Chapter One

'Doctor, where exactly are we going?' Amy Pond struts down the glass steps, gliding her hand along the metal rail, towards the central control deck of the TARDIS. She eagerly hops down from the last step, blows a strand of red hair from her vision, and proceeds to circle around the control panel. After completing a lap of the centre console and returning to the foot of the staircase without a reply, she stops to find both her husband and the Doctor reclining on the cream leather chairs either side of her. She nudges Rory causing him to wake sharply, muttering something about a duck pond, and strides over to the other chair.

With his long legs outstretched and his hands behind his head, the Doctor perches precariously on the very edge of the leather chair; Amy thought that if she woke him now he'd probably fall off – undeterred, she gives his legs a sharp kick in an attempt to get some attention. His arms flail upwards as he struggles to keep himself balanced on the springing chair, and the fez, that was placed on the front of his head, covering his eyes, falls backwards down into the lower level of the TARDIS.

'Pond!' he starts, having recovered his composure, 'what was that for?' He stands up and runs his hands through his floppy hair in an attempt to recover what little dignity remains. 'I had to go all the way to Morocco-7 for that fez.' He leans over the rail and swings back and forth, 'it'll take weeks to find down there.'

'I didn't know you slept' said Amy, ignoring the Doctor's apparent annoyance at the loss of his hat. He whirls around to face her, acknowledging Rory in mid-spin.

'I wasn't sleeping' he argues, rubbing his hands together and looking past her to the control panel, 'I was thinking'. With a light step, the Doctor pushes past her and starts spinning levers and pressing buttons, seemingly at random.

'You're doing it again' murmurs the Doctor, looking up at the monitor.

'Sorry.'

'No' he replies, 'I don't mean you, Rory'. The Doctor spins another lever and pulls the monitor down to eye level. 'I think she's trying to tell me something' he says, with a mixture of confusion and concern in his voice.

'Yes, I am' Amy continues, 'I asked you where we're going'. The Doctor stops suddenly and looks over to her; his brow is furrowed, a look of genuine confusion on his face.

'What?' the Doctor asks. He prods a blinking button to his left, without averting his gaze.

'I'm the one who's trying to tell you something' Amy replies, frustration building in her voice. 'Where are we going?'

'No, I meant the TARDIS' says the Doctor bluntly, returning to the monitor and continuing to press buttons and tap dials. 'She's not been quite right the past few days. She keeps making odd noises.'

'It always makes odd noises?' suggests Rory, trying to avoid his wife's oncoming exasperation by stepping around to the other side of the console.

'You're quite right, Rory' the Doctor agrees, to the further annoyance of Amy. 'But these noises are different.' He stares at the monitor and tilts his head to the side. 'It's something small. But it's definitely something.'

The Doctor, unimpressed with his findings, pushes the monitor upwards, twirls back towards the leather chair and sits down. He reaches up to his head in search of a fez but, to his displeasure, finds nothing. Instead he stretches out his legs and resumes his unstable, but comfortable, reclined position.

'Will somebody please tell me where we are going?' Amy blurts out, her annoyance now obvious to all. She looks over to Rory, who quickly becomes interested with nothing at his feet, and then back at the Doctor.

'We're not going very far, I'm afraid' concedes the Doctor. He leans forwards in the chair, predicting that further explanation will be required, and places his elbows on his knees.

'Why?'

'Because the TARDIS is trying to tell me something,' the Doctor stares at the centre console and begins moving his hands in an attempt to illustrate his point. 'It's definitely something small that's upsetting her, but if we start jumping through millions of year's worth of time and space it could make it worse – much worse. I don't want to take that risk when I don't know what's wrong.' He looks up at Amy, checking to see if his explanation has sufficed, before continuing: 'so for now it's best if we don't travel too far.' Satisfied that Amy isn't going to interrogate him further, the Doctor resumes his awkward position on the chair: his legs outstretched, and his hands supporting his head. 'Rory!' he barks, 'take a look at the monitor and tell us where we are.' Rory shuffles around the console and stares at the screen for a moment, his mouth hanging slightly open.

'Erm...it's all just funny symbols' he surmises.

'Oh, right, of course. Well...' the Doctor replies; he sucks the end of his finger and points upwards. 'I'd say we're somewhere near the Graelliscy system, around...' he wiggles his finger slightly, 'the twentieth century?'

'How did you–' Rory starts.

'So we're going to this Grail-sky?' interrupts Amy.

'No, nothing particularly interesting happens on Graelliscy for at least another twelve centuries. We could probably risk a quick hop over to Earth; shouldn't put too much strain on–' The Doctor glances up to see Rory still standing by the control platform, his arm outstretched, about to press a small green button below the monitor. 'RORY, NO!' bellows the Doctor. He leaps from his chair, surprisingly with more grace and dignity than before, and lunges towards him.

Upon hearing the Doctor's command, Rory stops instantly and takes a step backwards, his arm still outstretched. 'W-what did I almost do?' He looks over to his wife and back to the Doctor, not attempting to hide the look of terror on his face. 'Did I almost rip a hole in time and space? Or-or create a black hole?' The lack of an answer causes Rory's eyes to widen further; he takes another step back from the console. 'W-what would have happened?' he says, his voice quivering.

'Oh don't be so melodramatic' the Doctor replies. Rory stares at him with a blank expression. 'The button gets stuck down, and it's extremely annoying. I only managed to fix it last week.'

'S-so, we're fine?' Rory stammers.

'Of course we are' the Doctor says with confidence; he begins pulling levers and spinning random wheels. 'As far as I can tell, all that changes when it's pressed is that the exterior shell of the TARDIS becomes ever so slightly magnetised – it's entirely useless. Oh, and the button lights up.' He palms a knob to his right that rings a small bell: the platform begins to shake, the central column lights up and pulsates, and the TARDIS starts its familiar whirring.

'Finally!' remarks Amy. She walks over to Rory and places a comforting hand on his shoulder in an attempt to remove the look of fear from his face.

'Okay' the Doctor exclaims, rejuvenated by the thought of adventure, 'let's see where we've landed.' He skips down the steps towards the door of the TARDIS, pushes it open and steps outside. A moment later the Doctor's head appears in the doorway, his hair falling over his face, his bow tie slightly twisted; 'come along, Ponds!'

Cue the music: .com/watch?v=QOlUV8iE3tU&feature=related