Asher walked into the Tardis in exhaustion. Her body ached and her head throbbed. She needed to sleep; properly rest for the first time in a year. No more paranoia, no fear of getting caught or dying. Just a proper bed, soft blankets, a pillow, and something to calm the raging headache she now had. Not only that but she knew the Doctor had questions and she didn't want to deal with it now. There was nothing she could explain to him about what she'd said to the Master without spoilers and being as tired as she was, she knew she wouldn't be able to talk to him without being upset or giving away something she shouldn't.

She dragged herself into her room, dazed and mind fogged as she stepped into the bathroom and stripped herself of her dirty clothes. After a scalding hot shower, she changed into a pair of shorts and a tank top before tripping into the room, downing the medication the Tardis left for her, and falling onto the bed. She was conscious just long enough to pull up the blankets before everything went dark. She didn't even realize that she'd fallen into someone else's bed and it was a few hours later that the owners of the room stepped in.

"Uh… right… Amy?" Rory called out, drawing the woman to the doorway.

"What? It better not be another Ood," Amy complained, stepping into the room in her nightie before spotting Asher in the bed. "Not an Ood."

"Nope. Do we, uh… wake her?"

Amy shot him a look. "You wanna do it?"

"No."

"Yeah, I didn't think so. Come on. We've got the guest bedroom. She probably doesn't even know she's here."

I sat up in bed the next afternoon and wearily blinked. It definitely wasn't my room and I could hear people talking outside. I squinted over at the window where the sun was shining through the overcast skies and ran a hand through my hair. With a groan, I pushed myself up out of the bed and stumbled; catching myself on the end table. I was unbelievably sore and my head felt like it was splitting. I took a moment to steady myself before bringing a hand to my head and flinching.

I'd forgotten I got my arm back and eyed it in trepidation before shaking it off and leaving the bedroom. I moved cautiously, uncertain of how the owners of the bedroom would react, especially if I didn't know them. Thankfully, the loud Scottish drawl of Amy managed to clue me in and I stepped into the kitchen with a hand on my head; glancing at Amy as she waved a spatula at Rory in mild annoyance.

"Just call your dad so we can get it fixed."

"It's probably just the bulb. I can fix it," Rory countered.

"And he needs something to do. Just call him."

"You should probably just call him," I piped up, drawing their attention to me as I pulled up a chair at the table and sank into it. "My grandpa was a busybody and as annoying as he was, giving him something to do usually shut him up for a while. An hour of complaining was worth the week of silence afterward."

"See?" Amy said with a smirk as Rory huffed and picked up his coffee mug.

"You just like him because he's nice to you."

"Duh," Amy replied before glancing at me, looking concerned. "You look terrible. Bad night? Didn't expect you to just pop up in our bedroom."

"Sorry. If it helps, I didn't expect it either," I muttered, rubbing at my face. "And I've got a killer headache. Last trip was shit."

"I'll get you something," Rory offered, though he eyed me for a second. "You, um… You're not hurt or anything, right? I've got more medical supplies if you need them."

He tapped his cheek, reminding me that there was a rather painful scrape on my cheek and I shot him a grateful look.

"Please? I honestly don't even know where to start."

"That bad?" He asked, ducking into a closet nearby and searching through some things before pulling out a large medical bag.

"Um," I pinched my eyes shut, head throbbing at trying to remember half of what appended during the Year That Never Was with how scrambled my head had been. "A year on the run from a psychopathic dictator and then getting tackled repeatedly when he found me. It's all a bit messy. I had some things going on with my head apparently. The Doctor only fixed it yesterday? I think it was yesterday. It wasn't exactly explained. He just said I was early and picked up on the paranoia and fear of the rest of the world or something."

"Hold on. A psychopathic what?" Amy questioned, pushing a plate of food toward me that made me feel both nauseous and starving.

"It's… a long story," I offered as she put two more plates on the table and sat down herself; Rory turned his chair toward me to start working on the scrapes on my hands.

"We've got time," she said. "Where was the Doctor for all this? You said it was a year."

I nodded with a sigh and began to explain the whole mess as best as I could remember it. Or, I'd started to, anyway. When I mentioned losing my arm, Rory went pale and Amy looked about ready to murder the Doctor.

"He said what!"

"It's fin—"

"It is absolutely not fine! Who just says, 'Oh, yeah. Take her arm.' Like what the hell!"

Her shouting wasn't helping my head even with the medication Rory had given me and I tried to explain.

"I was dying, Amy. I couldn't even think, much less come up with a way to stop what was happening." I instinctively reached over and grabbed my arm at the reminder of the agonizing pain I'd been in. "I'm glad he told the Master to take off my arm. From what he told me, it was either the Master killed me or I got torn apart from the inside out because of the Tardis piece. Taking my arm was the only other choice. Anything was better than the pain."

Rory placed a hand on my shoulder, drawing my tired gaze to him. "Have you talked to anyone?"

I shook my head. "No. I only just left there and passed out in bed after a shower. I haven't had time to think, let alone tell someone. How could I? It was literally a year that never happened because of a paradox reversing. I lost my arm and got it back. I can't just walk into a therapy appointment saying, 'Hey. I travel with a guy in a blue box that goes through time and space, and I just spent a year that no one remembers on the run—with an arm that magically grew back when it was reversed.'"

"The Doctor was supposed to get someone for you," he said, brows furrowed. "Has he not?"

"Not yet. I'm early, remember?"

"Not too early," Amy pointed out. "You're comfortable with us, anyway."

"I'm also exhausted. Mentally and physically," I sighed heavily, prodding at the plate of food and wincing as Rory wiped my cheek with an alcohol swab. "Crawling back into bed to sleep for a century sounds great right about now. Uh, a different bed, though. Not yours. Sorry again."

"You can use the guest bedroom," Amy offered before pointing her fork at me as I lifted some food to my mouth. "You're not kidding about the arm thing though, huh?"

I hadn't even realized I was eating with my left hand and just letting my right arm hang at my side. I pursed my lips, bringing my hand up and flexing it as I muttered under my breath.

"I keep forgetting…"

"Well, I'm sure it will take some getting used to," Rory offered sympathetically.

"Yeah, and you can stay as long as you need," Amy replied. "It's why we made sure we got a guest bedroom. Never know when you'll pop up needing a break from the Doctor or something."

I nodded, distracted and solemn before they tried to cheer me up by talking about how things were going for them or telling me stories of the Doctor being a goof. It was a nice break but I soon had to excuse myself before I fell asleep into my half-empty plate of food. I couldn't stomach more than that and they gave me small smiles and waved me off to rest, even if I had only been awake for an hour. A year's worth of exhaustion doesn't just go away after a few hours, after all. The headache notwithstanding.

The few days following my sudden move into Amy and Rory's guestroom were unfortunately riddled with nightmares and phantom pains. Amy and Rory were doing their best to help while I did my best not to snap at everything when I forgot I had an arm or my headache and aches kept me in bed most of the day. Things started to get a little better by the end of the week which was helpful when Amy finally convinced Rory to invite his dad over to fix the hanging light fixture. I hadn't met the man and didn't want to start off our meeting by being snappy. Though the thought of him being like my grandfather is unpleasant. Here's hoping he's not as bad.

The man showed up and was straight to the point. There were no hellos, no "How are you?" Just holding up a ladder and asking where the light was. Rory had rolled his eyes as Amy greeted the man—actually getting a hello from him—before they set to work and I silently watched from the sofa while drinking a soda and picking at my lunch. Brian removed the lightbulb and shook it next to his ear with a small frown.

"I think it's the fitting," he declared as Rory shook his head.

"Dad, it's not the fitting. It just needs a new bulb."

"You're wobbling the ladder," Brian accused then as Rory held out his hands.

"I'm not."

"I don't want another loft incident."

Amy poked around from the opposite end of the ladder. "How's my side, Brian?"

"Perfect as ever, Amy."

"Thank you, Brian," she said with a smug smirk at Rory who made faces mockingly.

"I don't know what he said to you to make you marry him, but he's a lucky man," Brian rattled on as I rolled my eyes before the whirring of the Tardis started up and the papers around us waved in the breeze.

"Not here, not now," Rory hissed under his breath as Brian frowned atop the ladder.

"You leave the back door open?"

"What is he doing?" Rory questioned as Amy frowned.

"I'm gonna kill him."

"You and me both," I huffed, getting up from the sofa to join them. "He's late."

The Tardis materialized around us as the Doctor started rambling on rather quickly; not at all paying attention to who else he'd brought in.

"Hello! You weren't busy, were you? Well, even if you were, it wasn't as interesting as this probably is. Didn't want you to miss it. Now, just a quick hop. Everybody grab a torch."

Two others grabbed a torch as Brian dropped the lightbulb he'd been holding and the Doctor and them stepped out to wherever we'd been brought. I sighed as Amy and Rory exchanged looks and I gestured to Brian.

"Who's going to explain?"

"I'm not doing it," Amy huffed, going to grab a torch herself as Rory hurried after her.

"But I'm always doing it."

"And?" She argued as he too grabbed a torch. "He's your dad."

I groaned, dragging a hand down my face and begrudgingly turning to Brian. "You want the long or the short of it?"

He looked at me, still in shock and I shook my head, going to grab two other torches and pressing one into his hand.

"Come on. Keep hold of this, listen to anything the idiot in tweed with the bowtie says, and… well, try to have an open mind. Your world's about to get hectic."

He finally began to move and the moment he stepped outside, his mouth dropped open in shock at the new location and the outside of the Tardis.

"What the…"

"Don't move!" The Doctor said then, walking toward him threateningly with his torch pointed at his face as Brian stared around him in shock. "Do you really think I'm that stupid I wouldn't notice? How did you get aboard, eh? Transmat? Who sent you?"

"Doctor, that's my dad," Rory informed him.

"Well frankly, that's outrageous."

"What?"

"You think you can just bring your dad along without asking? I'm not a taxi service, you know," the Doctor complained.

"You materialized around us," Rory argued.

"Oh. Well, that's fine then. My mistake. Hello, Brian. How are you? Nice to meet you. Welcome, welcome," the Doctor greeted the man with a smile and a handshake. "This is the gang. I've got a gang. Yes. Come on then, every—"

He turned and nearly ran into me as I frowned at him, making him take an awkward step back and fidget.

"Right. Yes. Hello, Asher. Lovely to see you as well. Did you come in with them?"

I lifted my torch to light up his face, making him wince. "I popped up in their bedroom nearly a week ago."

"Ah, well, I can't exactly control that. Your popping around is a bit random. Tracking it is difficult since you give off the same readings as the Tardis. Um… Is there something else I'm missing?" His eyes widened. "Oh, I haven't done something stupid, have I? Future me? Past me? You're always scolding me for something or another especially if it was a past me."

"Probably because a past you getting into trouble should mean a future you would avoid doing so after having learned a lesson," I pointed out, making him wince.

"Yes. Of course… I've done something stupid, haven't I?"

I rolled my eyes. "Honestly, no. Not other than what you just did—popping up without announcing and kidnapping Amy and Rory and his unsuspecting father."

"Really?" He asked, looking relieved.

"Yeah. I just like messing with you," I offered, cracking a small smirk before solidly punching him in the shoulder.

"Ow!"

"That is for the Year That Never Was," I huffed as he rubbed his arm.

"What? The Year that Never—" His eyes widened then and he immediately grabbed my face and scanned me over; undoubtedly taking note of the dark bags under my eyes and the still-healing scrape on my face.

I lightly swatted at his arm, frowning a bit to try and get him to ease up. "Could you not? I have a headache."

"Let me see," he insisted, bringing his fingers to my temple before I grabbed his wrist with a grimace.

"No. No. Stay out of my head. Thanks. It's just leftover from what happened."

He frowned. "But you said it had been nearly a week."

"Yes, and you're more than welcome to walk me through things when we're not running around in whatever jungle you've landed us in."

He looked like he was going to argue but I raised a brow in challenge and he sighed; closing his eyes and resting his forehead against mine.

"Yes…. Yes. Adventure first, headache later," he grumbled, opening his eyes and frowning lightly. "Are you early?"

I rolled my eyes and took a small step back, very much aware of how close we were and remembering this same version of him doing something intimate to me on a submarine in the future.

"At what point do I get to say no to that question?" I asked in return as we started walking with the others following—Rory and Brian hanging back for a brief discussion about the whole time and space travel.

"Mm, it depends," he replied shining his torch over spiderwebs and plants as the ship rumbled. "There is a bit of spoilers involved."

I frowned lightly at him. "Hold on. We're not using our relationship as what determines if I'm early or not, are we?"

He opened his mouth, closed it with a grimace, then teetered his head back and forth. "More or less? It's all a bit complicated with your jumping around and it's not like we can use your age since you're very forgetful—"

"I'm not forgetful. I just don't care how old I am," I countered, looking around the ship myself. "Birthdays were never a big thing for me. We weren't exactly rich back home so we'd get a cake, a toy from our parents and grandparents, and our choice of dinner as kids. As adults even less. No big parties, no friends coming over. It was just another day for me and another thing to remember when I filled out forms asking for my age. So, even if I wasn't jumping all over time and space, I still wouldn't remember how old I am." I paused then, realizing something, and came up beside him. "Hold on. Are we counting the days it's been since my last birthday as a telltale way to determine my age? Because then I really won't remember. I couldn't even tell you how many days it's been since I showed up in this universe."

He abruptly turned around, making me lean back a bit as his hands clamped down on my arms. "You've never had a proper party?"

I blinked. "I… I think I did once. Begged for a bounce house and friends to come over but I was… I was in elementary school. I don't remember much of it."

His eyes narrowed and he leaned in, making me stiffen and eye him in uncertainty. "Soon as this is over, we're going to give you the best birthday ever."

I groaned, slumping in his hold. "Don't do that! I don't want it to be a big thing. I wasn't complaining about how my previous birthdays were celebrated. I was just explaining that they're not a big deal!"

Still, he smiled and kissed my forehead, making me wrinkle my nose in slight annoyance as I frowned at him.

"Don't worry. I know exactly what you want."

"I doubt it," I grumbled, but he wasn't bothered and just bounded off again as Amy came over to join us and questioned him.

"All right, where are we? What is that noise and hello, ten months?"

"Orbiting Earth. Well, I say orbiting. More like pre-crashing. On a spaceship, don't know, and hello, Pond." He hugged her. "Ten months. Time flies. Never really understood that phrase. This is Neffy. This is Riddell. They're with me," he said, pointing to the two others he'd brought with him.

"Charmed," Riddell chirped as Amy eyed them in confusion.

"With you? What? They're with you? Are they the new us? Is that why we haven't seen you?"

"No. They're just people. They're not Ponds. I thought we might need a new gang. Not really had a gang before. It's new."

"In other words, he brought us here on a mission and brought them along because either they're helpful or wouldn't let go," I explained, glancing at Nefertiti. "Take a wild guess who got brought for what."

The Doctor poked me in the ribs. "Rude."

"And you're not ginger," I tossed back. "Tell me I'm wrong."

He didn't, knowing he couldn't argue that Nefertiti sort of edged her way into the gang and he'd brought Riddell for added assistance. However, there was a hum of machinery then, drawing our attention to a door and some lights turning on beside it.

"It's coming down," the Doctor murmured.

"What is it?" Riddell questioned cautiously.

"No idea."

The doors opened, blinding us for half a second before the creatures inside let out a rumbling roar.

"Not possible," someone breathed behind me as the Doctor called out.

"Run!"

Everyone took off except me and him, myself also rather stunned at the ankylosaurs that were being let out of the lift.

"Doctor! Ash!" Amy called.

"I know. Dinosaurs. On a spaceship," the Doctor hummed with a bright grin, glancing at me before Amy hurried up and grabbed us both to get us moving.

"In here!" Nefertiti called out as the Doctor slid on the sandy ground before I grabbed his hand and pulled him in with us; letting the dinosaurs bicker with each other near us while we went unnoticed.

Riddell pulled out a knife then. "I could take one of them. Short blow up into the throat."

I snatched the knife from his hands with a scowl. "Yeah, I already don't like you. They're not hurting anyone so don't be a dick or I'll find a way to lock you in the Tardis for the rest of this mess."

He gaped, looking at the Doctor who agreed.

"She's right. We've just found dinosaurs in space. We need to preserve them."

"Who's going to preserve us?" He argued before Amy shushed them and the two dinosaurs headed off; knocking some concrete free from the pillar we were near.

"Also, they're plant eaters," I grumbled once they were gone, holding the knife blade to give it back to Riddell before tipping it away from his hand. "You threaten them or any other dinosaurs or animals again and I will knock you out."

"Feisty," he grumbled, taking the blade when I gave it to him to put away.

"You're more likely to get stepped on or knocked about by their size than eaten." I gave the Doctor a look then. "And why tell us to run? That's rule number one with animals. You don't turn your back and you don't run. We could've just hidden behind the pillars near the door and stayed quiet and they would've moved on."

"Very poor, yet very quick thinking," he said, blaming the situation as he took my hand with a small apologetic smile.

Rory lifted a hand then. "Okay, so… how and whose ship?" He asked, repeating Amy's questions from a moment ago.

"Well, there's so much to discover. Think how much wiser we'll be by the end of all this," the Doctor chirped before Brian stepped over.

"Sorry, sorry. Are you saying dinosaurs are flying a spaceship?"

"Brian, please, that would be ridiculous. They're probably just passengers. Did I mention missiles?"

"Missiles?" Brian gasped.

"Didn't want to worry you. Anyway, six hours is a lifetime. Not literally a lifetime. That's what we're trying to avoid. Haha. And we're all really clever. Mm, let's see what we can find out. Come on."

He headed over to a monitor and wiped away the spiderwebs, grimacing and smearing them on Brian's shirt as he pulled out his sonic.

"How many dinosaurs do you think are on here?" Amy asked, eyeing some claw marks on the wall nearby.

"You want the truth or a placating lie?" I offered, running a finger over one of the marks and wincing when I felt how deep the gouge went. Powerful, whatever it was. These went deep into solid concrete… or whatever alien concrete this ship is made of. Sharp too, given it's a V-shape mark. Wonder if it was the raptors…

Amy went to answer when suddenly the Doctor, Brian, and Rory vanished upon asking about engines.

"What happened?" Neffy asked as Amy sighed.

"Oh, great."

"They asked the computer to take them to the engines," I replied. "So… well, it did."

"Are they safe?" Amy asked and I tipped my head a bit.

"They are, though technically they're being chased by pterodactyls."

"You're joking."

"Nope."

"And us?"

"Eh…" I hummed vaguely.

"Eh? What's that supposed to mean!" Amy complained, grabbing my arm. "Look. I know you're not supposed to give spoilers or anything but you can't just say 'eh' and leave it."

I thought about it for a minute, trying to remember what happened in this one. "As far as I remember, there's… one person injured? And a dinosaur."

"Injured," Amy repeated, letting me go. "Not killed or maimed or anything?"

"Only the dinosaur which I do plan on dealing with if I can remember when it happens and figure out how to stop a rather large target from getting killed," I grumbled, brows furrowed and passing a hand through my hair. "I don't really remember much from this one if I'm being honest."

"Why are you speaking as though you've already experienced this?" Neffy asked and I sighed.

"I'm… a seer? A prophet? I'm not sure how to really explain it in… well…" I leaned toward Amy, lowering my voice. "Would it be rude if I said ancient terms? Or…"

"You can predict things? The future?" Neffy said, understanding despite my terrible explanation.

"Some of it… Sort of… To a point?" I winced. "Look. It's all a bit messy and hard to explain on a good day, much less with the headache I've got and the fact that we're on a ship full of dinosaurs of all kinds."

"Then, what do you suggest?"

"We move, at the very least," I said with a shrug. "No use staying in one place and we might be able to find a working teleport to get the Doctor back if we're lucky."

"Right," Amy said with a firm nod, swinging her torch around. "Then, let's get moving."

The group moved cautiously through the dusty ship as Riddell huffed, pulling out a flask.

"There's clearly more than just two of these creatures."

"Hey, put that away," Amy scolded him. "I need you sober."

"It's medicinal," he replied, making Asher scoff. "And I don't take orders from females."

"Then learn. Any man who speaks to me that way, I execute," Neffy replied sharply and he smirked.

"You're very welcome to try."

"Good, then I'll be the first," Asher said, shooting him a glare. "Call me a 'female' again and I'll ensure the Doctor drops you off at the bottom of the ocean."

"Yeah, she'll make sure of it too," Amy warned him before coming up toward Neffy. "Sorry, what was your name again?"

"Lady of the Two Lands, wife of the great King Amenhotep, Queen Nefertiti of Egypt."

"I'll be damned," Riddell breathed, having not realized who was with him.

"Oh, my God. Queen Nefertiti? I learned all about you at school. You're awesome. Big fan. High five," Amy said, before realizing Neffy had no idea what she meant. "Yeah, bit behind on that. You're really famous."

"Sh," Asher warned then, having heard something before shining her torch down at the sleeping dinosaur at their feet. "Aw, he's kinda cute."

"Asher!" Amy hissed and she rolled her eyes.

"It's a juvenile t-rex and it's asleep. I'm allowed to call it cute. Our bigger concern is the parent. We're in the middle of a nest."

"I propose a retreat," Riddell said only for a threatening shadow to pass over the wall the way they'd come. "Perhaps forward."

"Agreed," Amy muttered. "Just don't wake the baby."

He carefully stepped over it as she gave him a look.

"Who are you, anyway?"

"John Riddell, big game hunter on the African plains. I'm sure you've heard of me, too."

"No one cares about some asshole who murders large endangered animals for sport," Asher muttered as Amy nodded.

"She's got a point. Face it, she's way cooler than you."

"And you, Amy, Asher. Are you also Queens?"

"Yes. Yes, I am," Amy preened as Asher wrinkled her nose.

"No. I'm a nobody archaeology student who happened to get thrown into the Doctor's adventures. I'd like to stay not famous, thanks."

"You're not a nobody," Amy argued and Asher sighed.

"Yeah, well, being Queen sounds like a lot of paperwork and politics and I hate both, so count me out."

They moved into a smaller room then and Amy grimaced at the overgrown plants.

"Bit of weed killer wouldn't go amiss here."

"Just needs some trimming," Asher muttered as Riddell hummed.

"Whoever was running this vessel left in a hurry."

"Maybe a plague came and took them," Neffy suggested.

"No, there'd be corpses and bones."

"Unless the animals ate them."

"Most dinosaurs wouldn't eat the bones," Asher added. "Though I suppose it depends on how big the dino and how small the bones."

"Whoa, Chuckle Brothers… and Asher. Lighten up, would you?" Amy huffed, touching a keyboard and making the lights in the room come on.

"How'd you know how to do that?" Neffy asked her.

"Well, I've spent enough time with the Doctor to know whenever you enter somewhere new, press buttons."

"What else have you learned from him?"

"Don't stop at button pressing," she said as she picked up an orb and set it into a slot.

A glitched screen of static came into view and a voice recording started up as she smiled.

"Data records."

"The ship's owners?"

"Probably," Asher said. "It's information though, so there's that. Shame the picture's a bit fried."

"I'll see what I can do," Amy offered, trying some more buttons before giving the screen a smack.

"Look," Neffy said as the image cleared to show a reptilian face. "Oh, it's beautiful."

"What is that?" Riddell questioned as Amy and Asher replied at the same time.

"Silurian."

"They're sort of lizard people who existed on Earth way back when," Asher explained to Riddell and Neffy. "Went into hibernation thinking the world was ending but it was just the moon coming into orbit. Humans won't have to worry about them for ages," she brushed off as Amy listened to the recording.

"We're on an Ark. A Silurian Ark."

"Lizard people herding dinosaurs onto a Space Ark?" Riddell scoffed. "Absolute tommyrot."

"You were literally picked up by a man in a flying police box," Asher countered. "Are you seriously that stupid?"

"Doctor's companion or not, I shall put you across my knee and spank you."

"Oh, lord," Amy muttered, seeing the dark look in Asher's gaze. "You shouldn't have said that."

Riddell scoffed. "What? What's she going to—"

He was cut off by the hard palm that slammed into his nose, breaking it, and the swift kick between his legs that sent him to the ground. Asher grabbed him by the front of his shirt to force him to look at her and his knife that she'd taken back and held to his cheek threateningly.

"Talk to me like that again, and fuck the Doctor's rules. I will tie you up here and leave you for the raptors. Got it?"

"Yup," he squeaked out, still very much in pain as she dropped him and turned to Amy with a frown.

"Don't tell the Doctor I did that."

Amy shrugged. "If you want, though I think he'd honestly love it."

Asher rolled her eyes as she stole Riddell's knife sheath and put it on herself. "Exactly my point. He doesn't need the encouragement."

"Also, you said raptors?" Amy pointed out and Asher gave her a look.

"A ship full of dinosaurs and you don't expect raptors? They're honestly our biggest problem on here other than the idiot who stole the ship."

"So there's no Silurians on board," Amy concluded and Asher nodded to the computer.

"Show life signs for Homo Reptilia."

The screen flashed "No Life Signs Detected" which made Amy frown.

"So whoever stole the ship killed them?"

"No bodies," Asher reminded her as Riddell groaned and tried to get back to his feet. "Suck it up, Riddell. You asked for it."

"You broke my nose," he argued.

"You're lucky I didn't break your arm."

"Perhaps they found another world," Neffy suggested, getting them back on topic. "Lef the ship."

"They wouldn't leave the dinosaurs," Asher argued. "I can't remember what happened exactly but the jackass who boarded the ship did something."

"The ship's coming back to Earth though," Amy pointed out. "Computer, show me the ship at launch with all life signals. Now show me the ship today with all life signals. Thousands less," she pointed out. "Show me both images then and now, side by side."

"What are you looking for?" Riddell asked, shifting slightly away from Asher when she glanced at him.

"Okay, two images. Spot the difference. What changed? What happened to the Silurians?" Amy said and Neffy pointed to the screen.

"The center."

"Computer, zoom into the center. There. Another spacecraft like Asher said. They've been hijacked."

"Dinosaurs are extinct on Earth," Asher pointed out. "Silurians obviously took some off and saved them, an Ark like you said. Riddell—"

The man flinched, shifting away again before puffing up to act as though he wasn't slightly terrified by the aggressive woman.

"What?"

"When you come across a pack of rare animals in Africa, what do you do?"

He hesitated, feeling like this was a trick question. "Well, I would, um… catch them, I suppose. Kill them if they're uncooperative or have things I can sell."

Asher tossed a hand at him with a disgusted look. "Money. It's what it all comes down to in the end. Greed. Jackass who boarded the ship either tricked the Silurians or forced his way on board. Dealt with them and now has a whole ship full of rare extinct Earth creatures. Dead or alive doesn't matter. All he sees is cash like this idiot."

"So, what do we do?" Amy asked.

"Got your phone?" Asher suggested, surprising her at the reminder.

"Ah, gotcha. Always forget I can phone in space," she hummed, calling up Rory. "Where are you?"

"Still on board. Met some pterodactyls and some rusty robots I'm going to melt down."

"Rory, this is a Silurian ship," Amy informed him as Asher leaned over.

"Sorry about the lack of warning by the way," she sheepishly chimed. "Memory isn't great this episode though I hope Brian is alright."

"What's wrong with Brian?" Amy questioned as Asher held up her hands.

"I told you. One person injured. Doctor's being threatened by the greedy jackass who wants the dinosaurs. If it helps, it means Rory gets to impress his dad for a bit. Even if I warned them, it wouldn't have helped… Well, other than maybe with the pterodactyls. Sorry again."

"Well, thanks anyway, I suppose."

"Can you get the phone to the Doctor?"

"I can try. Doctor? Amy and Ash," he called out on the other end before the Doctor spoke through the phone.

"Amy, Ash. Staying safe, I hope."

"Other than Asher breaking Riddell's nose, yeah," Amy chirped, making the woman roll her eyes. "This is an Ark built by the Silurians. They were looking for another planet."

"Where are they now?"

"None on board. I mean, thousands of stasis pods, all empty."

"I'll see you soon."

"Pretty sure the jackass killed them all," Asher muttered, running a hand through her hair as the phone was hung up. "This is not a good episode for me, headache aside."

"I know," Amy murmured, reaching out and squeezing her shoulder. "You and the Doctor are similar like that. Creature in need and you go all agro."

"I've got fewer standards than him," Asher grumbled but Amy shook her head.

"No, you don't."

Asher rolled her eyes and waved at Riddell. "Go look for weapons."

"Ash!" Amy gasped but Asher shot her a look.

"If there are weapons on this ship this far out, they're Silurian weapons for controlling the dinosaurs. Stunners, tranquilizers, that sort of thing."

"Got some!" Riddell chimed, bring over two guns and handing one to Amy with ammo.

"Right again, Ash. Anaesthetic. These are stun guns. You're on a roll for someone who can't remember everything."

"Memories are like that," she replied. "Takes something familiar to jog a memory and no, I don't want a gun," she said when Riddell offered. "Trust me, I've never been a good shot."

"You've used a gun before?" Amy asked and she nodded, not looking pleased about it.

"Dad liked to take us out to the desert and let us shoot at things. Targets, metal disks, and stuff. Found some fancy mixture that would blow up if you shot it and he got a kick out of things like that. I wasn't ever great at it and didn't like it anyway. The noise just got to me after a time," she said, waving vaguely at her head. "My dominant hand was always my right though and I didn't find out until later that my left eye was my more dominant one. Makes it hard to hit anything right on unless I tried harder to practice it. Never did, for obvious reasons."

"What reasons?" Riddell questioned, soon wishing he hadn't by the cold look she gave him.

"My dad's an asshole who forced his hobbies onto myself and my siblings when we were younger and didn't have a say in things. Shooting, cars, politics. None of it's fun to me or interesting and when we stopped being interested in it he stopped being interested in us. Not that he ever was in the first place but still. Why try hard at something I was shit at and didn't like? I sure as hell wasn't about to do it to impress him."

"Right," he muttered as Asher turned away and started to head off, with them following.

Amy came up beside Riddell though, nudging him. "Family's a bad topic with her. Don't mind it."

"Is she the Doctor's Queen?" Neffy asked then and Amy hummed.

"Sort of. Kind of. It's a bit messy that. I'm Rory's Queen though. Wife. Wife. I am his wife. Please don't tell him I said I was his Queen. I'll never hear the end of it. Don't you have a husband?"

"The male equivalent of a sleeping potion," Neffy replied as Riddell smirked.

"You clearly need a man of action and excitement. One with a very large weapon."

"So, human sleeping potion or walking innuendo. Take your pick," Amy sighed, realizing that she'd incidentally picked up the worst combination of people.

The screen lit up then and the Doctor's voice came through, drawing Asher back into the room as they looked at the security camera.

"That's very bad indeed. Completely unhelpful."

"Doesn't the ship have any defense systems installed?" Rory asked the Doctor.

"Good thinking Rory!" The Doctor grabbed him and kissed his forehead before heading to the computer. "Computer, show us weapons and defense systems. Oh, well, that was a waste of time, wasn't it? Getting my hopes up like that," he complained to Rory who grimaced.

"What ship doesn't have weapons?"

"Ah, they're an ancient species, Rory. Still full of hope."

They kept chattering on about the missiles that were trying to blow up the ship and the Doctor struggling to figure out a plan. Then, two robots and a gravely-voiced man appeared on screen.

"Resident jackass," Asher chimed in with a scowl.

"You were telling the truth, Doctor. Earth has launched missiles. This vessel is too clumsy to outrun them, but I have my own ship."

"You won't get your precious cargo on board though," the Doctor informed him. "Just be you and your metal tantrum machines."

"We do not have tantrums!" One robot complained as the man—Solomon—silenced it.

"Shut up. You're right, Doctor. I can't keep the dinosaurs and live myself. But I had the IV system scan the entire ship, and it found something even more valuable. Utterly unique. I don't know where you found it, or how you got it here, but I want it."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Earth Queen Nefertiti of Egypt. A face stamped across history. Give her to me and I'll let the rest of you live."

"Fun fact, he's lying," Asher said, jabbing at the computer. "Computer, send me to the location on screen."

"What? Asher you can—" Amy tried to stop her but she was already teleported as the Doctor denied Solomon's offer.

"You think I won't punish those who get in my way, whatever they're worth?" Solomon challenged before his robot turned to face the triceratops on the ground.

Asher was suddenly standing before it though, making the Doctor's eyes widen in shock as the robot fired a few shots. She was hit and stumbled back against the dinosaur's head before Solomon lifted a hand to stop the robot.

"Ash!" The Doctor shouted, making to head over but the other robot stepped in the way.

"Don't move," Solomon ordered. "Or I'll let him finish the job."

The Doctor grit his teeth, eyes flickering to Asher as her expression was pinched in pain, grinding his teeth at being unable to check on her or assess what damage had been done.

"Bring her to me or the robots will make their way through your corpses. Bring her now," Solomon ordered and again, the Doctor stood firm.

"No."

Of course, that didn't matter when the woman herself appeared with Amy and Riddell.

"What are you doing!" The Doctor demanded as Neffy stared down Solomon bravely.

"I demanded to be brought here."

"No, no, no, no, no way."

"It isn't your choice, Doctor, it's mine," she argued with him.

"Listen to me. If you go with him, I can't guarantee your safety."

"You saved my people. I am in your debt."

"No. No debts. You don't owe me anything."

"Then, I do it on my own."

"No, Neffy. Neffy," he argued and she nodded toward Asher.

"Your Queen needs you," she muttered and his solemn gaze shifted to Asher as Amy took the chance to check on her.

"No!" Riddell argued as well, lifting his gun when she moved toward Solomon. "Take her and I shoot you."

"Put your weapon down," Neffy silenced him. "Let me make my choice."

"Do it, boy," Solomon ordered as a robot took a threatening step forward and Riddell begrudgingly lowered it. "My bounty increases and what an extraordinary bounty you are."

Neffy slapped his hand away from her face. "Never touch me."

Solomon brought up one of his crutches, pinning her to the column behind her by her throat. "I like my possessions to have spirit. It means I can have fun breaking them. And I will break you in with immense pleasure," he said, lowering the crutch. "Thank you, Doctor. Computer, take us back to my ship."

The group vanished as the computer nearby blared a warning.

"Hostile targeting in progress."

"Bingo," the Doctor muttered, having come up with a plan before Rory called out to him.

"Doctor! She's not doing well!"

He turned away from the computer and rushed over to where Rory had started giving Asher first aid treatment. He reached out quickly and took her hand in his, eyes roaming over her injuries and wincing at the damage. The robots didn't have very powerful lasers but a few shots had gone off before the robot had been stopped, hitting her in the chest, shoulder, and abdomen. Rory had given her a painkiller but it was rather obvious she needed medical attention quickly. The triceratops she was leaning up against rumbled and the Doctor reached out and ran a hand over it softly, soothing the creature in the hopes that it would stay still for a while longer.

" 'm I dying?" Asher asked, breath hitching as she winced, informing him of a possible punctured lung.

"No. No, no, course not," the Doctor said, earning a mildly annoyed look from her.

"Lying."

He cracked a small smile, reaching up and brushing his hand over her face. "I'm not. Really, see?" He lifted her hand to show her the shimmering golden tattoos that she frowned at. "You have a neat trick you can do, Ash. When you're hurt… hurt rather badly, the Tardis piece in your arm can tell. It's remnants of the HADS. remember that?"

She shot him a look, not pleased. "It sends… the Tardis away in danger. Stupid system."

"You've always told me that but in your case, it does something better," he explained, bringing her hand up and kissing the back of her knuckles. "Something I will always be grateful for."

Her hand grabbed onto his rather weakly but still got the point across. He needed to speak faster before she was gone; before she left without answers or his other selves would certainly pay for that later.

"When you're severely hurt, that piece will send you to the Tardis," he explained. "Possibly with another me, possibly with the same me. It all depends on how badly hurt you are and whether or not I'll be able to treat you right away. But Ash, you have to understand, you're still human," he told her, hearts aching for the obvious pain she was in. "Very, very human. You might be able to heal smaller injuries faster but you can still die. If, at any point, you get sent off and I'm not there to help you o-or you're too hurt for me to save…"

She closed her eyes and his worry increased before she sighed and opened them again, reaching up and lightly hitting his cheek with her hand. "I-I'm not… gonna die."

"Course not," he breathed with a small smile, holding her hand to his cheek before bringing it around to kiss her palm. "You're too stubborn."

She made a face at that but didn't argue and then she vanished from his hands.