The Edwardian Way (Chapter 9)

Chapter 9 (Scars in Time)

“Barricade the doors, landlord,” said the Doctor as he burst through the entrance to Gallows Inn and put the time device on one of the tables.

“I can’t do that, sir,” said the landlord, shaking his head and looking worried.

The doors burst open again and Rook, William, Norman and the Wragby’s all entered.

“Here for backup, Reg?” said Norman.

“No, you old fool,” growled Reginald. “I just want to go home.”

“Stay back,” said the Doctor, holding a hand out and gesturing for the woman to move to the back of the pub.

“That is my property, Doctor,” said Rook, stepping forward a little.

“Made with my property,” said the Doctor, tapping the device. “It can’t be allowed to be used. William has already decided not to go back for Caroline.”

Rook looked at William. “Listen to me, man, this is what we’ve worked for. This was our destiny. You need to be reunited with your good lady.”

“She wouldn’t want me to do this. To meddle with time.”

“No, she wouldn’t,” said the Doctor.

“All this is just nonsense,” growled Reginald, pushing in front of the rest of them. “I want to go back to the vortex. I need to go back.”

The Doctor looked at Eleanor and Reginald and then nodded. “For you two, I agree. You need to be off this world, but I will come and find you.”

“You will never find us,” said Reginald.

“We’ll see,” said the Doctor. “Go.”

The Doctor flicked a switch on the device an a bright, white bream of light erupted from the lens-like end. It stopped about six metres away from the device and a crack appeared in the air, expanding to a oval big enough to fit a person.

Reginald stepped forward.

“Reg?” said Norman, confused as to where his friend was going.

“Farewell, Hunter,” said Reginald. He glanced at the Doctor, gave him a dark grin and then stepped into the oval of light, disappearing inside it.

Eleanor walked past Holly and Lilly and smiled at the both of them. She placed a hand each on their chests and closed her eyes. “You two need to sort yourselves out. You’re good for each other.” She smiled and then turned to go. She walked past the Doctor, winked at him and then stepped towards the oval.

“Wait a minute!” said Holly. “The TARDIS key! We need it back!”

“I beg your pardon?” said the Doctor.

Eleanor turned and held out the key. “I think I’ll hold onto it for now.” She grinned and then slowly walked backwards into the light, disappearing from view.

“No!” said Holly running to the light.

The Doctor held her back and quickly flicked the switch. The beam disappearing, the oval of light closing up.

“Doctor, she has my TARDIS key,” said Holly.

“We’ll talk about that later,” said the Doctor. “I’m sure we’ll be seeing her again.”

“What about these two?” said Lilly, nodding towards a dishevelled looking William and a furious-looking Rook.

“Well, William?” said the Doctor.

He shook his head “I just feel so….empty.”

“You can’t give up,” said Rook, turning to face William. “You’re pathetic.”

“Step down, Professor Rook,” said Norman.

Rook went into his jacket pocket and pulled out a revolver.

“Put it down, Rook,” said William.

“No,” said Rook, shaking his head. “This is my time machine. I’m going to find the future and you’re not going to stop me.”

He waved the gun at the Doctor, motioning for him to move away from the device. He flicked the switch and once again the beam of light erupted from the lens.

“Don’t do this, Rook,” said the Doctor. “You don’t know what you’ll find out there.”

William dived for him, but Rook shot at William, hitting him in the arm. William grabbed his arm in agony and staggered towards Rook. Rook tried to get another shot in, but Norman grabbed him from behind and twisted his arm back. Instead Rook fired but missed William totally, instead hitting the machine which fizzed and popped with electricity.

“No!” growled Rook as William staggered backwards, still holding his arm. He was losing a lot of blood.

Before anybody could do anything else the machine exploded. The explosion was only minor, but it disrupted the beam of light, which flickered and fluctuated. William shielded his eyes against the light as the beam expanded and caught William in it.

“William!” shouted the Doctor. He tried to reach William, but he held his arm out to stop the Doctor.

“Look after the orphanage. You and Hazel,” he gasped. And then, in a flash of light, he was sucked backwards into the oval of light before the light finally closed.

The machine was dead.

William was gone.




Holly and Lilly were sat facing each other across a table. Lilly was idly scratching at the soft, wooden surface of the table with a hair-grip.

“I’m sorry,” said Holly.

“For?” replied Lilly, not meeting her gaze.

“For giving the TARDIS up so easily.” She looked down at the hair-grip, as Lilly began to gouge out something. “I really am sorry.”

“We’ll get it back,” smiled Lilly. “And thank you.”

“For what?” said Holly.

“For caring for me.”

Holly looked down at what Lilly was carving. “You’ll get yourself into trouble,” she said.

“Always,” smiled Lilly.

She finished carving and blew the wood-dust away before getting up from the table. Holly looked down at what she had carved:




“Holly + Lilly”




Holly looked up at her and frowned.

Lilly smiled and nodded slowly at her. “Come on, Dangerfield.”

Holly smiled. She wasn’t sure where this was heading, but she was sure that it felt right. She took one more look at the carved words, and then walked towards the exit of Gallows Inn.




The Doctor was stood with Norman by the now-visible TARDIS when Holly and Lilly wandered back up to them.

“I was beginning to think you two weren’t coming back,” said the Doctor. “And what did you do with your TARDIS key?”

“She had no choice,” said Lilly. “Eleanor said she’d kill Holly if she didn’t give her the TARDIS key.”

“Hmmm,” said the Doctor.

Norman cleared his throat. “Look, Doctor, I don’t claim to understand all of what’s going on here, but it’s safe to assume that Mr Fieldgate isn’t coming back, yes?”

“Unfortunately not,” said the Doctor, “but you must continued to run this orphanage.”

“Of course,” said Norman. “And I’m sure Rook won’t be getting out any time soon. But what about the Wragby’s? What was all that about?”

“There are some things you were never meant to know about, Mr Hunter,” said the Doctor. He turned back to the TARDIS and put his own key in the lock and opened the door.

“But how do we explain Mr Fieldgate’s disappearance?”

“I’ll deal with it. Same with the Wragby’s, although I’m not sure they’ll be missed as much as William.”

The Doctor held open the door for the Holly and Lilly. “Ladies.”

Holly smiled at Norman. “Thanks for saving us, Mr Hunter.”

“You’re welcome, miss,” said Norman, taking his cap off and nodding to them as they entered the TARDIS.

“I shall miss him,” said Norman, his voice a little cracked.

“He was a good man,” said the Doctor. He shook Norman’s hand and then went inside the TARDIS. A few moments later there was a gust of wind and the TARDIS dematerialised from Happerby Orphanage for good.




A little while later the Doctor was hunched over the console, furiously typing away at something on a keyboard.

“You okay, Doctor?” said Holly.

“I’m fine,” he said. “You?”

“I’m good. I’m okay.”

“Excellent,” he said, standing up, satisfied with what he’d written.

“What is it?” she asked.

“I’m writing history.” He showed her the screen. It looked like a document and at the top was a picture of William Fieldgate. “I told Caroline that William lived a happy life looking after kids at an orphanage. Well, we now know that it didn’t happen, but who’s to say it didn’t?”

“You’re writing a fake biography for him?” said Holly.

“That’s correct,” he said. “This will be the biography that my past self reads and tells Caroline that he lived happily ever after.”

“God. Time…”

“I know,” said the Doctor. He smiled sadly. “I don’t think I could ever tell her the truth now.”

“No,” said Holly, shaking her head. “Sometimes it’s best not to know.”




Some time later…




The TARDIS was perched unsteadily on top of a small hill of rocks, which in turn was sat on an asteroid. Around the asteroid was the swirling, maelstrom of colours that made up the space/time vortex.

The Doctor exited the box and walked over to the woman - Eleanor - who was sat on the rock, watching the colours fold and peel in and out of each other.

“Hello, stranger,” said Eleanor. She smiled at him. “I met your old self. He looked a lot older. Shouldn’t he look younger? You Time Lords!”

“He’s a little further in my past than you think,” said the Doctor.

“I can’t believe you knew all along what was going to happen.”

“I only just remembered.” The Doctor held out his hand. “My key.”

Eleanor rolled her eyes and gave it back to him. And then she smiled again. “Where’s Mrs and Mrs?”

“Sleeping.” He looked around him. “Where’s your father?”

“Oh, he exited the vortex before you turned it off. He’s somewhere out there. Probably looking for a victim.”

“I’m sorry you got trapped in that dimension.”

“Hmmm. When you switched it off the first time I ended up in the 1940’s. I managed to slip back in though and that’s when I woke up in that other dimension. Still, we’re all sorted now, aren’t we?”

“Obviously.”

“So, are you going to finish the hunt?” she said, looking at him inquisitively.

“No,” said the Doctor. “Not this time. But you just watch yourself out here. You and your father. You give me any problems and you’re gone.”

“Yes, sir,” said Eleanor, giving a mock salute. She looked back at the TARDIS and then cracked her knuckles. “There is one other thing.”

“What’s that?”

“I’ve sensed a disturbance in the vortex.”

“What do you mean?”

“Your friend, William. He entered the corridor, didn’t he? Before it broke up?”

“No. He was killed. The beam expanded and he was caught in it.”

“Hmmm,” said Eleanor. “I don’t think so.”

“But how can he still be alive?” The Doctor started to get concerned.

“I don’t know, sweetheart, but he’s out there somewhere.”

“In the vortex?!”

“No, but out there…in space and time…somewhere…”




The Doctor had parked the TARDIS around the corner from the street. He didn’t want to be spotted. Caroline wouldn’t recognise him now and he’d said his goodbyes a long time ago. He had fully intended on not interfering or being involved in her life any more.

But he had to be certain.

He walked up to the door of her house. She wouldn’t know him. It would be fine. He’d just be a weird stranger to her now.

He knocked on the door.

A few seconds later it opened, but it wasn’t Caroline who was standing there. Instead it was a woman with red hair and freckles. She smiled at him.

“Is Caroline in?” he asked, trying to peer past the woman.

“Caroline? You mean Parker-Fieldgate? No, she moved out a few weeks ago. Are you a friend?”

“No. Yes. I mean…I used to be. Does she have a forwarding address?”

“No,” said the woman. “She just upped and left one day. Took the entire family with her.”

“What?”

“What’s your name, mate?” she asked, folding her arms, distrustful of him.

“The Doctor.”

“Smith?”

“There abouts.”

The woman smiled. “I have a letter for you. She left it in my care and said that if a man called Doctor Smith ever came looking then whoever was living here should give it to him. Hold on a moment.”

She disappeared back inside the house. The Doctor looked around the street. Where had she gone? Why would she have just vanished?

The woman returned with the letter. The Doctor thanked her and said goodbye and then opened up the letter. Inside was a black and white photograph, and on that photograph, to his amazement, was Caroline and William. Caroline was in a long, flowing wedding dress and William in a suit - his arm in a sling. Between them was a smiling toddler. Next to William was his other, past companion, Danny, with a blonde-haired woman. They were holding hands.

The Doctor shook his head in disbelief. He unfolded the paper and read the letter:




Dear Doctor,

If you’re reading this then it means that you’ve come looking for me. William told me everything that had happened. How he tried to get back to me and how you tried to stop him. I don’t blame you for that. It was a dangerous move by him, but he still found his way to us. I don’t know how he did it, but he found me again.

So where am I?

I won’t tell. Not because I don’t want you to know, but because I know you will have a sense of duty and try and put things right. But not this time. I am making this choice. Even Danny is happy. You recognise the girl, don’t you?




“Lisa,” said the Doctor, touching the photograph. This was a friend that Danny had lost in the altered timeline.

But how was she even alive and well with him? That timeline had been erased.




I won’t explain how we did it, because it’ll just create another mystery for you to solve. And you won’t find the rest of the family or friends either. We are living somewhere were nothing can ever find or hurt us again.

And don’t worry, history will remain intact. I will ensure that that happens.

So turn around, Doctor, and go back to your box. Say goodbye. Live your life.




Live. YOUR. Life.




All my love forever, Caroline




The Doctor folded up the letter and photograph and put it in his blazer pocket. He stood there for a moment. None of it made any sense. Where had she gone? He sighed. Wherever she was, she wouldn’t want to be found.

Reluctantly, he turned around and headed back to his box. Back to his TARDIS. In the end it didn’t matter. They were together again. They were happy.

That was all that mattered.

He closed his eyes and felt time moving past him. It confused him, but it felt ok. It felt right.




He was going to go and live his life.

Live. HIS. Life.




He took one last look around the street and then went home.




The End

The Edwardian Way (Chapter 8)

Chapter 8 (Stealing Time)

Lilly and Holly had been escorted up the steps to the upper level, their hands tied behind their backs. Eleanor and Reginald had locked them in the smaller of the bedrooms and then headed back downstairs. They couldn’t make out what they were talking about, but their voices were calm and precise.

Holly was sat on the hard bed looking glum.

“I’m sorry about what she said back there,” said Lilly.

“Why are you?” asked Holly.

“Well she sure said some outlandish stuff,” said Lilly, sheepishly.

“Yeah, Time Vampires? What’s that about?”

“I didn’t meant the bit about Time Vampires,” said Lilly, looking to the ground.

Holly slipped off the bed and crouched in front of Lilly. “Lilly, I-”

“The Doctor’s told me about Time Vampires before,” said Lilly, quickly changing the subject. “Apparently their natural habitat is the time vortex. They prey on lost time ships but hardly ever visit planets.”

“Okay,” said Holly, sitting down on the floor rather than crouching.

Lilly spoke faster. “He said they’re always hungry so that’s why they don’t leave the vortex. Why would you leave the food buffet if you were always hungry?”

“Lilly-”

“But what the hell are they doing here? They’ve gotta have a plan. Maybe it’s something to do with that Fieldgate bloke. We’ve gotta tell the Doctor.”

“Lilly!” said Holly, quickly.

“What?” said Lilly, her eyes worriedly flashing towards Holly.

“It’s alright, you know?”

“What is?”

“About what Eleanor said down there. It’s okay.”

“It’s not true,” said Lilly. “She’s trying to cause a rift between us. If you get the emotions running high then it rattles up the particles. The chronon energy.”

“It doesn’t matter if it is true, Lilly.”

“And what she said about you. About what you think?”

Holly looked at Lilly. She felt a little sick. She felt that this was being pushed onto her before she was ready. She was exactly sure what she felt yet. She wasn’t able to put a definition or a label on it.

“You don’t have to say,” said Lilly, looking a little upset.

“But if you said that what Eleanor said was a lie…”

“It doesn’t matter anyway,” said Lilly, looking away. There was that petulant child look again.

“Lilly-”

They heard footsteps coming up the wooden steps and both girls got to their feet. The door opened and Reginald walked in. He looked at both of them in turn and then approached Holly.

“Stay away from her,” said Lilly.

“Silence,” said Reginald, holding a finger up to her.

“Do you know what I am?” asked Lilly.

He turned to her and smiled. “Of course I do. You’re Gallifreyan. Which is why you’re staying here and your girlfriend is bringing the Doctor to me.”

“I’ll do no such thing,” said Holly.

“If you don’t then she dies,” he said, pointing towards Lilly.

“You’re going to kill us anyway,” said Holly. “That’s right, isn’t it? You’re going to drain us of any kind of time energy that’s flowing through us.”

Reginald frowned. “No.”

“And we’re expected to believe you?” asked Lilly, edging away from the big man.

“We have been trapped on this planet in this one time for six years. We were happily swimming in the vortex when we slipped through time and ended up here. It happens from time to time.”

“Then just go back,” said Holly.

“You can’t, can you?” said Lilly. “You can’t just jump back in.”

“No.”

“So you’re like a beached whale?”

“That’s right, young lady,” said Eleanor, getting to the top of the stairs. “We don’t want to drain you at all, as tasty as your Doctor friend looks. We just want to get back to our natural habitat.”

“But how have you survived for six years without eating?”

“With great difficulty,” said Eleanor. “We can live, but we are very weak.”

“So you want the Doctor to take your back to the vortex?” said Lilly.

“The Doctor won’t take us back. If he gets us in his TARDIS he’ll take us somewhere to lock us away.” Reginald looked away.

“The Doctor isn’t like that,” said Holly. “He’s sympathetic.”

“Not to our kind. Despite the fact that we just do what comes natural to us, the Doctor still sees our praying on time travellers as a crime. He’ll make sure we’re locked away.”

Holly felt a little sorry for Eleanor and Reginald, despite everything they were capable of doing.

“The only reason I took the job at the orphanage,” said Eleanor, sitting on the bed, “was so we could be close to Sydney Rook.”

“Professor Rook?” said Lilly.

“Yes. He’s building his own time machine - nearly finished in fact. We want him to activate his machine. It will punch a hole through time - like a corridor - which my father and I can then travel through and escape back into the vortex.”

“And you need us to convince the Doctor to leave or let Rook carry on making it?”

“Exactly,” said Reginald. He edged a little closer to Holly. “He won’t want Rook to complete it, because Fieldgate wants to use it to travel forwards to find his lost love. The Doctor will do everything in his power to stop that.”

Holly sighed and sat back down on the bed.

“You can’t trust them, Dangerfield,” said Lilly.

“I’ll do it on one condition,” said Holly.

Lilly shook her head.

“And what’s that?”

“That we both go.”

“We need a bargaining chip,” said Eleanor.

“You have a bargaining chip.” Holly went pocket and pulled out the TARDIS key. “You know where the TARDIS is. You can sense it.”

“Holly, no!” said Lilly.

“Quiet, Lilly,” said Holly. She held out the key. “You can have the TARDIS as your bargaining chip.”

“What’s to stop us flying away in the TARDIS?” said Reginald.

“Not a chance,” said Lilly. “The TARDIS won’t let you operate her.”

“Which is why I’m giving you the key. You can keep the TARDIS and squat in it if you like. You won’t be able to go anywhere, but it may convince the Doctor to let Rook activate his machine.”

“Why are you doing this?” said Eleanor, as she took the key from Holly.

“Because I don’t believe you’re both as bad as you’re made out to be. You need to survive, I get that.”

“But why would you leave such a prized possession as your TARDIS and not your friend?”

“Because,” said Holly, turning to Lilly, “my friend is important to me. Far more important than a time machine.”




The Doctor had been led to the back of the house, past the kitchens and through a large, lounge room that in turn led out through French doors into a huge conservatory that overlooked the sprawling back gardens.

Sat in the middle of the conservatory was a structure that was smaller than the Doctor had been expecting. It was sat atop a brass frame, about 2 feet up from the floor. The device itself looked like some kind of ornate, brass box with what looked like a camera lens fixed to the end. At the top of the contraption was a slot, which Rook was examining closely.

He looked up as the Doctor and Fieldgate entered the room.

“What do you think?” asked Rook, looking proud.

“I was expecting something…bigger,” said the Doctor.

Rook looked disappointed. “The majority of the wreckage from the time craft was useless. All that I needed was this one thing.” He went into his pockets and took out a small, glass, cylindrical container which held a glowing shard. “And of course a few of the other bits and piece. But this piece - this is the heart. This will give my machine life.”

“Do you know what it is, Doctor?” asked William.

“I do. It’s a part of the crystals that make up a time rotor. It channels the power from through the time ship and helps it to move.”

Rook nodded. “I thought as much.” He chuckled, opened the container and popped the shard into the opening at the top of the machine. It hummed into life. “I went to London to have in refined.”

“But you can’t use it to move the machine. You can’t travel anywhere with that.”

“No, of course not,” said Rook. He drew the Doctors attention to a large blackboard containing all manner of equations and drawings. “I haven’t built a travelling time machine, per se,” said Rook. “No, in fact this will instead punch a hole through the space/time continuum.”

The Doctor looked at the figures and detail on the board. “You’re creating a time corridor.” The Doctor’s eyes closed. “The time corridor that caused the scar at Gallows Inn.”

“I beg your pardon?” said William.

“Yes, a time corridor if you like,” smiled Rook. “We simply switch the device on and it sends a focused beam of energy from the aperture at the end and opens a hole which William can then travel through.”

“Absolutely not,” said the Doctor. Crossing over to the device. He looked won at it. On the top were brass knobs. One for the date, one for the month and another, larger knob, with years around its circumference which could be pointed to any year from 1907 to 2017.

“I’m afraid this is my device, young man,” said Rook, crossing over and pushing in front of the Doctor. “I will do as I please.”

“Sydney, perhaps-” started William.

“Fieldgate, old boy, you’ve already said your goodbyes to your mother and I’ve not spent the past few years building this contraption just to now not switch it on. I built it for us. For you!”

“I know, but-”

“William has had a change of heart,” said the Doctor. “He knows that he can’t meddle with the future now.”

Rook stepped over to William and looked at him. “You want to see your Miss Parker again, don’t you?”

“It’s too dangerous,” said William.

“We spent long, sleepless nights working on this. You told me all about her. How you longed to be with her. You can’t simply forget all of that now.”

William looked from Rook, to the Doctor, and to the machine and closed his eyes. “I have to forget.”

“It’s all academic anyway,” said the Doctor, going into his pocket, “because I know what I have to do.”

“And what is that, sir?” said Rook, rounding on the Doctor, angrily.

“Something that started a long time ago for me.”

He pulled out his sonic screwdriver, aimed it into the air and pressed down. The device began emitting a high-pitched beeping sound and William and Rook clasped their hands over their ears in pain.

“Sonic, you see!” shouted the Doctor, over the din. He then switched the device off, but the two men were disorientated long enough for him to grab the contraption, put it under his arm and run for the exit.




Holly was keeping a little ahead of Lilly and Lilly was struggling to keep up with her. She had handed the key over to Eleanor and the Wragby’s had released them from their bonds on the understanding that they head straight for the house.

Holly turned back. She could see Eleanor and Reginald watching from the tree-line.

“Wait, Dangerfield!” said Lilly, almost jogging to keep up with her.

“We need to get to the Doctor, Lilly. We don’t have time to wait.”

“No, you will wait!” said Lilly, grabbing Holly’s hand and spinning her around.

“What?” said Holly.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing giving them the key?”

“I wasn’t going to let them keep you hostage. They’re bloody vampires, Lilly!” said Holly.

“They weren’t going to kill me, but instead they’ve got a powerful time machine.”

“They can’t fly it,” said Holly.

“No, but they could feed off it.”

Holly shook her head. “They just want to get back to their natural habitat.”

“They kill.”

“Lions kill bison in Africa, don’t they?” said Holly.

“That’s different. That’s the circle of life.”

“Oh, don’t give me that Lion King crap,” said Holly, turning away to walk again.

Lilly snatched her hand out again. “No, you’ll wait and you’ll listen.”

“We don’t have time,” growled Holly. “What do you want me to say to you? Would you have left me there if the roles were reversed?”

Lilly didn’t answer.

“That’s all I need to know.”

The two woman’s attentions were drawn back to the house when the Doctor burst out the front door, a strange, brass-made device under his arms.

“Run!” shouted the Doctor, as he ran for the gates.

“Back to the TARDIS?!” shouted Holly.

“No, back to Gallows Inn!”

Holly looked at Lilly, frowned and then the two girls ran for the gates. The three of them arrived at the gates just as Rook appeared at the front door with William stood next to him, holding a hand to his ears.

Rook pointed towards Norman, who was near one of the small greenhouses. “Hunter, get them.”

Hunter frowned, looked at the three fugitives and then headed towards the gates.

Eleanor and Reginald were watching from the trees.

“He’s leaving with the device,” said Reginald.

“He said Gallows Inn,” said Eleanor. “Why would he be going there?”

“I don’t know,” said Reginald, “but we have his TARDIS.”

“He doesn’t know that yet,” said Eleanor. “We need to follow him.”




The Doctor, Holly and Lilly were running as fast as they could down the country lane. They had managed to put some distance between themselves and the pursuing Norman, but they couldn’t stop.

“Remind me again,” said Holly, out of breath and trying not to trample on her skirt, “why aren’t we going back to the TARDIS? This is the second time we’ve run away from the obvious safety of it.”

“Because this has to end at Gallows Inn,” said the Doctor, skipping over a small boulder.

“Why?” said Lilly. “Has this got something to do with what happened to you in the past?”

“Yes,” said the Doctor. “Remember I said I had been here many years ago in my personal history?”

The both of them nodded.

The Doctor continued. “Well I remember what it all was now. My friend, Hex, was trapped in a separate dimension, cut off from the real world. It was created by a scar running through time from the early Edwardian days to some time in the future.”

“A scar? Created by that time machine?” said Holly, as they slowed to a jog.

“That’s right. At first I thought Rook had built a time machine, but what he’s actually built is a time corridor generator.”

“Question mark,” said Holly.

“It punches a hole through the space/time continuum and allows you to travel from one point in time to another.”

“So this thing caused the scar that ran through Gallows Inn?” said Lilly, almost tripping over the hem of her skirt.

“Exactly. The dimension collapsed in 2006, but it all came back to me when I realised what it was.” The Doctor stopped, out of breath and sat down on a large boulder next to a wooden fence. “Eleanor was trapped in that dimension with my friend.”

“What?”

“When I was in my Seventh incarnation I freed my friend and her. She then told me that we’d meet again, in both of our futures, and I let her go back to the vortex.”

“This is giving me a headache,” said Holly. “But can’t we stop her now?”

“Absolutely not. That’s why we’re heading for Gallows Inn. This has all happened before and has to happen again.”

“But you’re going to destroy the machine, aren’t you?”

“Yes, but first I need to switch it on and let Eleanor escape into the corridor.”

“But you can stop her now?”

“Time has to happen like this,” said the Doctor, pinching the bridge of his nose. “The corridor was created in Gallows Inn because I remember it being in Gallows Inn.”

“A predestination paradox?” suggested Lilly.

“Yep. My least favourite of the paradox family.”

“Well we better get a move on,” said Holly, nodding back up the hill as Norman, Rook, William and a little behind them the Wragby’s closed in on them.

To be concluded...

The Edwardian Way (Chapter 7)

Chapter 7 (The Pull of the Heart Strings)

William sat in his chair, his brandy still in hand, his eyes burrowing into the Doctors. He didn’t blink. He didn’t flinch. He didn’t move a muscle, his mouth tightly closed.

Rook had left the room to go and set-up his time machine. The Doctor hadn’t said anything to him after his revelation that he had his own time machine, but Rook saw his silence as an indication to go and get it ready.

“So,” said the Doctor, finally breaking the silence. “Nice house.”

“Yes it is,” said William, eyes still transfixed on the Doctor. His voice almost a croak.

“Have you owned it long?”

“You’re not the Doctor,” said William, ignoring the Doctor’s question. “You look nothing like him.”

“Ah, yes,” said the Doctor, looking down at his lap, “the inevitable face-changing questions.”

“Face-changing?” queried William.

“Yes, face-changing.” The Doctor took a deep breath. “What did Caroline tell you about me?”

“She said that she travelled with you in time and space. That she was from the year 2012 and that she crashed here in some kind of lifeboat - an escape pod she called it.”

The Doctor nodded and looked away. The crash. His fault of course.

“But you cannot be the same man that took her away from me. He was tall and bald and much older.”

“Caroline didn’t mention to you that I’m from another species all together.”

“I beg your pardon?!” scoffed William.

“I’m a Time Lord. I come from another planet.”

“Oh, what rot!”

“You must believe it William. I swear to you that I’m telling you the truth. Why would I lie?”

“It still doesn’t explain how you look different?” said William, getting to his feet and walking over to the bay window. Norman was walking the dogs again outside.

“My people have the ability to change their faces when the body is damaged.”

William laughed to himself, shaking his head.

“It’s true, William,” said the Doctor. He got up to join him by the window. “In the grounds of your house is my blue box - the same one that took Caroline away.”

“I don’t see it,” said William, still smiling to himself, his eyes scanning the grounds.

“That’s because…it’s invisible.” The Doctor realised how daft that sounded.

“Oh, come now, Doctor, do you really expect me to believe that?”

“I can show you it, if it’d convince you.”

“What would really convince me, man, is you taking me back to Caroline.”

“I can’t do that,” said the Doctor, shaking his head and walking away from William.

“And why not? Is it because what you’ve told me is a pack of lies?” William drained the glass of brandy.

“No,” said the Doctor, “It’s because I can’t just disrupt time because you miss her.”

William turned sharply on the Doctor, was about to say something and then narrowed his eyes. “Have you ever been in love, Doctor?”

“I don’t see what this has to do-”

“Answer the question.”

The Doctor sighed. “My personal life is not up for discussion here, but, yes, I do know of love. I know of the love of friends and family and people dear to me. And the love of places and things and objects.”

“Then you must know of how the heart aches when those things are taken from us.”

“I understand more than most,” said the Doctor. “I’ve lived for such a long, long time. I’ve lost such a lot.”

“And if you had the chance to get all of those things - those people back-”

“I wouldn’t do it.”

William scoffed. “You’re lying.”

“I’m not. I’m not lying, because I have a duty. I’m a Time Lord. As much as I may hate it, I have a duty to make sure things are kept in order. No matter how much I may miss someone, I can’t keep going back and changing things. I’ve made mistakes like that before.”

“But I’m not a Time Lord, Doctor. I have no duty.”

“You have duty to the children who live here,” said the Doctor.

William refused to turn and look at the Doctor. “It should be myself and Caroline looking after these children, not just me.”

“No it shouldn’t,” said the Doctor. “That was never meant to be.”

William turned to face the Doctor. “Time put myself and Caroline on that path.”

The Doctor shook his head. “Oh, William, will you stop being so…disappointing. You’re letting Caroline down.”

“I beg your pardon?” frowned William.

“Caroline told me that when you and her said goodbye that you told her that perfection was something that you couldn’t achieve until you died.”

William faltered. He had said those words to her.

The Doctor put a hand on his shoulder. “Caroline understood that she couldn’t have that perfection either. It was hard for her, William, but she moved on. She never forgot you, but she’s living her life now.”

William swallowed and looked away from the Doctor, glancing back at Egor, who was bounding across the grass, chasing after a stick. “Is she happy?”

The Doctor smiled sadly. “She’s happy. Her life is complicated and confusing, but she’s happy.”

William closed his eyes. “I’m glad.”

The Doctor stepped in front of William and placed both hands on his shoulders. “I had to leave her behind as well. There was only so long she was going to carry on travelling with me.”

William looked at the Doctor and nodded. “How do I move past this?”

The Doctor smiled. “Get those children back from Brighton and carry on with running this place. Life is big and beautiful, William. Don’t waste it by chasing after perfection. It doesn’t need to be perfect. You can find perfection just in this very house.”

William didn’t respond.

“There’s one good thing, though,” said the Doctor.

“What’s that?”

“I think you believe I am who I say I am now.”

There was a knock on the door and Hazel, the diminutive maid, stepped inside. “Excuse me, sirs, but Professor Rook is ready to show you his invention.”




The Wragby cottage was set a little way off from the river, nestled amongst the trees. It was a basic, but pretty, construction. It had a thatched roof, white walls and black, wooden window frames and front door.

Holly stepped out of the trees into the little clearing around the cottage and was followed by Lilly, who was pulling her snagged dress away from a tree.

“Careful with that dress,” said Holly.

“Blood Edwardian clothing,” said Lilly. “I should have just changed back into my jeans.”

“Calm down,” said Holly, “and keep it down as well.”

“Is that the place then?” said Lilly, nodding towards the cottage.

“It can’t be anything else,” said Holly. “It doesn’t look like there’s anyone home though.”

There was the snapping of a twig to their right.

“Can I help you?” came a female voice.

The woman - Eleanor - was wearing a dark, blue dress, her red hair cascading down over her shoulders. Her face was pale and her lips red.

“Hello,” said Holly, holding out her hand. “We’re friends of the Doctors. I believe you met him yesterday.”

“Indeed I did,” said Eleanor. She smiled as she looked down at Holly’s hand. “A very handsome fellow. Very tasty.”

Lilly frowned.

“What can I help you with?”

“We were wondering if we could pop in and rest our feet. We were out exploring the grounds and we’ve gotten a little lost.”

“They are certainly big grounds,” said Eleanor. She smiled. “Of course you can come in. I’ll put the kettle on.”

Eleanor turned and began walking towards the cottage. Holly made to follow, but Lilly grabbed her arm. “I don’t trust her. Who says ‘tasty’ in these days?”

“I don’t trust her either,” said Holly, “but that’s exactly why the Doctor sent us out here. Come on, we’ll be fine. She’s just an overly-glamorised red-head. What could go wrong?”

“Please don’t tell me you just said that,” said Lilly, following Holly up to the cottage.

The inside wasn’t what Holly had been expecting. Truth be told she wasn’t really sure what she was expecting, but she thought it’d be a little more homely. This was sparse. The interior was open-plan with a staircase leading up from the centre of the building and up into the loft area where she presumed the beds were.

There was a small fireplace to the left, a table with four chairs in the centre, a couple of arm chairs and a kitchen area towards the back.

“Please, sit down,” said Eleanor, gesturing the armchairs.

Weird mouthed Lilly to Holly.

Holly frowned and nodded, but followed Eleanor’s suggestion and sat down in one of the armchairs.

“How do you take your tea?” asked Eleanor, as she filled up the kettle.

“Hot,” said Lilly.

“Milky. One sugar,” said Holly.

“Coming right up,” said Eleanor.

Lilly leaned forward and spoke in a hushed voice. “What’s with this place? It’s not very homely.”

Holly shook her head. “Downright weird,” she said. “And where’s her father?”

“Beats me. Maybe he’s in the town.”

Eleanor returned to the living area and Holly and Lilly separated from each other as she went to sit at the table. She pulled the chair out and then sat down. She looked at them for a few seconds before smiling.

“We can dispense with the theatrics,” said Eleanor, her legs crossed.

“What do you mean?” said Holly.

“I know you’re not telling me the entire truth. The same as I’m not telling you everything.”

Holly looked at Lilly and then back at Eleanor. “I don’t-”

Eleanor closed her eyes and straightened herself up. She looked as though she was listening in on something. She pointed towards Holly, but didn’t open her eyes. “You have come from another time. Another time completely. 2015. Am I right?”

Holly looked at Lilly, who just shrugged back at her.

“It doesn’t matter if you say yes or no. I know I’m correct.”

“You’re psychic?” said Lilly. “Another one.” She thought back to Carlotta at the circus.

“Not entirely,” said Eleanor. Her eyes opened and she looked at the two girls. “I’m in tune with time.”

“How exactly does that work?” said Lilly.

“All in good time, Illithia.”

Lilly’s eyes widened. “How do you know my real name?”

“I know a lot more than that.” She closed her eyes and pointed towards Lilly. “You come from much further than Holly. Your life has been a cover for another life. And you are damaged. You did something bad and the scars won’t heal.”

Lilly looked away.

“Leave her alone,” said Holly.

“And you care for this girl,” said Eleanor. “You didn’t want her with you at first, but you’ve come to care for her as a friend. More than a friend in fact.” Eleanor opened her eyes and smiled at Lilly. “You have feelings for her, don’t you?”

Lilly looked nervously at Holly and then back at Eleanor. “Leave me alone.”

Holly stood up. “Come on, Lilly, we’re going.”

Eleanor closed her eyes and pointed towards Holly this time. “And you, Holly Dangerfield, feel something for her as well. She’s damaged and you think you can heal her.” Eleanor laughed and opened her eyes. “You feel it in your chest. The tug of those strings. Never deny them, Holly.”

“We need to get back to the Doctor,” said Lilly, getting up out of the armchair.

“Who are you?” asked Holly, as the kettle started whistling in the background.

“Oh, the Doctor,” smiled Eleanor. She licked her lips. “I wish I could sink my teeth into him. Drain him.”

“Drain him?” said Holly. “You speak like you’re-”

“Don’t say the word, Holly,” said Eleanor, holding her finger up.

“You’re vampires,” said Holly.

“Not just vampires, dear,” said Eleanor, as the door opened and Reginald entered, looking at the two girls with curiosity. “We’re Time Vampires.”

To be continued...

The Edwardian Way (Chapter 6)

Chapter 6 (Sydney Rook)

Sydney Rook was a thin, tall man with wispy white hair and very bushy sideburns. He wore a pair of gold-rimmed spectacles, a black top hat and a dark blue velvet jacket.

Ever since he had been a boy he had been interested in all manner of things relating to time. He had taken a degree in physics at Cambridge, but nothing he had done there had ever helped him to examine the world of time. It was always going to be a theory to everyone else, but Rook believed it to be more than a theory. He believed it to be a possibility.

He had heard about an incident in 1867 where a scientist had created a time portal to another era. To another world. But anything to do with those particular experiments had been lost when the house - belonging to Theodore Maxtible - had been burnt down.

But still he strove on until one day he met with William Fieldgate.

William had helped him out. He had lost a lot of money and was forced into selling his house. William had offered to buy it from him and rent him out a few rooms to live and work in. It seemed like a decent enough deal for Rook. It was the only way he was going to be able to keep a roof over his head.

William had been living 30 miles away in Thornsby when he had decided to hand his orphanage over to a new owner and had decided to convert Happerby House into a new, more large orphanage, taking his old maid Hazel Pinter with him.

But Rook always suspected that there was something else that William was after. William had seemed much too interested in his time travel theories.

And then William had explained it all to him late one night over a brandy…

Rook walked through the front gates to the grounds of his old house, briefcase in his right hand. He stood before the house for a few moments, breathed in the clean, fresh air and closed his eyes. It was nice to be away from London and all the smog and pollution. This would always be his home, even if he did have to share it with a few dozen children.

“Evening, Mr Rook,” said Hunter who had been walking one of the dogs - Egor - along the inside of the outer wall.

“Hunter,” said Rook, his voice full of warmth, “it’s good to see you.”

“How was your trip?” asked Hunter as the two men began their walk down the main path.

“Oh, so, so,” said Rook. He lifted up and tapped the briefcase. “I got what I went for, at least.”

“Excellent news,” said Hunter.

“Is Fieldgate back?”

“Yes, came back late last night.” Hunter stopped Rook and touched his arm. “He’s not in the best of moods though.”

“Really?” said Rook, as they continued their walk. “That doesn’t sound like Fieldgate. He’s been so jovial just recently.”

“I think it was the trip back to Thornsby that took it out of him,” said Hunter, shaking his head sadly. “That and he’s missing the children.”

The children had been gone for a week now. William had paid for them all to spend a fortnight down in Brighton as a special treat. It was rare that the kids ever got the opportunity to go further than Happerby, but William had an ulterior motive for getting them out of the orphanage for two weeks anyway.

“Well, he’s going to miss them a whole lot more if his plan works,” said Rook. “I hope he’s prepared for that.” He turned to Hunter. “And I hope you’re prepared for the responsibility.”

Hunter nodded. “I’m sure between myself, Olive, Hazel and the Wragby’s we can keep this place going.”

“Good man,” said Rook.

“Oh, there was one other thing,” said Hunter, before he turned off to head back to his cottage.

“What’s that?”

“There were three intruders here last night.”

“I beg your pardon? Intruders?” Rook looked concerned and held his briefcase closer to him.

“Yes. A man and two, young women. Said they found their way accidentally through a hole in the fence.”

“A hole in the fence? Good God, man, how did that happen?”

“Well that’s just it,” continued Hunter. “Reg and I have checked the perimetre and there’s no sign of a hole in the fence. The walls and fences are nine foot high so there’s no getting over them, and the front gate was secure.”

Rook frowned.

“It looks like they just…appeared out of thin air.”




“I had a cat called Sydney,” said Holly as they made their way back down the road leading to Happerby Orphanage. “He was ginger with white socks.”

“Cats don’t wear socks,” said Lilly.

“White feet, Lils, white feet.” She looked across to the Doctor, who was walking at some speed with his hands in his pockets. “What’s his problem?”

“He’s just in a bad mood.”

“He’s been like it since we left Heliatos though,” said Holly. “I thought he would have cheered up by now.”

Lilly sighed and kept her voice down, just in case the Doctor could hear her. “I asked him back in the TARDIS. Apparently when Uncle Joe probed his mind he made him remember a place called Jacarthia. It turns out Jacarthia was a town…I don’t know where…that he tried to help, but it all went wrong. I couldn’t get much more out of him other than that.”

“He likes to keep his secrets locked up, doesn’t he?” said Holly.

“There’s more to him than I’ll ever know,” said Lilly. “Caleb told me that he left Gallifrey all that time ago because he was on the run from something.”

“From what? Something he’d done?” asked Holly, suddenly starting to feel a little afraid of the Doctor.

“I have no idea. Caleb never got a chance to tell me,” she said, sadly.

“Keep up, you two,” said the Doctor, turning back to them.

“Doctor,” said Lilly, jogging up to join him, “how exactly are we gonna get back onto the grounds?”

“We stand outside the gates and shout,” he said, crouching down to examine a daisy that was sticking up out of a crack in the road.

“But Mr Fieldgate told us not to return,” said Holly.

“Then we apologise,” said the Doctor, getting back up and continuing towards their destination. “I probably overreacted when I first met him.”

“You think?!” said Lilly.

“It touched a nerve.”

“But what do you think he’s up to?” asked Holly. “Do you think he’s trying to get back to Caroline?”

“I have no idea, but if Rook is conducting time experiments -”

“How do you even know that?” asked Lilly.

“It’s pretty obvious, isn’t it? And if he is then it’s a safe bet that William has him doing it for that very purpose. The get back to Caroline, I mean.”

“Then why not let him?” asked Lilly. “Let them be reunited.”

The Doctor stopped, turned to face the two girls and looked from one to the other. “Caroline moved on with her life. It took her a long time to get over it, but when I said goodbye to her she was in a happy, stable place with a child to look after. It was the first time in years that she felt comfortable. I can’t have William going in there and disrupting that.”

“How do you know that’s not what she wants?” said Holly. “If she loved him that much-”

“Because I already told her what happened to him. I read his history. He lived a full and happy life working with the children in an orphanage and died a good, old age. His history has been told. At no point in that history did it have him disappearing or marrying Caroline. Nowhere.”

“Time can be rewritten,” said Lilly.

The Doctor looked at her. There was darkness behind his eyes. “So what’s to stop me going back and saving Caleb from being murdered?”

Lilly was taken aback. She was that shocked that she almost staggered backwards. He had never used the M word before. It had always been ‘accident’ or ‘mistake’

“That’s uncalled for,” said Holly, noticing Lilly’s face turn pale.

“But tell me what’s to stop me doing it?” he asked. “What’s to stop me going back and fixing all my problems by changing time?”

“It’s just two people in love,” said Holly, putting her hand on Lilly’s shoulder to try and bring her back into focus.

“No,” said the Doctor, “it’s just a reckless man thinking he can play about with time however he likes.” He shook his head and then turned to walk away. “And it’s not going to happen.”

“I’m sorry he said that,” said Holly, looking down at Lilly. “That was uncalled for.”

“It’s true though,” said Lilly. “I murdered him.”

“It was an accident.”

“You don’t know the full story,” said Lilly.

“Then tell me.”

“I…can’t,” said Lilly. “Not yet.” She turned to go and then looked back at Holly. “I’m scared.”

“Of what?”

“Of him,” she looked at the Doctor.

“He’s a good man, though, Lilly. Even if he does say the most stupidest things sometimes. Why would you be scared of him?”

“Because when he gets passionate about something,” said Lilly, looking at the Doctor disappearing over the rise, “then he gets unpredictable.”

“Hey, you have me,” said Holly, taking her hand. “Don’t be scared.”

Lilly gripped Holly’s hand tightly.

“We really need to go with him though,” said Holly. “We’re nearly there.”

“I know,” said Lilly, nodding. “Let’s go.”

Instead of heading towards the gate the Doctor guided Lilly and Holly around the outer wall. Once they were further away from the gate he took them through a dense copse of bushes where the Doctor threw over a small, rope ladder that hooked to the top of the wall.

“I thought we were going through the gate,” said Lilly.

“I am,” said the Doctor. “You two aren’t. I need you two to go and investigate that strange father and daughter couple - Eleanor and Reginald. But I need you to be quiet about it.”

“While you go through the front and talk to William?”

“Whilst I go through the front and talk to William,” confirmed the Doctor.

“Scaling walls,” said Lilly. “Fun!”

“Take care, you two. If you’re caught head straight for the gate and go back to the Inn. I’ll meet you there.”

“And if we don’t get caught?” said Holly.

“Then once you’ve done some digging head back to the Inn anyway.”

Lilly turned to climb up the ladder when the Doctor touched her arm. “I’m sorry,” he said gently.

“Don’t worry about it,” said Lilly, glumly.

“No, really I am sorry. I shouldn’t have said what I did.”

“No, you shouldn’t have,” said Lilly. And then she smiled at him. “You can owe me back with a pint at the Gallows tonight.”

“A pint of water? You’re on,” smiled the Doctor.

They went their separate ways as Holly and Lilly struggled, in their dresses, up the rope ladder. They finally reached the top and managed to drop down the other side.

“I’m sure I was a cat in my previous life,” said Holly, brushing the mud off her dress. “Do we even know where this cottage is?”

“Somewhere in the grounds towards the east, I believe the Doctor said, but he has been known to get things wrong.”

They made their way through the trees, careful to make sure they stayed concealed behind any foliage they could.

On the other side of the wall the Doctor had returned to the large iron gate. It didn’t take him long to get Norman Hunter’s attention as he strolled on by with one of the dogs.

“What are you doing back here?” said Norman, looking at him with disappointment through the railings.

“I need to speak to Mr Fieldgate,” said the Doctor. He looked down at his feet. “I need to apologise.”

“Mr Fieldgate doesn’t need your apologies,” said Norman. “I suggest you leave.”

“Please, Norman - may I call you Norman?” the Doctor smiled.

Norman frowned back at him.

“I’m afraid I was a little hasty last time. But there are reasons for that.”

“I’m sorry, Dr. Galloway, but I can’t let you in.” He turned to go.

“Tell him that I’m the Doctor,” said the Doctor, desperately, his face pressed up to the railings.

Norman turned around. “He knows you’re a doctor.”

“Not a Doctor. Tell him I’m the Doctor.”

Norman frowned.

The Doctor looked away and sighed. “Tell him I’m the same Doctor that used to know Caroline Parker.”

The Doctor was only waiting five more minutes when Norman returned - minus the dog - unlocked the gate and guided the Doctor inside.

“How did he take the news?” said the Doctor, as he followed the grounds man up the long front path towards the house.

“He just told me to let you in. Looked a little confused to be honest - like someone had just stepped over his grave.”

“Thank you, Norman.”

“You better be able to explain yourself to him though. Mr Fieldgate is forgiving, but he doesn’t suffer fools gladly, and anybody who gets between him and Miss Parker…well, they don’t get in his way again.”

The Doctor glanced towards the east side of the grounds, hoping that he didn’t spot Caroline and Lilly anywhere. He needed to find out more about the Wragby’s, and what he didn’t need is William’s trust in him to be shattered by the discovery of the two girls.

“You alright, old boy?” said Norman.

“Yes,” said the Doctor. “Tell me,” he said, trying to keep Norman focused, “what do you know of Mr Fieldgate and Professor Rook’s plans?”

“Not much really,” said Norman, as they climbed the terrace. “I don’t claim to understand what he’s doing, but I understand why he’s doing it. I lost my wife three years ago.”

“I’m sorry,” said Norman.

Norman nodded as they reached the front door. “If I could get back to her - change what happened - I would do.” He let the Doctor inside. “We never got a chance to do everything that we wanted to do together. I miss her.”

The Doctor placed his hand on Norman’s shoulder and nodded. “But you have to cherish those moments that you did have with her.”

Norman nodded sadly.

“Thank you for this.”

“You may not thank me when you speak to Mr Fieldgate.” Norman shut the door behind them. “He’s in the drawing room.”

“I’ll make sure I’m careful,” said the Doctor.

“Good luck,” said Norman.

The Doctor walked across the large entrance hallway and glanced up at the portrait of Caroline. Her eyes seem to stare down at him with curiosity.

“Oh, Miss Parker, what’s your old man been up to now?” he said to it.

He made his way into a wood-panelled room. On one side of the room was a large, bay window which overlooked the front of the grounds. The far wall was dominated by hundreds and hundreds of books and near to the bay window was a desk. Placed in front of the bookcase were two, large, leather armchairs. In front of them was a small, two foot high coffee table and a wooden, dining chair set in front of that, facing the two armchairs.

Sat in the chairs was William - a brandy in his hand and looking rather pensive - and Sydney Rook, looking more relaxed, with his hands clasped together in front of him.

“William,” said the Doctor.

“Please, sit down,” said William, indicating for him to sit on the wooden chair.

The Doctor obliged and sat down. There was silence for a good thirty seconds, and then Rook spoke. “So, you claim to be the man from another time.”

“Yes. Well, sort of,” said the Doctor. His eyes flicked to William who betrayed no emotion.

“Well, my name is Sydney Rook, and I could do with your help.”

“Oh?”

“Yes. I could do with your help in perfecting my own time machine.”

To be continued...

The Edwardian Way (Chapter 5)

Chapter 5 (Return To Gallows Inn)

Six Years Ago




William stood beside the clock tower in the Central Market area, gazing up at the hands as they slowly ticked around and around. It had been only 24 hours since he had said goodbye to Caroline and her absence was making his heart ache. It felt like someone had dug a huge hole out of his chest.

“Mr Fieldgate, sir,” said a man in a long coat and red waistcoat. He had a large, flat face with chubby cheeks.

“Jeremiah,” said William, nodding to the landlord of the Red Lion pub that stood on the corner.

“How are things with your intended?”

William opened his mouth and then closed it again quickly. He looked to the ground. “I’m afraid Miss Parker has left us.”

“I beg your pardon, sir?”

“Her friends returned for her,” said William.

“But your were-”

“Due to be married. Yes, I know.” It felt heartbreaking to say those words. He had only told Hazel, the maid at the orphanage, and his mother about Caroline’s departure. It upset them, but not, he thought, as much as it had destroyed him.

“Well,” said Jeremiah, noting William’s uneasiness, “this may not be the best time to ask about this, but did you know what Miss Parker was going to be doing with that scrap metal in my yard?”

“Scrap metal?” said William.

“That’s right,” said Jeremiah, ushering William to walk towards the yard at the back of the pub. “Remember the day she arrived there was a load of scrap metal and all manner of other junk just dumped in the middle of the road. She asked me to look after it for her.”

He unlocked the iron gates and showed William inside.

Sure enough piled up under a tarp, which Jeremiah was now removing, was the twisted remains of whatever had brought Caroline to his time. She had called it an escape pod or something once she had told him the truth about where she had come from.

In amongst the metal were circuit boards and tubes and all manner of fantastical, scientific equipment.

“It has been clogging up my yard, man,” said Jeremiah. “Think you can shift it?”

William crouched down on his haunches and plucked out a dead, cear crystal. He turned it over in his hands and nodded. “Yes, I’m sure I can…shift it.”




Now




The Doctor hadn’t so much hidden the TARDIS, but rather made it invisible. Holly had been concerned that he wouldn’t be able to find it again, but he had promised her that he had done this many times before.

“Well - at least once before…I think..” he had said.

They had then packed some appropriate clothes of the era and made their way out of the grounds and down the leafy lane to the nearby town of Happerby. It was a mere 20 minute walk and Holly found the peaceful, sunny morning walk quite relaxing, although her stomach was still rumbling after having her breakfast interrupted by the Doctor’s antics.

The Doctor strode on ahead whilst Holly and Lilly walked side by side. They were both in their dresses they had worn the night before and were grateful that William hadn’t demanded them back.

“It’s funny,” said Holly, “I’ve never really thought he’d have travelled with others.”

“He never speaks about any of them. The ones that came before Caleb and myself,” said Lilly. “I don’t think he likes to.”

“I suppose it’s a way for him to say goodbye to them,” said Holly.

“I sometimes wonder if he remembers all of them.”

“Has he never mentioned this Caroline at all then?”

“Nah,” said Lilly. “It was in his last life. That’s gone and buried now.”

It hadn’t occurred to Holly before that the Doctor could change his face. She knew a little about regeneration after having heard about what had happened with the Master, but it was only now that she was realising the full extent of what being a Time Lord meant. A thought struck her.

“Hey, can you change your face? You know, like the Doctor and your father.”

Lilly smiled. “Being Gallifreyan and being a Time Lord isn’t exactly the same thing,” said Lilly. “The Doctor told me that most of the time regeneration has to be earned. I have a longer lifespan than Humans, but I don’t have the ability to regenerate. Well, not yet anyway.”

“Good,” said Holly, smiling to herself.

“Good?” queried Lilly.

“Well I’d rather you keep the face you have. Don’t go changing, Lilly. I love you just the way you are.” Holly laughed.

Lilly blushed.

Holly looked alarmed. “It’s a song. A song by Billy Joel!”

“Almost there,” came the Doctor’s voice from up ahead.

“I guess I’ll just be another companion to add to the collection,” said Holly, quickly changing the subject.

“Me too,” said Lilly. “And Caleb,” she said sadly.

“You two are different though. You and Caleb are virtually family to him. You’re special. Something different from us common travelling friends.”

“You’re not common,” said Lilly, looking sideways at Holly. “Don’t ever think that. He told me once that the people who he travels with set his hearts on fire and it keeps him going from one life to the next.”

“That’s…very lovely,” said Holly, smiling at the Doctor as he forged on ahead.

“I’m glad you crashed through the TARDIS doors that day, Dangerfield,” said Lilly, smiling.

“I’m glad too,” said Holly.

“I don’t know where I’d be without you now.” Lilly stopped and turned to her side. She grabbed Holly’s hands and smiled sadly at her. “You’ve…changed me. You’ve made me feel good about life again.”

“I haven’t really done anything though, Lilly,” said Holly.

“Just being there has done it.”

Holly smiled back at her and she felt that feeling again that she had felt back on Heliatos. That strange, alien feeling to her. It made her heart race.

“Come on, you two,” called the Doctor. He had gotten quite ahead of them now.

“Coming!” called out Lilly. She turned back to Holly. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” said Holly, nodding, her voice almost a whisper. “I’m…good.”

“Let’s go then,” said Lilly, releasing her hands and racing off to join the Doctor.

“I’m good,” said Holly, nodding to herself and smiling.

Eventually they reached the village and headed towards it’s centre. It was as village-like as anything Holly had seen before. Small, quaint and with little black and white houses huddled around the central square.

They reached a road that cut through between a church and an old, white pub. It looked quite pretty from the outside, but it also looked cold and uninviting in the morning sun.

“Great name for a pub,” said Lilly, gazing up at the sign - a hill with a gallows on the top.

“Gallows Inn,” said Holly, darkly.

“Gallows Inn?” said the Doctor, catching his breath. “I remember this place!”

“You’ve been here before?” said Holly.

“Yes.” The Doctor stared straight ahead, probing his long, departed memories, trying to find and pull the relevant one back from the dark well. “It was a long time ago now. A long, long time ago.”

“Can you remember what you were doing here?” asked Lilly, sitting on a small wall beside the road, her arms folded.

“I was…hunting for a ghost. Except it was in the future. The future of the building, not the future of me.”

“Oh, here we go,” said Holly.

“Look, it’s quite simple,” said the Doctor, looking at the two of them, frustrated, “I was here many years ago in my personal history. When I was a different man.”

“And what happened?” asked Lilly, getting equally frustrated with him.

“I can’t quite remember, but I’m starting to think that what happened then and what’s happening now is connected. And it involved Rook.”

Lilly looked to the sky in disbelief just as a big drop of rain hit her forehead.

“It’s starting to rain,” said Holly.

“You think?” said Lilly.

“Let’s get inside before the Doctor’s mood threatens to make the heavens weep.”

“There’s no need for that,” said the Doctor, as the three of them made their way into Gallows Inn.

The inside was dark and dingy. The rays of light that found their way into the inn shone through the windows at the front of the building, and the dust particles danced around in the light. The bar was a horseshoe shape. To the right was an area with a door with a sign saying “Lounge” and to the left an open area full of tables, chairs and smaller compartments for better privacy.

The place was deserted.

A man with a mostly bald head and a few stands of hair walked out from behind the bar area cleaning a glass on his apron.

“Good morning,” said the Doctor. “I was wondering if we could have three rooms.”

The man frowned at them. He didn’t look friendly at all. “I’ve only get two left. The others are booked up.”

“Well the girls can share,” said the Doctor. He turned to them. “That’s if you don’t mind.”

“No,” said Holly, shaking her head. “Not at all.”

“It’ll be a laugh,” said Lilly, glancing quickly at Holly to make sure she was agreeing.

“It’s not a laughing matter, Illithia,” said the Doctor.

“Yes, sir!” said Lilly, frowning at him and giving a mock-salute.

Holly and Lilly went to sit at a table whilst the Doctor discussed payment with the barman. Lilly looked around her and sighed. “Bit of a dump.”

“It’ll do I suppose,” said Holly. “Do you ever think about what’ll happen later on?”

“How do you mean?” asked Lilly.

“When you become one of the companions that the Doctor’s left behind.”

“I don’t intend on leaving him any time soon,” smiled Lilly. “As screwed up as my life is, I’ve found a bit of a purpose with him.”

“What about when I leave?”

Lilly looked sad. “I’ll get by, Dangerfield.”

Holly nodded. Then there was a buzzing sound from underneath the table and Holly frowned.

“Is that your phone?” said Lilly. “Where were you hiding it?”

Holly opened up her sleeve and the phone was tied to her wrist with an elastic band.

“Don’t let he Doctor see you with that!” she said.

She pulled out the phone, glanced over to the Doctor and then read her text message. She shook her head and sighed.

“Anything the matter?”

“It’s Alfie.”

“Alfie?” Lilly suddenly remember. “Oh, your boyfriend.”

“Ex boyfriend,” corrected Holly.

“What? How come?”

She put her phone back into her sleeve and exhaled. “The Doctor told me I should tell my parents something otherwise I’d spend an age explaining my five month disappearance.”

“I didn’t even think of that,” said Lilly, realising she had no family to miss her.

“I called them and said I’d gone to spend some time with an old school mate in Sheffield. I needed to clear my head. Load of crap of course. I hate lying to them.”

“And?”

“Alfie hasn’t been happy since. He’s gone out and got himself a new girlfriend.”

“Cheeky sod!” said Lilly.

“Yep,” said Holly, nodding sagely. “I mean it was never serious or anything. He was a nice guy though.”

Lilly put her hand on Holly’s and looked at her. “Don’t cry, Dangerfield.”

“I’m not crying, you daft-head!” said Holly, laughing.

“You two ready?” said the Doctor, making Holly quickly retract her hand away from Lilly.

“As we’ll ever be,” said Lilly.

They made their way down a side corridor that led away from the bar area and then up a small flight of stairs. The Doctor threw Lilly a key and pointed towards a room towards the end of the corridor whilst he unlocked a door to the right.

“Meet you downstairs in thirty minutes,” he said, giving a little wave and then disappearing inside his room.

Holly and Lilly went into the basic, wood-panelled room, which contained two beds with very flat mattresses and a single, double-door wardrobe.

Holly pulled off her shoes and then rubbed her feet. “I think I’ve got a blister coming on.”

“Wear your trainers,” said Lilly, opening the wardrobe and taking a blanket out.

“Oh yeah, they’ll really fit in,” laughed Holly.

“If you wear a dress down to the floor nobody will know,” smiled Lilly, throwing the blanket into the corner and putting her and Holly’s spare clothes inside the wardrobe.

Holly watched as Lilly gently folded their garments and then sat herself back on the bed. “Have you never had a relationship?”

Lilly looked confused. “Beg your pardon?”

“Well, you know about me and Alfie. What about you? Has there never been anyone…well, special in your life.”

“Nah,” said Lilly. “I never had time for it back in West Fulton. Craig was about the closest I came to really, really caring about someone, but even then he was just a friend.”

“And a robot,” Holly quickly added.

“And a robot,” sighed Lilly. She sat down on the end of her bed and looked at Holly. “I spent my life being scared or confused. And then when the Doctor and Caleb found me I spent most of my time trying to piece my life back together. There’s never been any time for that nonsense.”

“Falling in love doesn’t have to be nonsense,” said Holly.

“I thought you said you weren’t that serious with Alfie?”

“I’m not,” said Holly. And then she smiled at Lilly. “But that doesn’t mean that I won’t fall in love when the right person comes along.”

“Well, Dangerfield, when the right person comes along make sure they know it.”

Holly nodded. “Yeah, when the right person comes along.”




Holly and Lilly found the Doctor hunched over a glass of water, sat at a table by the window and staring into the distance. He tapped his finger on the table and looked wistful. He almost didn’t hear Holly and Lilly come down the stairs.

“You alright then?” said Lilly.

“I definitely remember this place now,” said the Doctor. “I’ve been here before - in my own personal past, but the pubs own future.”

“Can you remember anything that happened?”

The Doctor nodded. “It’s coming back to me, but time has a way of…I suppose you could say clouding things when they are involved in my own personal time stream.”

“So time obscures things for you?” said Holly, sitting down next to him.

“Mmm-hmm,” said the Doctor, nodding. “I do remember that I was here with two friends - Hex and Ace. It was in the early 21st century and the landlord was being haunted by…something.”

“A ghost?” suggested Lilly. “I mean that’s usually what causes a haunting.”

“No,” said the Doctor. “It was something else. Something alien.”

“Are you sure it’s connected to what’s happening with William Fieldgate?” asked Holly. “I mean, it could just be that you visited the same pub twice.”

“No, too much of a coincidence,” said the Doctor, looking at his water and flicking the glass.

“Well,” said Holly, getting up from her chair, “we won’t solve the mystery by staying here.”

“Indeed not,” said the Doctor. He smiled at her. “Let’s go and find out what’s going on with Mr Fieldgate, shall we?”

To be continued...