IT WAS 20,000 YEARS AGO TODAY

Chapter Two

As Paul and Jane got into their winter gear, they listened while the Doctor showed them the snowshoes and explained how they worked. Paul stared at the moccasins that he was required to wear with distaste. Amy noticed the expression on his face and walked over.

"Hey, they're not bad," Amy said, pointing to the ones on her feet, "they quite comfortable actually."

"It's not that," Paul said.

"Then what is it then?" Amy said.

Paul sighed and Amy watched with confusion as he sat on the floor and took off his shoes. Her eyes bulged when he stood up and her mouth dropped open.

"Wait a tic, did you just shrink in size?" Amy said.

"Yeah, I did. It's because this is my true height," Paul said. "I'm 5'8" which I hate. I hate that I'm so short so…I have lifts put in my shoes so I can be three inches taller than that."

He eyed Amy when she bit her lip and tried to hold back the laughter. Bill walked over to Paul and her eyes bulged. He had been three inches taller before and now he was six inches as he towered over Paul.

"Blimey," Amy said. "Bill's a giant compared to ya."

"I know, I wish I was his height but oh well, can't be helped," Paul said as he sat back down and slipped his moccasins on his feet.

"Oh I wouldn't fret, big brother," Amy said. "You're cute when you're short. You're pocket sized now."

"Do you want me and Bill to give you another throttling?" he asked while she giggled.

"Nope. I'll just mind me own business. See ya later, Paulie Smurf!"

Paul paused while putting on his other moccasin.

"Okay, what the hell is a smurf?" he said while Amy bent over laughing. "And you might as well tell me now because I will find out and if it's something bad, your head's going straight into the loo."

Amy gave him an innocent look while he stood up and shrugged before she turned her back and walked away. Paul shook his head and looked at Bill.

"She's just a glutton for punishment, eh? I…"

Bill frowned when Paul trailed off and studied his face.

"What?" Bill asked.

"You know, ever since you got rid of the glasses and shaved the mustache, I can see the resemblance to me. I can see now why they chose you to replace me," Paul said.

"I don't look like you," Bill insisted.

"You don't look exactly like me but you do resemble an older brother."

"I don't see it," Bill said.

Paul smiled.

"Most people don't see themselves in the same light as others. Trust me, mate, you do have a bit of the McCartney looks to ya. I can see why you won the lookalike contest."

Bill was shocked as Paul walked away. He looked at Rory.

"Really? I really do resemble him?" he said to Rory.

"Yeah. I mean he's right, you do look like his older brother," Rory replied. "Once you got rid of the glasses and mustache you can see it better."

He smiled when Bill beamed at that. Feeling happy, Bill sat down and put the snowshoes on his feet. Once everyone was ready, Paul said goodbye to Martha.

"Don't know when I'll be back but be good," Paul said. "She'll be alright if we're gone for awhile, yeah?" he asked the Doctor.

"Oh yeah, the TARDIS will look after her and take care of her needs, don't worry about her, she'll be fine."

Paul smiled at that and kissed Martha's head.

"You be good and do what the TARDIS says and don't repay her kindness by leaving poo on her floor, okay?"

He pulled his face back when Martha tried to lick his face, fearful that she would lick the salve off his face. The Doctor told him that the TARDIS was instructing him to take her into the back and he led Martha to the back door. They went past it and Paul paused. He was in a dilemma because he knew the moment he let go of Martha's collar she would follow him back out the door.

"Okay, how do I get you to stay back here?" Paul muttered.

Just then there was a flash and a holographic rabbit appeared in front of them. Martha strained at her collar trying to get at it and Paul grinned as he let go and the holographic rabbit bounded away with Martha in hot pursuit. Paul thanked the TARDIS for her help before he went back into the console room. Once they were outside, everyone saw that the TARDIS had landed on top of a large flat rock surface. In every direction was snow and dead trees. Amy walked over to the edge of the rock and tentatively stepped down a few feet onto the snow. She stared at it and stamped her right foot. Her eyebrow rose when she noticed how packed the snow was. She leaned over and tried to scratch the surface with her thick mitten but barely made a dent.

"Come along, Pond," Paul said as he stepped down off the rock along with everyone else, "Quit destroying the beauty of nature and pawing in the snow like a doggie."

Amy quickly pulled off her left glove, scooped up a bit of snow and threw it in his direction. Paul defty dodged the snow and Amy ran while he pulled off his glove and started to do the same thing. Amy put his glove back on while Paul did the same and put his arm around Jane. Amy hurried to Rory's side and he put his arm around her while everyone headed off to the right. The Doctor took off one mitten and used his screwdriver to scan for alien tech while they walked.

"There's definitely something in this direction," he said, pointing straight ahead of them. "Don't know how far right now but there's something alien and I'm betting it's the gateway."

He continued to scan while the others followed him. The wind whipped against their faces but thanks to the salve it was only a minor annoyance even though the temperatures were frigid. All around them were dead trees, some of them buried in drifts so high most of the trunk wasn't visible. Paul looked around and looked down at his wife walking beside him. Feeling happy, he burst into song.

"Wednesday morning at 5 o'clock as the day begins…" he warbled. "Silently closing the TARDIS door, walking behind Amy who's a total whore."

The Doctor and Rory laughed hysterically while Amy looked behind her shoulder with an incensed look.

"Fuck you, Bro."

"No thanks, I got someone to take care of that," Paul said, patting Jane on the shoulder.

"Geez, you're as bad as John," Amy said, looking straight ahead.

"I know I am, I keep trying to tell you lot that," Paul said. "But very well, I won't sing about how grotty you are. I'll sing about how brilliant my wife is instead."

"You do know there are cavemen about, right?" Amy said.

"Yes and my singing will confuse them and scare them away," Paul said.

Amy looked at Rory.

"No comment," he said while Rory and the Doctor sniggered.

Paul smiled at his wife and sang while she snuggled close to him.

"To lead a better life, I need my love to be here…" he sang. "Here, making each day of the year. Changing my life with a wave of her hand. Nobody can deny that there's something there…"

"This is about Jane?" Amy said, looking back at him.

"Well, yes…"Paul said while Jane giggled. "Why? You think I'm incapable of writing a song for my lover?"

"No, I just didn't realize it was about her."

"Well, it is!" Paul said. "And now that we've cleared that up…There, running my hands through her hair. Both of us thinking how good it can be. Someone is speaking but she doesn't know he's there. I want her everywhere and if she's beside me, I know I need never care…"

"And by the way, I lost most of my hair…" Amy sang back.

"And I'll plant my foot in your derriere, so you better beware!" Paul sang back to her as everyone laughed.

They fell silent for a moment when they suddenly heard an elephant trumpeting in the distance. Everyone looked at each other and followed the sound of the animal. The closer they walked, the more panicked the animal sounded and they began to hear snippets of people's conversation as they yelled back and forth to one another. They finally came to the edge of a precipice and looked down into a valley below where a group of Neanderthals, men, women and children had surrounded a panicked young wooly mammoth. They were trying to jab it with spears tipped with stone points while the juvenile mammoth tried to gore his tormentors with his long tusks and stamp on them with his feet. The Neanderthals would come close and then jump back when the animal attacked them. The Doctor and his companions watched silently on top of the cliff while the Neanderthals tried to get the upper hand in the battle. Then they gasped when the mammoth swung his head and caught a young male with its tusks, goring the man in the side. The man let out an agonized scream and was thrown backwards into a large drift by the force of the blow. He lay there, groaning, blood turning the white snow a pinkish color while the others let out an angry yell and doubled their efforts to spear the enraged beast.

Finally, the four males in the group managed to stick their spears into both sides of the mammoth, penetrating the ribs. The mammoth bellowed in pain and everyone got back while he stampeded the humans, trying to kill them. The Neanderthals let out panicked yells and ran while the mammoth trumpeted angrily and chased them. The Doctor and his companions watched as the cavemen fled and the injured animal kept up the pursuit. They then turned their attention to the injured caveman who was lying in the snowdrift, groaning quietly. They looked back and noticed that the other cavemen were now very far from them, trying to hide and regroup while the mammoth tried to kill them. The Doctor looked around and noticed that off to their right was a little path that led down. He and the others carefully went down it into the valley. By the time they got to the Neanderthal, he had lost a lot of blood and was pale and breathing shallowly. The Doctor reached into his pocket and brought out a small white jar.

"I brought some of that healing salve," he said to his friends. "I figured we might need it here in this hostile environment. But perhaps I can use it to save him."

But as he neared the man, the Neanderthal turned his head to him and his eyes bulged.

"Tall one!" he said in a gruff voice. "Tall one, stay back!"

"Tall one?" Paul said.

"Well, the Doctor is tall compared to him," Jane said.

"Yeah, everyone's tall here except for the smurf," Amy said, gesturing towards Paul.

"If you don't shut your…"

Paul was cut off when the caveman gasped and tried to smack the Doctor's face when he bent over him with the salve.

"No, stay away from me, you're with them! The tall ones! Stay away!" he yelled as he swung his arm around.

Everyone backed up but they could tell that the man's exertions had increased the blood flowing out of his side and the man groaned as he dropped his arm onto his chest and stared up at the sky. The Doctor came forward tentatively.

"Listen, I won't hurt you. I'm not like the other tall ones. I want to help you, okay?"

The man didn't answer and they noticed his eyes were glazing over and becoming fixed. The Doctor walked around to his other side and knelt down as he unscrewed the jar. Everyone watched while he got out a large amount of healing salve and spread it on the wound. There was a second where nothing happened and then the caveman let out an agonized groan as the salve began mending the wound. The Doctor looked around but the other Neanderthals were nowhere in sight although he could hear them in the distance yelling while the mammoth continued to trumpet angrily. The Doctor looked at the man and saw the fear in his eyes when he gazed on him.

"Please, I won't hurt you. I just saved your life," the Doctor said gently. "These are my friends. We come in peace."

"You are outsider," the man said.

"Yes, I s'pose I am but I am not a threat," the Doctor said. "I just mended your side."

The man sat up and examined his side. He felt for the wound and his eyes widened when he couldn't find it. He looked at the Doctor in disbelief.

"How did you do that?" he asked him.

"I used a special medicine that healed your side," the Doctor said, putting the salve back in his pocket. "My friends and I are looking for others like us. Do you know where they are?"

"I don't know," the man said with contempt, "I have no dealings with the tall ones. Me and my clan stay away from them."

"But they are nearby?" the Doctor said.

"Yeah, tall ones nearby. Cause trouble. Take food. We starve because of them. Ogla is with child now and we're forced to hunt the fur beasts because they take everything else."

"I'm sorry," the Doctor said. "I truly am. We're not trying to take food away from you. We're trying to find others of our kind so we can be with them."

The man was about to say something when they heard an angry yell. The Doctor looked over his shoulder and cursed under his breath when he saw the other Neaderthals were hurrying towards them, spears out in front as they prepared to kill the intruders.

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