[Speed-writing again. To be honest, the only reason I wrote this is for the sentence at the end of the story.]

Victoria hadn't been travelling with them long, but already she'd started appreciating the days when nobody almost died and they could stop and enjoy the ride. And what better place to enjoy a ride then at a carnival?

It was the early 21st century, meaning there weren't any freak shows or oddities on display, but there was more than enough to make up for that. They'd also made a new friend on the ferris wheel.

At first, Victoria thought Taylor was a boy. She'd never seen a woman with such short hair before, and she'd been wearing what appeared to be men's clothing, although these new-fangled fashions tended to blur the line between gender. (Victoria herself was feeling rather daring today- she was wearing lady's trousers.) They started a conversation after Victoria expressed interest in Taylor's mobile phone.

Imagine that! That little device could send messages and take pictures, and was also a little computer. The things people came up with!

She was a very charming girl, and thought Victoria's technological naivete was endearing. Taylor stayed with them for the rest of the afternoon. At one point, they split up- the Doctor and Jamie trying their hand at a shooting game, and Taylor taking Victoria's hand to show her all the best rides. In fact, Taylor seemed to want to hold hands an awful lot. She was oddly tactile, but Victoria shrugged it off as simply something people did these days.

They met up with Jamie at a cluster of tables near the food stands. He'd gotten separated from the Doctor and had decided to search for the girls. Now he left them sitting at one of the tables while he went to see what the stands were selling. Taylor and Victoria continued talking.

"You got a pen?"

Victoria dug around in her handbag for one. She watched curiously as Taylor found a scrap of paper in her wallet and proceeded to write something down, tear it neatly in half, and then give her both halves. Victoria examined the first half. The other girl had written her name with a little heart beside it, a series of numbers under it, and then "taylor_murray " beneath that. Confused, Victoria stared at it for a few seconds until Taylor handed her the pen and indicated the other half of the paper.

Oh! She realised she was expected to write something on the blank piece. Perhaps this was the modern version of calling cards? Well, she could certainly handle that. Using Taylor's card as a template, Victoria wrote down her name and drew a little flower beside it. For the numbers, she used her birthdate and age until she had enough digits. The last bit she wrote out as "victoria_waterfield ", hoping the part at the end didn't need to be changed as well. Satisfied, she gave her half of the paper back to Taylor, who pocketed it with a smile.

Just then, Taylor's phone made a noise. "Hang on," she said and went to answer it. It occurred to Victoria that this was the first time she'd seen the phone actually being used as a phone. She tried not to eavesdrop, which wasn't difficult with all the noise around them. Taylor finished her call and turned to Victoria. "Hey, Dave and Carly are leaving early and I gotta go get my stuff out of his car. I'll be right back."

"All right. I'll wait here for you."

"Awesome!" With that, she disappeared into the crowd. A few seconds later, Jamie came back to the table with some sort of confectionery.

"Look at this!" he said, "The man at yon shop called it a funnel cake. Try some."

She did. It was obscenely sweet. "Mmm!"

"What have ye got there?" asked Jamie, indicating the paper with Taylor's name on it.

"It's something like a calling card, I think, only modern," she said.

"What's a calling card?"

"It's a custom where...well, from my time," she explained, suddenly feeling nostalgic. "They're little cards with your name on them, and you left them at people's houses when you visited."

"What for?" Jamie asked, taking another bite of the funnel cake.

"That's just what people do. Did. Let's say you were going to call on someone for the first time. You'd go and leave your card with a servant, and he'd take it to the person you're visiting. Then he or she would decide whether or not to receive you. Or if a person was new in the city, she'd wait until her neighbors left her their cards, then she would return each card with a call."

"Sounds complicated."

"It was only good manners," said Victoria. She looked at the scrap of paper again. "It seems to have...well, declined since then. Cards used to be professionally printed, and they looked so much nicer. You see, a lady's card was larger, and it..."

She explained at length everything she remembered about calling cards and the little rituals and etiquette associated with them while they shared the rest of the funnel cake. Jamie thought the whole thing sounded silly and unnecessary. And a few times, Victoria had to laugh with him about the absurdity.

They'd finished the cake when Taylor finally found her way back. "Okay, so change of plans," she said, "Abby and them are ready to leave, and I have to go to 'cause they're my ride. Are you guys gonna come back here tomorrow?"

"We don't know," said Victoria honestly, "It depends on what the Doctor says."

"That sucks! Well, you got my number, so call me when you know what you're gonna do, okay?"

"Of course."

Taylor smiled and went to hug Jamie goodbye. Victoria stood to bid her new friend farewell. Taylor gave her a brief hug as well. Then, to Victoria's surprise, she kissed her. Not just a friendly peck on the cheek, this was full on the lips in a way that couldn't be described as anything but romantic. Shocked, Victoria froze. She had always been raised to be polite, but nothing she'd been taught had prepared her for this particular situation.

After what felt like a long time, the kiss ended and Taylor said one more goodbye and hurried off. Victoria just stood there, mouth slightly agape, still trying to process what had just happened. Jamie stared at her, incredulous.

"There you are!" came a cheerful voice. The Doctor ambled up to them, now wearing a funny little hat made of balloons. "I met the most interesting man over at the House of Mirrors. Turns out, he's on holiday from the Stellaris system. Long story. Have you two been enjoying yourselves?" He noticed the expressions on his friends' faces. "Oh, come now! The hat may look silly, but I rather like it."

"It's no' the hat, Doctor," said Jamie, "it's Victoria."

"What? Oh! Are you all right, my dear?" His smile was replaced by a concerned expression.

"I...she..." began Victoria.

The Doctor motioned for her to sit down and patted her hand. Turning to Jamie, he asked, "What happened?"

"That Taylor lass kissed her!"

The Doctor relaxed considerably. "Oh, that's all? Thank goodness. For a moment I was afraid something terrible had happened." They stared at him. He stared back, then remembered when his companions were from. "It was more than just a kiss, wasn't it?" Victoria nodded. "I see. Well, then...it's probably time I had a talk with you two about human relationships. Now, it's perfectly natural..."

And so, the Doctor began the awkward conversation about unexpected lesbians.