Dancing Across Time (Book Two of The Bad Wolf Chronicles)

Chapter Five: The Girl in the Fireplace

"Here we go!" the Doctor said after the TARDIS materialized.

Saleen grinned as she looked outside. "It's a spaceship! Brilliant!" She looked around some more as she exited. "I got a spaceship on my first go!"

"It looks kind of abandoned," Jessie noted, looking at the Doctor. "Anyone onboard?"

"Nah, nothing here," he replied. Jessie raised an eyebrow, and he corrected himself. "Well . . . nothing dangerous." Jessie gave him a pointed look, and he made a face. "Well, not that dangerous." By now, both girls were looking at him, and he held up his sonic screwdriver. "You know what, I'll just have a quick scan in case there's anything dangerous."

"Yeah, good call," Jessie snorted, folding her arms. "So, what's the date? Where have we gone?"

"About three thousand years into your future, give or take." He flicked a switch on, and the ceiling lit up, showing the stars. "Fifty first century. Diagmar Cluster." He smiled at Saleen. "You're a long way from home, Saleen. Two and a half galaxies."

"Saleen Harper, meet the universe," Jessie joked as her friend looked around in amazement. "See any thing you like?"

"It's incredible!" she breathed. "It's so realistic!"

The Doctor looked down another corridor. "Dear me, had some cowboys in here," he commented. Jessie wrinkled her nose when she saw parts scattered all over the place. "Got a ton of repair work going on. Now that's odd." He peered at a control panel, looking at reports. "Look at that! All the warp engines are going. Full capacity. There's enough power running through this ship to punch a hole in the universe, but we're not moving. So where's all the power going?"

"Where'd all the crew go?" Jessie asked as they continued through the ship.

"Good question." The Doctor checked his sonic screwdriver. "No life forms onboard."

"Well, we're in deep space," Jessie noted. "They didn't just nip out for a quick fag."

"No, I've checked out all the smoking pods," the Doctor agreed. He looked up and sniffed. "Can you smell that?"

Jessie inhaled, then nodded. "Yeah. Someone's cooking."

"Sunday's roast, definitely," Saleen agreed.

The Doctor pressed a button on the panel, and the door behind them opened. Jessie raised an eyebrow when she saw the French style fireplace on the wall. "Well, there's something you don't see in your average spaceship," the Doctor commented, walking up to it. "Eighteenth century. French. Nice mantle. Not a hologram. It's not even a reproduction! This actually is an eighteenth century French fireplace. Double sided. There's another room through there."

Jessie looked out of the porthole in the same wall. "Can't be," she said. "That's the outer hull of the ship. Look!"

"Hello."

Jessie whipped back to see the Doctor crouching by the fireplace . . . talking to the young girl in a nightgown on the other side of the fireplace. "Hello," she replied.

"What's your name?" the Doctor asked.

"Reinette."

"Reinette," the Doctor tried. "That's a lovely name. Can you tell me where you are at the moment, Reinette?"

"In my bedroom."

"And where's your bedroom? Where do you live, Reinette?"

"Paris, of course."

"Paris!" He nodded quickly. "Right!"

She tilted her head. "Monsieur, what are you doing in my fireplace?"