After the pain of losing Jenny the Doctor discovered just how much it had hurt the Time Lady, she didn't reply to Rita. The only time she did actually reply was when the Doctor addressed her as the Stone. It deeply broke his hearts to see her this hurt as if she didn't feel herself to be called that name anymore. 'The Stone' originally started out as just a nickname everyone called her when she was a child. Most of the older children thought it was funny and teasing to call her something that meant something cold and rough, it was what she went all through the academy as even when she met the Doctor she was called that. Even by him. The Time Lord then found her one day, teary eyed and sniffing, lightly wiping her nose with her sleeve in the academy library the Doctor got concerned about her before she finally explained what was wrong. Determined to help his best friend he sat her down and forced it out of her. His eyes widened realising that the nickname was not what he first thought it was. "A Ruby is also a stone and they're beautiful." The Doctor slightly blushed and her cheeks burned up with his. "No matter what they call you that always is what I mean when I call you Stone, a beautiful ruby" The young Time Lord warmly smiled before it became a large grin on his face seeing his friend smiling at him again before he slightly froze feeling her arms wrap around his neck in a tight hug, the words: "Thank you Theta" being mumbled into his chest.
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The Stone hadn't left the TARDIS for almost a month after the death of Jenny, she refused to go on any sort of adventure with the Doctor and Donna, it certainly shocked the Time Lord. She didn't leave her room for a good week and a half until the Doctor had to try and drag her out himself. Even Donna couldn't get her out. Groaning and not agreeing to the Doctor's ideas she started to try and pull her self out of his grip and head back to her room. That was all until the Doctor pushed her up against a wall trapping the Time Lady and refusing to move until she agreed to try and go somewhere.
After the Doctor started to run round the TARDIS himself hitting buttons and pulling levers the Stone seemed to have become slightly better seeing that he clearly was getting better himself. "Doctor, are you going to tell us where we are going?" The Stone asked crossing her arms and leaning against the console. "Sweetheart, I'm not in the mood for surprises."
"I promise you, you will love this." He flashed her a grin then took her hand running towards the doors Donna following behind them.
They stepped outside to be just inside the grounds of a grand old manor house. The Doctor took a deep breath in grinning. "Oh, smell that air. Grass and lemonade." He paused for a moment in thought. "And a little bit of mint. A hint of mint." He nodded at the Stone. "Must be the 1920's."
"1926 I believe." The Stone hummed.
"You can tell what year it is just by smelling?" Donna looked between them not believing.
"Oh, yeah." The Doctor nodded.
"Took the Doctor longer to learn than it did for me" the Stone chuckled patting his arm. "Used to get the dates completely wrong in the academy, there was one time where he wouldn't stop sneezing because he breathed in a load of dust and wouldn't stop for almost 15 minutes." She laughed patting his arm seeing that he had turned a slight pinkish colour. "It was quiet amusing."
"May I remind you of that time when you screamed so loudly from the Master terrifying you so much that you refused to let go of my arm until he swore on Rassilon that he wouldn't do it again?." He smirked.
"Yeah well, it didn't help with the stories you had told me the day before" She grumbled. "Plus we were only kids back then!" She pinched the bridge of her nose her cheeks now turning a slight pinkish colour matching the Doctors.
"Or maybe you both just know because that big vintage car coming up the drive gave it away." Donna cut in as an open topped black car turned onto the gravel in front of the house. The car then stopped and two servants came out, a butler and a footman.
"Come on." The Doctor whispered to the girls leading the way to a shrubbery where they began to eavesdrop on the conversation.
"The Professor's baggage, Richard. Step lively." A man ordered a man.
They watched an older driver get out of the car and removed his goggles
"Good afternoon, Professor Peach."
"Hello, Greeves, old man."
Hearing a bell they noticed a man dressed as a vicar ride up the gravel on a bike. "Ah, Reverend." Professor Peach greeted.
"Professor Peach." The Reverend nodded. "Beautiful day. The Lord's in his heaven, all's right with the world."
"Reverend Golightly. Lady Eddison requests you make yourselves comfortable in your rooms. Cocktails will be served on the lawn from half past four."
"You go on up. I need check something in the library."
"Oh?" He raised a brow.
"Alone."
"It's supposed to be a party. All this work will be the death of you."
"Never mind Planet Zog. A party in the nineteen twenties, that's more like it." Donna raised a brow at the Time Lords.
"The trouble is," he hummed. "we haven't been invited." He then broke out in a grin holding up his psychic paper. "Oh, I forgot. Yes, we have."
"Okay, maybe you were right Doctor." The Stone rolled her eyes as he smirked at her. "Come on we can't exactly go dressed like this." She chuckled heading in the direction of the TARDIS.
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The Doctor quietly groaned leaning against the TARDIS waiting for both of the girls to finish getting ready. He never could understand how it took them both almost half an hour to just change, he expected it from Donna but the Stone? Never. Even after she had explained it to him multiple times on multiple occasions he never could understand.
"We'll be late for cocktails." He said through the door of the TARDIS knocking on it and shaking his head. Donna then walked out wearing a black beaded dress suitable for the time period. She raised a brow. "What do you think? Flapper or slapper?"
"Flapper." He nodded. "You look lovely." The Doctor then frowned not seeing his fiancée anywhere. "Where's the Stone?" He questioned before the TARDIS door opened again and she stepped out wearing a quiet chic and elegant party dress for the Time period with black sequins, the colour of the dress lightened the further down it went ending at the bottom with a soft white. The dress held lace at the bottom with beautiful floral details all over. She wore black slip on flats still not liking the idea of heels at all, with her hair slightly curled. She wore no lipstick and a small amount of mascara.
The Doctor swallowed hard resisting the urge to push her up against the TARDIS right then and there. Something both Time Lords knew Donna would not appreciate witnessing at all. She gave a slight twirl then raised a brow at the Doctor who just stood there staring. "Well...?" The Doctor continued to blink then shook his head.
"Sorry." He muttered. "You look beautiful." He softly smiled lightly kissing her lips for a moment then placed out his arm for her to link through his.
"Now I believe you said something about cocktails?" She raised a brow Donna nodded in agreement.
"So I did." He grinned starting to walk along.
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"Look sharp." An older Indian woman no doubt the house keeper ordered. "We have guests."
"Good afternoon." The Doctor gave a cheery smile.
"Drinks, sir? Madams?"
"Sidecar, please." Donna nodded.
The Doctor raised his brow at the Stone who shrugged. The Doctor slightly nodded knowing exactly what she meant by her shrug. "Two limes and soda," he nodded at the man "thank you."
"May I announce Lady Clemency Eddison." A man spoke up as an older woman walked in.
"Lady Eddison." The Doctor broke out into a smile as if he had known the woman all his life. The Stone bit her lip holding back a laugh at the look the woman gave him as he held out his hand for her to shake.
"Forgive me," she tried to think if she knew them at all, "but who exactly might you be, and what are you doing here?"
"I'm the Doctor." He then looked at the Stone. "This is Rita, my fiancée." He nodded at the Stone finding it would be easier just to say her name was Rita for now.
"You own a beautiful house." The Stone smiled slight trying to get the woman to warm up to them, something that was obviously working at the pleased look on the woman's face.
"This is our friend is miss Donna Noble... of the Chiswick Nobles."
"Good afternoon, my lady." Donna attempted to use a posh British accent. "Topping day, what?" The Time Lords began exchanging a look while the Stone attempted to continue looking serious and not burst out into laughter. "Spiffing. Top hole."
The Doctor shook his head whispering to Donna. "No, no, no, no, no. No, don't do that." The red head went to open her mouth to say something else which was then shot down by the Doctor once more. "Don't."
"We were thrilled to receive your invitation, my lady." The Doctor flashed his psychic paper at Lady Eddison. "We met at the Ambassador's reception."
"Doctor, Rita, how could I forget you both?" She sent them warm smiles as if she actually knew them. "But one must be sure with the Unicorn on the loose."
"A unicorn?" The Doctors eyes lit up as he looked around. "Brilliant. Where?"
"Sweetheart I don't think she meant an actual unicorn." She chuckled shaking her head slightly.
"The Unicorn." Lady Eddison said. "The jewel thief? Nobody knows who he is." She explained. "He's just struck again. Snatched Lady Babbington's pearls right from under her nose."
"Funny place to wear pearls," Donna commented taking her drink the footman held on a tray.
"May I announce Colonel Hugh Curbishley, the Honourable Roger Curbishley." The butler gained the groups attention. The younger man walked in pushing an older man presumably his father in a wheelchair.
"My husband, and my son." Lady Eddison smiled
"Forgive me for not rising." The older man said. "Never been the same ever since that flu epidemic back in eighteen."
"My word, you are a super lady." A younger man said to Donna who continued to use a posh accent.
"Oh, I like the cut of your jib." Donna faintly blushed. "Chin, chin."
"Hello. I'm the Doctor this is my fiancée Rita." The Doctor shook the man's hand as the Stone nodded sending a friendly smile.
"How do you do?" He shook the Doctors hand warmly.
"Very well." The Doctor smiled sending him a slight glare seeing the way he looked at the Stone before.
"Your usual, sir?" The butler asked.
"Ah. Thank you, Davenport." He nodded. "Just how I like it."
The Doctor, the Stone and Donna watched as Lady Eddison moved over chatting to her husband. "How come she's an Eddison, but her husband and son are Curbishleys?" Donna quietly asked the Time Lords.
"The Eddison title descends through her." The Doctor explained. "One day Roger will be a lord."
"Robina Redmond." The butler announced as a fashionable young woman walked across the grass to the group of people.
"She's the absolute hit of the social scene." Lady Eddison informed. "A must. Miss Redmond."
"Spiffing to meet you, at last, my lady. What super fun."
"Reverend Arnold Golightly." The older priest walked over smiling at them all.
"Ah, Reverend. How are you?" Roger asked. "I heard about the church last Thursday night. Those ruffians breaking in."
"You apprehended them, I hear." Huge the man in the wheelchair asked.
"As the Christian Fathers taught me, we must forgive them their trespasses. Quite literally." He nodded at them.
"Some of these young boys deserve a descent thrashing," Roger commented as the butler took his drink setting it on the tray. "Couldn't agree more, sir."
"Typical. All the decent men are on the other bus."
"Or Time Lords." The Doctor said sending the Time Lady a wink as she shook her head at him finding him to be amusing.
"You do try don't you Doctor?" She chuckled patting his arm "I would say you are far more than decent but your ego is big enough." She laughed at the pout on his face before he broke out into a grin.
"You basically just admitted it." He hummed kissing her cheek. She rolled her eyes and continued to listen to the conversation happening not so far away from her.
"Now, my lady. What about this special guest you promised us?" Roger asked Lady Eddison.
"Here she is." Lady Eddison looked up as a woman around her 30's walked over waving the group off as they clapped the Doctor, the Stone and Donna quietly watching. "A lady who needs no introduction."
"No, no, please, don't." She waved them off. "Thank you, Lady Eddison. Honestly, there's no need."
The Doctor shook the woman's hand. "Agatha Christie." She said the Doctors eyes widening and lighting up at the Stone's brows raised not showing as much excitement as the Doctor.
"What about her?" Donna asked.
"That's me."
"No." She looked at the woman shocked. "You're kidding."
"Agatha Christie." The Doctor hastily shook her hand grinning widely. "I was just talking about you the other day." He nodded over to the Stone. "I said, I bet she's brilliant. I'm the Doctor and this is Rita as well as our friend Donna." He then started to ramble on. "Oh, I love your stuff. What a mind. You fool me every time. Well... almost every time. Well... once or twice. Well... Well. But it was a good once."
"I'm sorry about him." The Stone interrupted sending the Doctor an amused look. "He rambles on sometimes if you nod he soon stops." She smirked the Doctor sent her a slightly playful glare.
"You make a rather unusual couple." Said Agatha.
"Oh, no, no, no, no." The Doctor shook his head assuming he was talking about the redhead. "We're not married." He glanced at Donna, the Stone trying to hold in her laugher.
"We're not a couple." Donna protested.
"Well, obviously not." She said then looked over at the Stone. "I was actually talking about the two of you." She glanced between the Time Lords. "I see you have an engagement ring." She glanced down at the Stones hand for a moment piercing together how close they both were with the ring on the Stones hand. The Doctor broke out into a smile glancing down at the ring himself seeing the white stone sparkle ever so slightly.
"Oh." He broadly smiled, "you don't miss a trick."
"I'd stay that way if I were you," Agatha commented quietly to the three. "The thrill is in the chase, never in the capture."
"Mrs Christie, I'm so glad you could come." Huge Curbishley spoke up. "I'm one of your greatest followers. I've read all six of your books." He then looked around a little. "Er, is, er, Mister Christie not joining us?"
"Is he needed?" She questioned. "Can't a woman make her own way in the world?"
"I knew I liked her for something." The Stone muttered to the Doctor grinning ever so slightly. If she hated one thing more than the bloody pepper pots it was someone under estimating her or someone else.
"Don't give my wife ideas." Huge jokingly warned her.
"Now Mrs Christie, I have a question," Roger asked. "Why a Belgian detective?"
"Excuse me, Colonel." The Doctor walked over to the man borrowing his newspaper, the Stone followed looking over the newspaper with him. The two frowned slightly seeing the date and briefly glance at one another before looking back at the newspaper while listening to the conversation going on around them.
"Belgians make such lovely buns," Agatha replied a moment later the group started to laugh, the Stone smiled slightly hearing Donna forcing a laugh with a hint of it being genuine.
"I say," Roger cut in after the laughter died down, "where on Earth's Professor Peach? He'd love to meet Mrs Christie."
"Said he was going to the library." The reverend informed them. The Doctor gestured for Donna to come over to the two Time Lords. The Doctor wanted to explain to her know ng fully well that the Tome Lasy already knew what the date meant.
"Miss Chandrakala, would you go and collect the Professor?" Lasy Eddison asked. The woman nodded before turning and leaving only speaking before she headed off. "At once, Milady."
"The date on this newspaper." The Doctor quietly said to Donna just loud enough for the human woman to hear over the conversations buzzing in front of the house.
"What about it?" Donna frowned looking at the Stone for help.
"It's the day Agatha Christie disappeared." The Stone said helping the red head understand.
"She'd just discovered her husband was having an affair. " the Doctor said watching Agatha happily chatting.
"You'd never think to look at her, smiling away."
"Well, she's British and moneyed. That's what they do." He said. "They carry on. Except for this one time. No one knows exactly what happened. She just vanished. Her car will be found tomorrow morning by the side of a lake. Ten days later, Agatha Christie turns up in a hotel in Harrogate. Said she'd lost her memory. She never spoke about the disappearance till the day she died, but whatever it was..."
"It's about to happen."
"Right here," the Stone started off.
"Right now." The Doctor finished.
"Professor!" Miss Chandrakala shouted running out of the house waving her arms about in horror causing the group to turn around to her. "The library! Murder! Murder!"
The Doctor and the Stone ran inside with Donna behind them, Agatha followed. They spotted the body on the floor. "Oh, my goodness." The reverend looked in horror.
"Bashed on the head. Blunt instrument." The Doctor said looking closely. "Watch broke as he fell. Time of death was quarter past four." He said lightly hitting the watch with the back of his finger.
The Doctor and the Stone moved to look over the paper on the desk. "A bit of pipe," Donna whispered to them. "Call me Hercules Poirot, but I reckon that's blunt enough."
The Doctor and the Stone look around and notice Agatha discreetly looking down and placing a small piece of paper in her bag. "Ooo, did you see that Doctor?" the Stone telepathically asked. "Our dear friend Mrs Christie just took some evidence." The Doctor slightly nodded in reply before turning round to the others.
"Nothing worth killing for in that lot. Dry as dust."
"Hold on." Donna frowned. "The Body In The Library? I mean, Professor Peach, in the library, with the lead piping?"
"It does remind me of that old board game..." the Stone trailed off in thought thinking back remembering to a late night in the UNIT HQ when they were stuck on Earth, the two Time Lords had became bored and managed to find the old board game, not realising it needed more than two players the two of them scanned over the rules and began.
"You've played Cludo?" Donna looked at the blonde raising a brow.
"The Doctor and I were extremely bored one time and we played it a couple of times, we both kept figuring it out in under half an hour at exactly the same time, I still believe someone was cheating." She glanced over to the Doctor who shook his head at her.
"You refused to play anything else." He protested.
"Well, we couldn't play trivial pursuit because that was just too easy." She scoffed before the other guests forced their way into the room.
"Let me see." Miss Eddison said forcing her way through.
"Out of my way." The butler said.
"Gerald?" Lady Eddison said in horror.
"Saints preserve us." The Reverend looking away gasping.
"Oh, how awful."
"Someone should call the police," Agatha suggested.
The Stones eys widened noticing something on the floor that was definitely not human. "Doctor!" She shouted telepathically to him making the Doctor slightly flinch. "It's not human, stop them!"
"You don't have to." The Doctor quickly cut in flashing his psychic paper at the group. "Chief Inspector Smith from Scotland Yard, known as the Doctor. Rita known, As the Stone and miss Noble" he nodded at the two of them. "They are the plucky young girls who help me out."
"I say." Lady Eddison nodded.
"Mrs Christie was right. Go into the sitting room. I will question each of you in turn."
"Come along. Do as the Doctor says." Agatha led the other out of the room. "Leave the room undisturbed."
"The plucky young girls who help me out?" Donna hissed at him as the Stone crouched to the ground the Doctor following.
"No policewomen in 1926." He said not looking up as he and the Time Lady looked at the floor.
"It was a brilliant cover up though." The Stone backed him up. "Thought of very quickly, well-done sweetheart." She kissed his cheek making him smile slightly as he brought out a pencil.
"Why don't we phone the real police?" Donna asked raising a brow watching them on the floor.
"The last thing we want right now is a police officer going around destroying the murder scene." The Stone explained while the Doctor scraped some gunge off of the floorboards. "We have the Doctor for that." She added making him playfully narrow his eyes at her.
"Especially now since the Stone found this." He added. "Morphic residue."
He stood up holding the pencil showing Donna. "Morphic?" She repeated. "Doesn't sound very 1926."
"It's left behind when certain species genetically re-encode." He explained.
"The murderer's an alien?" Donna asked.
"Which therefore means one of that lot is an alien in human form." The Stone said.
"Yeah, but think about it." The red head said. "There's a murder, a mystery, and Agatha Christie."
"So?" He raised a brow at her swiping the residue in a test tube. "Happens to me and the Stone all the time."
"No, but isn't that a bit weird?" She questioned. "Agatha Christie didn't walk around surrounded by murders. Not really. I mean, that's like meeting Charles Dickens and he's surrounded by ghosts at Christmas."
"Actually I think I you did tell me something like that happened to you before." The Stone looked at the Doctor who nodded.
"Something like that."
"Oh, come on!" The red head rolled her eyes at them both not having it at all. "It's not like we could drive across country and find Enid Blyton having tea with Noddy." She then thought about it for a moment as the Stone gave her an odd look. "Could we? Noddy's not real. Is he? Tell me there's no Noddy."
"There's no Noddy." The Doctor shook his head at her then took the Time Ladys hand walking out if the library.
"Next thing you know, you'll be telling me it's like Murder On The Orient Express, and they all did it," Donna muttered.
"Murder on the Orient Express?" Agatha spoke up from where she was standing out side the library.
"Ooo, yeah. One of your best." Donna said.
"But not yet." The Doctor muttered.
"Marvellous idea, though." Agatha thought aloud.
"Yeah. Tell you what." Donna said grinning. "Copyright Donna Noble, okay?"
"Anyway. Agatha, the Stone and I will question the suspects." He looked at the Time Lady who nodded. "Donna, you search the bedrooms. Look for clues." He then lowered his voice. "Any more residue. You'll need this." He handed her a large magnifying glass.
"Is that for real?" She looked at him like he was joking.
"Go on." He nodded at her. "You're ever so plucky." She took the magnifying glass and headed upstairs.
"Right then." The Doctor nodded. "Solving a murder mystery with Agatha Christie. Brilliant." He beamed.
"How like a man to have fun while there's disaster all around him." Agatha muttered.
"Not the first time someone said that to him." The Stone glanced at the Doctor. "But that's just him." She flashed a grin at him.
"You're no better." He protested.
"Ah, I don't show my excitement as easily as you do sweetheart." She patted his arm. He raised a brow at her. "Okay, sometimes I don't." He then smiled at her linking arms with the Time Lady again.
"I'll work with you, gladly," Agatha nodded at them both, "but for the sake of justice, not your own amusement."
"Yeah." He nodded.
"Don't worry, we can amuse each other." The Doctor grinned at the Time Ladys comment, they then followed Agatha into the sitting room.
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"Now then, Reverend. Where were you at a quarter past four?" The Doctor questioned leaning against he chair the Stone was sitting in holding a pen and paper waiting for anything she deemed interesting to be mentioned.
"Let me think." He thought for a moment. "Why yes, I remember. I was unpacking in my room."
"No alibi, then." The Doctor said.
"You were alone?" Agatha questioned.
"With the Lord, one is never truly alone, Doctor?" He replied.
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"And where were you?" The Doctor asked Roger.
"Let me think. I was. Oh, yes." He started to nod. "I was taking a constitutional in the fields behind the house. Just taking a stroll, that's all."
"Alone?"
"Oh, yes, all alone." He nodded. "Totally alone. Absolutely alone. Completely." The Doctor and the Stone glanced at each other not believing him for a second. "All of the time." He continued to nod. "I wandered lonely as the proverbial cloud. There was no one else with me. Not at all. Not ever."
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"And where were you?" The Doctor asked miss Redmond.
"At a quarter past four. Well, I went to the toilet when I arrived, and then er." She paused for a moment. "Oh, yes, I remember. I was preparing myself. Positively buzzing with excitement about the party and the super fun of meeting Lady Eddy."
"We've only got your word for it." The Doctor raised a brow at her.
"That's your problem, not mine."
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"And where were you, sir?"
"Quarter past four?" The Colonel repeated thinking. "Dear me, let me think." He then nodded slightly. "Ah, yes, I remember. I was in me study, reading through some military memoirs. Fascinating stuff. Took me back to my days in the army. Started reminiscing. Mafeking, you know." He started to trail off. "Terrible war."
"Colonel, snap out of it." The Doctor spoke up.
"I was in me study-"
"No, no, no." He cut the man off shaking her head. "Right out of it."
"Oh, sorry." He apologised. "Got a bit carried away there."
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"And where were you at a quarter past four, my lady?" The Doctor asked Lady Eddison.
"Now, let me see. Yes, I remember. I was sitting in the Blue Room, taking my afternoon tea." She replied. "It's a ritual of mine. I needed to gather strength for the duty of hostess. I then proceeded to the lawn where I met you, Doctor, and I said, who exactly might you be and what are you doing here? And you said, I am the Doctor. This is Rita, my fiancé."
"Yes, yes. You can stop now." The Doctor interrupted. "We were there for that bit."
"Of course." She nodded before starting to hiccup multiple times. "Excuse me." She apologised.
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The Doctor was pacing around the room, Rita watching him from the chair while Agatha paced around as well.
"No alibis for any of them." She stated. "The Secret Adversary remains hidden. We must look for a motive. Use ze little grey cells."
"Oh, yes, little grey cells." He nodded. "Good old Poirot. You know, the Stone and I have been to Belgium." He nodded over at her as he slumped down in the chair they had used to question everyone with earlier. "Yeah. I remember we were deep in the Ardennes, trying to find Charlemagne. He'd been kidnapped by an insane computer." The Doctor then started to explain about the small adventure they had been on the Stone adding every few moments, they both recalled making their way through a woodland area the Doctor holding a machete while the Stone had a bow in and quiver slung over her shoulder following him.
"Doctor?" Agatha said. "Doctor." He jumped slightly the Stone doing the same.
"Sorry." The Time Lords muttered.
"Charlemagne lived centuries ago."
"We have both got a very good memory."
"For such an experienced detective, you missed a big clue." She said to him.
"If you mean that bit of paper you took out of the fire thinking we didn't see you?" The Stone cut in smiling smugly walking over and leaning again the chair the Doctor was sitting in crossing her arms.
"You were looking the other way." She frowned at the Time Lady.
"Yeah, but we saw you reflected in the glass of the bookcase." Th Doctor added.
"You crafty pair." She looked between them. They both glanced at each other then back at Agatha slightly smirking. She then reached into her pocket and brought the paper out. "This is all that was left."
The Doctor quickly stood up moving over to the woman the Time Lords both looking over her shoulder at the small riped paper with one of the letters slightly dissolved. "What's that first letter?" The Doctor frowned. "N or M?"
"It's an M." Agatha confirmed. "The word is maiden."
"Maiden!" The Doctor shouted making both the girls slightly jump also earning a whacking on the back of his head by the Time Lady for making her jump like that. Sending an apologetic look he then turned back to Agatha. "What does that mean?"
"We're still no further forward." She said. "Our Nemesis remains at large. Unless Miss Noble's found something."
"There's only one way to find out." The Stone said taking the Doctors hand as he led them out of the sitting room heading in the direction to head upstairs where they had left the red head earlier on.
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"Doctor! Stone!" They heard the cries of the red head when they just reached the stairs, they sprinted up them as fast as they could trying to find what room the cry had come from.
"Doctor! Stone!" They heard again then saw Donna and ran over to her.
"It's a giant wasp." She gasped looking at them wide eyed.
"What do you mean, a giant wasp?" The Doctor frowned at her.
"I mean, a wasp that's giant." She hissed slightly shaking.
"It's only a silly little insect." Agatha frowned at her.
"When I say giant, I don't mean big, I mean flipping enormous!" She screamed.
"She's right." The Stone glanced down seeing the massive sting stuck in the door. The Doctor opened the door stepping in and looking around.
"It's gone." He moved over to the window. "Buzzed off."
"But that's fascinating" Agatha went to touch it the Stone pulled her away. "Best not to touch it." She warned. "We don't know what it is yet, do you have any more of those test tubes Doctor?" She asked as he crouched down beside her. He held one out as she scooped some of the gunk from the stinger in the test tube he held out using a pencil.
"Giant wasp." He muttered. "Well, tons of amorphous insectivorous lifeforms, but none in this galactic vector."
"I think I understood some of those words. Enough to know that you're completely potty."
"Lost its sting, though. That makes it defenceless." Donna said the Stone shook her head as the Doctor replied. "Oh, a creature this size? Got to be able to grow a new one."
"Would be regrown in a couple of hours to a day, we don't know the exact size so I would have no idea." She shrugged.
"Can we return to sanity?" Agatha looked between the Time Lords. "There are no such things as giant wasps."
"Exactly. So. The question is, what's it doing here?" He said.
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The four headed down the stairs after the Time Lords collected up all of what they needed. They suddenly stopped hearing a horrific scream. The Doctor grabbed the Time Ladys hand the both of them sprinting in the direction of the cry before running to the side of Miss Chandrakala who lay on the ground with a large stone laying on her, the woman looking weak and near death.
"The poor little child." She murmured as the two Time Lords got to her the Stone swallowing thickly as she remembered the events of only a few weeks ago.
The Doctor glanced at the Time Lady worryingly before hearing a faint buzzing and looking upwards before jumping up seeing what Donna had described before, a giant wasp hovered in the air with a new stinger what grew back much faster than the Time Lady had guessed. "There!" The Doctor shouted pointing to it with his free hand. The wasp realising it had been spotted flew back into the building. "Come on!" The Doctor shouted as he and the Time Lady ran back inside the house climbing the staircase to try and find it.
"Hey, this makes a change," Donna said breathing heavily, trying to keep up with the Doctor and the Stone. "There's a monster, and we're chasing it."
"It can't be a monster." Agatha shook her head. "It's a trick. They Do It With Mirrors."
They stopped at the corridor above the stairs the Doctor holding his hand out keeping it in front of the Time Lady keeping her behind him as he stepped forward slightly beaming away at the create. "By all that's holy." Agatha gasped.
"Oh, but you are wonderful." The Doctor's smile grew before falling again as the wasp crawled under the arch on the ceiling then started to hover in the air. "Now, just stop." The Doctor warned taking the Stones hand yet again. "Stop there." The wasp then lunged at them the Doctor diving pushing himself and the Stone again the wall as it scrapped it's stinger on the wall, Donna and Agatha moving in the same direction as the Doctor had.
"Oi, fly boy!" Donna shouting raising the magnifying glass. The wasp slowly backed away scared of the item before flying away.
"Don't let it get away!" The Doctor shouted running ahead to chase it the Stone just behind him. "Quick, before it reverts back to human form. Where are you?!" He shouted. "Come on. There's nowhere to run." He screamed looking between all of the guest doors. "Show yourself!" All at once the guest doors then opened each one of them having a look of confusion on their faces. the Stone groaned slightly as the Doctor did the same. "Oh, that's just cheating."
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The Doctor and the Stone headed back to the TARDIS to find out what the residue in the test tube was. Finding the whole thing slightly boring and starting to get a headache from the Time Lords repeatedly finishing each other's sentences something Donna always wondered how they both knew what the other one was going to say next. She then snuck out to find Agatha Christie.
"Hmm." The Doctor hummed holding up the test tube.
"What is it?" The Stone asked crossing her arms and leaning against the console.
"It's not finished yet." He shook his head at how impatient she could get at times, sometimes even worse than he could.
"What are you doing then?" She questioned raising a brow at the Time Lord staring at the substance in the test tube.
"Am I not allowed to look at it?" He asked.
"Of course you can look at it." She laughed shaking her head at him.
"I was actually thinking about you to be fair." She raised a brow her cheeks slightly turning a light pink colour as he continued to talk. "Are you okay?"
"Doctor I'm alright."She tried to give him a look telling him that she was completely fine but she knew that he could see right through the act when he raised a single brow at her. "Okay." She sighed. "I will be alright." She corrected herself. "I just..." She shrugged trailing off then bringing herself back to the conversation at hand not realising that she was slowly walking around the console now. "I just need to take my mind off it." She stood in front of the Doctor looking up at him.
He sighed placing a finger under her chin and gently tilting her head up further. "I know you will but I just wanted to make sure, I know what you can be like at times." He cheekily grinned at her and slowly leant forward to kiss her before jumping slightly and groaning as the monitor beeped signalling that the TARDIS had discovered what the substance was. Chuckling a little the Time Lady moved the monitor around then raised a brow. The Doctor placed his chin on her shoulder as they read the Gallifreyan symbols on the screen. "Vespiform." The Doctor muttered frowning slightly before it came to him and he shouted. "Of course!" The Time Lady jumped narrowing her eyes at him then hit his arm wishing that he would stop suddenly shouting without warning almost giving her a heart attack, she would much rather both her hearts were working and not having to be hit on the chest or back to get one of them to start again. Wincing slightly at the pain the Stone rolled her eyes at how much of a child he was acting at the moment with the look he was giving her.
"Come on." She rolled her eyes at him again the Doctor still looking at her pouting slightly. "We need to go find Donna." She laced her fingers with his and started heading for the door before he pulled her back. Slightly frowning she didn't understand before seeing the slight twinkle in his eye as he wrapped his arm around her waist pulling her closer to him and kissed her lips softly.
"We were interrupted before." He cheekily grinned after they separated, he then pulled her away towards the door picking up the test tube with the remaining Vespiform sting on the way.
"You are so cheeky, Doctor." The Stone muttered shaking her head.
"You secretly like it." He gave her another cheeky grin as her cheeks coloured a little while she shook her head.
"Come on." She muttered not confirming or denying his previous statement causing the Doctor's grin to grow even further as she exited the TARDIS.