Lost In Time: Chapter 9 (February)

February, 1902


Life in 1902 was getting better and better for Caroline. At the end of January William had proposed to her. A lot of people - including Hazel the maid - had thought it was a little too soon, but Caroline and William had argued that they’d known each other since June last year and they were perfect for each other.

And it was true. Ever since Steve, Caroline had felt disconnected and not interested in having any kind of relationship, but coming to the nineteen-hundreds and living a life here and meeting someone as charming and lovely as William had changed her mind on all of that. Admittedly, she didn’t think she’d be marrying him so soon, but it was what they both wanted. Caroline was ready to get this rather bizarre, next stage of her life into full gear.

The Fieldgate’s had been positively beaming with the news and Mrs Fieldgate had already taken Caroline around the shops, looking for the perfect wedding dress. They had decided on a date: June 1st of this year. One year since she and William had met. It just felt like the perfect date.

Mrs Fieldgate had wondered who would give Caroline away. In a perfect world it would have been Danny, but this wasn’t going to happen, obviously. So Caroline had decided to ask Mr Fieldgate to give her away, which he had accepted most graciously.

That afternoon Caroline was walking down Flottergate, buying groceries, when she spotted a shop she hadn’t gone in before. It looked like it stocked coffee and tea and all manner of herbs and spices.

Out of curiosity she went inside. There were tins and jars stacked wall to wall and the light from the outside was blocked by even more jars and tins. At the back of the shop a little old lady stood behind a counter. She smiled when Caroline walked in, the rings around her eyes deepening.

She went to put on her small, spindly glasses and squinted through them at Caroline.

“Good afternoon,” said Caroline, politely.

“Good afternoon, miss.” There was some recognition in the old woman’s face. “You’re that young lady who runs the orphanage, aren’t you?”

“I try,” smiled Caroline.

“Such a wonderful job you’re doing. I’ve never seen those little urchins look so happy.”

“Thank you. It’s certainly something I never thought I’d be doing.”

“And you’re marrying young Master Fieldgate, aren’t you?”

“I am,” nodded Caroline.

“Such a nice young man.”

The old lady took Caroline’s hand. And then she froze. Her eyes seemed blank and she stared straight at Caroline.

“Are you okay?” asked Caroline, concerned.

The old woman continued to look at Caroline. She didn’t blink and her eyes grew darker still.

“Can you let go, please,” said Caroline, politely, but starting to get a little concerned.

The old woman opened her mouth, but all that came out was a slight hissing sound.

“Get off me,” said Caroline, much more sternly.

“You,” said the woman. “You are a lost little girl.” Her voice was high and rasping and didn’t sound as it had done before. It sounded cold and evil.

“How do you know that?” asked Caroline.

The woman continued to stare at her, trance like. “You come from such a far away land.”

Caroline was about to speak when the old woman raised a finger to Caroline’s lips.

“Don’t speak. You are further than that. Not a far away land. A far away time. And much, much further than that. You do not belong here. You do not belong anywhere.”

Caroline tried to pull away but the old woman would not let go. She felt like shouting for help, but something made her stay. She wanted to hear the old lady.

“You’ve been searching for answers for so long. Your answers are all around you. All you have to do is look. James knew. James knew the answers. James still knows the answer.”

“You mean Jim? Jim’s dead.”

The old woman laughed. “Saint James. You need to open your eyes a little more, my dear. You will be faced with a choice very soon, and whichever decision you make will bring misery to all. You need to make a choice!”

“And you need to bloody well let go of me!”

Caroline snapped her hand away and the old woman blinked. Her eyes flickered and then she was back to normal, smiling and as if nothing had ever happened.

“What was that all about?” asked Caroline.

“I’m sorry, dear?” asked the old woman, and then noticed Caroline’s terrified look. “Oh no. Did I do it again?”

“Again? What?”

The old woman tapped the side of her head. “I have…certain powers. Of a psychic nature. Don’t go telling anybody though. They’ll have me carted out to the loony bin.”

“What do you mean psychic powers?”

“I can read the cards. I can do séances.”

“No, no, this was much more. It was like you were possessed by something.”

“That’s never happened before. Touch me again.”

“No!” said Caroline, making sure her hand was well away from the woman.

“I’m sorry dear. Sometimes I go a little funny, but never any kind of possession.”

“I think I’ll be leaving.”

Caroline turned and went straight out the door and back into the street. As she walked home she thought about what the old woman had said. Could it have been her own powers channelling through the lady and making her go like that. And what about Saint James? The church they had fought the Apparites was called St. James’s.

With a large sigh she put it out of her head. So she had special powers. So what? There was nothing she could do about it now. All she wanted to do was get on with her life here.




Later she was standing on the balcony overlooking the river with William. She had told him what had happened and he had told her to be careful of Mrs Potts. She was forever seeing ghosts and strange things, apparently.

And soon those things were furthest from Caroline’s mind again.

“What song do you want at the wedding?” asked Caroline as they watched the children drop crusts into the river for the ducks and seagulls to eat.

“Song?” frowned William.

Caroline rolled her eyes. “Of course. Silly me!”

William laughed. “Another one of your future things?”

“You could say that. There’s a song I love by this band. It’s called ‘The Gambler’. A lovely song. I heard it the other year - I mean 2011 - and knew that I wanted that at my wedding.”

“Maybe you could play it through your eye patch.”

Caroline looked very, very confused. “My what?”

“The thing you play your music through.”

Caroline burst out laughing causing even the children to stop playing and look around at her.

“What?” laughed William. “What?!”

“It’s called an iPod, not an eye patch.”

Caroline had shown it to William a few weeks back. The battery was almost dead, but she had taken to listening to one song every week, so long as it was quiet and no one was around. She knew that showing it to William was wrong, but she didn’t care. She was a part of his world and she wanted to show him a little of her world whilst she still could.

“So why not play it?”

“I don’t think it’d be wise. It’s another 100 years or so before those things are invented. And as soon as the battery is dead I’ll be destroying it.”

“I suppose that’s the best thing to do,” agreed William.

She smiled at him and then turned to look across the river and down the street. The sun was starting to set and the rest of the staff were getting the children inside and into the warmth. She could see the tower of St. James’s church in the distance and it reminded her of where she’d come from.

“Are you okay?” asked William, touching her hand.

“I’m okay,” she said with an uncertain smile. “Just thinking of old ghosts.”



February, 1988


The Doctor had spent the last few weeks gathering more and more equipment from various locations around the country and had even popped back to UNIT HQ a few times. It occurred to Danny that the Doctor could just go and find himself at an earlier point in his own personal timeline, but the Doctor had told him that it would risk changing the timeline even more.

And relations between the Doctor and Danny had continued to deteriorate. One time Danny went into the Doctor’s room and found him humming a very cheerful song to himself whilst working on the equipment. Danny had exploded in a rage, telling him that he shouldn’t be cheerful at a time like this. It had hurt the Doctor, but it had pushed Danny closer to Lisa.

One night, after avoiding the Doctor at the pub, Danny had made his way to Lisa’s flat in the high rises near Freeman street. He had bought a bottle of wine and hadn’t been intending on getting drunk with her, but it was certainly an option, and anything was better than the miserable atmosphere between him and the Doctor.

“So have you made up with your parents yet?” asked Danny, finishing off his third glass of wine.

“Not yet,” said Lisa, sat on the sofa next to him.

“You need to.”

“There’s plenty of time,” smiled Lisa. “I wanna let them stew for a bit.”

Danny smiled weakly. “You never know what’s round the corner. What might happen.”

“Oooh, don’t be so glum!” scolded Lisa. “We’re here to enjoy ourselves.”

Danny leaned in a little closer, his head resting on his arm. “I like you, Lisa.”

“I like you too, Danny boy.”

“I try not to…”

“Oh, thanks!”

“No, seriously. I try not to, but I can’t help myself. And what the Doctor’s doing is wrong.”

Lisa frowned and angled herself so she was looking directly into his eyes. “What do you mean? What’s the Doctor up to?”

“If you knew something terrible was going to happen and you knew you could stop it, but in doing so would cause something equally, if not as bad, to happen, would you do it?”

“I don’t quite follow.”

Danny sighed. “Oh god, I might as well just come out and say it. The Doctor’s trying to erase you from history.”

Lisa burst out laughing, almost spilling her wine all over the carpet.

“I’m being serious. As mad as it sounds. You know me and him aren’t normal.”

“I like you being not normal though.”

“We’re from another time all together.”

“What?”

Danny leaned back on the sofa and looked at the ceiling. “We’re from 2012. Time travellers.”

“Get out of it,” said Lisa.

“It’s true. We got stranded here.” Danny turned to her. She was trying to understand him, but he knew she was having a hard time. “My other friend, Caroline, is stuck in 1902. She’s your ancestor. Your Great Grandma or something.”

“You’re serious, aren’t you?”

“Deadly serious. Anyway, she shouldn’t be there and the Doctor wants to pick her up before she blows up an orphanage.”

“Blows up an orphanage? This is getting a little bit confusing.”

“The point is, if the Doctor saves her, you’ll disappear from time. You’ll never have existed. None of your family will have.”

“Danny, how can you expect me to believe this?”

Danny looked hurt and turned away from his friend. He opened his mouth to say something, but he snapped it shut again, unsure of what he could say.

“This is all just…madness,” said Lisa. “Time travel is not possible.”

Danny looked at her. He felt like exploding with rage and showing Lisa exactly what he was, but he knew that was just the Apparite within him, conflicting with his emotions again, the both of them equal prisoners. He closed his eyes and let the anger and fury wash over him and disappear.

“Danny,” said Lisa again, putting her hands over his.

“It’s all real,” said Danny, sadly. “I wish it wasn’t. But it is. I don’t know what I can do to convince you.”

Lisa frowned as she looked at him. “Suppose I believe you then?”

Danny looked at her hopefully.

She held out a hand. “Ah-ah-ah. I’m not saying I do believe you, just that what if I did. What do you want to do about it?”

“I want to stop the Doctor,” he said. “I want to rescue you. Stop you from being erased. There has to be someway to let you and Caroline still exist and save those children at the same time. There must be.”

Lisa looked at Danny closely. He had tears in his eyes. Whether this was the truth or not, he believed that it was. And as strange as the Doctor might be, Danny certainly wasn’t some kind of lunatic. He was genuine. She knew that.

“I don’t want my life to be the result of innocent kids being killed,” she said.

Danny sighed. “I know, but I’m not willing to let him let you die.”

Lisa leaned in and kissed him on the cheek.

“What was that for?” asked Danny.

“I’ve met a few guys in my life. Some where nice and some were not too nice, but none of them have ever offered to stop time being rewritten for me.”

Danny stifled a laugh. “The Doctor hold’s all the cards. He’s determined and he’s not going to back down.”

“You should speak to him.”

“No,” said Danny quickly. “I don’t want to be anywhere near him at the minute. I know he’s only doing what he thinks is right…but I can’t accept that. I just can’t!”

“You need somewhere to stay,” said Lisa. “You both live there, at the White Hart.”

“I know,” said Danny, frustrated.

“Stay here,” said Lisa.

“I can’t stay-”

“Stay here,” she said again, her hand gripping his tightly and her big eyes looking right into his own. “Stay with me, time boy.”

And then they kissed.

And somewhere, deep inside Lisa, a strange, dormant power began to reignite. A power that her distant ancestors had…

Lost In Time: Chapter 8 (January)

January, 1902

The new year had come around and there was much celebration in the Fieldgate household as William and Caroline had announced to the family that they were now together. Caroline had finally left her job at the Black Swan and had gone back to work at the orphanage. As the new month had drawn on she had finally, in her head, come to terms with the fact that she would probably never see the Doctor and Danny again and all the answers to the questions about herself would never be discovered.

She wrote a note for the both of them in the vain hope that one day they’d find it. She didn’t know how, but she thought it’d bring them - and indeed her - some comfort and closure.




“Dear Doctor and Danny,




I hope you are both out there somewhere. I’ve been living in Thornsby for the last seven months. But it’s 1901 - actually, it’s 1902 now - and I’m happy. I want you to know that. I’m happy and I don’t have any regrets about what’s happened. I know that if you’re alive and out there then you’re probably trying to find a way to get back to me. Don’t. At first all I wanted was to get out of here. I made do with what I had in the hope that I’d see you both again, but things have changed. I’ve realised that I’m not going anywhere. This is my life now.

I’ve met a good man. His name is William Fieldgate. I guess it took me a while to really notice him, but he is caring and loving and I know I can be happy with him. I am happy with him. He knows who I am. He knows that I am - was - a time traveller and he knows about you two. We run an orphanage together by the old river. I think it’s a warehouse now - I mean in 2011 - or 2012. Bloody hell, Doctor, you don’t half get me confused with my dates.

Anyway. If you do ever get this and get a chance, I’d like you to go and tell my parents. Tell them that I love them. No matter what we’ve gone through, I never wanted us to fall out. I love them. And tell my friends, Kate and Sarah, that I’ll miss them.

Doctor, you have shown me so many wonders in this universe. You’ve shown me amazing planets and amazing people. Maybe I didn’t always look like I was having fun, but I was. I would love just one more day in that daft old TARDIS, but I wouldn’t give this up for anything now. Thank you. And I hope you and Matthew get your problems sorted out.

Danny, you and I were always destined to be apart. Our friendship was so tight that when something came along and changed it all, I think in my heart I knew that we’d start to drift. For the few months that we were together though, I loved you. I still love you. Maybe not in the way you may hope for, but I love you more than you could imagine. You were always there for me, even when I was being a bitch towards you. I hope you find out what’s wrong with you. I know that thing is still in there, deep inside. You need to get it out. Maybe if you’re in Thornsby one day you’ll look up my relatives. I’m sure William and I will have lots of kids and grand kids and great grand kids as well. They’ve gotta be out there somewhere. Tell them I love them. They won’t bloody understand that, but it’ll make me chuckle anyway.




Well, I’ve got to get back to work. This orphanage won’t run itself you know. Give my regards to the rest of the universe, guys.




All my love,

Caroline




P.S. Love you both xx




Caroline folded up the letter and then put it in a bottle. She intended to throw it out into the sea. Okay, so it wasn’t going to go into space - which would be ideal - but it was at least going to drift away and maybe one day it would be found.




Later in the day she joined William near the old Corn Exchange and sat with him on a bench, eating a sandwich.

“How are you? Did you write your letter?” asked William.

“I did,” said Caroline sadly. “And it’s made me feel much better.”

“Good,” said William, putting an arm around her. “I hope they get it one day.”

“Me too.”

Caroline looked up at the spire of the Corn Exchange building. A few patches of snow had yet to melt, but the day was warming up.

“That’s gone in my time.”

“What? The Corn Exchange? Never! A beautiful building like that?”

“Yep. It’s now a Wilkinson’s super store and a pub called the Parity. Knocked it clean down in the 1960’s.”

William tutted. “Unbelievable.”

“Ah well, at least I get to enjoy it now.”

William turned to look at her, his face serious. “Caroline, you told me there were horrors to come.”

Caroline shuffled uneasily on the bench. “I did.”

“Tell me.”

“I…I can’t William. I have too much knowledge of the future.”

William looked a little disappointed and turned to face the Corn Exchange again. “I understand.”

Caroline sat in silence for a few seconds, and then spoke. “In 1914 there will be a world war. So many people will die out on the battle fields. So many women will lose their husbands. Children will lose their fathers. Parents will lose their sons.”

The Corn Exchange, Old Market Place, Thornsby, 1902

William looked at her.

“And that’s not all. There is another war a few decades after that and other wars across the world. The planet heals, but war never goes away. Never.”

“Are you worried that you’ll lose me?”

“Don’t be daft,” laughed Caroline.

“If this world war comes in 1914, I’ll only be 45. Still young enough to fight.”

“I don’t want to think about it. Not now. Not yet. Let’s just enjoy this time together.”

“I don’t want you to lose a husband as well.”

Caroline turned to William, realising what he had just said.

He smiled at her.

She smiled back and leaned in to kiss him. No matter what was to come, this was what was most important. Right here and now.



January, 1988


In exactly the same spot, 86 years later, the Doctor and Danny were enjoying a sandwich. They sat on a bench, looking at the block of shops that had replaced the Corn Exchange in the 1960’s.

Danny wasn’t exactly sure what to say to the Doctor, every since Christmas day he had realised that the Doctor wasn’t going to budge from his aim to get back to Caroline and put the timeline right. And in that time Danny had grown closer to Lisa.

The Doctor had simply kept his distance from the two of them, instead working on various plans and equipment. But today the Doctor had come up with a new plan. A plan that involved them travelling down to the outskirts of London.

“Right,” said the Doctor, “are we ready then? The train will be here in five minutes.”

“Explain to me exactly why we have to go down to London again?”

“The outskirts of London,” corrected the Doctor.

“Okay, the outskirts of London. Why do we have to go again?”

“Because that’s where, in 1988, UNIT’s headquarters are situated.”

“UNIT being the secret government army thingy that fights aliens?”

“Yes. I worked as their scientific advisor in the 1970’s. My old lab should still be there along with my equipment in storage. My good friend Dr Bishop has what we need, but I’m afraid I’m a little impatient to fly all the way to Boston!”

“So are we going to break in?”

“No. We’re going to use my pass. UNIT will understand.”

Danny sighed. “Okay. And what equipment do we need?”

“It’s just a small item. It’s a stethagem circuit cluster. It’ll help try and draw the TARDIS down, if it’s out there.”

“And if it’s not out there?”

“Well, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. It’s like a fishing rod. If the TARDIS bites then all we have to do is reel it in.” The Doctor pulled out a device from his pocket. It looked like a large, thick key. “This is a Hexfall transmitter.”

“And what does it do?”

“It transmits holographic images through space and time. I’m hoping to get it working and transmit a message to Caroline in 1902 and tell her that we’re still trying to get to her.”

“Isn’t this hard for you?”

“Hard?”

“Knowing that we’re going to wipe a person out of history? Not just a person, but an entire family history?”

“Of course it’s hard for me,” said the Doctor, getting up and making his way towards the train station.

“Then why do it?”

“Because I have to.”

“You’re scared, aren’t you?” said Danny, trying to keep up.

“About what?”

“You can’t bare for one of us to be stranded because of something you did.”

“I beg your pardon?” said the Doctor, crossing the road near the Yarborough Hotel.

“This has happened to you before, hasn’t it? You’ve lost someone before because of what you’ve done.”

“Don’t be absurd!” laughed the Doctor. “I’m doing this because time has to be put right.”

“You’re telling me you’ve never tinkered before? You’ve never shifted things in time to make things better?”

“It’s not the same.”

“You told Caroline and me that there are fixed points in time. Things that must happen no matter what. But then there are things that can be changed.”

“That’s true,” he said, going through the revolving doors and stepping onto the platform.

“Then what exactly does Caroline staying in 1902 do to harm time on the wider scale?”

“Those children will die.”

Danny sighed. “Don’t think me callous here, but apart from that, what else?”

“Well…”

“Well?”

Thornsby Station, 1988

“Well nothing,” said the Doctor, as the woman on the speaker system announced that the train to Doncaster was coming in. They’d have to change and get another train on to London.

“Then why can’t we just pop back and save the children? That way Caroline will still get to live her life and Lisa will live.”

The Doctor shook his head. “No. Danny, Caroline is your friend. Your friend. Aren’t you bothered?”

“Of course I am!” laughed Danny, “but I’m more concerned about Caroline being happy and Lisa being able to carry on existing. Which leads me to think that the only reason you want to go back is because this has happened to you before.”

The train pulled up and the doors opened. The Doctor turned to face Danny. “Okay. Yes, this has happened to me before. Two friends of mine ended up having to live and die years in the past. And I wasn’t able to see them again. I’m selfish. Is that okay?”

Danny watched as the Doctor boarded the train. “I’m sorry.”

“It happened a long, long time ago. Are you coming?” growled the Doctor.




The trip to London was a long and quiet one, but a few hours later the Doctor and Danny were outside an old, Victorian house surrounded by trees and green fields.

The Doctor was greeted by a man in an army uniform and he was escorted inside. They were taken through corridors into an older part of the building when they reached a locked, blue door.

“Thank you,” said the Doctor to the soldier, and the man saluted and walked back up the corridor.

“Perks of being a scientific advisor, I suppose,” said Danny.

“Indeed,” said the Doctor. “A shame old Alistair isn’t here.”

“Who?”

The Doctor pulled out a key and unlocked the door, pushing the doors open. He flicked the light switch but the lights didn’t come on.

“They must have shut down the power to this area. UNIT’s not has homely as it used to be. They’ve started moving into the centre of London again.”

He pulled out a torch from his pocket and shone it around the room until it cast it’s beam on a cupboard underneath a window.

“In there.”

The Doctor and Danny crouched down and began rummaging in the cupboard until the Doctor shouted gleefully.

“Here it is!”

It was a small circuit board with little metal spikes on one side and a small cube on the top.

“Doctor?” said Danny as they shut the cupboard and made for the exit.

“Yes, Danny,” said the Doctor. The two hadn’t spoken much since their discussion back in Thornsby.

“There must be another reason for you wanting to go back to find Caroline.”

The Doctor sighed. “There isn’t.”

“But there must be. You‘re not a selfish person by nature.”

The Doctor stopped and then turned to look at Danny. “Okay. Maybe there is. Caroline has hidden powers. We all know that. Something deep down inside of her. I need to find out what that is. That’s the reason the orphanage burnt down. It may happen again.”

“But we know it doesn’t happen again. We know she lives on until she’s an old woman.”

“That’s not the point though. There’s something about Lisa. I can’t quite pinpoint it, but it seems that whatever Caroline has is passed down from generation to generation. It keeps going on and on.”

“So you’re worried that it could happen again? That Lisa could do something similar?”

“It’s very probable. Or any of Lisa’s descendants could do something like that. The point is we need to stop it before it happens.”

“But that means if we rescue Caroline, she can’t have any more kids.”

“Not until that power is out of her. Not until we can expel whatever’s inside of her. She can’t keep passing it on.”

Danny sighed and then had a thought. “Hang on. Before we met you Caz said she was pregnant and then the baby was gone. What was that about?”

The Doctor rubbed his chin. “I’ve been trying to work that one out for a long time. I’m still not sure. But we’ll get to the bottom of it. Come on!”

Lost In Time: Chapter 7 (December)

December, 1901


Caroline stood by Jim’s grave. It was a pathetic affair really. Just a white wooden cross, stuffed into the ground at an odd angle. His family hadn’t been able to afford much at all. Caroline had offered to put in some money, but they had out right refused her, telling her that they wanted nothing to do with her. They practically blamed her for his death. If he hadn’t been with her then he never would have done a “stupid thing” by trying to protect someone he barely knew.

And Caroline felt guilty as well. They were almost right about the situation. She stood there in silence, the snow falling down around her and a crow crowing nearby. It was her fault. If she hadn’t accepted Jim’s invite, he’d still be alive now. It was the same old story with her and men. She was bad luck. That’s all it could be. She was cursed and she destroyed anyone who even showed her an ounce of affection.

She looked up when she heard someone’s crunching footsteps in the snow. It was William. He had his scarf wrapped around him tightly and was holding his cap in his hands.

“William..” Caroline didn’t know what to say to him.

William stood beside her and looked down at the wooden cross. “I feel so guilty for those times that him and I argued.”

Caroline closed her eyes. “Don’t. You know what Jim is - was - like. He liked a good scrap. He enjoyed it.”

William managed half a smile. “He did at that.”

“I wish Danny was here now.”

“Your friend? You haven’t mentioned them for a while.”

“I guess I was becoming too settled into this life. I was enjoying it too much.”

“There is nothing wrong with enjoying life, Miss Parker,” said William. “Jim knew that.”

“It’s made me focus on my goal now, though.”

“Which is?”

“To get back to my friends.”

William sighed. “Why did you leave the orphanage? The children miss you terribly.”

Caroline began to walk away from the grave. She had left the orphanage a week after Jim’s funeral. She had felt as though she could no longer put her heart into it and had instead moved back to the Black Swan. She had even gone as far as to rent a room above the pub, no longer feeling that she could continue to live with the Fieldgate’s.

“I can’t do it anymore. I need to focus. I can’t focus if I’m busy caring for others.”

William sighed. “There’s always a place for you there. You know that, don’t you?”

Caroline turned to him and put her hand on his chest. “Thank you, but I won’t be back,” she said flatly.

She began to walk away from William.

William huffed and began to follow her. “Mother and father miss you too. They want you to come back to us. You don’t need to live above a pub.”

Caroline laughed. “The pub’s a fine place to live,” she said. “I feel closer to my friends there.”

William somehow felt he was struggling to keep up with her despite himself being physically fit. “I want you to come back to live at Bargate with us.”

Caroline turned around and looked at William. He looked a little sorry for himself, standing there with the snowflakes gathering on his dark hair.

“You want me to come back?”

“Yes,” said William determinedly. “I want you back with us. It’s not the same. I miss you. I miss hearing your laugh and I miss seeing you.” He threw his hat down in the snow. “God damn it, I miss every thing about you, Caroline!”

Caroline was a little taken aback and didn’t know what to say to his somehow comical dramatics.

William hastily picked up his hat and jammed the wet, cap onto his damp head. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry,” said Caroline.

Ainslie Street Cemetery, 1901

William stepped over to her. “I am truly sorry for what happened to Jim.”

Caroline smiled sadly. “None of that changes anything.”

She began to walk away again.

“Will you at least come for Christmas dinner?”




Caroline had reluctantly accepted the invitation for Christmas dinner. She had felt like a stranger again when she entered the Fieldgate’s house, but they had greeted her with the same warmth that she had always been accustomed to during her months living in 1901.

And that was another thing - she was about to head into 1902. She could hardly believe it. And she had been thinking about the Doctor and Danny a lot. So many thoughts. She thought that they must probably be dead now. That they had died aboard the TARDIS and she had been the only survivor.

She wasn’t a particularly religious person, but the previous night - on Christmas Eve - she had prayed for them to find safe passage to wherever they were going or for safety for wherever they were now.

And the Christmas meal had been decent enough. The food was, as always, fantastic and the company warm and loving. The sadness over Jim and her predicament was still there, but this was at least a lovely and warm distraction.

But now she was out in the garden in a big coat that the Fieldgate’s had bought her for Christmas. She stood with a glass of wine, looking up at the clouds above as the snow sprinkled down on her. In the distance she could see the large cooling towers by Ainslie Street cemetery in mid construction. And further than that she could see the dark silhouettes of the distant factory chimney’s still pumping out their smoke, even on Christmas day night. And she wondered about all of the aliens up there. Everything she had seen.

There came a cough from behind her.

“Sorry to disturb you, Caroline,” came William’s voice, “but Mother and Father have retired to bed. They wanted me to wish you a very Merry Christmas again.”

Caroline turned and smiled. “That’s very kind of them. I only wish I could have been a better guest tonight.”

“You were fantastic,” said William.

Caroline didn’t respond.

“Come with me,” said William.

He took her hand and guided her to a bench, sheltered under a tree. They both sat down.

“It’s so beautiful out here,” said Caroline, watching the snow fall down.

“It’s just our garden. And it’s damn cold, if you‘ll pardon my language,” smiled William.

Caroline looked up. “Where I come from the sky is polluted with all kinds of smoke and chemicals. This…This is perfect.”

“There’s plenty of factories pumping out rubbish into the air, Caroline.”

“Not compared to my time.”

“Your time?”

Caroline turned to look at William. She realised she’d said something she shouldn’t. In the time that she had been there she hadn’t once spoken about where exactly she came from. She would always remain vague on the subject.

“I meant..” She realised she had no answers this time. And she was fed up of being vague and deceptive.

William looked at her with confused, but hopeful eyes.

Caroline took a deep breath. “If I tell you something, will you promise to believe me? Completely and utterly believe me?”

“Of course,” said William, smiling and taking her hand.

“Are you sure?”

“I’ll believe you. I’ve known you long enough to trust you.”

Caroline looked down. This was it. This was the moment that either signalled her being classed as mad by this man or…or something.

“I’m not from this time. Not from your world.”

William looked even more confused.

“I’m from the year 2012.”

William looked like he wanted to laugh, but something made him stop and carry on listening.

“Before you found me I was travelling in time and space with my friends - the Doctor and Danny. There was an accident and I became stranded here.”

“Stranded?”

“I thought they’d have come back for me, but they must be dead.” She tried to fight back the tears, realising that she hadn’t spoken about this to.

William grabbed her other hand. “This is very hard to believe.”

“You have to believe me,” said Caroline, still trying to fight back the tears. “I’m all alone here. I know what’s going to happen for years after this. I know the horror that’s to come and the pain and the suffering.”

“Your time sounds like something out of a nightmare.”

Caroline smiled, a tear running down her cheek. “It’s not that. It’s what happens before my time that’s the nightmare. War and tragedy and horror…”

“It’s okay,” said William, soothingly.

“Do you believe me?” asked Caroline, tears flooding her eyes.

William smiled at her. “To be honest I always suspected that you weren’t exactly…normal.”

“Cheers!” laughed Caroline through the tears.

“You misunderstand me,” said William quickly. “You’re quite unlike anyone I have ever come across before. I find you…fascinating. Wonderful!”

Caroline blushed a little and smiled, sniffing away the tears.

“So, you’re a girl from another time?” He laughed. “That’s fantastic. That’s wonderful!” He gripped her hands tighter. “And I have no reason to disbelieve you.”

“God, you don’t know how good it feels to get that off my chest,” said Caroline, relaxing back onto the bench. “I feel like I’ve been walking around in a fog for the last six months.”

“I don’t claim to understand,” said William, “but I want to try.”

Caroline sat up again and looked at him. “I haven’t thought about the Doctor and Danny for a while. Well, not before Jim died anyway. I felt myself settling in here.”

“Is there no way that they could still be alive?”

“The TARDIS -” William looked confused as Caroline tried to explain, “ - the time machine that I travelled in was damaged. They put me in an escape pod - a lifeboat if you like - and I should have appeared back in my own time.”

“But instead you ended up here?”

“That’s right.” She got up off the bench and looked up at the snow, letting the flakes fall down on her face. “And I know I should feel sad that I’m stuck here…but I don’t know if I do.”

William got up and crossed over to her, taking her hands again. “There’s nothing wrong with that.”

“But they were my friends. Why don’t I feel as sad as I should?”

“Maybe because this was meant to be.” He smiled sadly at her. “And who knows, maybe they are still out there, looking for you.”

“Or maybe they think that I’m dead.”

He nodded sadly. “That’s true as well.”

“But I’m liking my life here,” said Caroline, now realising that she was grinning. “Or I was. Until Jim died.”

“It was a true tragedy,” said William, “but Jim would want you to carry on with your life.”

“It’s silly,” said Caroline, laughing to herself, “I never really knew him that well.”

“Tell me one thing, Caroline,” said William. “Is this house still around in your time?”

Caroline looked back at the Fieldgate’s house. It was still there in her time. A lot of the old town had been swept away and replaced by modern buildings, but this area of the town had remained more or less unchanged.

“It is,” she smiled. “In fact, I think it’s an old people’s home now.”

William laughed. “Don’t tell mother and father that.”

They both laughed. And then stopped. Caroline looked into William’s eyes and she realised her heart was beating faster. He was looking back at her, unsure of what to do.

“Kiss me,” said Caroline.

“I’m not sure-” stuttered William.

“Bloody well kiss me, you daft sod!”

William didn’t need asking again. He pulled her in tight, his arms around her waist and kissed her gently on the lips.

When he pulled away Caroline was smiling, tears still streaming from her eyes. “I guess I never realised what I really needed - what I wanted - until now. Until today.”

“Merry Christmas, Miss Parker.”

“Bloody kiss me again, Mr Fieldgate!”

And he did. And the snow continued to fall down around them.



December, 1987


Christmas Day and the White Hart was closed. It was due to open later on in the afternoon, but right now it was closed. At one end of the pub, underneath the large window in the ceiling, Harry Hall, the landlord, had passed out in his chair at the Christmas table. He had cooked the Doctor and Danny their Christmas dinner and Lisa had also been invited along after falling out with her parents the night before.

Harry had drank too much wine and was snoring like an old, car engine.

Danny was feeling extremely tipsy and the Doctor was enjoying watching the young man get more and more drunk.

“How many have you had, Doc?” asked Lisa.

“Quite a few,” said the Doctor, taking another sip of wine.

“Then why aren’t you bloody well drunk?” asked Danny, drunkenly.

The Doctor smiled. “I don’t get drunk. I’m what you would call a heavyweight.”

“Huh?” said Lisa and Danny in unison.

“Not a lightweight. My body rejects the alcohol.”

Lisa and Danny nodded, but both had frowns on their face. They were pretending to understand.

“So,” said Lisa, “you two don’t talk much about your pasts. Why not?”

The Doctor finished his glass and leaned back in his chair. “There’s not much to tell really.”

“Oh, come on!” said Lisa. “You’re always conducting some kind of weird scientific experiment. All that stuff up in your room.”

“He’s a scientist,” said Danny. “A bloody weird one as well.”

“I gathered he was some sort of scientist,” said Lisa, pouring herself another glass, “but that doesn’t explain you, Danny boy.”

Danny looked a little uncomfortable.

“Come on, spit it out,” said Lisa.

“I’m…I’m his assistant.”

Lisa and the Doctor burst out laughing. Harry lifted his head at the sound, looked around him and then fell back to sleep.

“What’s so funny?” frowned Danny.

“I never took you for an assistant,” smiled the Doctor.

“Well what the hell am I then?”

“You’re a friend. Someone who travels with me and learns and has experiences.”

“Oh,” said Danny. “Oh. Okay. So I’m not an assistant.”

“Are you sure you two aren’t a couple?” asked Lisa.

“No way!” said Danny quickly. “I’m definitely into women.”

“Oh,” said Lisa, raising her eyebrows. “And what women are they then?”

Danny looked at Lisa. Although she could be a little brash sometimes, he really liked her. She was fun and outgoing and had a great personality. But he surely couldn’t begin any kind of relationship with her. The plan was to save Caroline and that meant that she’d be erased from time. He couldn’t get too close to someone who was going to cease to exist.

“I’m sure Danny will let you know what women he is into one day,” said the Doctor.

“Well, Danny, make sure I’m top of the list.”

Danny didn’t know what to say and just nodded.

Lisa laughed and got up. She went over to the area near the back of the pub which contained a small area where DJ’s would play music. She switched on a hi-fi system and a small TV monitor in front of her.

“What are you doing?” asked the Doctor.

Lisa swayed on the spot. “We’re having a karaoke afternoon,” said Lisa. “Gotta get my practice in.”

“As long as you don’t sing ‘My Heart Will Go On’,” said Danny, hopefully.

“What’s that?” asked Lisa as ‘9-5 (Morning Train)’ fired up.

“Never mind,” said Danny as Lisa began warbling her way through the song.

Danny turned back to the Doctor who was tapping his finger on the table in time to the song.

“I’m a pretty good singer, you know.”

“Doctor, what are we going to do?”

“What? About what?”

“About Lisa.”

“What about Lisa?”

“We can’t just let her be erased from history.”

“Danny,” said the Doctor, leaning in to him, “she shouldn’t even be here in the first place.”

“Then how can we just sit here with her, knowing what’s going to happen? We should pack up and leave.”

“Never get involved,” said the Doctor.

Danny laughed. “That’s a bit rich coming from you.”

“I meant never get involved with people. Never fall in love with people you’ve only just met.”

“I haven’t fallen in love,” snapped Danny. “I just think it’s cruel. I like her. She’s a nice girl.”

“She’s also an anomaly. Like the rest of this timeline.”

Danny folded his arms and leaned back in the chair. “It’s not right.”

“If we want to rescue Caroline then the only way to do it is by erasing this time line.”

“But,” and he couldn’t quite believe he was going to say this, “Caroline’s happy back in the early 1900’s. You saw. She got married. She had children. She had a fantastic life.”

“She’s your friend, Danny,” said the Doctor.

“I know, I know,” said Danny. He knew the Doctor was right. Caroline being there was the Doctor’s fault and therefore those children dying at the orphanage was the Doctor’s fault. He just wanted to put it right.

Lisa finished her song and stumbled down the stairs and back to the table.

“Go on then, Doctor,” she said, sitting back down next to Danny. “Show us what you’re made of.”

“You’re kidding me,” said Danny, a little taken aback that the Doctor was about to get up and sing.

The Doctor got up, made a slight bow and then crossed over to the stage. A few seconds later ‘My Way’ had started up and the Doctor started singing.

“And now the end is near and so I face the final curtain..”

Danny and Lisa both looked at each other, shocked that such a fantastic voice could come from such a strange bloke.

“My friend, I’ll say it clear. I’ll state my case of which I’m certain. I’ve lived a life that’s full, I travelled each and every highway, and more, much more than this, I did it my way.

Regrets, I’ve had a few, but then again, too few to mention. I did what I had to do and saw it through without exemption. I planned each charted course, each careful step along the byway. And more, much more than this, I did it my way.

Yes there were times I’m sure you knew when I bit off more than I could chew, but through it all when there was doubt, I ate it up and spit it out. I faced it all and I stood tall and did it my way.

I’ve loved. I’ve laughed and cried. I’ve had my fill. My share of losing. And now as tears subside I find it all so amusing. To think I did all that, and may I say, not in a shy way, oh no, oh no, not me. I did it my way.

For what is a man, what has he got? If not himself then he has not to say the things he truly feels, and not the words of one who kneels. The record shows I took the blows and did it my way.”

And, as the last few seconds of the song rang out, Danny knew that there would be no swaying the Doctor. He was going to put this right, no matter the cost. And Danny wasn’t sure if he could let Lisa be lost in the process.

Lost In Time: Chapter 6 (November)

November, 1901


The orphanage had opened in late November and everyone had come to see the grand opening. The Fieldgates had arranged for a number of barges, filled with fireworks, to sail down the river in front of the building and then had also called on the town to have a fun fair in the Bull Ring near to the church to celebrate.

Caroline had barely had time to think about anything as she had helped William and his parents to register a number of orphans into the home, much to their delight. And all the time Caroline found herself thinking less and less of the Doctor and Danny. She was becoming settled with this life and she was wondering whether she would ever leave it. Even if she was offered the opportunity to leave, she wasn’t sure if she’d want to now.

Earlier in the month Caroline had informed the landlord of the Black Swan that she was going to be leaving, but that she’d work her two weeks notice. And the day of the funfair was also the day of her final shift at the pub.

That day all of the customers had come in to bid her farewell. She knew she had made one or two friends in her time working at the Swan, but she had no idea she was thought of so fondly.

“Good luck, love.”

“All the best, lady.”

“No serving drinks to those urchins.”

They were just some of the comments she received.

But it was one moment and one person that would alter her life forever.

In her time living in 1901 she had often thought about settling down. She had grown extremely fond of

William to the point of actually thinking that they could become something more, but she wanted him to make the first move. For her, he was sometimes a little too nervous and unsure of himself. It would have been so easy for her to ask him out, but she wanted him to do it. She wanted him to be sure of himself.

But on this day in November, it wasn’t William who came into the pub and asked her out.

“I beg your pardon?” asked Caroline, a little shocked.

“Would you like to come to the fair tonight?” asked Jim again, looking a little nervous.

“I-”

“I mean, you don’t ‘ave to,” said Jim, quickly.

For the first time Caroline had seen a nervous side to the young Docker. He had always blustered in with an air of confidence and coolness, but now he seemed very, very uneasy.

Caroline frowned and then smiled at him. “I was planning on going anyway.”

“Oh,” said Jim, looking a little disheartened, “that’s ok.”

“But you can take me if you like,” said Caroline, quickly.

Jim broke into a huge, wide grin. “Really?”

“Really,” said Caroline. She knew William would be going, but he hadn’t asked her. There was no harm in going with Jim. And it was William’s loss anyway. They were only friends after all.

Jim’s grin grew even wider. “I’ll meet you by the White Hart at six then,” he said.




Caroline had informed William of her intentions later that afternoon when he had come in for a pint. William had been noticeably upset by the news. He had tried to hide it, but Caroline had knew she had already hurt him. But what was she to do?

Jim would be waiting for her. William should have made his move sooner.

He had made his excuses and had mumbled something about cleaning the gutters at the orphanage and had left quickly from the Black Swan.




The night at the fair had gone well. All around were lights and sounds and music. There were even fireworks again.

The Fieldgate’s had brought the children out and Hazel had joined in too, but William was nowhere to be seen.

Caroline had strode arm in arm with Jim into the Bull Ring, a triangular space in the town centre, surrounded by lot’s of little old shops and small houses. Over the top of one of the rows of houses, the tower of St. James’ Church could be seen.

She wasn’t even thinking about life in 2012. This was life. Right here, right now.

She found herself looking around, between the big wheel and the merry-go-round, for William, as Jim handed her a toffee apple he had just bought.

But Will was nowhere to be seen. Why was she thinking of Will so much when she was supposed to be enjoying her time with Jim.

Now they were sat on a wall, by one of the small alleyway’s that slipped between two, high buildings.

Jim turned to Caroline and smiled. “Thank you for coming tonight.”

“Thank you for taking me,” smiled Caroline.

“I’ve wanted to ask you out for ages. I just never had the guts to do it.”

Caroline frowned. “You always swagger in so confident though.”

Jim took his cap off, smiled and looked at the ground, shaking his head. “It’s all an act really. I’ve never been one for being able to do anything serious. I’ve always just wandered into situations, never taking control. It’s the way I am.”

Caroline nodded. “I’ve never had much confidence when it comes to men.” She thought back to Danny. “Every relationship I had was more or less a failure. Then I met this guy called Steve and he swept me off my feet.”

“Oh,” said Jim, looking a little concerned.

Caroline smiled and put a comforting hand on his arm. “It’s alright. He’s gone. Long gone. He’s not even arrived yet.” She laughed to herself.

Jim laughed too. “You don’t half talk some funny stuff sometimes, Miss Parker.”

“I know I do,” said Caroline.

“And you ain’t half beautiful.”

Caroline felt herself blush. “I’m not really, you know.”

“Oh, you are,” said Jim. “I knew from the moment I walked into that pub. You’re an angel.”

“Stop it,” said Caroline, tapping him on his arm.

“You just need someone to tell it to you more often. Then maybe you’ll believe it.” He sighed. “If I was that William Fieldgate, I’d have taken my chance a long time ago.”

“You’re too kind.”

“It’s the truth though. Never doubt yourself, Miss Parker.”

There was a sound from behind them. A shuffling sound. Jim turned to look. Standing there, leaning against the wall, was a shadowy figure.

“Can I help you, mate?” asked Jim, getting up and crossing over to the entrance to the alleyway.

The man stepped out from the shadows. He was middle-aged with a beard and looked dirty. “You can give me the ladies jewellery.”

“I don’t have any jewellery,” said Caroline. She wasn’t lying either. She had arrived in 1901 with nothing but the cross her grandma had given her when she was a teenager.

“Then what’s that round your neck?” asked the man.

“What’s it to you, mate?” asked Jim, stepping closer towards the man.

The man’s hands moved like lightning and he pulled out a large, very sharp dagger from the inner pocket of his jacket. “Just give me the cross, sweetheart.”

Caroline’s hand went to the cross.

“Don’t even think about it,” said Jim, holding his hands up and trying to get a little closer.

“Jim, don’t,” said Caroline, worriedly.

“Get out me way,” said the man.

“You stay away from her,” said Jim. “That cross was given to her by her old grandma and you ain’t having it.”

But it was too late. The man lunged forward. Jim stepped out and then grasped his stomach. The man had stabbed him. Blood soaked through his white shirt. Confused and spooked at what he had done, the man ran back down the alleyway and disappeared into the night. Jim collapsed to the floor and rolled onto his back, his hands grasping at the wound in his stomach.

Caroline ran over to Jim and knelt down beside him, holding his head in her hands.

“Jim. Jim, don’t close your eyes,” she said, realising that the wound was severe.

By now a crowd was beginning to appear. Shocked onlookers wondered what they could do to help.

The whole world had shifted out of focus for Caroline.

“Jim, please. Don’t sleep. You need to stay awake.”

Jim, his face pale, reached a white hand up towards Caroline’s face and touched her on the cheek.

“Jim…” Caroline faltered.

“You’re something special,” he said, weakly. “Go and find that William. Go and make him proud.”

“Please…”

“You’re so beautiful…” said Jim Robertson as he took his last breath.



November, 1987


The Doctor was standing by the memorial for the orphanage. He had set up a strange device which consisted of an aerial and wires leading to a generator. He was busy checking readings on a control pad which he was holding and would keep flitting back to the aerial, adjusting it.

“You trying to pick up Channel Five?” asked Danny, hands in his pockets.

“Ah,” said the Doctor. “So you found me?”

“Lisa said you were here,” he said, sitting on one of the wooden benches that surrounded the monument.

“You didn’t say anything-”

“No,” said Danny, shaking his head. “I told you I wouldn’t say anything to her. Not until we know what we’re doing.”

The Doctor turned the aerial again and the there was a high-pitched whine from the control pad. “No.”

“No what?”

“No, I’m not trying to pick up Channel Five. It didn’t come out until the late 90’s.”

Danny nodded. “My mistake. Got me back for the ‘Family Fortunes’ one.”

“What I’m trying to do is find out exactly what started the fire in 1903.”

“And how will that help?”

“I don’t know,” said the Doctor, “but it’s worth a shot.”

Danny got up and wandered over to the aerial. He touched the end of it and the Doctor slapped his hand.

“What exactly does this thing do?”

The Doctor turned a dial at the base of the aerial and looked at the control pad intently. “It reaches back through time. I built it using the time frequency reader from the damaged escape pod.”

“Then why can’t we use it to go back?”

“Because that’s not what it does. It picks up any disturbances in time.”

“Well we already know there’s a disturbance. The changed timelines.”

“No, no, no,” said the Doctor, looking more and more frustrated with Danny. “It picks up time signatures. Time energy.”

The control pad started to beep. “And it’s picked something up.”

“I’m getting lost here, Doc.”

“I have a hunch that something happened to Caroline back in 1903. Something that caused the orphanage to burst into flames, but something which saved her.”

“Go on.”

The Doctor checked the readouts on the pad. “I’m picking up traces of energy. Time energy.”

“From what?”

“From Caroline.” He sat down on the bench and looked blankly at the aerial near the memorial. “You know we were doing scans on Caroline because I suspected there was something wrong with her?”

Danny nodded.

“Well I think that somehow she was loaded with time energy. And my hunch is that somehow she lost control one day and the time energy obliterated the orphanage, leaving Caroline safe.”

“That’s a hell of a deduction. Why do you think she’s full of time energy?”

The Doctor shook his head. “She’s full of something. There’s some deep, hidden power in there somewhere. We need to get her out of that time now.”




Danny and the Doctor returned to the White Hart and the Doctor retired to his room to continue on his plans.

Lisa was behind the bar and gave Danny a smile and a wink.

Danny smiled and went behind the bar.

“Where’ve you two been?” asked Lisa.

Danny poured himself a lemonade, grabbed a Marathon bar and looked closely at Lisa.

“Not answering then?” asked Lisa, frowning.

“Sorry,” said Danny, looking more and more curiously at her. “I’m just trying to see if you remind me of anyone.”

“And do I?”

“No,” said Danny, taking a sip of his lemonade.

“Oh,” said Lisa, a little disappointed. “Who would you like to be reminded of?”

“No one really,” said Danny. “It’s all a little bit…complicated.”

Lisa leaned it closer to him. “We’re having a karaoke competition tonight. Why don’t you enter?”

Danny laughed. “No chance!”

“Aww, what not?” she asked. “I bet you’re a brill singer.”

Danny shook his head. “No way. Not doing it. Not getting involved in anything in this time.”

Lisa looked confused. “You’re a bizarre one, aren’t you? Does that include me?”

“What?”

“Does that it include me? Don’t you want to get involved with me?”

Danny looked at Lisa, a little bewildered and a little nervous. He hadn’t even thought of it. Sure, over the last few months, he and Lisa had become more and more friendlier with each other. In fact he even now felt close to her, but thing’s were going to change. Once they found a way to go and get Caroline back, he’d leave and she’d be erased from time,

And now he thought about it he wasn’t sure if that’s what he wanted. He wanted to save Caroline, but he wasn’t sure if he was that comfortable with Lisa being erased from time.

He stood there for what seemed like an eternity, looking into her deep blue eyes.

“Do I want to get involved?” he said.

Lisa simply stared at him.

“I would love to,” he said, “but…I can’t.”

“You’re not into blokes, are you?” she asked.

“No,” said Danny, quickly, “but…I just can’t.”

And he grabbed his glass and quickly left the bar area.

Lisa looked sad and disappointed as she watched him go.




The Doctor hadn’t returned to his room after all. He had been stood beside the staircase, listening and watching Danny and Lisa. Danny was holding his emotions in, but he was sure that if he wasn’t careful that this situation might get out of hand very quickly.

Lost In Time: Chapter 5 (October)

October, 1901


Caroline, William, Hazel and Mr and Mrs Fieldgate were all gathered in the drawing room of their huge house. Caroline looked across to William. His black eye was only just starting to fade.

He looked at her and smiled weakly. “How’s Jim’s broken arm?”

“Not bad,” she said. “He’s still complaining about the sling though.”

William nodded. “Does he-?”

“Still come into the pub? Yes he does.”

“And does he-?”

“Still threaten to break your arm in return? Yes he does.”

“Ah,” said William, looking away and nodding glumly.

“But don’t worry,” grinned Caroline, “I’ll protect you.”

“I don’t need protecting,” said William, looking a little daft and uncomfortable. “I just want what’s best for you.”

“It’s very sweet,” said Caroline, patting his arm, “but I think I’m old enough to look after myself and make the right decisions.”

William smiled at her, but still looked concerned. He was about to speak again when his father cleared his throat and the room fell silent.

“Thank you all for coming today, especially you, Miss Parker.” He smiled at Caroline, his dark eyes twinkling. “You may wonder what this is all about. A little over four months ago you came into our lives, and in that time we have become very fond of you.”

Caroline blushed slightly. It was true that over the past few months she had been treat as nothing less than a family member. They were a kind family and they never questioned why she was here. She recalled an encounter with Agatha - Mrs Fieldgate - in the lounge a few months ago. Agatha had told her that she was able to tell a good person when she saw them and Caroline was certainly a good person. She knew she had her reasons for being there, but it was her business, and when she felt she was ready to tell somebody about it, then one of them - if not all of them - would be there for her.

This cheered Caroline. It made her feel warm and wanted and, scarily, she was beginning to feel as though she was settling into this lifestyle. The job at the pub, the luxurious lifestyle at the Fieldgate house. And then there was William. He was an incredibly sweet man, a few years older than her, but he made her feel like a real lady. Something she hadn’t felt for a long time. Coming from 2012 with all it’s modern ways of looking at things, it was very rare that she would feel like a ‘proper lady’. And she knew he clearly liked her. But she wasn’t ready to make any rash decisions yet. She hadn’t yet given up hope of the Doctor and Danny coming to find her and she didn’t want to break his heart if that ever happened.

And she also thought of what was to come - in 13 years would come the Great War and William, she felt sure, would be called up to the conflict. She couldn’t go through that sort of heartache. What was the point in starting something that would sure to end in disaster?

It was Mrs Fieldgate’s turn to clear her throat and she held up a piece of paper which had a sketch of a warehouse on the bank of the river.

“Is that West Dock Road?” asked William.

“It is indeed, William,” said the thin, grey-haired lady. “Your father and I purchased it this morning.”

“What for?” scoffed William. “It’s just a warehouse.”

“If you’ll kindly give your mother a moment, she may be able to tell you,” scolded his father.

Caroline felt a little sorry for William, who sunk into his chair looking uncomfortable.

“It has come to myself and Arthur’s attention of the problems surrounding this town. There are little children living on the streets without parents or a home to go to. In short they are dying. Their young lives are being cut short.”

Arthur leaned forward. “We got where we where today through being shrewd in business. But it doesn’t seem right to hoard all of this wealth whilst there are those in need.”

Agatha nodded, her head turned to her husband.

“So,” continued Arthur, “we have purchased this warehouse and intend to turn it into a riverside orphanage.”

“An orphanage?” piped up William again.

“That’s correct. And we would like you and Miss Parker here to run it.”

Caroline looked at the two older people sat across the drawing room from her. These two were the real deal. Rich, wealthy business people who wanted to put back into the community.

“But what about my job at the factory?”

“You can still continue with that, but I want two people I can trust to run this home. This town needs this orphanage. It’s children need it.”

Caroline simply continued to stare at the two of them. They made her smile. They made her belong here. And for just a moment she forgot all about the Doctor and Danny.



October, 1987


Not much had happened to further the Doctor’s plan of getting back to 1901 in the weeks that had gone by, and so Danny had taken to doing some investigating himself.

He hadn’t found out much about what had burnt Riverside Orphanage down, other than that the fire had started from somewhere deep inside the building. There had been no evidence of gas leaks or something being set alight. The building had simply burst into flames.

So Danny now found himself in the town hall, sifting through the records, hoping to find a little more information.

He had been led down there by a young woman with glasses and bushy hair. She had shown him the records room which consisted on rows and rows and rows (and rows!) of filing cabinets.

“What exactly are you looking for?” asked the woman.

“Sorry, what was your name?” asked Danny.

“Christie. How is that relevant?”

“I just like to be on first name terms,” smiled Danny, telling her the honest truth.

“And you are?”

“Danny. Danny Lennon. No relation to John.”

Danny grinned. Christie didn’t.

“So what are you looking for?” she asked, walking into the records room, her hands behind her back and her eyes flitting over all of the filing cabinets.

“I’m looking for information about Riverside Orphanage.”

Christie frowned, remembering something. “Did that used to be on Baxtergate - formally West Dock Road - where the monument is now?”

“That’s right,” said Danny, hopefully. “Do you know about it.”

Christie turned to face him. “Only what I’ve learnt from local history. That there was a fire there and the place burnt down, killing a few of the kids, bless their souls.”

“Is there any information on it in here? Who ran the place? Who worked there.”

“Oh, it’ll all be here,” said Christie, spinning around and surveying the room. “But it’ll take you a long time to go through it all and even then you might not find what you’re looking for.”

“I have to try though,” said Danny, distantly.

“You have to try? Why is it so important?”

Danny was about to say and then stopped himself. “You’d never believe me.”

And so Danny spent the next three hours searching through the files and sifting through information until he finally found what he was looking for. A file on Riverside Orphanage. Built into a disused warehouse in the early part of 1901, it was owned by Arthur and Agatha Fieldgate, who ran a very profitable family business.

The manager was their son, William Fieldgate, and…and his wife Caroline Fieldgate (nee Parker).

Danny grabbed the pieces of the document, shuffled them back into the file, tucked it into his jacket and then hastily made for the exit, bustling past the reception and a startled Christie on his way.




He eventually got back to the White Hart and ran upstairs to the Doctor’s room where he found him with the remains of the escape pod strewn all over the bed, the bed sheets black with oil and some kind of translucent, blue fluid dripping all over the place

“Ah, welcome back, Danny. How do you like it?”

Danny stood there, mouth partly open, ready to say something.

“I think I’m finally getting somewhere. If I can get the power cells of this thing working, I might just be able to transmit a message back to Caroline.”

“Doctor, I don’t know if we can go back to Caroline,” said Danny, worriedly.

“What do you mean?” The Doctor looked up from his collection of screwdrivers.

“I found out some more information,” he replied, pulling the file from under his jacket and handing it to the Doctor.

“I told you not to go searching. It could effect what we do.”

“Just read it,” snapped Danny.

The Doctor dropped what he was doing and quickly looked through the various documents. He sat there reading quietly for what seemed like an age. And then he simply sat there in silence.

“Doctor?” said Danny.

“Oh, Danny,” said the Doctor, an air of trepidation in his voice, “it seems Caroline has gotten herself involved in more ways than one.”

“I know,” said Danny, pointing to the file. “She went and got married!”

“Not just that,” said the Doctor, carefully putting the documents back into the file. “You didn’t read past the bit with her marrying, did you?”

“What do you mean?” frowned Danny.

“It seems that Caroline also had a child.”

“What?!” spluttered Danny, sitting down on the bed, unsure of whether to feel shocked, heartbroken, confused or all three.

“She had a child called Sarah. Sarah married and then had a son called Danny.”

Danny’s eyes were wide and he could have sworn he had made a very audible ‘gulp’ sound.

The Doctor spotted Danny’s fear. “Oh, no, no, no,” he said, waving his hand dismissively. You’re getting your dates and years messed up. This Danny was born in 1928.”

Danny felt himself sink into the bed, relieved.

The Doctor continued. “When Sarah married, her married name was Chapman. Their son was called Danny Chapman…who then went on to have a child of his own - Lisa Chapman.”

“Who?” asked Danny, his brain not working correctly.

“Think, Danny, think!”

“Lisa!” spluttered Danny.

“The very Lisa who is downstairs, right now, serving pints of Carling Black Label to men with mullets and ponytails.”

“So…”

“So,” said the Doctor, putting the file on the bedside cabinet, “if we don’t rescue Caroline, history will play out as we have discovered. There will be a fire, the children will die, and eventually Lisa will be born - Caroline’s Great Granddaughter.”

“And if we do go and rescue her…?” Danny already knew the answer.

“Then the timeline is put right, there is never a fire at the orphanage - but Lisa is never born. This version of 1987 will cease to exist.”

Lost In Time: Chapter 4 (September)

September, 1901


It had been a particularly boring afternoon at the Black Swan when the door burst open and a rabble of dockers came flooding in, followed by a skinny lad in a flat cap, braces and a grey jacket. This was Jim, and Caroline had seen him in here a few times before. He’d go away to sea for a while and then come back, always in a good mood and ready to entertain people.

An old couple were sat by the door and Jim pulled up a stool and sat next to them. “You two should get married,” he said in his chirpy, cockney accent.

“I beg your pardon?” said the old man. “We are married.”

“Yeah,” laughed Jim, “then how come you look like you’re ready to throw in the towel?”

“How dare you!” spluttered the old man as the entire pub burst out laughing,

Jim got up and sidled over to the bar, leaning on it.

“You’ve gotta be careful, Jim,” said Caroline, as she began pouring pints for all the other lads.

“And how’s my favourite princess today?”

“Princess? I don’t think so,” scoffed Caroline. “I work in a pub.”

“The finest pub in Thornsby though,” he grinned. “Even finer now you’re working here.”

Caroline smiled. She did like Jim. He made her smile. She liked Will as well, but Jim was just cheeky and appealed to her flirtatious side. A side she hadn’t made much use of since way back before she met Steve.

“You ought to come out with me one night. My treat,” he said, taking off his cap and trying to neaten his ruffled hair.

“You need a bath first,” said Caroline, noticing the smell of fish on him.

Jim smiled. “You get used to it, sweetheart,” he said. “Seriously though, we should go for a drink.”

“We can have a drink now,” said Caroline.

“Nah, it’s not the same,” said Jim, sitting himself down. “You work here. We should go to the Hart.”

“The Hart?”

“The White Hart down Bethlehem. They do a good ale and sell decent grub as well.”

Caroline smiled at him. She‘d frequented the White Hart with Danny a few times in their day. “Maybe one day.”

Jim shook his head. “It’d be my honour to take you for a drink.”

Caroline blushed. “Thank you, Jim, but I’m a little preoccupied.”

“Oh, with the toff?”

“He’s not a toff,” said Caroline. “It’s just an honest, decent man. He’s lovely.”

“And I’m not?”

“I didn’t say that,” said Caroline. “He’s just…nice. And I’m not after seeing anyone anyway. I’m waiting.”

“For your alien friends?” asked Jim.

“What?” said Caroline, feeling things around her go out of focus.

“That’s what they say about you, love. That you’re from another planet. That you’re the Girl From The Moon and you’re waiting for the Man in the Moon to come and rescue you.”

Caroline raised her eyebrows. “Really?”

“Really. You fell from the moon in a queer metal box.”

Caroline frowned, remembering the wreckage of the filing cabinet-cum-escape pod that had been left near the Central Market. She knew it had been damaged beyond repair, but she still didn’t like the idea of it being left out there.

The door to the Swan opened again and this time William walked in.

Jim turned to look at him and then turned back to Caroline. “Your boyfriends here.”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” said Caroline in a whispered voice.

“A pint of Big Flats, please, Caroline,” said William as he approached the bar.

Jim looked him up and down. “How’s it going, mate?”

“It’s going fine,” said William, looking a little nervous standing next to the docker.

“Hard day at work?”

“It was difficult, yes.”

“Hard time sitting there dealing with all those problems?”

William worked in the textile business and worked in an office. He was manager of one of the factories, and so his job was a little more upmarket than what Jim did.

“Yes,” said William, “we almost lost an entire batch order today.”

“Ooooh,” said Jim, joined by a chorus of ‘ooohs’ from his fellow dockers. “We almost lost a person. Waves are whipping up out there. He almost went in, didn’t you Norm?”

From down the bar, Norm nodded.

“I’m very sorry to hear that,” said William, taking a sip from his pint.

“It’s tough out there, I’m sure,” said Caroline, trying to turn this into a conversation, instead of a wind-up from Jim.

“You ought to come out with us one day, Wills,” said Jim. “Get to see a bit of the real world. The hard side of business.”

William turned and looked at him, yet still kept his smile. “Just because what I do isn’t dangerous, it doesn’t mean it’s not ‘the real world’.”

“It’s not every day you put your life on the line though, is it?” asked Jim, turning and facing William.

“Okay. Enough,” said Caroline. “The both of you do a hell of a lot for this town. That’s all that matters.”

William smiled, but Jim continued to look at him. He looked like he was about to “chin” him.

“You ever been out to sea before, Wills?” he asked.

Caroline rolled her eyes.

“I took a trip to France when I was a young boy,” he said.

“So, nowhere near death, then?”

“I think I’ll leave now,” said William, taking another sip of his pint and walking towards the door.

“She doesn’t deserve you,” said Jim.

“Hey!” snapped Caroline.

“I beg your pardon?” asked William, stopping, but with his back still to Jim, Caroline and the bar.

“She’ll never go with you. She’s waiting for the Man in the Moon.”

“Caroline is a lady,” said William, calmly, but with a hint of annoyance in his voice, still with his back turned. “She doesn’t just ‘go’ with anyone.”

“That’s enough, boys,” said Caroline, realising she wasn’t getting through to anyone.

“Yeah. Time to leave, Will,” said Jim.

William turned around, his face stern and his eyes fixed on Jim. “Now look here…”

“Calm down, mate,” said Jim. “You might break a finger nail.”

And that was that. Caroline can’t remember who threw the first punch, but neither of them won. They both ended up sitting at the bar with cuts and bruises nursing sore heads.

Caroline spent the rest of the afternoon tending to cuts and bruises and trying her very best to talk the local constabulary out of arresting the both of them.

As the sun began to set and Caroline had watched William get taken to the hospital to fix his broken arm, she had stood by the window looking out at the world passing by her. Despite the fact that she was lost, she was starting to feel somehow at home.



September, 1987


The last few weeks had gone well. Now that they knew exactly where Caroline was, said the Doctor, they would be able to pinpoint her and go and collect her. But all of this was academic anyway as they had no way to actually travel back and find her. The Doctor said that that was one of the problems he was still trying to overcome as he worked on his mysterious device back at the pub.

Danny was pleased that the summer was coming to an end. August had been a particularly hot month and he was pleased for the cooler weather that September had brought. He hadn’t spent much time venturing into the town centre for fear of bumping into his parents or his younger self. As fascinating as it would have been, he knew that the urge to tell them what was going to happen to Adrian would be too much. So he had restricted himself to the shops in the town centre and the pub.

Today, however, he had been getting one of his regular headaches caused by the Apparite inside him. Until now it had been pretty dormant. Probably because the TARDIS wasn’t around to amplify it’s affects. But now he just needed some fresh air.

He made his way past the Barge pub and along the main road. He was confused for a moment because in his day a bridge had been built over the river to gain access to the other side, effectively cutting off the Barge’s part of the water, but right now the road just continued around the Barge and down another street. This was completely crazy to him. It was like being in a weird, twisted version of your home town. He’d seen the changes in old pictures, but never remembered them himself. Maybe in a hazy, memory from far back in his mind. He wondered how Caroline was dealing with the even-greater changes back in 1901.

He laughed and turned the corner to where the old bus station was. And stopped dead. On the side of the river where there should have been a warehouse (formally a children’s home - later converted into a nightclub) there stood a large, garden-like space and a grey, stone monument. He immediately knew that this was impossible because the building that should have been there was still there in 2012. But this familiar building that he had always past in his life was no where to be seen. It had been erased from history.

He crossed the arching bridge over the river towards the monument. It looked a little dirty and it had suffered from the effects of acid rain over the years, but he could just make out what it said.




“TO ALL OF THE CHILDREN WHO LOST THEIR LIVES IN THE GREAT FIRE OF 1903. MAY THEY REST IN THE ARMS OF OUR FATHER FOREVER”




Daniel frowned. This wasn’t right. He knew that years ago this place was, at some point an orphanage, but it had never burnt down. And 1903...Caroline was stuck in 1901. Perhaps this was significant. Either way, he had to tell the Doctor.




Once he got back to the pub he found the Doctor on his hands and knees, hammering a nail into a blue, wooden pallet that had been put down at the back of the White Hart, near the Pool tables.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“Harry says he could do with a stage up here.” He said, pulling at the pallet and smiling at his handiwork. “He can’t afford to buy one, so I said I’d put one up.”

“Pallets?” said Danny, eyebrows raised.

“Yes. Pallets. Put a couple of them together and cover them with some form of wood or covering and then you’ve got yourself a mini stage.”

Danny nodded. “Proper little DIY man, aren’t you?”

“I dabble,” smiled the Doctor, putting his coat back on and crossing over to the bar.

“Doctor, there’s something I need to tell you,” said Danny, following him.

“Oh?”

“I was out walking around the back of the shopping centre, near the river and I saw this monument to some children killed in 1903.”

“Oh dear,” said the Doctor. “Such a sad thing.”

“Well, this is the thing. The building that was there is still there in 2012. Except it’s gone now. Burnt down.”

“So someone has messed with time,” said the Doctor, darkly. “I knew something was wrong when we arrived here. I could taste it in the air. I still can.”

“Could it have anything to do with Caroline? She’s in 1901. Two years before this fire.”

The Doctor sank on the stool. “It could well have something to do with her. We desperately need to get back to her. Her life could be in danger.”

“Then what do we do?”

“Nothing until we can locate the TARDIS.”

Lost In Time: Chapter 3 (August)

August, 1901


In the month that past, Caroline had finally gotten herself a job. She had decided that, although she was still waiting for the Doctor to rescue her, she might as well try and ‘fit in’ with the 1901 lifestyle. There was no point in her staying up in the Fieldgate’s spare bedroom for the rest of eternity.

And people would start talking.

So, she had started venturing out around the town, constantly being surprised at how things would change by 2012. It was the same town, but different. So much prettier and nicer with it’s quaint little houses, cobbled streets and large, spired buildings. And the churches as well. She’d never seen so many churches.

One morning she’d accompanied William and his parents to St. Daniel’s in Flottergate and noted, with some amusement, but mostly disgust, that in 2012 the site of the church was now a Greggs sandwich shop and was situated in an indoor shopping centre.

And William’s parents had been very understanding. She had lied to them to some extent. She couldn’t have told them the truth, despite the fact that she always wanted to tell William the truth. She had become known around the town as ‘the girl who had had an accident’ or ‘the girl from nowhere‘. No one knew what the accident was or where she had come from, but Caroline liked it that way. It meant that people were willing to help her and give her some leeway in the things she didn’t understand.

And now she was working as well. She had been offered a job at one of the factories owned by William’s father, but she had declined and had gotten herself a job at the Black Swan Inn on the corner of Flottergate (flattened with a Thomas Cook’s built on top by 2012). William had been concerned at her choice, but Caroline had told him she wanted to remain grounded.

One particular night she was working there, William had ventured inside. She had been surprised by his appearance as he hadn’t been the sort of person to visit pubs in the town centre, opting for the men’s clubs instead.

“Evening, sir,” said Caroline, wiping down the bar and giving him a little grin.

William sat on the stool opposite the bar and smiled. “Evening, miss.”

“What can I get for you, Will?” she asked.

“A pint of Big Flats ale please,” he smiled. “Let’s see your pulling power.”

Caroline chuckled to herself. “I’m a dab hand now. I did do a bit of bar work back in 2006, you know?”

“Eh?” William looked confused, as he unfolded his paper from his blazer pocket.

“I mean…1906.”

William looked even more confused.

“1896,” Caroline attempted for the third time.

“You’re a strange, lass, aren’t you?” he said, opening the paper.

Caroline tilted her head and popped the glass on the side. “That’s me,” she said with a smile. “Anything exciting in the paper?”

William frowned. “Not really. Some man think’s he’s invented a device that can suck up dirt from the floor. Powered by electric as well,” said William, raising his eyebrows.

“It’ll never catch on,” said Caroline, shaking her head and wrinkling her nose.

William took a sip from his pint and then put the paper down. He leaned on the bar and looked at Caroline. “Father is still miffed about you turning down his offer of a job.”

Caroline nodded as she arranged a few clean glasses behind the bar. “I know, but you know my reasoning. I like to be with the people. I like to keep my ear to the ground.”

“In case you hear of your friends coming back?”

“Exactly,” said Caroline. “It’s been two months now, but I’m not giving up. Not yet. Anything from the landlord at the Red Lion?”

“No, I’m afraid not,” said William, taking another sip. “Maybe one day you’ll tell me why you’re waiting for them and who they are. But I know not to pressure you.”

Caroline looked a little sad. “Maybe.” She trusted William. He was a kind and understanding man, but time machines and aliens would be too much for him. She didn’t want to blow his world apart, so for now she’d just have to continue to be vague.



August, 1987


Danny leaned on the bar and looked sleepily at Lisa. She looked back at him and smiled.

“You’re drunk, Danny boy,” she said, with a grin.

“I’m not drunk. I don’t get drunk. Always ready for action,” he said, slurring his words.

“You are definitely drunk,” said the Doctor, coming over to the two of them. “An orange juice, please.”

Lisa winked at Danny and then poured an orange juice for the Doctor.

“Still don’t fancy the karaoke, Doc?” asked Danny, nodding towards the man with the mullet who had just finished a particularly bad rendition of ‘Please Release Me’.

“Young man, if I want to sing, I’ll make sure I do it in style.”

“Get out of it,” laughed Danny. “You can’t sing!”

“I’ll have you know I did backing vocals on ‘Hey Jude’.”

“By the Beatles?” asked Lisa, her ears pricking up.

“No. ‘Hey Jude’ by the Backstreet Boys. Of course I mean The Beatles!”

“Who’s the Backstreet Boys?” asked Lisa.

“Then get up there and sing,” said Danny, ignoring Lisa’s question.

“I’ve got work to do,” said the Doctor, taking his glass and returning to a table in the far corner.

Danny sighed. In the time he had been here he had started to settle down. He didn’t want to give up hope of finding Caroline. He didn’t want to leave her lost in time, but he was starting to worry less and less. If they were trapped in 1987 then he should try and make the most of it. He considered heading over to his parents house and pre-warning his brother about his disappearance in sixteen years, but the time-bending ramifications of that were too difficult for him to get his head around. And he was sure the Doctor wouldn’t approve. So he had steered well clear and stuck to the town centre and the pub.

The other day he had ventured into the shopping precinct and marvelled at the differences. He was old enough to remember the old open-air precinct. In 1993 it had been converted into an all-indoor affair, but right now, in 1987, it was all open to the elements.

Danny blew out a stream of cool air from his mouth, causing his fringe to ruffled slightly. He had let his hair grow slightly and had started wearing more 1980’s-style clothes. Not because he liked the fashion or even the look, but because he actually needed more clothes.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when Lisa tapped on his shoulder.

“What?” asked Danny, drunkenly.

“I need you to pop down to the cellar and change the barrel.”

“I’m not working tonight,” said Danny.

“Tough,” said Lisa, with a smile. “Go change that barrel, boy.”

Danny groaned. “What’s it worth?”

“Maybe one on the house if you’re lucky,” she said.

“Okay, okay,” he said, making his way down into the cellar.

He had been down here before, but today Harry had been tidying a few things away and a number of cardboard boxes had been left out. He changed the barrel and was about to leave when something caught his eye. It was an old photograph in a frame, jutting out of one of the boxes.

He crossed over to it and took it out of the box. It was an old photograph of a pub. Not the White Hart, however. There were two people on it. A man on a stool and a woman, pulling a pint behind the bar. And the woman was familiar. In fact the woman was someone he knew very well.

The picture was dated August 1901, The Black Swan Inn.

The woman was Caroline.

Danny put a hand to his mouth in shock and surprise and then sprinted up the steps and into the bar area.

“Steady!” said Lisa as he skidded around the bar and made his way towards the Doctor’s table.

The Doctor was busy working on yet another circuit and Danny sat down in front of him.

“Don’t freak out,” said Danny.

“What?” asked the Doctor, slightly irritated.

“Just, don’t panic,” said Danny.

“You haven’t put my name down for karaoke have you?” asked the Doctor.

“No, no. It’s this.” Danny placed the picture on the table and the Doctor leaned in for a closer look. “Do you see who it is?”

The Doctor looked intently at the photograph and then back at Danny. It was definitely her. She’d styled her hair differently and it was piled high into a bun, but it was certainly Caroline. And then he broke out into a huge, huge grin.

“What’s there to smile about?”

“We know where she is, Danny. We know where she is. We can get her back!”