi! Listen, mush. Old eyes, remember? I've been around the block a few times. More than a few. They've knocked down the blocks I've been round and re-built them as bigger blocks. Super blocks. And I've been round them as well. I can't remember everything...It's like trying to remember the name of someone you met at a party when you were two" The Doctor blurted out, as Katy ran a hand down her face.
"Doctor, the lift" Alex exclaimed, hearing the familiar whirring noise.
"And I can't just plump for Brian like I normally do" The Doctor stated, as Katy nudged him with her elbow.
"Doctor, listen!" Katy insisted.
"It's the lift. It's the sound that the lift makes. George is scared stiff of it" Alex told them, his eyes darting to where a candlestick was blinking on and off.
"Five times. The lights. It's happening five times. It's like one of George's habits. We have to switch the lights on and off five times" Alex went on, crouching down beside the candles.
"I used to do that too with my light switch at one of my homes. Flicked it on and off six times before I went to bed" Katy mumbled, as the Doctor made an 'oh' sound.
"...That's why George can relate so much to you. You're the same. Two aliens who landed on Earth. Lost" The Doctor pointed out, hearing the door creak open from behind them.
The three glanced at the door to find a creepy, life-sized peg doll had entered the room, giggling to herself. They looked away again a moment later before their brains caught up with them and they realised what they were seeing. The doll slowly turned to face them, its black, soulless eyes glaring at them.
"Oh my God" Alex gaped.
"No. Nope, I do not like this" Katy grimaced, as the Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver.
"A gun? You've got a gun?" Alex exclaimed, as the Doctor pointed it at the peg doll.
"It's not a gun. Wood! I've got to invent a setting for wood. It's embarrassing" The Doctor sighed, as the doll stumbled toward them.
"Come on!" Katy cried, grabbing the pair by the collar and dragging them toward a door on the other side of the room.
She found there was no exit through the door, but instead a pair of giant pink shearing scissors, almost the same size as her. Grabbing the makeshift weapon, she ran at the peg doll, throwing it onto its back and gesturing toward the door.
"Run!" She shouted as the three raced out of the room before the doll could pick itself back up.
"Don't run away. We just want to play" The doll cooed, in a sinister voice.
"I seriously hate dolls" Katy winced, slamming the door shut behind them.
"Massive psychic field, perfect perception filter, and that need. That need of Claire's to, to. Stupid Doctor. Ow" The Doctor muttered, face-palming a little too hard.
"George is a Tenza. Of course he is" The Doctor announced, as the pieces fell into place for Katy.
"Millions of them hatch in space and then, off they drift, looking for a nest. The Tenza young can sense exactly what their foster parents want and then they assimilate perfectly" Katy explained to him, as another peg doll strolled out of one of the rooms.
"George is an alien?" Alex realised, as Katy rushed forward to shove the new peg doll back.
"But he's...he's our child" Alex frowned.
"Of course he is. The child you always wanted. He sensed that instinctively and sought you out, but something scared him. Started this cycle of fear. It's all completely instinctive, subconscious. George isn't even aware that he's controlling it. So we have to make him aware. George!" The Doctor called out, as loud as he could.
"George! It's like I told you before, all of this...it's just your fear! You have to be brave! You have to take that first step!" Katy insisted, as two more peg dolls arrived and backed the group up toward the stairs.
"Rory!" The Doctor exclaimed, as Katy glanced up to see her friend stumbling toward them, a large broom in his hand as dolls followed him down the stairs.
They were trapped.
"You have to open the cupboard! You have to be the brave one now, you have to save us! George!" Katy screamed, as the group was pushed back on all sides.
"George, listen to her! End this! End this now!" The Doctor cried, as the dolls reached out for them.
Suddenly, all the peg dolls came to a halt, as Katy looked down to find George staring up at them from downstairs. He looked absolutely petrified.
"George, you did it. You did it. Hey, it's okay. It's all..." The Doctor trailed off, when he noticed how the dolls turned to look at the small boy.
"No! No, no, no. George, you created this whole world. This whole thing. You can smash it. You can destroy it. Something's holding him back" The Doctor realised, as Katy took a step forward, leaning over the stair banister.
"You thought your parents were rejecting you, didn't you? Maybe you heard something, found something?" Katy suggested, as tears welled in George's eyes.
"We...we just couldn't cope! We needed help!" Alex confessed, as the dolls staggered toward George.
"Yes, but George didn't know that. He thought you were rejecting him. He still thinks it" The Doctor explained.
"But how can we keep him? How can we? He's not...human" Alex exclaimed, as Katy whipped around to face him.
"That's your son down there, Alex. And he's scared. Do what Dad's are supposed to do" Katy ordered, as Alex's lips twitched into a smile for a second.
"Dad!" George screamed, as the dolls crowded around him.
In the blink of an eye, Alex was racing down the stairs, shoving the dolls out of the way, not caring what happened to him. The only thing he was thinking about was his son. As soon as he reached George he wrapped his arms around the boy and pulled him into the tightest hug he could manage.
"Whatever you are, whatever you do, you're my son, and I will never, ever send you away. Oh, George. Oh, my little boy" Alex sobbed, as George's hands reached up to hug him back.
A tear rolled down Katy's cheek just as a light engulfed them and returned the group to where they belonged.
Katy leant back against the railing in the console room, watching as the time rotor rose and fell, making a soft droning sound. They had left George and his dad as soon as Claire had arrived home, thinking the family had a lot to discuss. Katy hoped they would be alright.
"What are you still doing in here? Purple sky outside those doors. Amy and Rory will be waiting" The Doctor exclaimed, having brought them to a new alien planet.
"I know he made some mistakes, but Alex is a good dad, don't you think?" Katy suggested, as the Doctor came to stand in front of her, leaning back against the console.
"Yeah. I do" The Doctor nodded.
"...If my dad could see me now...he'd hate me. Call me a traitor. Hell, he'd probably try to kill me" Katy frowned, as the Doctor walked over to her, standing beside her.
"When I first started travelling with you, my first instinct would have been to kill George. He was a threat, too powerful for his own good. But today? I wanted to help him. When did that happen?" Katy continued, as a smile grew on the Doctor's face.
"I told you. It's them. All those humans, and other species we've met. They make us...better" The Doctor suggested, as Katy realised something.
"They make us human" Katy stated, turning to face him.
"...You've been a father before?" Katy asked, watching as the Doctor froze beside her, something dark growing behind his eyes.
"A long time ago. All gone now" The Doctor replied, his voice thick with emotion.
Katy opened her mouth to speak, to tell him she was sorry before she thought better of it. How would that help him? Pity never helped her. Instead, she did the only thing she could think of. She hugged him. It hit her then that it was the first time she had hugged him first. And she could tell how much he needed it as his arms looped around her back, all but collapsing against her. The Doctor rested his chin on her shoulder, as she felt his fingers tighten their hold on her, keeping him anchored.
"I know you don't like to but...you can talk to me. Because sometimes, I think you need to, Doctor. You can't keep all this bottled up forever" Katy murmured, reaching up to cup the back of his head, as the Doctor buried his face into the crook of her neck.
"I know" He replied, his voice muffled.
"What are your nightmares about?" The Doctor questioned, finding it easier to talk now they weren't facing each other.
"...Time Lords. I used to...I was scared they'd come to finish the job. To kill every last Krillitane" Katy admitted, feeling how the Doctor's embrace around her tightened.
"That's not going to happen. I'd find a way to save you. I always do" The Doctor insisted.
"Everyone's luck runs out someday, Doctor" Katy pointed out, pulling away from the hug.
"Not if I have anything to do with it" The Doctor told her, as a grin grew on her lips.
"So, you gonna' tell me now?" Katy asked, as the Doctor gave her a blank look.
"Tell you about what?" The Doctor retorted.
"Why you were in my bedroom this morning? And don't say it's cause' my shower has better water pressure" She teased, poking him in the chest.
"...Better mattress?" The Doctor shrugged, as Katy's jaw dropped open.
"And how exactly would you know that, Doctor?" Katy gaped, as his hand flew to his mouth.
"From what you've said...about...your mattress being...springy..." The Doctor stuttered, his cheeks turning bright red.
"Oh, really? Look who's giving spoilers now" Katy smirked, as the Doctor let out a groan and grabbed her hand, pulling her toward the TARDIS doors before she could say another word.