The atmosphere at the Dancys' dinner table that night was unusually quiet. The master of the house ate in silence, his brow furrowed in determination, his eyes never leaving the plate. Mrs Dancy had been worriedly glancing at her sons and husband in turn the whole time and soon gave up trying to keep the conversation going.

"Papa, when are we going to talk about Leander?" the older brother Thomas eventually blurted out, unable to bear the tension. Mr Dancy shot an icy look in his direction and gave no reply. Leander, the man in question, tried to put a brave face on it, but he could feel his hands beginning to shake and dropped half of his peas before they reached their destination.

"Son, if there's anything I can..." Mrs Dancy began, reaching for his hand across the table.

"NO!" Mr Dancy roared, "You can't do anything! Our son is a hopeless case, a failed specimen. I have tried, God knows I have. This was the fourth university in a row to decline because this ungrateful creature CANNOT OPEN HIS DAMN MOUTH! I wash my hands of you. Go then, live as a beggar on the streets, but don't come to my door, because I will kick you out like any ordinary rat. These are the life choices you've made. I don't have the power to change them. That is all." With these words Mr Dancy rose, made for the door and slammed it with an earth-shattering bang.

"My poor boy," Mrs Dancy said through tears as his husband's footsteps faded away.

"I knew it was going to happen, Mother. It always does. I'm so sorry." Leander got up and rushed out of the room, ignoring the lump in his throat and the stinging in his eyes. He sprinted through the hall, out of the front door and into the pine forest until he was out of breath, completely out of view and hearing distance.

Collapsing on an old mossy stump, he stifled a sob. It was obvious he would end up like this, but he had never wanted to accept it. They'd applied for Oxford, Cambridge, Glasgow, now London and he would've got in, judging by his intellectual skills, but every time he'd miserably butchered the interview part, because when having a conversation under pressure, strict order or in any other situation with a stranger, there would be a click in his head and he wouldn't be able to speak. He'd just stare into the distance, open and close his mouth like a fish on dry land and feel terrible about himself. He needed to get in, in order to pursue the career his parents had chosen for him, but now their hopes were crushed and there was nothing he could do about it. Thomas would inherit everything and Leander would be a laughing stock for the rest of his life, because his disability wasn't going to get any better.

The young man sat for about half an hour, absorbed in bitter thoughts, fingers buried in tangly red hair. Suddenly, the light breeze freshened. Chilly wind tore at his jacket and Leander downheartedly got up. He hadn't moved five feet when he came to a sudden stop. The air was filled with a strange whirring sound, very distinct, and there was something vaguely familiar about it, like he had heard it before in his childhood. It felt oddly good and the lad stood for a while, bewitched. A loud crack above his head sent shivers down his spine and he looked up to see the most extraordinary sight. A blue box approached, crashing into treetops, causing huge branches to fall. Leander retreated a safe distance and kept staring. The box poked the bark off another unfortunate pine tree and finally landed with a loud thump.

At first nothing happened. What appeared to be a wooden blue life-size rectangle had "police public call box" written on it. Leander had no idea what that meant, but he didn't flee like he usually did when there was a possibility of a social encounter. Instead, he cautiously crept closer until the doors were in front of him. Before he could do anything, the doors flew open just inches from his face and deep brown eyes looked into his. With a gasp Leander backpedaled and tripped on a branch, landing on his back.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry. Here, let me lend you a hand. There's a good lad, that's it." A tall, skinny man in a dark blue suit, his hazel hair even wilder than Leander's, helped him up, brushed pine needles off his jacket and bared his teeth in a wide grin.

"Hello, I'm the Doctor. To whom do I owe the pleasure?"

"What is wrong with you today?!"

For the fifth time in a minute, The Doctor yelled at the console of his old time-machine. It was tossing and turning violently from side to side and had been doing for the past 10 minutes. The Doctor still hadn't figured out what was wrong, mainly because he couldn't get near any of the controls for being thrown about. Eventually, he managed to grab onto the edge of a panel, holding on for dear life as he began to push buttons and input controls to try and calm the ship down.

"We're out of the vortex..." The Doctor muttered to himself as he pulled the monitor around to face him, Gallifreyan symbols flying around the screen. "We're crashing!"

Before the Doctor could even attempt to find something to grab onto, the TARDIS lurched to the left and the Doctor was thrown across the floor, landing awkwardly on his back which caused him to yelp in pain. Another groan of the rotor and the TARDIS flipped to the right, taking the Doctor with it again. This time he managed to save himself by landing on the jump seat, but his back continued to throb uncomfortably.

Finally, after a couple of minutes of more violent shakes, the TARDIS emitted a large thud and slowly settled, the rotor coming to a stop within seconds. Smoke was billowing out from the cracks in the console. The Doctor released his clutching hands from the jump seat, panting furiously from the ordeal. He slowly got to his feet, having to hold his back as he straitened up.

"Well, haven't had an episode like that in a while, old girl," The Doctor said to his ship, patting it affectionately with his free hand. "We're both not at young as we used to be, can't afford to be knocked around like that anymore, girl." He glanced at the monitor but it was fuzzy from the crash. If he wanted to know where he was was, he'd have to go out and see.

Wandering over to the doors, he threw them open amidst the smoke that was filling the console room. It wasn't until he heard a slight yelp and heard someone fall flat on the ground that he realised he had obviously startled someone. Quickly jumping out of the TARDIS doors, trying not to wince as his back protested, he got a glance of the broken trees and fresh air, and also a young fellow who was sprawled out on the ground in front of him. The young lad was in quiet a daze, and the Time Lord didn't hesitate to offer his hand to him.

"Hello, I'm the Doctor. To whom do I owe the pleasure?"

For a while Leander wasn't able to do anything but stare. The stranger was an equal match - he patiently stared back, his hand extended, his eyebrow raised like a question mark. It was difficult to say which was more peculiar – a fine-looking suited man stepping out of a box that fell from the heavens or his unexpected friendliness. Either way, the situation was fishy, but for the first time in forever he didn't feel that rush of panic he usually did when faced with an absolute stranger. Instead there was unexplainable excitement bubbling up inside him. He badly wanted to say something, but no sound would come out.
Cursing his muteness in his mind, he shyly scanned the potential madman’s face, hoping to find an answer to what he had just witnessed. It betrayed nothing whatsoever – an open-hearted smile, kind and timeless eyes – everything referred to an utterly pleasant persoon. The man was still waiting and after a long, awkward silence, he burst out laughing, took Leander’s limp hand from his side and shook it himself.

The Doctor couldn't help the laughter that escaped his mouth when the young boy simply continued to stare at him. He decided it would be best to just take the the young mans hand himself, so he grabbed it and helped the boy to his feet.

"I know this might all seem a bit strange and apologies for the whole crashing thing, this isn't your garden is it?" The Doctor asked the young man, glancing at the path of destruction his machine had caused and then looked back towards the TARDIS. "It would probably be best to just leave her to repair for a couple of hours. You wouldn't mind telling me where I am? Oh, and I never asked your name?"

Desperately straining his vocal cords in order to respond, Leander made a weird choking noise and was suddenly caught in a furious coughing fit. It tore through his body in waves and his sight started to darken in the edges. The newcomer immediately rushed to his side, alarmed, and supported him around his shoulders and waist. It seemed to last infinitely, but the burning sensation left his system suddenly, when something small and shiny flew through the air and landed in the grass nearby.

The stranger made sure Leander was okay and got down to one knee to examine what seemed to be a tiny sapphire reflecting sunlight from every facet of its surface. He mumbled something to himself, plundering in his pockets. Leander stretched out his neck to see the miracle, too, but dizzy as he was, he lost balance again and fell on top of the Doctor, who let out a groan of pain.

"I'm so sorry, sir!" Leander bemusedly exclaimed, quickly rolling off the collapsed man's back and clasping his hands over his own mouth at the same time. He could speak again!

"Sir, my name is Leander," he breathlessly said as he helped his saviour up in turn. "I do not have the slightest idea what's happening, nor do I know why I'm able to talk right now or why I haven't fled already, but I'm very grateful to you. Thank you - you probably just saved my life." As a cultivated young gentleman, he straightened up and saluted the man.

As the young man attempted to respond, he broke out into a string of coughing fits, and the Doctor rushed to his side, making sure the boy was okay. But before he could even ask him, a strange small object flew directly past them at a dangerous pace, landing in front of them, and the Doctor instantly was down in the grass, puling out his sonic screwdriver to examine it.

"Oh what's this now?" The Doctor asked as he scanned the small object. "Looks like it could be from a pl-OOF!"

The Doctor was suddenly cut off when he felt something collide with his back and he was sent flying towards the ground. He landed roughly on the grass, and groaned when he felt his back twinge at the pressure. After the young man had managed to gather himself from the floor, he politely lifted the Time Lord off the ground and apologised. He told the Doctor his name and then unexpectedly saluted.

"Oh, put your hand down, Leander." The Doctor said to him with a smile. "Nice name, Leander. Nice to meet you, Leander. Oh and you can drop the 'Sir', I'm the Doctor."

The Doctor was about to kneel down to examine the small object again when he suddenly felt a rush of pain escalate its way up his back and he let out a yell of uncomfortable pain. "Oh, my back..." He moaned, rushing his hand behind him for support. "Either I hit my back harder than I thought or I'm just getting old..."

Leander looked at the man worriedly. Poor guy, tossed around in a wretched old box in such an unpleasant manner, no wonder if he's broken a rib or two. Where did he come from anyway? Had the cubicle really flown (which was virtually impossible) or had Leander just been hallucinating?

"Is that a tree-house? Papa and I used to build such booths for birds when I was younger, only five times smaller in proportion. Were you observing birds in the treetops or are you working on some kind of a project? I wouldn't mind helping you! Of course after I've taken you to Mr Piers - our doctor, lives in Thornshire - he'll take a look at your back and-" Leander didn't seem to be able to stop his newly-returned flow of chatter, but the Doctor raised his hand, silencing the young man.

Leander suddenly began to blurt out questions and intformation to the Time Lord, who simply raised his hand to stop the young man from babbling.

"I'll be fine, I don't need to see a doctor," The Doctor commented, straightening up his back whilst holding in a grunt of pain to try and take the attention away from his injury. "Anyway. to answer your first question, no this isn't a tree house. I'll explain what it is later but right now, I really need to focus on...this!"

The Doctor reached down and picked up the small object that had appeared from the sky a couple of moments earlier. He looked over to Leander. "Is there a river or a lake nearby, Leander?"

Straining his eyes away from the gem, Leander looked at the Doctor again and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the odd question. Was he planning on going for a swim now? Maybe to soothe his back? The possibilities were endless - there was nothing not strange about this fellow. He caught himself wondering if the Doctor was a foreigner who'd got hopelessly lost.

Leander tried hard to make a connection between what his new acquaintance had just asked and what the situation suggested he needed. "Well, not exactly. But I believe there's an ancient crater full of water just 200 metres from here. Why would you even ask this? Is it of importance?"

"Well," The Doctor started, bringing the small object to his face and studying it with an intense stare, "If this is what I think it is, which it probably will be, then I need to test it for an H2O source to identify its planet origins."

The Time Lord got to his feet again and placed the object into his coat pocket. He glanced around at his ship, studying the damage. "She should take at least 48 hours to repair, so I've got plenty of time. Leander, would you mid showing me the way to this 'ancient crater'?"

"My pleasure. This way, follow me!" Leander barely got to say this when the Doctor swooshed past him with energetic strides in the direction he had just pointed to. Shaking his head in disbelief, the young man started off after him, soon speeding into a jog. They were by the crater in no time.

The Doctor was already down by the water, fiddling with the pretty rock and the bizarre instrument he had used earlier. Leander patiently stood by and waited, occasionally kicking pebbles into the crater where they made huge circles appear on the sleek water surface. He heard the Doctor grumble and shout disconnectedly from time to time.

"I love this place," Leander finally remarked, laying down on the tilted ground. "My brother and I always used to wonder what kind of a meteor once crashed here. It almost made us believe outer space was real and that there was some kind of life out there. Do not think me foolish, but I still hope that one day I will meet an... extraterrestial being. I should be ashamed of myself for even thinking of such things, but I really am not. After all, what's so great down here anyway?"

After this contemptation, Leander, taken aback by his own sudden talkativeness, observed the clouds rowing high above in the deep blue sky for a while. At one point he noticed it was strangely quiet. He lifted his head a little and saw the Doctor staring right at him with an unfathomable look on his face.

"What is it?" Leander enquired, feeling slightly uncomfortable. The Doctor let out a deep sigh.

The Doctor wasted no time in rushing past the young man and soon enough they were at the crater. He kneeled down beside the cool water and dipped the small object into the liquid, keeping it there for a while. He mumbled something to himself as his back began to twinge again, but he tried to ignore it.

Even though he wasn't looking at Leander, he quietly listened to what the young boy was telling him. He was happily describing his past when suddenly, Leander mentioned something about wanting to meet an extra-terrestrial being. Little did he know, he was stood a couple of meters away from one.

The small object in the Time Lord's hand suddenly began to heat up and the Doctor could feel it's outer core begin to get so hot he could hardly keep a hold of it. And this only meant one thing. One very bad thing. He got to his feet slowly and turned towards Leander who was lying on the ground. The Doctor sighed.

"I'm sorry Leander, I'm so sorry, but we're in danger." The Doctor stated grimly, taking a few steps towards the young man. "This-" The Doctor held up the small and now warm object in his hand. "-is a Slitheen tracking device, which means Leander, there are aliens very nearby."

Momentarily shaken out of his daze by this news, Leander was up standing, feeling strange shivers all over his body, kind of like that nervous excitement you get when waiting for exam results or something else huge. He couldn't help but smile with a corner of his mouth, although the Doctor's expression was seriously grim and concerned.

Yes, Leander's day had started off with a quarrel and he had been put under a lot of stress by his family. He had been declined from another university. He had cried and ruminated over his insignificance and the point of his existence. Now, a man he had just met was telling him that aliens were threatening their lives and oddly enough, Leander felt like he had found his place or at least a purpose to serve, even if he didn't know what it was yet.

"What's a Slitheen?" he wondered out loud as the Doctor got hold of his elbow and quickly started leading him west, away from the crater and the clearing.

"A Slitheen is something you don't want to mess with on a bad day," The Doctor told Leander, leading him away from the crater of water. "They're viscous hunters who can smell age, adrenaline and mainly fear. Thankfully, this thing-" the Doctor held up the tracking object. "-is dead. Must have been here a couple of days, so the Slitheen shouldn't have strayed to far from home."

The Doctor let go of Leander's arm and surveyed his surrounds. Masses of countryside surrounded the area, mountains of green swept for miles. The Slitheen could be anywhere.

"Tell me Leander, has there been any disappearances or any strange goings on in the past week? Anything brutal?" The Time Lord asked the young boy as they continued to walk over a desolated field.

Leander let the question sink in for a moment. Truth be told, hardly anything ever happened in this sleepy English countryside. The most they could hope for was an occasional social scandal if an heiress from the neighbouring estate slept with a peasant or when something else indecent occurred. He was about to respond with a no, but then recalled an incident that could be considered strange.

"A few weeks ago Papa went into the woods with some gentlemen, business partners of his, I assume. It was supposed to be a deer hunt like any other. When Papa returned, he was somehow alone and when I asked him about it, he simply ignored me. The next morning we received ill news: Mr Johnson, one of the deceased, was found lifeless in the forest. We were all in shock, although Father was the least broken up about it. They probably weren't the best of friends, Mr Johnson and him. Anyway, I caught a glimpse of the corpse being dragged out into the open and I could have sworn the front of it was perfectly slit in two like the hems of a jacket. It was so appalling it was almost fascinating. And the man who found it claimed to have seen a gleam of white light from its insides, which is rubbish, of course. Does this count as strange?"

The Doctor listened intently to Leander's account of the man's death, and his face went slightly grim. "That's the Slitheen alright," He stated, looking towards the forest landscape with his brown eyes fixed upon the trees. "They must have crashed here then, which means that they must be up to something, which is never good when Slitheen are the ones who are involved."

The Time Lord sniffed the air lightly, and then looked back to Leander. "If they're murdering people, then that means that they've probably disguised themselves using human skin. Anyone who lives near-by could be a Slitheen right now. Well, when I say that I mean anyone who is relatively 'big' in size." He continued to explain. He thought about his options for a few seconds, knowing that he would have to investigate sooner rather that later. He would much rather that the young boy was kept at arms length, not wanting to put him in danger.

"Leander, I want you to go home and keep yourself safe. I need to go into that forest," The Doctor said as he pointed towards the set of trees just over a few fields. "If the Slitheen are in there, then at least I can hopefully find out what they've stayed on Earth for, and while I'm at it give them a good telling off for slaughtering as well. But they are ruthless, and could kill me if they really wanted to, but that won't happen as long as I have my sonic. Hopefully..." The Time Lord drifted, spinning his sonic in the air and catching it with a professional hand.

Leander was having a hard time believing what the Doctor had just explained. He wanted to be rational about this, but the whole affair was way too bizarre for any cold calculations. His instincts told him to stay as far away as possible from this bringer of ill news, but the fellow was really growing on him. Besides, the man had been nothing but nice to him and this was really hard to come by these days.

"Hold on for a moment. You wish that I leave now? I'm afraid that isn't possible. Firstly because you've been kinder to me than anyone in a long while. You ask my opinion and treat me like an equal being, not like a disabled person. For that I am immensely thankful. And secondly because you've told me some crazy things and I'm not leaving until you explain every detail to me. Understood?"

Leander crossed the distance between them and stood close by the Doctor's side, smiling confidently and tapping his heels together as a sign of readiness.

"You really have to do better than that if you want to get rid of me. I'll come with you and you'll be surprised at how well I can defend myself."

The Doctor was rather taken aback when the young man countered his argument for him to leave, arguing that he didn't want to go and that he wished to stay with him. Even though it was unexpected, the Doctor admired the young mans spirit and courage which he liked to see in people. He might not have been the most confident of human beings, but the Time Lord could tell there was something more to Leander than his image. Something more confident and something more keen. Giving in, the Doctor let out a long sigh.

"Fine, but be warned, if we do end up meeting the Slitheen, they're ruthless and wont hesitate to kill you on the spot. Just let me do the talking, okay?" The Doctor told Leander before giving him a warm smile. "Allons-y! then!"

Relieved that the Doctor didn't cast him away, Leander was prepared to go pretty much anywhere and for starters followed the Time Lord's lead over the golden barley fields. The setting evening sun cast strange shadows on the edge of the forest, which they now were approaching. A few mosquitos circled lazily around them as they made their way through the tall straws of grain. The Doctor didn't even blink, but Leander franctically waved them away to avoid getting bitten.

Moving at a steady pace, they almost reached the treeline when all of a sudden the Doctor stopped short, causing the youngster who had walked deep in thought a few steps behind to crash into him.

"Sorry," Leander mumbled for the thousandth time that evening and steadied himself, leaning a hand against his companion's back. The Doctor's attention was elsewhere - he was attentively observing a bulky farmer dressed in a dirty overall, who had just appeared out of the woods and was headed in their direction. Noticing Leander, the man's chubby face melted into a huge grin and he amicably waved. The young man smiled back and nodded politely.

"Dancy Junior! How are things in the mansion? My best regards to your lovely mother, I trust she is fine?" The farmer reached them and grabbed Leander's hand with both of his, shaking it with enthusiasm.

"Yes, of course, Fred. She's really well, currently arranging a charity ball that is to take place at the end of September and... Doctor, what are you doing?" Leander had to cut his explanation off short, because the Doctor was already busy scanning Fred with his sonic device. "Sir, if you would tell him to stop whatever he's doing, it tickles," the farmer said rather irritably and shoved the whirring screwdriver away from his face with a massive hand.

Leander was about to snatch the object from the Doctor, but seeing the grim look in his eyes as the studied the readings, he half thought, half said: "Wait. Could Fred be one of...?" The Doctor nodded microscopically and it was high time, because Fred - or was it even him? - zipped his forehead open and out shone blinding white light. Leander tried hard to withhold a terrified cry, but failed. The Doctor immediately pushed the boy behind his back and took a protective position.

The Doctor spotted the farmer approaching them, and was surprised when it turned out Leander knew the man. In a friendly manner they greeted each other, the older man walking up to the younger man and shaking his hand thoroughly. The Doctor smiled politely, but he knew. He knew that no one could be trusted. And this man wasn't exactly the thinnest of beings. He scrambled for his sonic screwdriver and began to scan the man, knowing that if it was indeed one of them, it wouldn't be able to withstand the sonic for too long.

The manner to which the farmer reacted and the readings that come from his sonic instantly made the Doctor's hearts lurch. He hadn't expected to come across one so soon. This man, was indeed...a Slitheen. Just as the Doctor was about to retort something to the alien, he menacingly reached towards his forehead, and at that moment, the Doctor jumped in front of Leander, guarding him with a protective arm. The man in front of them began to drag his skin over his head, revealing a green lump that began to ascend from out of the slit. Two large black eyes popped out threateningly and, within seconds, it had ripped it's long neck and shoulders out, the skin beginning to loosen around the chest until it simply dropped from the figure of the now fully exposed Slitheen. The Doctor kept his sonic in hand, watching as the Slitheen discarded the skin like trash.

"Well hello there...we meet at last, Time Lord!" The Slitheen gurgled, its long clawed fingers snapping menacingly in the air. The Doctor simply stood his ground.

"So, what is another family of Slitheen doing on planet Earth, ey?" The Doctor asked whilst the huge green creatures fangs began to drip with saliva. "It's against the law for any trading species to integrate with a level five planet, if you have killed people, then you have just committed an illegal act."

"Our ship crashed here Doctor, we did not intend to kill, we only needed some...nutrients as we plan our big surprise," As soon as the Slitheen sported out 'big surprise'. it covered it's lips humorously. "Oops! Looks like i've said too much!."

"What are you lot planning? Because what ever it is, I promise you, I will stop you." The Doctor said between gritted teeth. He knew that the Slitheen was getting ready to pounce at any second.

"Now that I've let my plan slip, I suppose you and that young thing behind you have to die now..." It brandished it's claws towards them, taking one step towards them, ready for the kill. The Doctor knew they only had one chance of escape.

Taking the Slitheen by surprise, he held up the sonic screwdriver and revved it into action, a loud ear-splitting scream emitting from the small tool. The Slitheen's sensitive ears roared with pain and the alien fell backwards, yelling and gurgling in agony. The Doctor had spotted the farmers house sat across the field.

"Leander, I want you to run towards the house, you hear me?!"