Yesterdays and Tomorrows (Please PM)

"Learn how to drive, they say. Ohho, if they only knew just how hard that can be when there's no such thing as bloody driver's test for a damned TIME MACHINE..." A little sigh was given as the young woman leaned across the control panel, peering at the various screens that wavered and flailed before her. "Erm. Right. See, now, this is another of those points where a better understanding of all this would have been a much greater lesson to have been taught than just 'hop in and hit things'... MOM..." A glare was shot over her shoulder as she reached up, pulling the goggles that rested atop her head down over her eyes. Where exactly the glare had been directed didn't seem that obvious a thing, the large chamber seeming more empty than occupied.

Sliding around the console, she gripped onto the counterside, pulling herself down and under before positioning underneath the unit. "Eeny... meeny... miney- Yah." Squinting up at it, she reached into her pocket, taking out the little tubelike device and prodding it up into the wiring. "And here we are..."

Or not.
A bright spark flew out of the unit as the little device gave a sharp buzzing sound, the young woman yelping and hastily tugging herself back out from under the console.

"Oh, that's just- that's just wonderful! Leave me a machine that doesn't even like me, Mom! That's just- Ohhhh don't you even DARE laugh at me...." The device was flailed into that particular direction that earned her anger, a sour look to her face. "Don't think I don't hear you! I think you're just jealous! That's what it is, isn't it? You and that friend of yours, always so jealous you were never a Ginger. 3 times, Mom. Three. Times."

With a sigh, she slid the device back into her pocket, glancing around the chamber once again and wrinkling her nose as she placed her thumbs into her pants. "Erm. Well. Doesn't look like much'll be working for me in here at the moment... May as well see what type of luck we can have out in the public eye, eh?" She paused, clicking her tongue on the roof of her mouth and making a face. "Ugh, that accent... It keeps trying to come through. Ohho, that's all you as well. Cursin' me, that's what it is..."

Starting for the door, she smirked as she cracked it open, peering out hesitantly from the large space into the street of what seemed to be an early 21st century street. "Good start there, then. Hopefully nothing trying to shoot me... or see my innards..."

She finally stepped out completely, turning back around to view her transport with a laugh. "Oh, that's just beautiful! There we are again. Something that friend of yours couldn't do. Broke his damn TARDIS... Never blended in right. Ha..." She laughed a bit more, resting her hand against it and beaming. "... I own a tree."

Peeking around again, she paused, realizing that the goggles were still resting on her face. "Oh. Ohh. Nope." Quickly sliding them back up to the top of her head, she smiled once more, taking a look around. "Now here's to hoping I don't stand out too terribly..." Stretching er arms up over her head, she continued to tug them from one side then the other as she walked along, crooning out happily as the smell of food hit her nose.

"Oh that's a good smell. Good smells are a good thing. That's why they're called good." Nodding affirmingly at this, she decided to do the animalistic approach and simply follow her nose.

Restaurant. "Diner". Quaint.



-------------
Appearance
Name: Romanadvoratrelundar Junior ("Romy" - Or, continuing in the lines of those before her... "Doctor", though she truly hates the reference)
Age: Currently, she goes with 28.
Race: Time Lady

Bio: The daughter of Romana, one of the Time Lord known as The Doctor's former companions. After parting ways from the Doctor, Romana took up a life of her own, giving birth to Romy during her travels. She had worried during her pregnancy if her child would retain the regeneration of those from Gallifrey, only to be made aware of it upon her daughter's birth- the child was stillborn... momentarily. The number of regenerations Romy can accomplish, however, is not known... and she certainly doesn't want to test it. She has already lost 2 previous lives; the first, when she was born, and the second, during her initial meeting with the TARDIS her mother left to her.

Currently, Romy is learning about the universe and its inhabitants in the same manner as her ancestors...
Go see it.
All of it.

She likes to tinker, and enjoys trying to modify the TARDIS as well as creating devices of her own. Her current favorites are her own version of a Sonic Screwdriver and her Chronoton Inhibitor (it makes time not... work... good.)

(lil bump)

Davie sat with his hands wrapped around the plain mug, letting the warmth seep into his hands. The cup rested close to his mouth, letting the smell of the coffee drown out all the other smells from the diner, as well as keeping his lips warm too.

"I damn well wish I knew why I'm so damned cold." He took a sip of the dark fluid, his face scrunching up as his tongue registered the taste. "What the? Did they use the muck from the bin out back this morning?"

The sound of the door opening had Davie's eyes flash to see who caused the door to open. He slumped back into the padding when he watched the blue overall wearing driver saunter out towards his rig. Davie started bopping his head a little to some imaginary tune while he contemplated taking another sip of the mug full of sludge.

"C'mon, Paul, me ol' mate. Fuckin get here before any of Andre's goons shows up for a feed. Damnit, I shoulda remembered not to have agreed to come here. Dickhead."

He put the coffee mug down, grabbing his backpack, and did a quick check of of what was in there. He found his lockpicks, a rough looking black box with a number of different plugs, switches, dials and LEDs on it, a couple of small books for taking notes in and some pencils and a rather battered netbook computer amongst the contents. "Good. Got the essentials. The rest I can nab elsewhere."

The door jangled again. Davie sat bolt upright, one hand gripping the backpack with white knuckles. He started to ease up again as he watched a young woman with goggles pushed up above her eyes walked into the diner as if she had never seen one before in her life.

"Geez, I wonder what her story is?"

A giddy little chuckle came from Romy's lips as she moved through the little walkway, taking a deep breath before letting it out with a sigh. "Oh, that's niiiice. Quite nice, yes.... Lovely scent. Oohhho, what's that there you've got, eh?" Stopping to peer at a plate presented before a young boy, she smiled and laughed again as he offered up a piece of his breakfast. "Well thank you, sweets. Kindness to everyone, gets you far. Not judging, a thing the older folk can learn, right... Ahhh. You nibble up, you enjoy. Bueno!" She patted the boy's head, smirking slightly at the mother that stared at her. "S'alright. Good kid, miss. Be a wonderful man when he grows. See it in his eyes."

The eyes have it. She'd learned that. You could see exactly the type of person you truly were dealing with, who they really were behind the big words, the angry things, the timid ways- all in the eyes. They wouldn't lie like the mouth could.

Romy made her way over to a booth, slipping into the seat, only to bounce on it a few times and continue to give light laughs. Oh, this was beautiful! So much better than her last stop. That- well. That wasn't so much fun. Thanks to The True Doctor, as she called him, there was a certain.... Expectation... When some species heard the TARDIS.
And some who just flat off didn't like it.
Those were the real "unfun" ones.

Romy beamed up at the waitress who came to her side, wriggling her fingers. "Hello there! Oh, yes, right. Ah.... One of those please." She pointed toward the stack of pancakes the boy had offered, nodding. "And- coffee? S'that-? Yes. One of those. Sugar as well please. Lots. One of those spout pour things. Two, actually, please. Thank you, thank you greatly...."

Sighing blissfully, she just sat there smiling as the lady wandered off with her order, glancing around. She halted as she noticed the man watching her, a brow raising slightly as her hands drifted up to rest behind her neck. "Well, hello to you too, bright eyes," she noted softly, curious on the look he was giving her.

But there was still the question of her transport's curious malfunction. What was that all about? She'd checked the usual troubles, and nothing had worked. In fact, it seemed to get worse. Was it her screwdriver? The thought was one to consider ad she reached down, pulling the little device from her pocket and inspecting it a moment. No visible faults... A testing wave at the napkin holder on her table, the vibrating hum sounding for a second before the holder fell apart. "Gah-!" She hastily dropped her tool and pulled the mess into a pile, trying to restuff them as the waitress approached. "Oh, hello... I- uh... Ha..."

The woman said nothing, just poured her coffee and dropped the sugar holders requested before wandering off again.

"Well then. Right. I'll just.... Fix this."
Her screwdriver had to be the issue, she deemed with a glare to the tool set beside her. It was supposed to FIX, not destroy...! With a sigh, she took a tiny true screwdriver from her large wrist adornment, pulling the napkin holder over and tinkering with it.

"Ahhhh... her story is she's high as a kite."

But he still observed her as she made her way through the place. The way she dealt with the little boy got him smiling. A little kindness going both ways, even under the hard gaze of the protective mother.

Davie couldn't help having a little chuckle as she bounced on the seat a little. She was enjoying herself, really enjoying herself. Davie found it a little infectious. Being stress out of one's mind for a few days made him start to laugh at the strangest things just to let off the pressure.

The door's jangle broke the levity a little, but it was a nobody coming through the door. But even a nobody could be one of Andre's men. He had so many goons Davie lost track of them all. He kept an eye on the new comer until he sat down and ordered some food.

Davie looked back at the woman, seeing the waitress wandering off. The woman looked right back at him, all relaxed with one little raising of an eyebrow. He almost felt like blushing under her look, like a school kid being caught looking at his crush.

He was about to pull his gaze away from her when she pulled something from a pocket. It was a gadget of some sort. She put it near the napkin holder and it fell apart! He placed the coffee mug on the table, watching the woman as she frantically tried to put the napkins back into the holder.

Davie replayed the scene in his mind. The gadget came out. She looked at it. Put it near the holder, not touching it. He wasn't sure, but the gadget might have lit up for a second, then the holder just... fell apart. How could that little thing cause the holder to fall apart without touching it. There was no laser.

His thoughts were broken when he saw her pull out a screwdriver from a large bangle around her wrist and was looking intently at the holder. Davie grabbed his bag without looking at it, or thinking about it, and walked over to sit in the booth opposite her.

"That is some cool shit you got there, luv. But a word of warning from the wise. The coffee today is more like mud than coffee. What...? I mean How...?" Davie smacked his forehead and looked down at the table. "Me mum would be getting right up me for doing this. Umm... do you mind if I sit here? Name's Davie. I'm blown away by what you've done." Davie started to go red, realizing exactly what he had just done. "Sorry. It was ratha bad of me to come over here uninvited. I'll... uh... I'll leave you in peace. Sorry, luv."

Davie grabbed his bag, and started to shuffle along the seat to leave the booth.

Lefty loosey, righty tighty.
Ugh, having to even remember how to use one of these damned things-! Romy gave a little huff at that, blowing her bangs from her eyes and trying to reassemble her slight mishap. No intent to blow things up, none at all. Experiments gone awry, one of Romy's best worst things to happen.

She had them far too frequently.
The man, ah... Mister Peeks, as she mentally dubbed him for the moment, was suddenly slipping into the opposite seating, a curious look on his face as he commented on the coffee. "S'alright," she replied brightly, smiling at him as she worked. "You never know what good can be in something until you see the bad. If the coffee's the place's ick... Well. Food can't be it!"

Romy let out a light cackle of a laugh as the pieces finally slid into place, starting to put her tool away as he hesitantly started to ask on something- only to deem it time to leave. "Now hold up there. You sat for a reason, you don't just go runnin' off like that," she scolded playfully, smiling still. "Davie, was it? I'm... Romy. We'll leave it at Romy. The name... Hoo. Long names are evil things, Davie." She paused, recalling certain monikers bestowed upon her. "Some nicknames too, I suppose. Not every ginger loves bein' called Red... Though I do prefer that one over others..."

She stared off for a brief moment, then clapped a hand down onto his arm. "Right! Where were we? You were- oh, the thing. My thing. The thing I did there? That's just, ah. Well. It's a thing."

Romy glanced at him curiously, studying his eyes a moment.
The eyes had it, indeed.

"Davie, do you watch the stars at night?," she asked softly.

Davie stopped himself when Romy, as he found out, verbally pinned him to the bench better than his mum ever did. He looked a little boyish in his embarrassment, but he slid back to where he had been sitting and trying not to look so uncomfortable. One hand still had a firm on his bag, while he brought his other to rest on the table.

He almost jumped out of the seat when her hand landed on his arm. She turned her head back to look at him. "Right! Where were we? You were- oh, the thing. My thing. The thing I did there? That's just, ah. Well. It's a thing."

"A... thing. OK, I got that."

Davie fought hard not to pull back when she looked him in the eye. Her gaze was intense, and got the backs of his hairs starting to stand a little. Between her gaze, and her hand, Davie felt trapped.

"Davie, do you watch the stars at night?"

"I used to, when I was a kid. Lying in bed, staring out the window. Always wondered what it was like out there. That's before I needed to get a quid or two to help out me mum, you know."

The door jangled again, and Davie went white. Two large men stuffed into cheap dark suits entered the eatery and made their to the booth where Davie and Romy were sitting. Without a word, the two sat down on either side of the table, blocking them in.

"H-hello, Bert. 'Arry."

The one closer to Davie flagged the waitress, quietly asking for a pot of tea for two. The other looked over at Davie. His blockish face was topped by a short crop of snow white hair. The two twisted lumps attached to the side of his head, as well as the unusually wide nose attested to many physical encounters in his past.

"Hello, Davie. Not interruptin' anyfing are we? Good. See, Andre is mighty pissed with you, Davie. Seein' he's missin' somefing rather special. He knows how you like special fings. Pickin' 'em up. Lookin' at 'em. Forgettin' to put 'em back."

"Look, Bert. I don't know what you're on about. I ain't got nothing of Andre's on me."

"So, youse already handed it over to the sheila then?"

"What?!? Her?? Nah. I was just talking to her about... gadgets."

"Riiiiiiight." The waitress came back with the pot of tea. 'Arry poured out two cups, adding milk and sugar to both before placing one in front of Bert. "Now, you've got to the time it takes for 'Arry and I to finish our cha to give it back. You do that, then you'll have twenty four hours to get out of the city. If not, then you'll be a very nasty mess which will help remind others not to be so dumb."

A star gazer. Even if it was simply as a child. She still saw it. A curious boy still lingered. But something seemed to frighten that boy, and even scare the man he had become. Romy nodded slowly, starting to slide her hand back to her own side of the table. Fear was a terrible thing.

"They are a beautiful sight, Davie. And they appreciate being watched. Sometimes they look back." She smiled, the expression staying as a second set of people slid into their booth.

Lots of new friends! Hooray!
... Davie didn't seem so happy. Oh, dear.

She just stayed quiet, smirking still as she sipped her coffee, choking a bit as she caught exactly what Davie had warned her of with the drink. Hoo. Yep. "'Scuse me, fella," she called out, reaching in front of the large man who had plunked beside her to grab the sugar. Simply holding the spout over her cup, she listened to the trio as her sugar poured, resting her cheek on her free fist.

This was not a good talk at all.
Davie seemed tense. Tenser than a few minutes ago. Was this the cause of his fear? These two? She frowned, setting the now-empty container aside and taking up her cup for a sip. Well, a bit better now. Closing her eyes, she took a breath, glancing over as one of Davie's not-friends made what she assumed was a reference to her.

Shiela? Oh, cute. Local flavor!
"Nothin' of yours to me, love," she dismissed with a shake of her head. The talk seemed to be making worse turns as they spoke, leaving Romy to give a heavy sigh into her cup.

"Oh, I do hate to hear threats... Come on, now, boys. Isn't there some way you can find your trinket or doohickey without such talk?" She smiled again, then glanced to Davie. "If he doesn't have it, no reason to bark like rabid dogs, right?" As she spoke, her fingers were toying again, playing with the little spokes and dials on her armband.

It always seemed rough to use it on people. But sometimes it was needed. If things weren't clearing up, then she'd simply clear them out. A little disorientation after the inhibitor's use, but people readjusted just fine after- simply a wondering on where the time went.

"Now, if you don't mind.... I do believe my breakfast is here."

Davie operated under the most strict of codes. Never admit to having anything that wasn't yours, even when confronted by the heavies intent on breaking things. He had in his possession a little memory card that was full of holiday snaps taken off a mobile, plus a little file with a list of names of people who were paying Andre money. People who were very well known to the public. People who, if found out paying someone like Andre came out, would make their lives complete shit forever. And rob Andre of a chunk of his income too. That little card was going to be worth a small fortune to him, enough to get him out of the city, maybe even out of the country, and living somewhere better.

Romy was as cool as a cucumber across the table from him. She thought they were not going to do anything to her, but he knew they thought she was going to buy the card from him, so they would rough her up too. He felt bad about that. Still, he always had the chance of breaking free, and bolting. They'd still have her, and that would buy him the time he needed. He felt guilty about that, and would for a small time after, but better just her than her and HIM.

'And what if I hand it back? They're going to work me over anyway. Andre would want nothing less. I'm fucked six ways to Sunday.'

"Now, if you don't mind.... I do believe my breakfast is here."

On queue, the waitress came over with a tray of food. The smell went straight up his nose and got his stomach growling softly and his mouth watering. Looking at death in the face, so to speak, tended to make Davie want that last meal before being executed.

He looked nervously at Romy, 'Arry and Bert as they casually went about eating and drinking. Davie had little to distract himself from the rapidly pending violence, and associated massive amounts of pain. Every time a cup went up to the lips of the two burly men, Davie's anxiety levels ratcheted up another notch. It didn't take long for him to have eyes full of tears, his bottom lip quivering, twitching constantly and in danger of pissing himself.

"So, Romy," his voice squeaked through his throat, "how's... how's the food this morning? Better than the coffee?"

Happily nibbling at her food, Romy barely seemed to glance at the trio around her, cutting off a portion of a flapjack in front of her and stuffing it into her mouth. Oh, wonderful, simply wonderful. Much, much better than the mess she had sipped earlier. Why, whatever that was seemed to be closer to an engine sludge than a concoction intended for consumption.
Wait a second here.
Now that was a thought.
Hmm.

Stabbing off another chunk, she smiled over at Davie as he inquired on her meal, noting the rather heavy perspiration coming off her newfound momentary companion. The term brought a faint chuckle to her throat, muffled just-so by the food fighting for room to go down while the sound went up. But there was nothing funny to the look in Davie's eyes. "Scrumptious, dear Davie-darling. Absolutely delectable. Certainly a consolation for the mess given to us earlier. Care for a bite, love?"

She leaned across slightly with the fork extended, giving a glance toward the door, then back to him.
"Oh, you know what? I do believe I have something of yours, Davie-dearest."
Drawing back, she set the fork on the edge of her plate, clearing her throat as she dug into her pocket with one hand. "Sorry for the elbow, Mister Mountain. Don't believe it'll be causing much harm though, right? Ha... Ah. Yes. Well." She grinned as she drew out a small little metal thing, that looked somewhat like a bluetooth earpiece. "Here we are then!" She slid it across the table, shrugging slightly. "Might want that back, darlin'. Never know when you might be needin' it." She winked at him, still smiling brightly.

A hint. As big a hint as she dared to give with the two burly boys that left Davie shaking like a boy facing his nightmares.
"Oh! Oh, 'scuse me!" Romy smiled again as a waitress came by, flashing the biggest grin she could muster before pointing to her cup. "Could you be doing me a ginormously huge favor? I would just love another cup of this. To go. Please. Just leave it on the counter, that would be absolutely wonderful."

The waitress simply gave a blank stare, then headed off to the next table.
"Nice one, that one." Romy smiled, then clapped her hands together. "Right then! Want to hear something interesting? Dolphins and those cute little squeaky clicky noises of theirs?" As she spoke, Romy was once again playing with her armband, tiny little ticks and clicks coming from it as she did so. "Adorable little things they are, right? They use sound as a weapon. Can even break another creature's bones with high intensity clicks. Imagine that, eh? Swimming along and suddenly- SKABOOM! No more spine. Snapped into tiny bitty bits all from a dolphin's giggle. Gives new meaning to the phrase Don't Make Me Laugh, now don't it?"

She glanced up at Davie, her face now solemn. "Call for you Davie. Best be answerin' it."
A brief moment, then her opposing palm slammed down onto the device on her arm, a barely audible but certainly noticeable shriek coming out of it that certainly didn't sound like any sound on Earth- which made complete sense, being the creation of a Time Lady. It wasn't a sound intended to cause the same destructiveness as the dolphins she had spoken of, but one to create an alteration of time. It was something that she'd understood more as her last self, compared to this self- Now it was simply "that thing that made time go funny". But a useful thing, that was for certain.

She peered over at the Mountain beside her, eyeing the cup that was slowly, minutely, being raised to his lips. "Hope that's not cold for ya once it gets there, Lumps." She chuckled with that, wriggling up from her spot in the booth and climbing up onto the table. Standing there a moment, she pulled a few blank papers from her pocket, dropping them onto the surface before hopping down. Going over to pick up her Styrofoam cup of coffee left on the counter, she turned back around, looking blankly at Davie. "AYE! You comin' or what? I'm not plannin' to bolt on you, like you were plannin' on me." She smirked, wagging a finger at him. "Don't be thinkin' I didn't catch that look, Davie-dear." She twirled her finger into the air now, indicating the halted people around them. "They'll be fine in a bit, but I certainly don't think you'll be wantin' to hang around for those two there to be gettin' back to normal..."

Davie wished he could have sat as comfortably as Romy was, eating as if nothing bad was closing every so rapidly.

"Scrumptious, dear Davie-darling. Absolutely delectable. Certainly a consolation for the mess given to us earlier. Care for a bite, love?"

He shook his head nervously. The thought of food was the furthest thing from his mind, and he didn't want to be chucking on the run either. He was running on pure adrenaline at that stage, with a healthy level of fear as well.

'Davie, me mate. If you're going to be plastered all over the wall, may as well enjoy the few little joys in life while you can. I don't think Romy will mind me staring at her. God, I can think of worse things to look at. Lots of things actually.'

He caught her leaning forward, glancing at the door, then back to him. To him, that was a clear signal to make a break for the door. But with 'Arry and Bert doing a good impersonation of the Alps around before Hannibal's days, she had to be meaning something else. Davie started to wrack his brains over what she meant by her little sideways flick of her eyes, but gave up soon after and resumed enjoying the sight opposite him so he could die a slightly pleased man.

"Oh, you know what? I do believe I have something of yours, Davie-dearest. Sorry for the elbow, Mister Mountain. Don't believe it'll be causing much harm though, right? Ha... Ah. Yes. Well. Here we are then! Might want that back, darlin'. Never know when you might be needin' it."

Davie watched in perplexed silence as Romy fished around in one of her pockets, and pulled out a cell phone earpiece. She slid it across the table to him, and he wasn't sure if he should grab it, or just leave it there. The wink was a warning, just like her glance at the door. He found himself tensing in readiness to jump the table and run. Something was coming, and he was going to be ready to grab the break in the traffic.

Davie's jaw almost dropped when Romy flagged down the waitress and asked her for a large cup of their coffee. He cast a furtive glance at the two heavies, who were just casually enjoying their tea, seemingly oblivious to goings on in the booth with them. He then listened as she broke off into a tale about killer dolphins, which did get the attention of Andre's thugs. Something was off about the entire scenario, but Davie's gut was telling him to be ready, because whatever was going to happen as looming.

"Call for you Davie. Best be answerin' it."

His hand made a slow move to the earpiece, his confusion proportional to the seriousness of her expression. But her hand slammed down on the bangle like thing on her wrist. He heard the soft, but distinctive shriek. He sat completely still, waiting to see what happened to her after 'Arry and Bert caught on.

Davie sat in awe as Romy managed to get herself out of her seat, walking across the table past the immobile pair of heavies, past the similarly unmoving patrons and grabbed her coffee from the counter. Even though his brain was screaming "RUN!", his body just didn't engage as the rest of his brain tried to work out if he finally snapped and went made.

"AYE! You comin' or what? I'm not plannin' to bolt on you, like you were plannin' on me. Don't be thinkin' I didn't catch that look, Davie-dear. They'll be fine in a bit, but I certainly don't think you'll be wantin' to hang around for those two there to be gettin' back to normal..."

He scrambled out of the seat, grabbing the earpiece as he went half sliding across the table. His mouth was open as he looked around the room. "How... I mean what... Did you plan... What do mean, boltin' on you? I wasn't gonna -" Davie actually blushed and looked at the floor. "Well, the thought did cross my mind, but if it meant not gettin' beaten to a bloody pulp... I'm sorry."

He took another look around the room. "So, how long before they come right again? I wanna know how much lead time I'm gonna get if I start runnin' now."

Davie made his way to the door, pushing it carefully trying not to make much noise. He slung his backpack over onto his back, and he turned to face Romy as she left the diner.

"Look, thanks for helping me out, but you've made the list of people Andre wants busted up. That's not a good thing. You need to lay low, and I mean really low, or get out of town quick. Which is what I am planning on doing. Sorry you got caught up in the mess.

"So what did that thing of yours do to all of them? And why weren't we hit by it?"

Romy seemed rather unfazed by his questions as he stumbled out of the booth, humming still as she wandered the diner and inspected the decor. A little laugh left her lips as she stopped to muss the hair of the little boy who had greeted her, glancing back at Davie with a smirk as he finally confessed what she had known. "Y'see? Truth. Don't worry none, Davie-darlin'. I won't hold it against ya. Just... don't be lying too much, alright? Kinda one of my... icky points."

Glancing back at the table as he pointed, she pursed her lips slightly, trying to think. "How long? Ahhh... Well. Could be another 2 hours. Could be 20 minutes. Can't quite get this thing to work exactly like I used to. 'Course, that wasn't actually ME me. Me then was so much better than me now when it comes to the doohickeys...."

She shook her head with that, a little sigh given as she followed him out the door. He still seemed rather lost on exactly what had taken place, something that left her chuckling. "Oh, his list. Now that sounds scary." She smiled again. "I've made another list. It's nice to feel wanted. Even if it is to be all mushed up. Better than someone wantin' to vaporize your innards, or steal your brain, or if you taste like chicken. What is the bloody fascination on chicken?! Nobody ever really cares if it tastes like PORK-!" She took a deep breath, trying to get off her wrong-path tangent.

"Leaving town. Sounds a plan. You're leaving too? Oh, ducky. I doubt we'll be seein' each other, but-" She paused as he inquired on what exactly had just happened, her smile growing into a grin of a cat that had just made a snack of the family bird. "Ohh, THAAAT? That was. Well... You ever try to stop time by not lettin' the clock run through? Just stick your finger in there and hold the arm?"

She shrugged, thumbing over her shoulder to the still unmoving people inside the diner. "Tadaa."

To explain without managing to explain, she reached down to pat her wrist, the large mechanism resting atop it. "Chronoton Inhibitor. It changes the passage of time in the immediate vicinity. A collection of variable sounds at high decibels that can cause the internal molecules to calm, bringing relative motion to a-" She paused, a twitch coming to her eye. She was even confusing herself. "Meet my time dolphin!," She blurted instead, turning to thrust the thing towards him with a giant grin. "My story? Back there? 'Member?" She pointed to his ear, then tapped the device. "That thingy I gave you. Catches the sound made from this thing. Cancels it out. I crammed one in my own noggin AGES ago when I kept settin' this damned thing off everytime I moved."


She sighed softly, swinging her foot out before her as she stepped down the sidewalk, suddenly turning around to face him as she continued to walk backwards. She was studying him, wondering if maybe....

HE had always said it made things better.
Made it easier.
But it also made things so, so much harder.

"Where is it you'll be headin' to, Davie-dearest?," She asked curiously, coming to stop before the large oak tree that seemed so out of place in the sidewalk. "Somewhere that your friends could find you again? Somewhere you'll get yourself into more trouble?" She quirked an eyebrow, resting her hand against the tree with a smile. "Or would you rather... see what it's like to be the star watchin' down?"

Davie let his body calm down as Romy explained things. Well, he thought she was. He held the ear piece like it was an anchor that would stop him from being swept away. He saw it all with his own eyes. Everyone came to a stop. he didn't know much about science, but that was not possible as far as he was concerned. But it must have been because he saw it.

"Or I'm going stark raving bonkers."

Romy stopped beside a large oak tree. Davie blinked a few times, because he never saw an oak tree on the street before, and this one looked like it had been there for a century at least.

"Yeah... sorry about the lying. Bad habit that I got to stop being beaten up all the time." He gave her a weak smile. He found her rambling on about other stuff to be fascinating and rather annoying at the same time. There was something in the extra words. Stories of some sort that could be very exciting to listen to, if she managed to stay on track long enough.

He realized she had said something to to him, as well as she had walked backwards looking at him hard, as if trying to peer inside him. Being looked at like that by someone like her made him blush a little. He had never been the type to catch the woman's eye in that manner, no matter how hard he tried. Having a woman look at him intensely made him a little self conscious.

"Umm... I'll be heading as far from here as I can. Got nothin' to hold me back. I'll be doing my best to get somewhere that 'Arry and Bert wont get to me, and Andre wont have any favours he can pull either."

"Or would you rather... see what it's like to be the star watchin' down?"

It was Davie's turn to give Romy the intense stare. She was a looker, no doubts. She was unusual, no doubts. She had some kick arse gadgets, no doubt. Most importantly, she didn't leave him hangin' like he had considered doing to her, even when she knew he had thought it. Davie couldn't remember the last time someone did something for him that didn't come with a big price tag and little options to say no.

Trust was something Davie rarely did, as he ended up getting fucked over too many times. But Romy. Romy was different in so many ways he couldn't even start to make the list. She helped him, and hadn't asked for anything in return. She spoke to him, showed him things that blew his mind. He wanted to know more, see more. But he needed to trust her to do that. And he'd have to start cutting back on the lying too. He had no one to help him, and Andre's reach was long. Andre would be after her too, and since she helped him, he wasn't going to just drop her and run.

"Sure." Nerves echoed through that one word, but he gathered his small reserve of scattered courage. "Why not. I ain't got nothing else planned, and since I'll pissing off out of town, it'll be nice to have someone to keep me company." He took a look around for her car. If it kept to the way she was, it would be some 60's mobile with more stuff than a Bond car. "So, where are your wheels? We'd better get moving before that chrono-thingie wears off."

She watched him curiously as he seemed to be debating her offer. What was it? The little angel and devil on his shoulders? The scale weighing options? Eeny meanie?

Her smile exploded to her lips with the single word response, Romy eagerly pulling away from the tree and hugging him tightly, even throwing a sudden kiss tightly placed on his lips into her little celebration before laughing. "Fabuloso! Ohhh, this is wonderful, wonderful! On the run from mister Andre and his pack of buddies- though really, I don't think too much concern should be kept on them, Davie-darling..." She patted his shoulder, then peeled herself away to step back towards the tree. "Now, just a wee bit of a warning. I do have a touch of a mess going, so any little wirey thingies or buzzy noises, just.... Tell it to shoosh." She smirked, still holding the coffeecup in one hand as the other fumbled against the tree's trunk. "Oh, where are ya.... Somewhere along the side over here and- AHA!"

Glancing around a moment, she gave him another smile, her fingers clinging into the bark. "You think I'm mad as hatter, don't you, Davie-darling? What's this say about me then, eh?"

With that, she tugged open the tree, swinging it open like a perfectly cut door. She started to wander further, only to pause and come to peer back out at him.

"Aren't you comin', lovey? Don't worry, no fuzzy creatures in here. Well. Not unless they snuck in while I was gone... And there is the atrium up in the top floor, suppose a few may've crawled into those, but... Come on, Davie. I promise you. Andre and his boys will be nothing but a memory. I'll show you things your dreams had dreams of." She held out her hand to him, smiling. "You just need to trust me. I need someone like you."

When he agreed, she squealed and squeezed him in a tight hug. Feeling that wonderful body of hers pressed tightly against him was great, and made all sorts of things happen. In the midst of that confusion, she kissed him. Davie was shocked. He wasn't sure why exactly she decided to kiss him, but by the time he registered what was happening, it had passed.

'Mate, next time, be a bit better prepared for a lip lock like that.'

She was gone from him in a moment, making him wonder if he had imagined her holding him. No, she had been. He knew it, because his imagination wasn't that crash hot. He took a deep breath to clear his head. He was hugged and kissed by a woman he had only just met.

'Gawd, you think she'd...? Nah, don't be daft, mate. A looker like her would do better than someone like me. I'd handle more of those hugs and kisses though. For a while at least. I hate being a virgin.'

"You think I'm mad as hatter, don't you, Davie-darling? What's this say about me then, eh?"

Davie wasn't sure how to take that. What he had seen so far bent his mind like a pretzel, but he doubted that she could top any of that. Until he saw her open what could only be a door in the trunk of the tree. Now... now he was impressed. How they managed to pay of 'Arry and Bert to go along with the prank was really impressive. Davie started looking around for the hidden camera. They normally hid them in vans, or in the front room of buildings. But there were no vans, nothing big enough to hide a camera. Also, none of the houses seemed to be where the cameras were hiding either.

He turned back to see her holding out her hand, that smile of hers gracing her face.

"You just need to trust me. I need someone like you."

"Uh huh." Davie took a step closer to the door, looking around one last time for the presenter to rush out and tell him where the camera was. He took the final step through the door. "Look, I'm impressed at HOLY FUCKING CHRIST!!"

Davie scrambled out backward as fast as his feet could take him. The inside of the tree looked like a mad scientist went berserk with a chainsaw. That, and the place was way, WAY to big to fit inside that tree. Without thinking about it, he ran around the outside of the tree, touching the trunk the entire way. He poked his head through the door, not believing what he was seeing. The cavernous room was mostly empty, except for the jungle vine like cables and wires, lights spread about the room, metallic walkways that seemed to meet near a pedestal that came right out of the mind of Jules Verne.

Davie swallowed hard a few times, taking a tentative step inside. "Trust you. You need someone like me? How the fuck would you need someone like me when you've got something like THIS?!?"

He ceased four steps in, dumbly looking around. "Romy?" His voice was weak, almost lifeless as his head continued to turn slowly. "Wha-what is this?"

"Three... Two-"

-HOLY FUCKING CHRIST!!"

"Oh, that was quicker. Much quicker than last. And eloquently phrased, too." Romy gave a stifled little giggle, watching as he darted from in to out, to all around, his motions still loudly heard as he explored the vehicle in awed disbelief. "Ohhhh, give yourself credit, Davie-dear! You're quite the spectacularity yourself! Why, I just have myself an ordinary ol' tree here, don't I?" She smirked, spreading her hands, the cup still clasped in one. "What, haven't you ever peeked in a knothole, Davie-darling? No wonder the squirrels and little woodland livers love them so, ey? Lovely comfort to 'em, and brilliant with the living space-!"

Her fun finally came to an end, stepping to the awed and somewhat frightened-looking man before her. Now, she wouldn't call it pure fear; certainly not, a manly man feared nothing. Even if he had looked moments from spilling his tea upon the seats at the diner. Certainly not fear there either.... Though she still needed to find a word that fit the proper description...

"Davie."

Her first true time without the playful addition, her hand reaching out to touch his.

"This is something quite special. Now, I'm certain believing this may be a rather big pill, but... This is my transport. My ticket to anywhere, anytime; the pass to places you only thought existed in dreams. That star that looks back? That... Is me, Davie. Me, and the few others who still find a way to travel it all. We're not even supposed to exist. I'm an endangered species, really... As is this craft. Time and relative dimensions in space... The transport along it all. Davie, meet my Tardis." She smiled, gesturing out to the surroundings proudly-

Only to remember its current rather defunct state. "Oh, well, THAT kills the whole presentation awefactor, now don't it?," she groaned, dropping her arm back down. "She can be a beaut, Davie-darling, she truly can! It's just... She's a wee bit under the weather right now. But I do believe a cure is at hand! In hand. My hand! Here we are then-!"

Scuttling around the control panel, she tore off the plastic lid, opening a tube along one of the angles of the control nodes, peering into it a moment before dumping the black coffee down the shute. "Perk ya right up with a pow, big gal! And give more goop to your go-bits." She chuckled, closing the pipeway back up before looking back at him. "Now then. Care for the grand tour? I'll warn you now... She is far more than she seems."

"Davie."

Just the way she said his name cut through all the confusion, amazement an small amount of fright that all held sway over him at that point. He turned to look at the redhead who exploded into his life, appearing to be more like the normal Davie than what she had been presented with up til then. He sensed that she was going to be serious about something. His gut was telling him that she was going to open up a little, and he'd best be ready for it.

Talk she did. Calm, slightly nervous, but without the patter and banter that she used with him before. The tree was her wheels. Time. Space. Tardis. The words sank in, drifting down to find their place in his mind. Softly landing and waiting for them to be hooked into everything else. He didn't feel insane, or like he was humouring her with what she was saying. He believed her like he believed someone telling him that water was wet, and the sun gave them daylight.

"Oh, well, THAT kills the whole presentation awefactor, now don't it? She can be a beaut, Davie-darling, she truly can! It's just... She's a wee bit under the weather right now. But I do believe a cure is at hand! In hand. My hand! Here we are then-!"

Davie trod careful after Romy as she raced up to the central console with the coffee cup in hand. To his surprise, she pulled out a tub, and poured it down.

"Perk ya right up with a pow, big gal! And give more goop to your go-bits."

"Hang on. You stopped off here in this... spaceship - Tardis - whatever, just to give it a cup of that slop?" He rubbed his face with both hands, his ability to believe starting to crumble in the face of the natural Romy as he started to think of it as.

"Now then. Care for the grand tour? I'll warn you now... She is far more than she seems."

"No shit, Sherlock. Looks like a tree on the outside. Looks like an interior designer on one too many energy drinks worked with an extra mad scientist on a M.C. Escher plan. Parts of my brain are trying to tell me that I'm seeing things, imagining it, dreaming it or I've gone insane. There's another part of me that wants to sit you down and ask you thousands of questions about this, and where you're from and all sorts of things."

He gave her a hard look. She looked human, behaved like a human. Well, with a couple of screws loose, but in a harmless kinda way. She loved gadgets the same way he did from the looks of it, so she couldn't be all that bad. And if half of what she said was true, he'd be an idiot not to hang around with her for a little while.

"Well, if it's all the same with you, Romy me luv, let's skip the tour right now, and move this tree of yours before Andre's fellas decide to come looking for us, and this." He held up the card that was the centre of all Davie's troubles.

Romy glanced at him over the tube, a rather annoyed look on her face as she plopped the cap back down. "Just a cup of slop? Don't be daft. I'll have you know I came here for far more reason than just to get a cuppa'joe for my ride. My goal is to see every part, inch, speck, molecule of the universes. Meet and greet every classification of beast, being, whoszit out there... Find out which ones are friendly, which ones want to suck your brain out with a bendy straw. I plan to taste every delectability anywhere has to offer...." She cleared her throat with that, setting her sonic screwdriver onto the console. "Well. That. And... I sort of crashed. Sort of."

His comment on the craft received another sour glance, her lips pursed to the side as she ran her tongue against her teeth. "She's got her charms... as do YOU, Davie-Darling. As for questions... Ohhh, you've got the time for them, lovey. Far, far more than enough."

As she spoke, she began tweaking on another part of the console, the little manual screwdriver she had taken out earlier in the cafe used to pry at part of the dash.

"Well, if it's all the same with you, Romy me luv, let's skip the tour right now, and move this tree of yours before Andre's fellas decide to come looking for us, and this."

"Right, because when you're huntin' for the bloke who went boltin' out on ya, the first thing most think is 'Let's try that big tree. Maybe he's in there!'" She raised an eyebrow with that, then smirked. "Ach, alright, alright. Let me just.... Ahh... Do me a favor, would ya? See that big lever, right in front of you, by the yellow blinking light? Pull up on it SLOWLY until that light goes off while I plug this in, yeah?" She held up a tiny node as she pulled her goggles down, then slipped under the console. "Pull it, Davie!," She shouted out from beneath.

As he pulled on the lever, the lights on the console would begin to change- brightening greatly and a new sound coming to fill the room. With the noticeable hum coming to her ears, Romy pulled herself back up, grinning widely and grasping one of the dials. "Hold tight to something, Davie-Dear... She's still a bit jumpy on the whole setting-out part of things!," she called as she began cranking and jabbing at various controls, that odd noise growing louder. She laughed once again, calling over her shoulder to what seemed no one in particular- "Your friend and his bloody parking brake-!"

Davie had the good sense to look embarrassed when the slight flaw in his logic was pointed out to him about being found out. He was still thinking along more conventional lines rather than along the newly created ones concerning time and space traveling oak trees.

Driven by rather a nice looking red head.

'Stop thinking with your dick, Davie. Yep, she's a looker all right, but right now, she's got the makings of a friend and leave it at that.'

"Ahh... Do me a favor, would ya? See that big lever, right in front of you, by the yellow blinking light? Pull up on it SLOWLY until that light goes off while I plug this in, yeah? Pull it, Davie!"

Davie reached out for the lever, pulling when she yelled to him. He lowered himself a little as the noise filled the chamber, looking around to see what, if anything, was changing. "She said to trust her, so I'm going to trust her. May as well since I'm here now." He quickly crossed himself, one of the few habits he retained from Sunday school. It seemed to calm him a little, something solid he could cling to.

Romy jumped out from under the console, seemingly happy with whatever happened. She started fiddling with the console, barely noticing his presence, at least visually.

"Hold tight to something, Davie-Dear... She's still a bit jumpy on the whole setting-out part of things!"

He held onto the console tight with a white knuckled grip. She joyously moved around, continuing her fiddling and breaking out in a laugh. He started to reassess the wisdom of joining her. Her outlook on life was a damn sight lighter than his, but then madness tended to do that to people. Madness tended to put those nearby into big trouble too. Again, some deeper instinct told him that it was too late to bail out at that point. He would have to ride out whatever he was going to encounter before he got his chance to escape.

"What's happening, Romy?" He raised his voice to get over the increasing noise levels, but it seemed hopeless. He tried to watch everything that was happening, trying in vain to figure out what she was doing, what her transport was doing.

"Romy? Did you say you kinda crashed when you arrived?!?" He scurried around to stand beside her. He leaned closer to her ear. "Is it likely to crash again? How badly does it crash? It wasn't your fault that it crashed, was it?"

Davie pulled himself up, fighting back the panic that showed itself by the bad line of questions. It took him a few seconds, thinking himself on a job, or more correctly, exiting from a job.

"Sorry, Romy. Shouldn't have done that. So... where are we off to? What joys and wonders have you got in store for me on this maiden flight of mine?"

"It was more an.... Accidental airdrop plop.... Than a crash...," Romy replied loudly, trying to be heard. "Luckily I didn't end up squishin' anyone or anything!" Her words echoed a bit now, the noises having died to a gentle lull about them. She paused, carefully listening a moment, then smiled broadly. "Lovely! She's all back to mostly normal!"

She turned to smile at him then, resting a hand on the console. "Where? To where? Well, just as you asked before, Davie-dearest. Somewhere your buddies will never think to find you." She winked with that, pulling away to take a few steps back toward the mainway. "I get the ever so slightest feeling your doubts on me are rising up again, Davie-darling. Perhaps a teeny tiny little peek at something will change your thoughts on that."

She beckoned for him to follow, coming to stop before the door.
"Open it. Go on. Just be sure to take my hand when you do." She had yet to lose her smile, stepping closer and offering out her hand. "Don't get too... Flaily though, alright? I'm not quite strong enough to pull you back if that starts up."

She reached out, gently pushing the door open a tad herself. Even just the tiny space left from the barely pressed opening gave enough view to show things were not at all the same as they were before. For one, there was no stone sidewalk beneath that little opening.

There was no.... Anything.

"Want to see the stars' view, Davie?," she asked in a soft voice, still holding that smile. "There's nothing to be afraid of. I swear to you. As for the Tardis'.... Landing methods... Not quite a concern for the moment, but- it was more lack of fuel than anything else."

Davie let his mind run over a little mantra - "I need to trust her, as she needs to trust me." He found it to be soothing to his frayed nerves. hearing Romy declare that she was all back to mostly normal helped out a great deal too.

"Where? To where? Well, just as you asked before, Davie-dearest. Somewhere your buddies will never think to find you. I get the ever so slightest feeling your doubts on me are rising up again, Davie-darling. Perhaps a teeny tiny little peek at something will change your thoughts on that."

"Look, Romy." He took a few steps after her before stopping somewhere relatively devoid of spare parts and cables. "Can you stop rubbing my nose in it, OK? It's not every day I meet a woman who stops time, and flies the universe in a bloody oak."

When she beckoned him over to the door, he went over looking a little hurt by what she said. He stopped nearby waiting patiently for her to tell him what she had planned.

"Open it. Go on. Just be sure to take my hand when you do. Don't get too... Flaily though, alright? I'm not quite strong enough to pull you back if that starts up."

He gave her a look that bordered on "Yeah, right..." but he flinched noticeably when the door opened a crack. He crept forward, inching closer to the gap like he was approaching a bomb.

"Holy fucking hell." His voice was soft, full of awe and reverence. He gazed through the gap with his jaw hanging loose trying to see everything he could from every angle he possibly could reach. "That's fucking amazing, Romy. That's... that's just plain ordinary space out there?" He looked back at her, amazed that to her this was just blase, everyday, run of the mill stuff. It made him wonder what Romy would find fascinating. It was closely followed by would he find it scary?

"Romy... all of this is totally... mind blowing. It's hard to believe, even seeing it. It's new, fantastic, scary, exciting and a few other things I haven't worked out yet. I've had a rough day, my nerves are still shot, so I'm not doing my best right now." He took a step back from the doorway. "But for the love of God, stop reading my mind or knowing what I'm thinking or feeling. If you can't, just keep quiet about it please."

He took a few more steps back to the console, then stopped. "I do have a couple of questions for you. Firstly, where are we going to? You got anywhere in mind, or will it be another random refueling stop? Next, you have any food on board? Now that my life's not in immediate danger, I'm starved. Finally, where's the loo? I'm bustin to take a leak."

Romy held her hands up defensively as Davie turned back around, nodding. "Right, right. Sorry, Davie-dear. Just running thoughts based on the last bloke to step in here. Far less... Understanding than you. Accusations of probings and needles in icky places. Now do I really look much like a little grey man to you?" She chuckled at that, sighing and shrugging. "It's a terrible stereotype, really... More often than not, they've got a more... Yellowy hue, the one's plannin' that sort'a thing..."

She clapped her hands together as she began to walk, nodding to him. "But yes! Food for Davie. Loo for Davie. A clean up and refresh. Food, well, that may be best when we hit our destination. And yes, quite well set on destination. She should, should be cooperative on that." A hesitant glance was given upwards, a brow raising. "Don't you go having a tantrum on me now, we have a guest."

She took his arm with another big smile, leading him to the stairway heading upwards to a long hallway, which she strolled with him. Various doors seemingly far too close together with curious writing on signs attached to them littered down the hallway, Romy peering at the signs as they walked. "Restroom, restroom... Let's see.... Library, pool, bedroom, bedroom, lounge, atrium- yes! Restroom... Here we are! Just be careful of the handle, Davie-darling. It sticks. Need to...." She wriggled her hand a bit, frowning. "... Give it, y'know. A good jiggle."

She smiled again, letting him head in. "I need to go reattach that panel, Davie-dearest!," she called as he closed the door. "Feel free to explore- Ah! And if you turn your ear thingy back on.... Should be able to read the signs. Mental wave translator. Don't ask the full details, love- questions for the old me... Thank goodness for scribbled side notes..." She laughed again, heading back for the control room.

Checking her console, she noted their approximate distance and arrival estimate, smiling softly as she set to work on reattaching broken panels. Well, he was a nice find. A bit jumpy a thing, and perhaps a bit blunt- but certainly better than being alone here.

Best part so far... He hadn't tried to jump ship.
Poor Rick.
Probably regretted that. Where ever he was.

Davie put the ear piece in, getting it settled and seemingly forgetting about it once it was there. All he cared about after that was answer the rather persistent call of nature. He explored the bathroom - what she American? - and found there was indeed a loo there the likes he had seen may times before. A long sigh of relief filled the otherwise silent room as he did his business and relaxed a little more with that little emergency out of the way.

He walked over to the sink, running a little cold water and splashing his face with it. He took a look at himself, not really liking what he saw looking back at him. He looked more pallid than normal, with a really haunted look on his face. He tried to smile but gave it up as it look horrible.

"Now, I am in the bathroom of a tree shaped spaceship that can also travel through time driven by a hot looking redhead who's crazier that a tree full of monkeys on acid. Now, either I have flip out completely, or I am having one of the better class of fucked up dreams. Because there is no way in hell that this kinda shit happens to me in real life." He paused for a moment, he head slightly tilted to one side. "Why the fuck am I fighting it anyway. Regardless of which one of the three it is, I'm winning. If I am fucking nuts, then it's one of the better ways to be nuts, that's for sure. If I'm dreaming, then lay back and enjoy the ride. And, if it happens to be real, god damn it's the best way to avoid Andre and his meat heads that I can think of."

He walked out of the bathroom with a spring in his step. Not even the temperamental door handle took the shine off his outlook. He made his way back to the main room as he thought of it, where Romy was still tinkering with bits of the main console.

"You know, Romy, I can find my way around electronic stuff well enough to do trivial stuff for you. The old saying, 'More hands make light work'. I may not know what the board are, or what they do, but I can sure hook 'em up for you if you tell me where and how. Since I am coming along, I'd rather like to help out. You know... pay my way a bit. Thank you for being nice to me when I haven't been the best person to you. You know?"

He found a part of the console that was devoid of switches, gadgets and lights to rest his hand against while he watched Romy continue with her repair work. It was right next to the lever Romy had asked him to move earlier while she replaced a previous piece of the insides of the console. When he leaned forward to get a better look at what she was doing, his arm pushed the lever down, back toward where it had been before he moved it.

The noises within the room changed noticeably. Davie looked around, then noticed what he had done.

"Oh crap." His voice was calm, not exhibiting the earlier nerves or excitement. "Romy, I hope my bumping that big lever back down hasn't done anything too bad." He lifted his arm, and took a couple steps away before he did something else just as bad, if not worse.

"Sorry."

"Welcome back!," She called out from under the cabinet, waving an arm up wildly without coming out herself. She could hear him quite well from down there, listening in with an amused look as he offered his own services. A smirk crossed her lips, shrugging as she finally poked her actual head up to grin at him. "You want to try, love? Have at 'er. Didn't get yourself lost or anything, right?"

He'd made it back, that was a good sign. Must be he took her advice on the translator...

"if it looks too loose, twist it. If it looks too tight, loosen it. If it makes a funny noise... Whack it a few times til it shooshes."

Probably not the best advice she could have given before slipping back into her previous spot. It was almost, not quite, pretty close to-

"AhhhhHA." The last nut finally slipped into place, completing her repair job. As soon as her proud smirk came to light, the sudden jerk of the Tardis came, the sounds of a happy machine being replaced with a very, very unhappy one.

"Ohhh, that's not good."
She got up quickly, though her voice was still rather level. His own sudden calm demeanor earned him a momentary glance and raise of the eyebrow. What happened to Mister Panic? "Interesting..."

Romy's head shook quickly, clearing her throat and pointing to one of the monitors. "Not a huge deal, Davie-Darling. We're there, anyway. Not the here I wanted, but a here none the less. Now, her stabilizers are looking a bit better compared to- well, when I found you... So this should, SHOULD, be a nicer incoming than before..."

The noise she knew so well came to sound about them, a winding curious wheezing groan heard in the room. "I know, I know, big gal. You can handle it!, " she called, patting the console once again, smiling as the sound finally stopped. "Aaaand... Here we are, then."


She headed for the door, opening it with a smile to reveal an open field in what seemed to be the middle of nowhere. "Care to wander with me, Davie-Dear? You said you were hungry, yes? Let's see what we can find...." She stepped out of the door, happily walking out a bit further... only to pause as she found her feet on pavement. She stared down at it a moment, bouncing slightly on the asphalt. "Well, you should not be here...," She muttered, looking at it curiously. "No, no, not at all..."

Her head raised slightly as the sound of a vehicle approached, her brow raising once again, a rather confused look to her face. "Nor should you... I don't think we're at all where I thought we should be. Or should I say, when I thought we would be. Think ya pissed my old gal off quite well, there, Davie...." She frowned, rubbing her cheek curiously at this new thought, absolutely oblivious to the still speeding along car. "Transportation, absolutely. Close similarity to that of modern day Earth vehicles... Civilization! Aha. Buildings and modernization, dead ahead!" She beamed out with that, pointing the opposite direction of the car- which was just about on top of her. She turned back around, hastily jumping aside as the vehicle screeched to a halt beside her. "Oh, hello, then!," She called, barely even bothered by how close that had been.

"SORRY!," The man inside shrieked, his face pale white as he jabbed into the backseat- a slightly curious look about his eyes that didn't seem 'normal' by Earth expectations. "Wife! Baby! Hospital-!"

Davie felt good about not panicking when Romy didn't panic. This was her turf, and he had fuck all idea of what was good, bad and worthy of terror. So, he always learned to take his cues from the locals when in someone else's turf.

"Ohhh, that's not good."

'Glad I guessed right then.'

He was starting to pick up on little changes in Romy depending on what was happening. If all was smooth sailing, she was the not so Mad Hatter. When things got a little dicey, like they appeared to be now, she got serious. Well, noticeably serious, but still rather carefree. He wouldn't put safe money on it yet, but it was shaping up as her tell. A couple more days at that rate and he would have it down pat.

"Not a huge deal, Davie-Darling. We're there, anyway. Not the here I wanted, but a here none the less. Now, her stabilizers are looking a bit better compared to- well, when I found you... So this should, SHOULD, be a nicer incoming than before..."

"I'll keep my fingers crossed then, Romy."

He was going to say more when the room filled with a noise that wanted to filled up everywhere, including where he was standing. It felt like it was pouring in through his ears, and making his entire body vibrate with it, becoming one with the noise. He was unsure about it, but then Romy was saying something to the console, patting it with a hand, as if trying to calm it or reassure it. It was a little more challenging, but he kept his cool because this was somewhat normal to Romy.

Finally the noise ceased, and the room felt empty. Romy was smiling, back to her Mad Hatter self.

"Aaaand... Here we are, then."

All of his nerves were replaced with excitement as he followed Romy to the door. He was going to see something else. Another part of the great big universe, hopefully a part that other people hadn't seen close up before. He was a tad disappointed to see what looked like an open field that could be anywhere on Earth.

"Crap. Why couldn't it 'ave looked a lil different? Like... I dunno... bright blue grass, instead of this normal crappy brown." He took a deep breath. "Hell, even the air smells like Earth's air. Shit. Did I bring us back down before we got anywhere interesting?"

He saw that Romy had wandered off a little further, and he dashed over to ask her what was going on. But the look on her face spoke clearly of confusion, probably as much as he felt. Seeing her standing on a road pretty much answered his questions regarding where they were.

"Nor should you... I don't think we're at all where I thought we should be. Or should I say, when I thought we would be. Think ya pissed my old gal off quite well, there, Davie...."

"Well, I'll make sure I keep a better watch where I lean next time."

Davie noticed the lights, and heard the noise of the car getting closer, as well as Romy's increasingly terminal ignorance of said vehicle.

"Transportation, absolutely. Close similarity to that of modern day Earth vehicles... Civilization! Aha. Buildings and modernization, dead ahead!"

She was looking in the other direction, pointing out to one part of the horizon away from the car. As he went to grab her, she turned and jumped out of the way of the car. Davie's heart was in his throat as the car screeched to a halt beside them. Davie did a double take as he looked at the vehicle idling in front of them. It was nothing he had seen before, but he had seen enough photos of older makes that it was from a previous era of car making.

'Fuck me. Could we have...? Nah.'

"Oh, hello, then!"

"SORRY!" The fellow behind the wheel was a nervous wreck, pale as a sheet and just as steady as one in a breeze. His wild eyes never stayed still, flittering to the back of the car with every slight noise that came from there. Before Davie could move to get a better look, the man saved him the trouble.

"Wife! Baby! Hospital-!"

Davie had no real medical experience in this area, but he had someone with him that was far better suited on two grounds. She had a time stopping device.

"Sir, why don't you hop out of the car for a second or two while my friend here, who's a doctor, can have a quick look at your wife. I'm sure that she'll be able to give her a little help to keep the baby from arriving until your wife gets to the hospital." As he spoke, he helped the man out of the car, guiding him down the road a little way, so he could still watch on, but hopefully be out of range of Romy's little time fucking gadget. "I think it's better for us to wait over here while the ladies are dealing with... uh... delicate matters. Not that I've got anything wrong with male doctors."

"No... no, that's fine. You're not in medicine are you?"

"Me? No, I ah work for the Doctor. Personal assistant. I keep on top of the small things and allow her to deal with the important stuff."

"Will she be all right?"

"Sure, mate. She'll be fine."

'And with luck, your wife will be OK too.'