Halfway Out Of The Dark || The Doctor

Fear Her

Rose strode into the TARDIS' lounge to find the Doctor and the Artist snuggled up on the settee, their arms around each other, watching a sports event on the wide screen telly. "Wos' on?" Rose asked them.

"The 2266 anti-grav Olympics." the Doctor replied, "One of greatest sporting events in history."

"We were there." the Artist added, "We were caddies for the Great British long-jump champion."

"Talking of Olympics..." Rose said, "Mum said that we're hosting the 2012 Olympics in London. Could we go see it?"

"Don't see why not." the Doctor replied, getting up to go to the console room.

"London, 2012 it is, then." the Artist agreed, getting up to follow him.

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The TARDIS was soon landing in a car park in a residential area, near a railway line. The Doctor opened the door, only to find it blocked by a container. "Ah." he muttered, going back inside.

"And that's why I run environment checks." the Artist laughed, having seen where they'd landed on the monitor.

"I meant to do that." the Doctor mumbled awkwardly as he flipped a few switches. The TARDIS de-materialised again then re-materialised, this time with the doors facing away from the containers. "Ah!" the Doctor said cheerfully as he stepped out, Rose and the Artist following him.

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The trio were soon walking down a street with a London 2012 banner strung across two lampposts. "30th Olympiad." the Doctor announced, "Only seems like yesterday a few naked Greek blokes were tossing a discus about, wrestling with each other in the sand as the crowds stood around baying..."

"No, that was Club Med." the Artist joked and the trio all laughed at that.

"Just in time for the opening doo-dah, ceremony tonight." the Doctor continued cheerfully, "Thought you'd both like that. Last one they had in London was dynamite. Wembley, 1948. I loved it so much, I went back an' watched it all over again. You were with me that time." he added to the Artist.

"Oh yeah, I remember." she smiled, remembering that trip. It had been with the Doctor's last incarnation, about 20 years before they'd met Rose. "Remember that torch-bearer?" she asked the Doctor.

"Oh, yeah, lovely chap." the Doctor recalled, "What was his name... John? Mark? Legs like pipe-cleaners, but strong as a whippet."

Rose's attention meanwhile had been caught by something else. "Doctor?" she called, but the Doctor wasn't listening as he was too caught up in his memories.

"In those days, everyone had a tea party to go to." he continued.

"Artist?" Rose called, knowing she's be more likely to listen. Sure enough, the Time Lady heard Rose and came over.

"You ever had those cakes with crunchy ball-bearings on top?" the Doctor continued, in a world of his own.

"Doctor, stop rambling and look at this." the Artist called.

The Doctor turned to see the two women looking at posters on a lamppost. "Ya know those things..." he continued to yak as he walked over to join them, "Nobody else in this entire galaxy has ever bothered to make edible ball-bearings. Genius!" His smile dropped when he saw what the two women were looking at. They were missing posters, all asking for information on children that had gone missing from Dame Kelly Holmes Close, the very same cul-de-sac that the trio had just walked onto, and what was more, there was far too many missing children for it to be a coincidence. "What's taking 'em d'ya think?" the Doctor wandered, looking around the cul-de-sac, "Snatching children from a thoroughly ordinary street like this."