The Time Lord's Apprentice

In London #1

The first time Peyton noticed two men in black suits watching her was on the bus home after she jumped off the Tube, heading back to Wisteria Street after an interview with the British Museum for a position as an assistant in the, relatively new, Extra-terrestrial wing.

They remained on the bus when she got off one stop earlier than usual, smart enough to not show them where she lives. Rule one of being followed; act randomly.

The second time was on the Tube. Even behind their heavily tinted sunglasses, Peyton could feel their heavy gaze resting upon her.

They look human, but from her experience, that does not always hold true. She wishes the Doctor was here. He'd know what to do.

He dropped her outside number Ninety-Five Wisteria Street after two months had passed for the Londoners around them, But, for Peyton and the Doctor, it had been sixty-three years. The Doctor had reported that she had stopped aging after a year of being on the TARDIS together, just Peyton and the Doctor. Though it ended up being more sitting around and studying than fighting and running and monsters like she was used to. The Doctor had been careful, very careful with her.

That's not to say that trouble didn't find them, it often did. Peyton and the Doctor never failed to save the day when the time called for it, and every time the Doctor tried to convince her to return home. She never did of course.

He taught her how to fly the TARDIS, very nearly all by herself, she mastered her Silurian, Judoon, and most importantly, Gallifreyan. She even made herself known in the universe. The two were visiting a museum on Gluyen Rhys where they found it, the carving of the Doctor, in an image of him saving the planet, and beside him, a figure labelled 'the Apprentice'. Peyton had chuckled at that. The Doctor seemed worried.

The day came not long after that when the Doctor materialised the TARDIS outside her new door. The Doctor explained to her that there was something he had to do, alone. And Peyton immediately knew what was happening.

"You know, don't you," she had said, in the TARDIS' doorway, a backpack full of her things swung over her shoulder. He nodded.

"I'll be seeing you soon," he had replied.

"But I won't," she had whispered as she watched the TARDIS dematerialise.

The Ponds were ecstatic at her return, asking a million questions about their time together. Peyton smiled through it and acted as if she was unaware of where the Doctor said he was heading. They gawped when she told them her age, she thought that was funny.

The third time Peyton saw the suited figures was almost a relief. It was about a month after the last encounter it started with the sound of her doorbell. At first, she thinks it's Rory, back from his shift at the hospital. Sometimes he brings back treats from the bakery on his way home and will even get an extra one for her.

When she opens the door however, there's two men in suits, the same she's seen following her around London, flanking a woman wearing a navy blue pantsuit, her blonde hair cut into a stylish bob. Something about her face seems familiar, like an echo of a memory.

"Peyton Barrett?" She asks.

"What do you want?" Peyton holds the door firmly, ready to slam it in their faces.

"My name is Kate Stewart, head of Scientific Research at U.N.I.T., have you heard of us?" She holds up an ID card.

Peyton's breath hitches in her throat. U.N.I.T. It had been a while since she's even thought about them. This woman, Stewart, she remembers her because she led the team who took care of her as a child, but she doesn't recall any frequent meetings with her.