The Fall of Arcadia (Book ONE)

Chaper 32

Sera:

"Doctor, I am going to kill you for this! This is the third stripper cake we're in, and I swear to God if this is the wrong cake again!" I whispered harshly to my fiancé as we were being wheeled into the local pub. In a plastic cake, designed for strippers. I head a load of lads cheer and all yell out, and then we stood up.

Facing the wrong way, we turned and luckily, my future brother in law stood shaking in head at the man in a bow tie and the tiny ginger with a bow in her shorn hair. "Rory! That's a relief. I thought I'd burst out of the wrong cake, again." I glared at the Doctor. "That reminds me, there's a girl standing outside in a bikini. Could someone let her in and give her a jumper? Lucy? Lovely girl. Diabetic."

I'd told the Doctor to let me handle this, seeing as Rory would blame him for what was going on, but of course, the eternal 12 year old couldn't listen. "Now then, Rory. We need to talk about your fiancée. She tried to run off with us through the Universe and Time. Tell you what though, she's definitely got the legs for running, you're a lucky man." Someone dropped their beer glass, and it smashed noisily on the floor. "Funny how you can say something in your head and it sounds fine."

I shook my head. "All right boys, you know who I am, so you know to listen to me. This guy is my fiancé, John, not some competition for Amelia's affection. And I'm not dead, or missing, I was travelling the world with him." I told them all, trying hard to keep my now fake Scottish accent level with how I remembered it sounding. I really hoped that they believed me.

DW

I was rushing around under the console, the Doctor helping me solder parts into place as well as giving me little grins and hugs every few minutes while Amy and Rory were upstairs, awkwardly looking at each other. It was like before they were dating all over again. "Oh, the life out there, it dazzles. I mean, it blinds you to the things that are important. I've seen it devour relationships and plans. It's meant to do that. Because for one person to have seen all that, to taste the glory and then go back, it will tear you apart. So, I'm sending you somewhere, well, all of us."

Amy looked at me surprised. "Whoa. What, like a date?"

"A double date. Anywhere you want. Any time you want. One condition. It has to be amazing. The Moulin Rouge in 1890. The first Olympic Games. Think of it as a wedding present, because it's either this or tokens." The Doctor grinned, pulling me back up the stairs to the main room where Rory was looking around at the size. "It's a lot to take in, isn't it? Tiny box, huge room inside. What's that about? Let me explain."

"It's another dimension." Rory said drolly, making Amy and I laugh at him. That's my brother, he gets interested in something, he researched.

The Doctor was all too busy showing off about our box, and didn't hear. "It's basically another dimension." Then he replayed what Rory said in his head. "What?"

"After what happened with Prisoner Zero, I've been reading up on all the latest scientific theories. FTL travel, parallel universes, Seers and regeneration. Jack Harkness was a big help, on the last two." Wait, he used that card Jack gave him? And it went through? I must have done more than boost his phone signal when I borrowed it...

"I like the bit when someone says it's bigger on the inside. I always look forward to that." He glared at Rory, only looking away when I tied the bow back into my hair. I refused to wear a bow tie, but hair bows with how short my hair was were cute.

Amy came over to us now, linking arms with Rory and looking at him. "So, this date. I'm kind of done with running down corridors. What do you think, Rory?"

I got there first, pulling a lever on the console, making the room jolt and the Doctor beam as he realised I was doing the thing, ie, making the room shake like crazy. "How about somewhere romantic?" We got there and I ran out of the door, pulling my date with me. "Venice. Venezia. La Serenissima. Impossible city. Preposterous city. Founded by refugees running from Attila the Hun. It was just a collection of little wooden huts in the middle of the marsh, but became one of the most powerful cities in the world. Constantly being invaded, constantly flooding, constantly just beautiful. Ah, you got to love Venice. So many people did. Byron, Napoleon, Casanova." I cringed and checked the Doctors watch. "Ooo, that reminds me. 1580. That's all right. Casanova doesn't get born for a hundred and forty five years. Don't want to run into him. We owe him a chicken. "