FIVE

 The Doctor suddenly clutched his chest as though he’d been stabbed, leaning heavily against a wall. At first I thought it was the shock, the knowledge that the TARDIS could be so tantalizingly near.

 “Are you unwell Doctor?” George enquired nervously.

 I placed an arm around the Doctor.

 “Oh no George, just a touch of indigestion.”

 The Doctor winced, the sweat dripping from his brow. The Doctor smiled at the pair of us, but unlike George it gave me no reassurance. Even though the physical assault on the Doctor was over in seconds, the attacks were growing in strength and frequency. I was fearful for the Doctor’s well-being, certain that wherever the TARDIS was, it was still under attack and the Doctor felt it each time. But also it seemed that every time the Doctor thought of the TARDIS, even the mere mention of his time machine triggered a painful reaction.

 “Come along then, my home is this way.” George smiled welcomingly as he began to run down the street excitedly, in his childlike innocence believing he was doing us a good turn.   

 I was just about to chase after the child, when the Doctor tugged my sleeve, the Doctor’s warning expression returned me to the unknown danger of our situation. If something could invade and attack the TARDIS in such a devastating way, then it must be very powerful and also deadly.

 “Anna be careful, remember what I said earlier… The occupants of this boarding house might not be all they seem.” The Doctor continued to hold me back and muttered into my ear.. “As much as I desire my TARDIS back, for all we know, the TARDIS could be a trap…They might need something more from us…We don’t know whom or what we are dealing with. But make no mistake, it’s very powerful. ”

 I nodded and though it had never been anything we had discussed, I knew the Doctor was the last of his kind and that left him in a vulnerable and precarious position. The last of the Time Lords with all his centuries of experience and his brilliant mind. And in that moment, I decided that while there was still breath in my body, I would do everything in my power to protect my friend. The Universe simply could not do without the Doctor.

 “Well maybe you should wait out here Doctor and let me go into the house first. I’ll find out what’s going on. You see, I’m not the important one here… I’m nothing. ” I stated in a matter of fact way, inspired by the Doctor’s bravado and pretending to be more brave than I really was. “If you believe it’s a trap…Whoever is behind all this, it won’t be me they’re after.”

 “No Anna! Absolutely not, we stay together… Always, you got that?” The Doctor’s eyes blazed angrily into mine. “And what do you mean?” He frowned agitatedly, running a hand through his wild hair and stared at me as though I’d taken leave of senses. “Don’t ever say you’re not important. Nothing!” The Doctor exclaimed with outrage. “This is no time for low self-worth. Don’t ever underestimate your importance Anna Bailey. We’re both bound up in this, this isn’t just about me.”

 “Now why do I not like that sound of that…” It was kind of the Doctor to say those words but I didn’t really believe them. I tried to smile and make light of the situation but an icy shiver ran down my spine.

 The Doctor smiled back as he took my hand.

 “Come on, George is waiting for us.”

 We began to run, moving into the heart of Preston Street, passing a few tradesmen who glanced up with mild curiosity from their shop fronts. And then we stopped running and we were standing alongside George. I glanced up at the weather beaten black door of number 59, above there was a smeared brass plate with the words Orgreave’s Boarding House. At the time, I told myself there was nothing remarkable whatsoever about that run down boarding house, it was like any of the countless others along that street and yet as I stood by the railings at the foot of the steps I did not want to cross over the threshold. Something deep within me, a primal instinct told me there was something terribly wrong here but I knew the Doctor and I had no choice, we had to enter the house, there was no turning back.

 “Doctor… Anna, wait here a moment.” George darted down the basement steps, I peered over the railings and watched the cheeky boy wriggle through an open window.

 “Kids huh!” The Doctor puffed indulgently, though I suspected that no one in the Universe had escaped through as many windows as the Doctor. He then proceeded to whistle, somewhat jarringly to fill up the silence.

 Just at that moment, the door creaked open but it wasn’t George on the other side of the door, instead it was an imposing and formidable woman who folded her arms and stared back at us with such cold severity. The woman’s pale face contrasted with her jet black hair that was tightly snatched back, she frowned and her thick eyebrows met in the centre of her brow, reminding me instantly of George which could only mean one thing, this was his mother, Mrs. Orgreave.

 “What do you want?” The landlady suddenly demanded harshly but before we got the chance to attempt a reply Mrs. Orgreave continued more bitterly, in a highly defensive tone. “You’re not working with the broker’s man are you?”

 I glanced at the Doctor awkwardly, uncertain how to respond. This was a household under siege, possibly in more ways than one, the landlady was bankrupt, George’s mother faced ruin. Though if indeed there was a trap within that household and we were expected, the outright hostility of Mrs. Orgreave wasn’t what I had been expecting but then again on my travels with the Doctor I had learnt to expect the unexpected.

 “No, we’re not Mrs. Orgreave.” The Doctor simply replied. Then moving forward and climbing up the steps, he spoke softly in a compassionate tone. “But I have reason to believe you have something that belongs to me in your establishment.”

 Mrs. Orgreave raised an eyebrow and stared with mild bemusement at the Doctor, her eyes quickly running over me, harshly appraising the strangers on her doorstep.

 “And what pray sir, would that be?” Mrs. Orgreave sneered sarcastically. For someone in great poverty, with no means of securing a fortune, the very idea that she had something of value or importance to another truly offended her.  

 “The blue box.” The Doctor replied, his face set with determination.

 The mystery of the missing TARDIS had only deepened. Mrs. Orgreave neither denied nor confirmed the presence of the TARDIS but she had understood what the Doctor was referring to, there was definitely no mistaking that. There was a quiver of emotion that flickered across Mrs. Orgreave’s face, it was too fleeting to tell but it could have been relief followed by apprehension, but then suddenly her features returned to their hardened mask as she bit her lip and spoke stiffly in a gruff voice.

 “You had better come in then.”