The Doctor's Archaeologist

Prologue

Calla Lily Tyler was looking around the station, trying to find her younger sister's boyfriend. Mickey had told her that he would pick her up to help with the bags she was carrying. The twenty-year-old was just before her last semester at university. Of course, Calla had chosen not one but two of the most study-intensive courses that Oxford had. She didn't mind though. Opposed to the others, Calla actually enjoyed learning new and old things. Physics was her choice of degree along with a course in Archaeology and Ancient Cultures.

"Calla," a voice called out, making her head snap up.

She smiled widely and hugged the boy tightly "Hey, Mickey. How are you?"

"So and so," he shrugged, picking up the bag that was lying at my feet "Dear God. What did you put in there? Bricks?"

"Some of my course books. It might be Christmas but I still have to study," Calla pouted, running a hand through her hair.

Mickey huffed "Suddenly I'm glad that you're not living too far from here." He dodged the hit that was aimed at his arm "You look tired..." Calla just shrugged in return, walking next to him silently.

When they were close to the apartment complex the older of the Tyler girls glanced at Rose's boyfriend "Mickey... Have you heard from Rose?" She had never been too close to her little sister but that didn't mean that she didn't love her. Calla had tried to help Rose through several of the decisions she made. Starting from leaving school to trying to find a job. There hadn't been a lot she could do because it was about the time Calla started university and that changed everything. School work had been relatively easy for her... It's why she had been allowed to skip two grades, making her sixteen when she finished school. After that, it had become a bit more stressful but not unmanageable.

"Not since she went after the Doctor," Mickey sighed. And hadn't that been a shock for her? Finding out about aliens and hearing that her sister was traveling with one? That was just weird... Well, who was she to talk? She was a witch after all. A bad one but a witch nevertheless. Calla didn't even take her wand with her anymore. It's become annoying. While she could do the basics. Cleaning spells, simple dueling spells and the like, there wasn't a whole lot of information on her kind of magic in this world... The day she fell through the veil was one of the worst and one of the best at the same time. Calla never found Sirius but she gained a family with Jackie and Rose. That's something she never had before. A family. It had been a whole new concept for her... To have someone who really cared about what she was doing. Speaking of the Doctor though... Maybe he knew why Calla had two hearts. After she woke up in this universe she just... She noticed that for one, she was a few years younger than she had been. Just old enough to start secondary school again and two, she had two hearts. It was as if she just grew a second one during the time she was in the veil. It had been a huge change at first but now it was just normal for her.

"Calla," Jackie called out, running out of the door to hug her oldest daughter tightly.

Calla wrapped her arms around the older woman tightly "Hey, mom."

"I'm so glad that you're here. How is school?" she questioned, ushering her daughter and Mickey up the stairs impatiently "You have to tell me everything."

"I call you every week," the younger woman pointed out in amusement, dropping her bag inside the doorway "Thank you, Mickey. I appreciate your help."

Mickey waved her off "It's fine. I'll see you two tomorrow, right?"

"Of course," Jackie smiled, hugging her younger daughter's boyfriend quickly "Don't forget. Be there at five."

"Sure. Bye, Jackie, Calla..." He waved at the two Tyler women and walked out of the flat.

Calla sighed and fell onto the couch tiredly. Now that she was home, she suddenly felt exhausted. The last few weeks hadn't been too easy for her and especially with her exams coming up... She wasn't sure what was more nerve-wracking. Having to finish two thesis' inside a month or finally finishing university. Even though the term ended a few weeks ago, she still had several meetings with professors and counselors. Jackie lifted her daughter's legs and sat down next to her "Tired, love?"

"A bit, mom. I'm just glad to be home for a bit," she smiled, letting out a huge yawn "Would you mind if we talk later? I'm really tired..."

"Of course," Jackie nodded patting the twenty-year-old's stomach lightly "Do you want to eat something first? Or have a tea?"

Calla grinned at her mother's obsession with tea "No. I'm fine." She got up and pressed a kiss to Jackie's cheek "Night." With that, the girl walked into her room which was right between Rose's and Jackie's. She didn't even bother changing, instead opting to just snuggle into her soft warm bed before falling asleep not even a few minutes later.

The next day, the two Tyler's had just eaten and were chatting about Calla's upcoming graduation and what she would do after that when Jackie suddenly hushed her daughter "Shh." She tilted her head before jumping up "Rose."

"What?" Calla blinked, running after her mother when the older woman took off "Mom?"

"Mickey," Jackie called when she watched the boy run up to them.

He grinned "Jackie, it's the Tardis."

"I know, I know. I heard it. She's alive," Jackie exclaimed happily "I said so, didn't I? She's alive."

"Alive?" Calla frowned "What do you mean 'Alive'?"

Both of them whirled around to look at me "Well, you see..."

She raised her eyebrow "Would you have told me?"

"Just shut up a minute," Mickey snapped, looking around the courtyard. What he was looking for Calla didn't know but a part of her was excited to finally meet the Doctor she heard about. It wasn't a lot but enough to make her curious.

"Well?" Jackie spoke up a minute later "Where is it then?" Suddenly, a blue police box appeared out of thin air. It bounced off one block of flats, a second and a third before narrowly avoiding a post office van. The three of them ducked and watched as it came to a stop after crashing into a set of waste bins.

A man with messy brown hair opened the door, looking at three in front of him "Here we are then, London. Earth. The Solar System. We did it. Jackie. Mickey. Blimey!" He looked at Calla in confusion "Who are you?"

"Calla," she introduced herself, still a bit shocked about what she witnessed. This box was a bit of a mystery to her and she would love nothing more as to study it closer. After all, it went against almost everything she learned in university. Not that it made it any less real.

The Doctor blinked a few times before he shook his head "No, no, no, no, hold on. Wait... I've got something to say. There was something I had to tell you, something important." He gripped Mickey's shoulder "What was it? No, hold on, hold on. Shush. Oh, I know. Merry Christmas!" With those words, the man collapsed.