IT WAS 20,000 YEARS AGO TODAY

Chapter Seventeen

Ten, Bill and Nog held onto each other for dear life as the ship zoomed along. They could hear screams from the others and in the distance; they heard the Doctor screaming at Pepa to slow the ship down before they all died. There was another lurch and William, who had been lying on the top bed nearest the latter fell off and crashed to the floor. They glanced at them and saw he was still unconscious but now he was lying on the floor on his face. Bill hesitated a moment and then crawled over to his counterpart. He rolled him on his back so he could breathe and noticed blood was trickling out of his left nostril.

"Not that I care for the man at present but if the Doctor can save him, I don't want him dying on us," Bill said to them.

"We need some rope to secure him somewhere in case this happens again," Ten said to him.

There was another violent lurch that made them gasp and then the ship finally slowed down enough that they were able to stand up. All of them were shaken and Bill took Nog's hand when she came over to him. They heard Paul calling for them and they called back. A few seconds later, Paul lay on his stomach in front of the hole and looked down at them.

"You lot okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, a bit shaken. He fell off the top bed though," Ten said, pointing to William. "We need some rope to secure him so he doesn't get injured through all this."

"Maybe the Doctor knows where we can find some. Surely this ship has to have a cupboard of some sort," he said.

He smiled when Jane got down on her stomach beside him.

"Hurray, you're still thirty," Jane said to Bill.

"Yes, I'm still the same age, touch wood," Bill said. "Do you have any idea what happened?"

"Dunno, we were talking and we heard this boom and the ship suddenly sped up," Jane said. "It knocked us to the floor and when it finally stopped, we looked out and I…think we're moving through outer space. All there is outside is blackness and a few stars. Amy and Rory went back to see if they could find out what happened from the Doctor."

"So we've moved again?" Bill said. "We're now in the…Sea of Science?"

"Maybe," Paul said, "hope not though. I don't wanna go through anymore mishaps."

"What's this, a conference?" John said.

He got down on his stomach on the other side of Paul. He smirked when he saw William.

"Hey, Evil Bill's busted his nose, tee hee," he said gleefully. "While Nice and Gentle Bill has nary a scratch on him. Good. That's what I like to see. Glad the other Doctor is safe as well. I must say this is turning into quite a fun little adventure. I can see why Paulie likes it. Course I'm sure you didn't much like turning 100, Bill, but at least you landed up safe and sound. Now all we have to do is figure out where we are."

As he said that, Amy came up and lay down on the floor beside Jane. She groaned and lowered her head to the floor, lightly banging it repeatedly on the floor.

"Oh no, now what?" Paul said.

Amy sighed, lifted her head and looked at them.

"Talked to the Doctor, think I found out the problem. Seems Pepa doesn't really know how to fly this ship."

"What?" Jane said, "I thought this was his ship."

"It is…but…you see, according to him, he inherited it from the former Sergeant and he didn't have time to learn everything about it before he loaded us into it and took off."

"So we're being driven around by someone who has no idea what he's doing," Paul said.

"Wouldn't say no experience, he just has minimal experience," Amy said while they groaned. "And on top of it, the ship's got wonky wiring, that's what the Doctor says after inspecting it."

"But he can fix it?" Jane said, hopefully.

"Yeah, but he wanted me to come and tell his human counterpart that he needs his assistance," Amy said.

They all got up off the floor and stood back when Ten started to come up the ladder. Bill and Nog followed him after he got out and went off to find the Doctor.

"We need to go find Pepa and ask him about some rope so we can secure William," he said to them. "And…uh…apparently Nog's fallen in love with me."

Everyone did a double take and smiles spread over their faces.

"So that's why you've been following him around all over the place," Paul said to Nog. "Is that true? Do you love him?"

Nog nodded shyly.

"And you? Are you returning her love?" John asked.

Bill smiled and squeezed her hand.

"Yeah, I am," he said as they cheered. "She's a nice woman and she needs someone."

"I have a question though," John said. "Paul told me where she and Tya came from. My question is are you going to keep those names because they're a bit strange for the modern world. Shouldn't you change them a bit and make them sound more 1960'sish."

"What do you suggest?" Paul asked.

"Well…Tya...Dunno…Tia, maybe?"

Paul and Jane looked at each other.

"Tia is pretty but would she accept that?" Paul asked her.

"One way to find out. Be back, I think Rory's minding her right now."

"What about you, love?" Bill asked Nog.

"What's going on?" Nog said.

"Well, see…" Bill said. "Blimey, how to word this…um…Nog isn't really a name where I come from. Nog is more like a drink at Christmastime. If you like Nog, that's fine but if you're coming back to my time, you might want to have a different name so people won't make fun of you. It's up to you, if you like Nog, we'll use it but we want you to have as normal a modern life as you can and that might mean taking a new name."

"Do you want me to do this?" Nog asked.

"I want you to do what you're comfortable with," Bill said. "I won't force you to do anything. Lord knows I've had enough of that in my own life. If you want a new name, that's fine. If you want to stick with Nog, that's fine, it's your decision. In our time, women have more of an equal say and more freedom than you did living in a cave."

Nog thought about it for a moment and then nodded.

"If changing my name is what I must do to be with you, then I will."

Paul, Amy and John laughed and ooooed as Bill widened his eyes. They nudged each other at the delighted look on his face and the adoring look on Nog's. While they were doing that, Jane walked up with Tya.

"I asked Tya if she'd like to be Tia and she said she wanted to do that," Jane said.

"Do you want us to call you Tia, love?" Paul asked her.

"Yes, Tia is pretty. You call me Tia!"

They laughed at the demanding way she said that.

"Yes, ma'am," Paul said as they laughed harder.

He picked her up and kissed her cheek.

"I'll call you Tia then," he said in the same demanding tone while everyone continued to laugh. "What about you, Bill. Ya gotta name your sweetie now!"

"Name her what?" Bill said as everyone laughed. "Um…wow…as if I don't have 8 billion names to choose from here."

They giggled when Bill started thinking while Nog watched. Paul stared at her, her beautiful face, her long brown hair and brown eyes and thought about how perfect she was for his brother. He had to admit the conversion made her into a stunning woman. As he stared at her, he began to chuckle and he clicked his fingers.

"Bill, may I make a suggestion?" he said to him.

"Please."

"Damn, don't have my guitar with me but…"

Paul walked up to Nog, took her hand and began to sing…

"Michelle, my belle, these are words that go together well, my Michelle."

Bill, John, Amy and Jane shared a look and all of them nodded. Bill looked at Nog.

"Do you like Michelle?" he asked her.

Nog thought for a moment and then nodded.

"First chance we get, I'm teaching you to play the song on guitar so you can sing it to her," Paul said to Bill. "Let it be her song."

"Thank you."

"Anytime. When you become a famous rock and roll star, you tell the world before you sing it that it's the name I suggested your wife use."

They giggled when Bill turned beet red.

"Ahem, we just started this relationship, Rex, I'm not going down on one knee just yet."

"Thousand pardons, Audrey," Paul said. "Just my usual jumping the gun, knee jerk reaction. Damn, now I gotta write a song about Audrey so he'll have a song."

They laughed when Bill tried to swat his head.

"Oho, you wanna fight, eh?" Paul teased as he balled up his fists.

"Commander, are we set to attack, sir?" John said to Paul as he saluted him. "Shall I beat the bally git into submission, sir?"

"Um…nah, we need to do a sneak attack, engage in guerilla warfare so we can take the bally git by surprise."

"Aye aye, sir. Shall I swab the deck in the meantime?"

"Yes," Paul said while they laughed. "And be sure to walk the plank while you dance the hornpipe."

"Aye aye, Cap'n," John said.

"You guys are insane," Amy said with a giggle.

"Aye, but ya have to be insane in an insane world," Paul said. "Keeps people on their toes if you act all barmy around them."

"Yeah," John said. "All you gotta do is run up to people and scream in their face and they'll be sure to make a wide berth around ya."

"Speaking from experience, are ya, Lennon?" Amy said as the others laughed.

"Naturally. I can't begin to tell you how many heart attacks I've given, just by sneaking up behind someone and saying, "BOO!" and then I watch them soil themselves. It's great fun!"

"Suddenly, I'm not sure I want Michelle around you lot," Bill said.

"I'm feeling the same way about Tia," Jane added.

"No, can't have my Tia," Paul said, hugging her close. "She's my pretty, pampered princess Tia and I love her."

Paul looked behind him when he felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Hi, is the Doctor around?" Rory asked him.

"I think he and the other Doctor are working on fixing the ship, why?" Paul said.

"Because we're heading straight for a planet and I think one of them needs to get up to the front and change course before we smack into it," Rory said.

Everyone looked at each other and hurried towards the back of the ship as fast as they could go.

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