SONTARANS FOR TEA
The horse had gotten away from her. She wasn’t exactly a beginner but she wasn’t a pro either. Fighting to rein Yardstick in proved to be a very difficult task and sweat poured from her head as much from panic as effort. Susan Foreman held onto the horse as it reared up. Something had frightened it, very badly.
The Doctor realising that materialising the TARDIS had spooked the horse raced outside and brought the animal under control. “There now, I’m sorry.” She rubbed the startled creature’s snout. Then she went to attend to the rider. “Hello Susan” she greeted her granddaughter.
“Grand Mother!” Susan got off the saddle and hugged the Doctor. “It is so good to see you again. You’re looking well.”
“You too Susan, are you just visiting this place?”
“No.” Susan smiled. “This is my home now, come and see it.”


The Doctor followed Susan through a beautiful hay meadow towards a large log cabin. The cabin was Susan’s TARDIS disguised of course to appear incongruous. Susan had made much of her ship appear in the style of several 18th Century French Chateaux.
“Would you like a glass of wine?” Susan held up a bottle of red.
“Well maybe a drop won’t hurt me, but not to much though. This body does not handle alcohol very well.” Taking the offered glass the Doctor sipped it.


Rinx observed the two targets through field glasses. The time machine would prove to be an excellent device and with its power it would make the glorious Sontaran army more powerful than anyone else. He had to report this matter to General Melchett, just as soon as he could work out which one of the others was the General.


The Doctor found some nice cheese to go with the wine and dipped a piece into the wine before nibbling it. She was surprised at how well the flavours complimented each other.


Rinx looked at his fellow Sontarans and eventually determined that Melchett was the one with an extra piece of metal on his otherwise featureless domed helmet. “General, we have identified the target. Two humanoid females occupy it. I suspect that one or both are confirmed time travellers. They show a complex matriarchal structure based on deference to light coloured wisps of mammalian hair. The darker haired female appears older but calls the younger one Grandmother. This analysis indicates possible Gallifreyan origin of the females.”
Melchett listened to the report with polite indifference. He was approaching the highest score on his pocket game Rutanmon. He had to kill them all. “Very well capture them, lock them in a minimum security area with tools to escape and wait until they escape.”
“General?”
“While they are trying to escape we will conceal ourselves inside their time machine. Then when they return to it we will be waiting. We will observe how the machine works and then we will seize the machine. Dismisses Trooper Jinx.”
“I’m Rinx sir, Jinx is outside.”
“Just go.” Melchett returned his attention to his game. He had to kill them all, he just had to.


Feeling relaxed the Doctor and Susan began to watch some home video footage of one of their early visits to Earth.
“Look and Ian and Barbara.” Susan laughed as Barbara pulled her blouse quickly down and Ian Chesterton hid his hands behind his back.
“Go on Ian give her a kiss.” The Doctor joked, knocking back another red wine. She’d had nine of them now and they hadn’t reticulated her spline one bit.
“Ian is very handsome isn’t he Grandmother?” Susan gazed at Ian’s image on the screen.
The Doctor refilled her glass. “He’s got terrific looking thighs, that toga really shows them off.” The Doctor leered at Ian’s legs myopically. “I think I’ve had enough now, my eyes are going numb.” Finishing her drink the Doctor passed out, insisting that Susan called her Patsy.


Rinx, Jinx, Finx, Binx, Sinx and Winx aimed their large, powerful weaponry at the log cabin. Pulling on the trigger mechanisms the guns shot forth a multitude of laser bolts, none of which caused any damage what-so-ever to the wooden building.
“Bayy!” General Melchett, supreme commander of the Fifth Sontaran battle Garrison and fleet star admiral of the twelfth sector walked over to men. “Now then men, what seems to be the problem?”
“It’s no good sir, the house in protected some how.”
General Melchett looked at the Sontaran Captain. “Now then Captain, I’ve let warriors across mine fields and through laser barrages so hot they would fry your eyeballs and you tell me that you can’t knock down a house?”
“Yes sir, sorry sir.”
“Sorry’s not good enough in this Sontaran’s army. I want you to nip down there and demand that they surrender.”
“Me sir?”
“Yes sir, you sir.” Melchett pointed at the house. “And don’t come back until they surrender or you die.”


There was a knock at the door. “I’ll get it.” Susan managed to walk over to the door. “Can I help you?” She asked the Sontaran.
“Madam, I am Star Captain Rinx of the Fifth Sontaran Battle Garrison. Can I ask you to surrender at all?”
“You want to wear my suspenders?” Susan asked, hitching up her skirt. “Ok, but I don’t think you have the legs for them.”
“No, no, no. You don’t understand. I want you to surrender to me.”
Susan looked at the Sontaran for a second, shock on her face. “But we’ve just met. We haven’t been on a date yet.” Quickly she put her arms around his strong, sexy, neck and slipped her tongue into his mouth. “Come on then, don’t be shy.”


General Melchett watched as the Trooper returned empty-handed and with some sort of red paint around his mouth. “And why have you returned without any prisoners?”
“She was like a wild animal sir. I’d rather you shot me than spend another second in her company.”
“Where are your trousers Trooper?” Melchett demanded.
“The last thing I saw, she was waving them around her head and jumping up and down on her bed. Can you shoot me now sir?”
Melchett aimed his sidearm at the Trooper and fired. “What a senseless waste.” He looked at the others. “Binx! I want you to go down there and get the job done properly.”
Binx saluted. “Yes sir!” He saluted again.


The Doctor woke up, the room seemed to change colour every few heartsbeats. “Oh my head.” She complained before there was a knock at the door. She managed to totter over to the door and open it.
Binx yelled; the sight of the female was truly shocking. “Please, don’t hurt me.” He begged for his life.
“Oh get up you big softie.” She helped the Sontaran up to his feet. “Won’t you take tea with me?” She sat the Sontaran down and poured him a cup of the delicious brown liquid. “It’s really nice, and the new dimensionally transcendental teabags. You can get a really strong brew with them.”
Binx sipped the tea carefully, in case it had been drugged. When the second female made her entrance he destroyed his probic vent. Screaming in pain and terror he was glad to feel his body liquefy.
The Doctor looked wide-eyed at the dead Sontaran. “I didn’t think the tea was that strong Susan.”
“That’s the second one today. Is there some sort of convention nearby? The first one wanted to wear my underwear for some odd reason. I just went to get him some ones that might fit but he ran for it just after I took his trousers off.”
“Odd.” The Doctor mused. “Very odd indeed.” Her bladder started to make its full capacity known. “Where is the ladies room at? I need to go.”


General Melchett kicked the door in. “Right no one move or I’ll massacre everyone in a sanitised off camera scene.”
Susan winked at the General. “Hi there, you’re just in time. Would you like a cup of tea before we get down to it?”
“Yes, tea. And a biscuit. Do you have hobnobs?”
Susan shook her head. “Sorry, I just have digestives.”
General Melchett stalked off stage and grabbed the director by the neck. “I told you hobnobs. If I don’t have a hobnob for me then I’m not going to do any more scenes luvey.”
The Doctor walked in and looked at the Sontarans. “They’re like buses aren’t they Susan? You wait three life times and six of them come along at once.”
Susan sidled up to the Doctor and whispered. “Grandmother, you’ve got your skirt tucked into your knickers.”
The Doctor blushed and quickly put her outfit right. “Sorry about that, there’s a new girl in wardrobe. The poor dear doesn’t have a clue.”
Sinx took command of the remaining Sontarans. “Lets get out of here, we deserve better than this.”
As the Sontarans filed out of the front door Susan and the Doctor thanked them for visiting. “Do pop round again.” Susan cooed, slapping one of them on the bottom.
“It’s been simply wonderful.” The Doctor pinched another Sontaran’s posterior. “Next time we should have more drink then we could really have a party.”
“I liked Winx.” Susan admitted to the Doctor. “He was very cute.”
The Doctor poured a cuppa for Susan. “Yes, I saw the way you were looking at him. I thought for a minute I was going to be a great grandmother.”
“You might be, I wonder if the chemist’s is still open? I need to get a home pregnancy kit.”
The Doctor looked shocked and then smiled. “I think motherhood will suit you, it’s just a pity I can’t stay for longer. So many people to see, so many dictators to defeat. Are you going to call him if the results are positive?”
“Probably. I may call him anyway, I think there’s something between us.” Susan sipped her tea and winked.

GUIDANCE
It was the best of days and it was the worst of days. His promotion to senior Commander had been confirmed but Yulza told him that she didn’t want to see his face ever again. Stepping into his hover car Vislor Turlough headed back towards home. At least the few comforts that a good bottle of Fnarr brought him was something to look forward to.
Throwing his jacket in the general direction of the sofa Turlough walked through into the kitchen. He was more than a little surprised to find a middle-aged woman playing patience on the table and nursing a cup of tea. “Who are you?” He asked suspiciously. “How did you get into my home?”
The stranger extended a green nail varnished finger and pointed outside to a blue box. “You recognise it I’m sure?”
“The TARDIS?” Turlough chuckled to himself. “That brings back a few memories. You travel with the Doctor do you? Well where is he then? Polishing his cricket bat no doubt.”
Putting her hands on her hips and smiling the Doctor revealed her identity. “She’s right here and cricket doesn’t have the same appeal to me as much as it used to.”
Turlough laughed. “You’re the Doctor? Pull the other one.”
The Doctor stood up slowly and handed Turlough a cup of tea. “It’s just the way you like it.”
Turlough sipped the tea. “You are the Doctor.” He exclaimed, with surprise and then comprehension on his face. “So you must have regenerated since I last saw you?”
“Several times. This is my last body but there’s plenty of life in it. I always meant to drop by and see how you had settled in. Congratulations on your promotion by the way, it’s well deserved.”
Turlough sat down opposite the Doctor. “So have you seen Tegan and Peri recently? How are they? And Nyssa, I’d have liked to have known her better.”
“Peri married a King but it didn’t last, nothing does these days. Tegan has just about forgiven me now. I met her a couple of me’s ago in Australia, we seemed to get on quite well. I haven’t seen Nyssa though, I do hope she’s having a good time.”
“Isolated on that space station, engaged in pure research. She made her own choice Doctor, it’s what she wants.” Turlough finished his tea and poured himself another one. “Maybe she’s having more fun than me.”
“What’s up?” The Doctor took Turlough’s hands in hers and gave a sympathetic smile.
“Oh relationship problems. She says she doesn’t want anyone who puts their career before their partner. I tried telling her that I only wanted this promotion so that I could do more for her. I want to provide a future for us with security and a little bit of money for the odd holiday.”
The Doctor paused to think for a few minutes. “Do you love this woman?”
Turlough sighed. “With all my heart. She is the star that my love orbits around.”
“Do you mind an old friend meddling in your affairs?” The Doctor asked. “Perhaps I can help.” Standing up the Doctor walked over to the TARDIS.
Turlough paced around the kitchen for an hour before the commlink bleeped. “Hello? Yulza, how are you? You want to get back together? Yes I’ll be right over. See you then.”


From the comfort of the console room the Doctor watched as Turlough and Yulza greeted each other and hugged. “Another good deed Doctor” she told herself before dematerialising the TARDIS. Hopefully neither of them would realise that two neighbouring governments and a corporation needed seeing to before she completed work on securing the opera tickets, the box of chocolates and the bottle of wine. All that was left to do was convince a certain Minister that she really wasn’t that kind of Time Lady.

STATE OF GRACE
It had been a long and difficult day. Too many people demanding quick fix solutions to the years of abuse they had inflicted on themselves. Kicking off her shoes Grace Holloway, San Francisco’s greatest heart specialist, turned general practitioner, turned time traveller, turned half crazy woman and underpaid consultant sat down on the couch and flipped through it before throwing it aside and closing her eyes. She was woken up after what seemed like seconds by a knocking at the door. “What is it? I’m tired.” Grace complained as she shuffled over to the door. Opening it revealed a blonde woman dressed in a pinky/purple silk pants suit. “What do you want? They were just round last week collecting for charity.”
“A noble cause.” The Doctor looked at Grace, she had some grey hairs now. “I doubt you recognise me but you do know me.”
“I’m sure I’d remember someone in that outfit.” Grace went to close the door.
“I’d hate to have to shout through the letter box again and the Eye of Harmony isn’t open this time so I can’t walk through the window.” The Doctor smiled at Grace. “It’s me, the Doctor.”
“Oh.” Grace responded before fainting.


Grace opened her eyes and looked around. She was sitting up in her own bed. The woman who claimed to be the Doctor was sitting in the old wicker chair by the window reading one of her medical journals. “What am I doing in bed?” Grace lifted the sheet up slightly. “In my pyjamas?”
“Ah Grace, you’re awake.” The Doctor put the journal down and walked over to her former travelling companion. “Are you feeling better now?”
“You haven’t answered my question, who ever you are.”
“I’m the Doctor, I did mention it. I’m sure I did. Yes that’s right I introduced myself and you fainted. I was very concerned for you.”
“But how can you be the Doctor? He was a man...we kissed! You’re a woman.”
The Doctor laughed. “Well at least your eyes are working. The me you knew died a long time ago and so did several other me’s afterwards. This me is still me Grace, only this time I’m female.”
“Huh?” Grace’s head swam.
“Just relax and take things easy ok? I’m the Doctor and that’s all you need to know.” The Doctor patted one of Grace’s hands. “There’s still so much to do, so much villainy to stop. I had to pop by and see you though; I had to make sure that you’re doing well for yourself. Do you have kids?”
Grace shook her head. “I never got around to dating again after I left you. Then after I got the test results back it was too late, ovarian cysts you see. They took them out of me like they were gutting a fish.”
The Doctor held Grace’s hand tightly. “Oh Grace, I’m so sorry. If I knew, if I had realised I could have been here for you. I’m sorry I couldn’t be there to help you.”
A tear rolled down Grace’s cheek. “It’s been three years Doctor, I still feel empty inside. Because of my profession I’ve been refused five times from having a suitable egg implanted inside of me. At risk they say. An insurance nightmare.”
The Doctor looked at Grace. “As you know, I’m half human. My mother was human so maybe my eggs will be suitable for donation.”
Grace gasped. “I can’t ask you to do that for me Doctor. It’s too much to ask of any one.”
“It’s no trouble at all. Now get some sleep, I’ve got a few things to check.” The Doctor closed Grace’s bedroom door as she left.


Grace gasped as the cold ultrasound probe was placed on her stomach. The conductive gel seemed to exemplify the coldness of the steel. She felt like a lab animal, in the last six months she’d been prodded and poked by the obstetricians more times than Brian ever had, that was for damn sure. “What is it?” She wanted to know the babies sex, as it would make buying clothes a lot easier.
“It’s a girl.” The doctor replied.
Grace sighed and smiled. “I suppose I’d better start chooing names. Any ideas Doctor?”
The Doctor, who had been inspecting some of the other equipment in the room looked over at Grace. “I have just the thing.” She pulled out a book of girls names and a pin. “Why not pick one at random?”
Grace shook her head. “You do it Doctor, she’s your child too.”
The Doctor handed the book to Grace. “I’m just the donor, it takes more than that to be a mother. I nearly thought I was going to be a great grandmother but luckily that Sontaran was incompatible with Susan.”
“Oh very well then, I’ll pick her first name and you pick the second name.” Grace stuck the pin in the book. “Mary. Now you.”
The Doctor repeated the action. “Jane. Both the names of English queens, one lasting longer than the other though.”


Grace yelled and pushed once more. How had it come to this? Stuck at home with only the Doctor to render assistance. Then there was the sound of screaming and her heart melted. The Doctor wrapped the baby up in a piece of cloth after cutting the umbilical cord. Grace looked down at the tiny life in her arms. “She’s so tiny.”
“Yes well she’s a fortnight early. Madam obviously couldn’t wait to get out into the big wide world. She didn’t wait to make a mess of my clothes either.” The Doctor laughed.
Grace chuckled. “Thank you Doctor. This is the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
“Just you take good care of Mary Jane.” There was a knock at the door and the Doctor went downstairs to answer it. It was the midwife, late but ready to check the baby’s measurements. “They’re upstairs.” The Doctor pointed in the direction of the stairs. “I have to go and get cleaned up. Tell Grace I’ll pop by some time soon.” The TARDIS was where she had left it all those months ago. Unlocking it she went inside. “Time to be somewhere else. Grace needs to make a connection with her child. How could I tell her that the eggs were not mine? How can I explain that I used you old girl to go back in time and use her own? What have I become to stoop so low?” She set dematerialisation co-ordinates and pressed the execute button. The green plasma ball burst into life and she was off into the vortex, headed to a new destination.

THE CREATIVE
How many years had it been? How many years since they had abandoned me here? I offered the supreme mastery of the Universe. They scorned me, again. Many of my systems were destroyed by their firepower. They assumed I was dead. They were fools. I have been many things in my life: scientist, dictator, poet, destroyer and creator but I have never been a fool. My life support systems have kept me alive now buried under a thousand tonnes of rock for more years than my systems can recall.
Power is the only reality. To wield power you need to be strong, ruthless and detached from emotional restraints. My Daleks were designed to be such creatures. Strong, powerful and dominant. Somewhere along the way though they changed. They became filled with hate and fear. These emotions made them into what you might call evil. I thought I had corrected my mistakes when I recreated them. An Empire of Daleks, a legacy of strength and power. I had hoped to use my Daleks to bring order to the Universe, to atone in part for their villainy. I was wrong. They used me.
Here now I wait, little more than a few remaining pieces of my mortal body hooked up to a machine keeping me alive. Much of my brain is gone, replaced with circuitry to ensure none of my knowledge is lost. My artificial eye is burrowed into my skull; the complex headpiece was too flimsy for further use. I can speak if I need to but I do not breath through lungs that passes air over vocal chords. Instead I have a speaker implanted in my mouth. The rest of the time I would instruct my Daleks by machine code.
For what seemed like days I heard the sound of rocks and metal being moved. Piece by piece, chunk by chunk. Finally I heard a tapping on the outer casing of my travel machine.
“Do open up would you? There’s a good chap.”
The voice was feminine but she seemed to recognise me. I searched my memory banks for the woman’s voice but I didn’t get a match. Finally I opened the hatch and looked out at my rescuer.
“There you are. Glad to see you survived.”
“I am grateful for you freeing me.” I thanked her. It wasn’t necessary but humanoids were unpredictable creatures. Better to handle them carefully than be honest and open.
“You don’t recognise me do you? No of course you don’t. How silly of me, I’m the Doctor. You remember me now?”
Could it be? The Doctor was one of my worst foes. A meddler in my affairs from the start. How many times did he appear when he wasn’t wanted? Usually with a different face every time. The wretched fool was a Time Lord true, but there was no reason to suspect this woman was the Doctor. “My dear, if you are the Doctor why would you rescue me?”
The Doctor leaned on the front edge of my casing and manoeuvred her face close to mine. “They betrayed you again didn’t they? You never learn. They hate everyone who is not a Dalek. You are not a Dalek. However much you may emulate your children you can never be like them because you’re not stupid enough to meddle with your own emotions.”
“So you are the Doctor.” She had too much knowledge of me to be anyone else. “Why did you rescue me? I don’t think it is because of pity.”
“Hardly. Remember our agreement? You would create an order of Daleks to benefit the Universe, rather than pillage it?”
I nodded slowly. “Yes Doctor. They did not choose to accept that role.”
She leant even closer to me, her breath on my face. “I have an idea.”
I listened to her. I had little choice as my power cells only had enough for life support. She outlined a complex and fascinating plan. A new race of Daleks, conditioned to know and recognise all emotions acting as guardians and protectors of the Universe. Strong and aggressive when settling disputes but tolerant when dealing with minor offences. If only I had met the Doctor when I was a younger man, my life might have been different. The Kaleds might have resisted the initial Thal assaults. My people might have survived. No that was folly. The past was the past and I could never change it. However I could create something better than the pain and misery. The power of authority and responsibility. Knowing that I was defending untold billions rather than destroying. That sort of power was worth controlling. That sort of power would be mine! “Yes, I accept. I will do it.”


We watched as the first Dalek of the new era emerged from the hatching pool. It slid into its red and black casing and connected itself to the machine. The Doctor seemed apprehensive at first but soon she calmed down when it greeted her as a friend. It was the beginning of a new era. The first task of my new race of Daleks was to defeat the earlier ones, then true peace could be declared. A peace governed and maintained by my Daleks. “We have done it.” I told the Doctor but she had gone, returned to her time machine no doubt. The future lay before my Daleks now, what came next was unknowable. We would have to find out for ourselves.

GHOST CATCHER
It was another routine investigation; a housewife in Dorset had seen what appeared to be ghostly figures walking through the walls of her kitchen. Liz ran the multi-meter over the wall but there was no sign of a residual energy trace. “If there was anything here, there’s no trace of it.”
“What is it Liz?” The Doctor asked her one time assistant. “I was passing by and thought I’d pop in and see you.”
Liz looked up to see the oddly dressed woman. “Doctor? I’d heard you had changed but I never quite believed it.” Liz had been contacted by her former UNIT employer Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart and informed of each of the Doctor’s new bodies. “I like the handbag, it’s very you.”
The Doctor looked at the wall? “Still chasing ghosts? Ever considered that anything caught inside a time break can be considered a ghost?” The Doctor touched the wall and her hand effortlessly passed through it.
Liz started at the wall and touched it in a different location. It was firm under her fingertips. “How do you do it Doctor?”
The Doctor grasped Liz’s wrist with her other hand. “Time sensitives can feel the weak points in the distorted chaotic structures of Time breaks. You’ve travelled in time Liz, can’t you feel it?”
“Five times Doctor and that hardly makes me…” She did feel it. It was like a coldness in her mind. “You’re right Doctor. Somehow I can feel it. It's like someone’s put an ice cube in my head.”
The Doctor pushed Liz’s hand into the wall. “This is the weak point, the origin of the breach. It’s very old; it’s been here a long time. I wonder why it’s not as powerful as it should be? If this had been as strong as I suspected we would both have been sucked inside of it. Time breaks can do that. Not only do they suck time out of the universe but the more powerful ones can draw physical things into them. People usually, that’s one of the reasons we see ghosts. They are the echoes of the poor unfortunates drawn inside the empty wastes of oblivion.”
Liz pulled out her pipe and lit up. “Ok, so they can pull people inside of them but how did it get here? How was it created?”
“This piece is very old, as I said. I think it’s been cause by a deliberate and concerted assault by the creatures who dwell on the other side. They have no name, at least one we cannot speak with our mouths nor understand with our minds. We call them the Ancient Ones and they are totally hostile to us. Me in particular.”
Liz chuckled. “Why am I not surprised by that?”
“Yes well I accidentally released them from their eternal confinement and I arranged for their recapture. My friend Hannah managed to seal the last of them inside N-Space. I think this is a failed fissure. A potential rift that for some reason failed to open like the other weak points. Perhaps it would be best if we sealed it?”
“Well shouldn’t we study it first?” Liz asked. “After all that’s what PROBE does. We’ve got some pretty expensive gear in the van outside and some of the best paranormal investigators in the whole of the UK.
“Equipment you say?” The Doctor’s interest was piqued. “Let me have a look at it, I may be able to make it work better.” Opening her handbag up she took out her sonic screwdriver.


The Doctor had been busy; she had stripped down many of the sensitive devices and patched them up into a bizarre hybrid device. “It looks good don’t you think?” She asked Liz, letting her inspect the badly wired machine.
Liz stared at the mess that used to be a lot of very expensive equipment. “It looks like a nightmare Doctor. PROBE doesn’t have the budget to replace all those.”
The Doctor pressed the temporal scanners on button. “Synergy Liz. This is far better than the individual pieces. This little beauty can detect the minutest flaw in the fabric of reality. This will find your ghosts no problem.”
Liz rolled her eyes. “It doesn’t look very professional though Doctor. It had better work at least as good as you say or I can say goodbye to my job.” Examining the device more closely she found a number of circuits that made no sense at all. “What does this do?” She pointed to a cluster of resistors and diodes with her pipe.
“That screens out background noise, the electrical potential of living beings if you will.” The Doctor handed the bulky device to Liz. “I would advise against patenting this just yet, They wouldn’t take too kindly to it.”
“The Time Lords no doubt?” Liz laughed briefly. “I didn’t think you cared much for anything they did?”
The Doctor smiled wanly. “I don’t usually. They put more emphasis on sitting about and playing their silly politics than getting involved and helping out. When they do move however it is swift and final. I stirred things up a bit back home and I don’t want Hannah to suffer the consequences of my actions.” Putting her work tools back into her handbag the Doctor headed back inside the house. “We should seal that breach now I think.”


Liz found that the Doctor had marked the breach on the wall. It was bigger than before.
The Doctor turned her blonde head round to see Liz enter the kitchen. “Its growing Liz, there may not be much time left. Switch the device on and lets get busy with the fizzy.”
The device was switched on and a pencil thin beam of white light blasted out of the device. The rent in the fabric of reality began to become visible to the two women and the other members of PROBE. It appeared as a patch of very dark green with twisting spirals of blue and white energies flowing in and out of it. The Doctor adjusted the device and the beam of white light grew into a wide beam of energy. Slowly but surely the gaping hole began to close.
“It’s working Doctor.” Liz shouted above the noise of the machine.
A hand emerged from the tear and grasped around for anything to get a purchase on. It got hold of Tom Greene, a poltergeist specialist. The Doctor hit at the arm with a rolling pin but it had no effect. Dipping into her handbag-come-toolkit she pulled out a small grey box and used it to project an energy field at the wrist. “This should give that thing something to think about.” She helped the PROBE team member to safety before the hand pulled quickly back into the tear and the tear was sealed. On cue the machine in Liz’s hand packed up with a small bang and a puff of smoke.
Liz stared at the fried circuits. “Hundreds of thousands of pounds, I’ll never work again.”
The Doctor put her hand around Liz’s shoulder to comfort her. “Look at it this way Liz, you saved possibly everyone on the planet. I think a nice cup of tea will do the you the power of good.” Finding the teapot and enough cups for everyone the Doctor set about the real business, making the perfect cuppa.


Liz faced the PROBE disciplinary panel. They were very thorough in their questioning and she told them everything that happened. She kept the Doctor’s involvement down to a minimum, only mentioning her as a former UNIT scientific advisor and a close personal friend. They cleared her of destroying PROBE equipment and commended her actions in halting a potential catastrophe.


Liz stood on the surface of the moon. The thin fabric of a spacesuit between her and instant death. It was so peaceful here and so quiet. The view of Earth, a three quarter crescent, in the distant reminded her of what she had saved. “It’s beautiful Doctor. Mother Earth in all her glory.”
“We can’t let it be destroyed Liz. Earth has its troubles but it’s the struggle for unity that one day will see everyone appreciate just how special their world really is. Art, poetry, music, literature, a world of passion and a world of beauty.” The Doctor headed back towards the TARDIS. “I’ll wait for you inside.”
Liz took one last look at the small blue/green world before joining the Doctor inside the ship.