02x04 - The Girl in the Fireplace

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EXT. THE PALACE OF VERSAILLES

The view of a starry night sky drifts down to that of a lavish estate,the Palace of Versailles.

INT. BALLROOM

Inside are a crowd of panicked 18th century French aristocrats, dressed for a masked ball. They are screaming and running away from the sound of whirring and ominous shadows on the wall.

INT. REINETTE'S BEDROOM

We focus momentarily on a mantelpiece clock, the face smashed, as the King's voice is heard. He walks into a bedroom, where Reinette is standing and staring at the fireplace.

KING LOUIS XV: We are under att*ck! There are creatures... I don't even think they're human. We can't stop them.

REINETTE: The clock is broken. He's coming.

The King moves towards her, concerned that she is still looking at the fireplace and not trying to flee.

KING LOUIS XV: Did you hear what I said?

He takes her hand, pulling her away from the fireplace. She stops and looks insistently at him.

REINETTE: Listen to me. There is a man coming to Versailles. He has watched over me my whole life and he will not desert me tonight.

KING LOUIS XV: What are you talking about? What man?

REINETTE: The only man, save you, I have ever loved. (Continues quickly, before the King can interrupt). No, don't look like that, there's no time. You have your duties. I am your mistress. Go to your queen. (Goes back to the fireplace, this time crouching down and speaking into the flames with a sense of urgency). Are you there? Can you hear me? I need you now, you promised. The clock on the mantel is broken. It is time. Doctor! Doctor!

OPENING CREDITS

EXT. SPACE

3000 years later.

A starry sky. The view moves upwards to reveal a stationary spaceship. The TARDIS can be heard materialising inside.

INT. SPACESHIP

The Doctor emerges from the TARDIS, closely followed by Rose and Mickey. All three proceed to look around a dark, apparently disused room of the spaceship.

MICKEY (excitedly): It's a spaceship! Brilliant, I got a spaceship on my first go!

ROSE (surprised): Looks kind of abandoned... Anyone on board?

THE DOCTOR: Nah, nothing here. Well! Nothing dangerous. Well! Not that dangerous. (pauses). You know what, I'll just have a quick scan... in case there's anything dangerous.

Rose smirks as he walks over to a control panel in the centre of the room and starts tapping at some buttons.

ROSE: So, what's the date? How far we gone?

THE DOCTOR: About three thousand years into your future, give or take.

He pulls on a switch and the lights turn on, the roof gradually opening into a window which shows a spectacular view of the stars outside.

THE DOCTOR (CONT'D): Fifty-first century. Diagmar Cluster, you're a long way from home, Mickey! Two and a half galaxies!

Mickey has moved to a porthole, gazing out in awe. Rose walks over and places her hands on his shoulders, smiling, as the Doctor rummages around the control panel, picking up bits and pieces of presumably broken technology and looking unimpressed.

ROSE: Mickey Smith meet the universe. See anything you like?

MICKEY (amazed): It's so realistic!

THE DOCTOR: Dear me, had some cowboys in here! Got a ton of repair work going on.

He chucks the pieces down casually, noticing a screen with a diagram of the spaceship on it. Rose and Mickey join him to look at it.

THE DOCTOR (with growing surprise and curiosity): Now that's odd, 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... and we're not moving. So where's all that power going?

ROSE: Where'd all the crew go?

The Doctor leans forward and tweaks some knobs on the control panel.

THE DOCTOR: Good question, no life readings on board.

ROSE: Well, we're in deep space; they didn't just nip out for a quick f*g.

THE DOCTOR (taking her seriously): Nope, checked all the smoking pods.

There is a pause as all three gaze around and the Doctor sniffs.

THE DOCTOR (CONT'D): Can you smell that?

ROSE: Yeah, someone's cooking.

MICKEY: Sunday roast, definitely!

The Doctor presses something else and a door opens behind them. They walk through and see part of the wall and floor with 18th decor, as well as a familiar looking lit fireplace.

THE DOCTOR: Well, there's something you don't see in your average spaceship. Eighteenth century! French! Nice mantel. (Pulls out the sonic screwdriver and points it at the fireplace). Not a hologram.

He bends down and examines it closely while Mickey and Rose explore the rest of the room.

THE DOCTOR (CONT'D): Not even a reproduction, this actually is an eighteenth century French fireplace. Double-sided, there's another room through there.

Rose is looking through another porthole on the same wall as the fireplace, and we can see quite clearly that there is only the rest of space outside.

ROSE (disbelievingly): There can't be, that's the outer hull of the ship, look.

The Doctor suddenly crouches down, looking through the fire into the other room. A young girl with long blonde hair, dressed in a nightgown, is looking back at him.

THE DOCTOR: Hello!
YOUNG REINETTE: Hello...

THE DOCTOR: What's your name?

YOUNG REINETTE: Reinette.

THE DOCTOR (encouragingly): Reinette, that's a lovely name. Can you tell me where you are at the moment, Reinette?

YOUNG REINETTE (slightly suspiciously): In my bedroom.

THE DOCTOR: And where's your bedroom? Where do you live, Reinette?

YOUNG REINETTE: Paris, of course!

THE DOCTOR: Paris, right!

YOUNG REINETTE: Monsieur, what are you doing in my fireplace?

THE DOCTOR: Oh, it's just a routine... fire check. Can you tell me what year it is?

YOUNG REINETTE: Of course I can! Seventeen hundred and twenty seven.

THE DOCTOR: Right, lovely! One of my favourites... August is rubbish though. Stay indoors. Okay, that's all for now. Thanks for your help. Hope you enjoy the rest of the fire. Nice night!

YOUNG REINETTE: Goodnight Monsieur.

The Doctor stands, looking thoughtful.

MICKEY: You said this was the fifty-first century.

THE DOCTOR: I also said this ship was generating enough power to punch a hole in the universe. I think we just found the hole. Must be a spatio-temporal hyperlink.

MICKEY: What's that?

THE DOCTOR: No idea. Just made it up. Didn't wanna say "magic door".

ROSE: And on the other side of the (deep voice) "magic door" (normal voice) is France in 1727?

The Doctor nods and looks back at the fireplace before walking across the room, taking his coat off and throwing it in the corner.

THE DOCTOR: Well, she was speaking French. Right period French, too.

MICKEY: She was speaking English, I heard her!

Rose drapes her arms around Mickey's neck as the Doctor strides back to the fireplace.

ROSE: That's the TARDIS, translates for ya.

MICKEY: Even French?!

ROSE: Yep.

The Doctor knees the side of the fireplace and that section of the wall begins to rotate, just like in a horror movie, taking the Doctor with it.

THE DOCTOR: Gotcha!

ROSE: Doctor!

INT. REINETTE'S BEDROOM

Once the fireplace has finished turning, the Doctor finds himself standing in a dark and shadowy bedroom, with the young Reinette asleep. The ticking of a clock can be heard as the Doctor wanders towards the window. A Paris skyline can be seen, and it is snowing. The neigh of a horse is heard and the young Reinette's eyes snap open to see the silhouette of the Doctor at the window. She sits up, and the Doctor turns around.

THE DOCTOR: It's okay! Don't scream! It's me, it's the fireplace man. Look.

He walks over and lights a candle by her bed with the sonic screwdriver. She still looks startled.

THE DOCTOR (CONT'D) : We were talking, just a moment ago. I was in your fireplace.

YOUNG REINETTE: Monsieur, that was weeks ago. That was months!

THE DOCTOR (surprised): Really? Oh.

He walks back to the fireplace and knocks on it, listening to the sound produced.

THE DOCTOR (CONT'D): Must be a loose connection. Need to get a man in.

YOUNG REINETTE: Who are you? And what are you doing here?

The Doctor does not reply, instead staring at the clock on the mantel with his mouth open, looking slightly fearful. The ticking sound is prominent once more.

THE DOCTOR: Okay, that's scary...

YOUNG REINETTE (skeptically): You're scared of a broken clock?

THE DOCTOR: Just a bit scared, yeah. Just a little tiny bit. 'Cause you see, if this clock's broken, and it's the only clock in the room...

The Doctor pauses, turning to look back at Reinette. We see the clock clearly now, the glass of the face is broken, just like the one in the opening scene. The ticking continues.

THE DOCTOR (CONT'D): Then what's that?

The ticking grows louder and Reinette looks around, clearly scared again. The Doctor barely moves, speaking slowly and quietly.

THE DOCTOR: 'Cause you see that's not a clock. You can tell by the resonance. Too big. Six feet, I'd say. Size of a man.

YOUNG REINETTE: What is it?

The Doctor checks behind the curtains, finding nothing. He is speaking more quickly now, spilling out his thought processes.

THE DOCTOR: Now, let's think. If you were a thing that ticks and you were hiding in someone's bedroom, first thing you do: break the clock. No one notices the sound of one clock ticking, but two? (Pauses). You might start to wonder if you're really alone.

He moves towards the bed and crouches down, giving Reinette instructions as he pulls the sonic screwdriver out of his pocket.

THE DOCTOR (CONT'D): Stay on the bed. Right in the middle. Don't put your hands or feet over the edge.

He peers underneath the bed before turning on the sonic screwdriver to scan. Suddenly something smacks the Doctor backwards, knocking the screwdriver out of his hand. Reinette gasps and the Doctor scrambles back to look underneath. We see the feet of something standing there, apparently wearing typical aristocratic French dress. The Doctor slowly resumes crouching, looking at Reinette with wide eyes.

THE DOCTOR (CONT'D): Reinette... (whispers). Don't look round.

A figure is standing on the other side of the bed, wearing a creepy clown-like mask and leering down at Reinette, who looks terrified.

THE DOCTOR (to Reinette): You stay exactly where you are.

The Doctor stands up to look straight at the figure. He glances back at Reinette, then at the figure, and then back at Reinette, discomforted by something.

THE DOCTOR (CONT'D): Hold still, let me look...

He bends down and grasps Reinette's head between his hands, staring intently into her eyes with a disturbed expression before looking back at the figure.

THE DOCTOR (CONT'D) (shocked): You've been scanning her brain!

He pauses, looking once more into Reinette's eyes before standing up straight again.

THE DOCTOR (CONT'D) (horrified and incredulous): What, you've crossed two galaxies and thousands of years just to scan a child's brain? What could there be in a little girl's mind worth blowing a hole in the universe?

YOUNG REINETTE: I don't understand... it wants me?! (Looks round at the figure, but does not even flinch): You want me?

The figure's head twitches to one side and it speaks in a distinctly mechanical voice.

DROID: Not yet. You are incomplete.

THE DOCTOR: "Incomplete"? What's that mean, incomplete?

The droid does not answer, but continues staring at Reinette. The Doctor stands up and speaks in a firm but slightly irritated voice, producing the sonic screwdriver and pointing it threateningly at the droid.

THE DOCTOR (CONT'D): You can answer her, you can answer me. What do you mean, "incomplete"?

The droid again does not answer, instead walking in jerky movements around the bed and facing the Doctor. The droid extends an arm and a menacing looking blade slides out near the Doctor's face. He tilts his head away.

YOUNG REINETTE: Monsieur, be careful!

THE DOCTOR: Just a nightmare, Reinette, don't worry about it. Everyone has nightmares.

The Doctor backs away, the droid pursuing. It swipes at the Doctor who jumps back, reaching the fireplace.

THE DOCTOR (CONT'D): Even monsters from under the bed have nightmares, don't you, monster?

The droid slashes at the Doctor again. He jumps aside, and the droid's blade hits the mantel, getting stuck.

YOUNG REINETTE: What do monsters have nightmares about?

As the droid struggles, the Doctor takes the opportunity to turn the fireplace around.

THE DOCTOR: Me, ha!

Reinette smiles as the droid and the Doctor disappear from her view.

INT. SPACESHIP

ROSE: Doctor!

As the fireplace finishes turning the Doctor runs and grabs a g*n-like object from the wall, using it to spray ice at the droid. It convulses in a last, vain attempt to free itself before freezing completely.

MICKEY (appreciatively): Excellent, ice g*n!

The Doctor calmly throws the 'g*n' to Rose, who catches it.

THE DOCTOR: Fire extinguisher.

ROSE (looking at the droid): Where did that thing come from?

THE DOCTOR: Here.

MICKEY: So why is it dressed like that?

THE DOCTOR: Field trip to France, some kind of basic camouflage protocol; nice needlework! Shame about the face.

He has walked back over to the droid, squinting at it. He pulls off the wig to reveal its actual head: an ornate clockwork mechanism, covered with a clear plastic egg shape. The Doctor cannot help but admire it with near giddy excitement.

THE DOCTOR (CONT'D): Oh, you are beautiful!

Mickey and Rose edge closer in curiosity, and the Doctor puts on his glasses to examine it more closely.

THE DOCTOR (CONT'D): No really, you are, you're gorgeous! Look at that! Space age clockwork, I love it! I've got chills! Listen, seriously, I mean this from the heart, and, by the way, count those, it would be a crime, it would be an act of vandalism to disassemble you.

He takes one last wistful look at the droid before holding up the sonic screwdriver.

THE DOCTOR (CONT'D): But that won't stop me.

The droid creaks back into life and teleports away. Rose and Mickey blink and look around, and the Doctor stuffs the screwdriver back into his pocket, walking swiftly back to the fireplace and preparing to go back to the other side.

THE DOCTOR (CONT'D): Short range teleport, can't have got far. Could still be on board.

ROSE: What is it?

THE DOCTOR (pointing at Rose and Mickey): Don't go looking for it!

ROSE: Where're you going?

THE DOCTOR: Back in a sec.

And he turns the fireplace, returning to Reinette's side. Rose looks down at the fire extinguisher, weighing it up in her hands.

MICKEY (realising what Rose is planning): He said not to look for it...

ROSE (feigning seriousness): Yeah, he did.

They look at each other for a few moments, before Mickey smiles and grabs the other fire extinguisher on the wall.

ROSE (CONT'D) (laughingly): Now you're getting it!

They both jog out of the room.

INT. REINETTE'S BEDROOM

The Doctor now stands by the fireplace in a plush bedroom of red and gold. He steps away from it and calls out.

THE DOCTOR: Reinette... Just checking you're okay...

He idly brushes a hand across the strings of a harp as Reinette, now a beautiful young woman, walks into the room. She pauses, obviously recognising the Doctor. He seems not to notice her until she clears her throat.

THE DOCTOR (CONT'D): Oh! Hello!

He quickly puts away his glasses, clearly surprised and at least marginally distracted by her appearance.

THE DOCTOR (CONT'D) (with a slight stutter): Um, I was just looking for Reinette. Uh, this is still her room, isn't it? I've been away, not sure how long.

REINETTE'S MOTHER (from outside the room, calling): Reinette! We're ready to go!

REINETTE: Go to the carriage, mother, I will join you there.

A marvelling grin of realisation spreads across the Doctor's face.

REINETTE (teasingly): It is customary, I think, to have an imaginary friend only during one's childhood. You are to be congratulated on your persistence.

THE DOCTOR (amazed): Reinette...!

Reinette smiles.

THE DOCTOR (CONT'D): Well. (Swallows, looks her up and down). Goodness, how you've grown.

REINETTE (approaching him): And you do not appear to have aged a single day. That is tremendously impolite of you.

THE DOCTOR (unsure how to react): Right... yes... sorry. Um... umm... umm.. listen, lovely to catch up, but er, better be off, eh? Don't want your mother finding you up here with a strange man, do we?

REINETTE: Strange? How could you be a stranger to me? I have known you since I was seven years old.

THE DOCTOR: Yeah... I suppose you have. (Small laugh). I came the quick route.

Reinette touches the Doctor's cheek, examining him. His eyes widen.

REINETTE: Well, you seem to be flesh and blood, at any rate, but this is absurd. Reason tells me you cannot be real.

THE DOCTOR (shakes his head, gazing at her): Oh, pfft... You never want to listen to reason...

SERVANT (off): Mademoiselle! Your mother grows impatient.

REINETTE (calling back, annoyed by the interruption): A moment!

She looks back at the Doctor.

REINETTE (CONT'D): So many questions. So little time.

She pulls the Doctor towards her and kisses him passionately on the lips. They stumble backwards into the mantelpiece, the Doctor starting to kiss her back...

SERVANT (closer): Mademoiselle Poisson!

Reinette breaks the kiss and runs to the open door, grabbing a purse from her dressing table as she goes, without so much as a backward glance. The Doctor watches her, awestruck, as she leaves. The servant comes to the door but stops dead as he notices the Doctor.

THE DOCTOR: Poisson? (The penny drops): Reinette Poisson?

The servant looked bemused by the Doctor's presence.

THE DOCTOR (CONT'D): No... no, no, no, no, no way, Reinette Poisson?! (Runs right up to the manservant, as though interrogating him but not letting him get a word in): Later Madame Etioles? Later still mistress of Louis the Fifteenth, uncrowned Queen of France? (Runs back towards the fireplace). Actress, artist, musician, dancer, courtesan? Fantastic gardener! (Laughs).

SERVANT: Who the hell are you?!

The Doctor reaches for the fireplace and finds the trigger back to the ship.

THE DOCTOR (giddy): I'm the Doctor. And I just snogged Madame de Pompadour!

The fireplace revolves again, taking the Doctor with it as he laughs manically. He steps back onto the ship.

THE DOCTOR (CONT'D): Rose!

There is no-one there. He looks around.

THE DOCTOR (CONT'D): Mickey? (Strides forward, peeved). Every time, every time, it's rule one, don't wander off! I tell them, I do, rule one! There could be anything on this ship!

He turns the corner and is met by a white horse in the middle of the corridor. The Doctor blinks while the horse whinnies.

INT. SPACESHIP, CORRIDOR

Mickey looks furtively down a corridor holding one of the fire extinguishers, before doing an Indiana Jones-style drop-and-roll. He carries on in the same way until he sees a surveillance camera. It moves towards him and blinks.

MICKEY (camera's POV): Are you looking at me?

The camera moves closer to his face suddenly. Mickey jumps backwards with a squeak of alarm. We see that a human eye is the lens of the camera. Rose joins him.

MICKEY (CONT'D): Look at this.

They do so, while the eye looks back at them.

MICKEY (CONT'D): That's an eye in there. That's a real eye.

The eye retreats back into the wall. Sound of a heartbeat close by. Rose bends down to a small circular cover in the bulkhead. She tries to pull the cover away, but it scalds her. She tries again and it opens to reveal a human heart with wires and pipes attaching it into the ship.

MICKEY (CONT'D): What is that? What's that in the middle there? It's like it's wired in.

ROSE (quiet disgust): That's a heart, Mickey... that's a human heart.

INT. SPACESHIP, CORRIDOR

The Doctor crosses a junction of corridors, looking completely lost.

THE DOCTOR (childlike, calling): Rose?

The horse follows. The Doctor stops to look down a corridor before turning to the horse.

THE DOCTOR (CONT'D) (irritably): Will you stop following me? I'm not your mother!

The horse noses him. The Doctor moves away, having spotted a set of white, French double doors. He opens them.

THE DOCTOR (CONT'D): So this is where you came from, eh, horsey?

EXT. THE PALACE OF VERSAILLES, GROUNDS

The Doctor walks out onto a grassy courtyard, once again in Versailles. He sees a familiar figure, smiles and walks to a low wall with a pillar and an urn on top. Two ladies laugh, walking arm in arm. As they speak, we see the Doctor watching them in the background.

REINETTE: Oh, Catherine, you are too wicked!

Reinette suddenly turns around as though she has spotted something out of the corner of her eye. The Doctor ducks down behind the pillar just in time.

CATHERINE: Oh, speaking of wicked, I hear Madame de Chateneux is ill and close to death.

Reinette's attention having wandered, the Doctor straightens up and leans on the wall.

REINETTE: Yes. (Seriously). I am devastated. (Laughs).

CATHERINE (laughingly): Oh, indeed. I myself am frequently inconsolable.

The Doctor smiles.

CATHERINE (CONT'D): The King will therefore be requiring a new mistress. You love the King, of course?

REINETTE: He is the King. And I love him with all my heart. And I look forward to meeting him.

Catherine laughs, Reinette turns back, convinced she's being watched. The Doctor ducks behind the pillar again.

CATHERINE: Is something wrong, my dear?

REINETTE: Not wrong, no.

The Doctor straightens up a little. After a pause, the ladies link arms and walk again. The Doctor straightens up fully and leans on the wall again.

CATHERINE: Every woman in Paris knows your ambitions.

REINETTE: Every woman in Paris shares them.

CATHERINE: You know of course that the King is to attend the Yew Tree ball?

The sound of their voices fade into the distance.

EXT. SPACE

The spaceship revolves slowly.

INT. SPACESHIP, CORRIDOR

Mickey and Rose walk down a corridor holding their g*ns, the cameras watching them.

MICKEY: Maybe it wasn't a real heart.

ROSE: Course it was a real heart.

MICKEY (looking around): Is this like normal for you? Is this an average day?

ROSE: Life with the Doctor, Mickey - no more average days.

They stop by a window with a view into a luxurious 18th century room.

MICKEY: It's France again. We can see France.

ROSE: I think we're looking through a mirror.

The room's doors open, and the King enters with two servants.

MICKEY: Blimey, look at this guy. Who does he think he is?

THE DOCTOR (appearing behind them): King of France.

ROSE: Oh, here's trouble. What you been up to?

THE DOCTOR (watching the king as he stands before the mirror): Oh, this and that. Became the imaginary friend of a future French aristocrat... picked a fight with a clockwork man...

The horse whinnies from around the corner.

THE DOCTOR (CONT'D): Oh, and I met a horse.

The horse trots into view.

MICKEY: What's a horse doing on a spaceship?

THE DOCTOR: Mickey, what's pre-Revolutionary France doing on a spaceship? Get a little perspective.

The Doctor looks through the window.

THE DOCTOR (CONT'D) (pointing): See these? They're all over the place. On every deck. Gateways to history. But not just any old history...

He places a finger on the glass as Reinette enters the room.

THE DOCTOR (CONT'D): Hers. Time window... deliberately arranged along the life of one particular woman. A spaceship from the fifty-first century stalking a woman from the eighteenth. Why?

ROSE: Who is she?

THE DOCTOR: Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson, known to her friends as Reinette. One of the most accomplished women who ever lived.

ROSE: So has she got plans of being the Queen, then?

THE DOCTOR: No, he's already got a Queen. She's got plans of being his mistress.

ROSE: Oh, I get it. Camilla.

Rose and Mickey laugh.

THE DOCTOR (as the King leaves): I think this is the night they met. The night of the Yew Tree ball. In no time at flat, she'll get herself established as his official mistress, with her own rooms at the palace... even her own title, Madame de Pompadour.

Reinette stands before the mirror, preening herself.

ROSE: Queen must have loved her...

THE DOCTOR: Oh, she did. They get on very well.

MICKEY: The King's wife and the King's girlfriend?

THE DOCTOR: France. It's a different planet.

There comes the telltale ticking sounds. The Doctor spots that the face of the clock on the mantelpiece has been shattered.

INT. THE PALACE OF VERSAILLES

Reinette hears the ticking click too and turns, eyes wide with fear.

REINETTE: How long have you been standing there?

For there is a figure standing in the corner of the room, facing the wall.

REINETTE (CONT'D): Show yourself!

The figure turns suddenly and reveals itself to be one of the clockwork droids. It starts to advance.

INT. SPACESHIP

The Doctor grabs the fire extinguisher from Mickey and swings the mirror around so he can step back into Reinette's world.

INT. THE PALACE OF VERSAILLES

THE DOCTOR: Hello, Reinette. Hasn't time flown?

REINETTE: Fireplace man!

The Doctor steps past her and sprays the droid with the fire extinguisher until it is immobile. He throws the extinguisher back to Mickey. The droid starts to click and whirr loudly.

MICKEY: What's it doing?

THE DOCTOR: Switching back on. Melting the ice.

MICKEY: And then what?

THE DOCTOR: Then it kills everyone in the room.

The clockwork droid's arm sh**t out towards the Doctor's throat, he jumps back and backs towards Reinette.

THE DOCTOR (CONT'D): Focuses the mind, doesn't it? (Addressing the clockwork woman): Who are you? Identify yourself.

The droid cocks its head but does not answer.

THE DOCTOR (CONT'D) (to Reinette): Order it to answer me.

REINETTE: Why should it listen to me?

THE DOCTOR: I don't know. It did when you were a child. Let's see if you've still got it.

REINETTE (to the droid): Answer his question. Answer any and all questions put to you.

The droid lowers its arm.

DROID: I am repair droid seven.

THE DOCTOR: So what happened to the ship, then? There was a lot of damage.

DROID: Ion storm, eighty two percent systems failure.

THE DOCTOR: That ship hasn't moved in over a year. What's taken you so long?

DROID: We did not have the parts.

MICKEY (laughs): Always comes down to that, doesn't it? The parts.

THE DOCTOR: What's happened to the crew, where are they?

DROID: We did not have the parts.

THE DOCTOR (persistently): There should have been over fifty people on your ship. Where did they go?

DROID: We did not have the parts.

THE DOCTOR: Fifty people don't just disappear! Where...? (It dawns on him). Oh. You didn't have the parts, so you used the crew.

MICKEY: The crew?

ROSE: We found a camera with an eye in it... and there was a heart... wired in to machinery.

THE DOCTOR: It was just what it was programmed to. Repairing the ship any way it can, with whatever it could find. No-one told it the crew weren't on the menu. What did you say the flight deck smelt of?

ROSE (quietly): Someone cooking...

THE DOCTOR: Flesh plus heat. Barbeque.

Reinette looks slightly sick.

THE DOCTOR: But what are you doing here? You've opened up time windows, that takes colossal energy. Why come here, you could have gone to your repair yard. Instead you come to eighteenth century France? Why?

DROID: One more part is required.

The Droid's head jerks towards Reinette. The Doctor, Rose and Mickey stare at her.

THE DOCTOR (looking back at the Droid): Then why haven't you taken it?

DROID: She is incomplete.

THE DOCTOR: What... so, that's the plan then? Just keep opening up more and more time windows, scanning her brain, checking to see if she's "done yet"?

ROSE: Why her?

The Doctor turns to her, surprised at the abruptness of this question.

ROSE (CONT'D): You've got all of history to choose from, why specifically her?

DROID: We are the same.

REINETTE: We are not the same, we are in no sense the same!

DROID: We are the same.

REINETTE (angry, advancing): Get out of here! Get out of here this instance!

THE DOCTOR: Reinette, no.

The Droid activates a teleport and disappears.

THE DOCTOR: It's back on the ship. Rose, take Mickey and Arthur, get after it. Follow it, don't approach it, just watch what it does.

ROSE: Arthur?

THE DOCTOR: Good name for a horse.

ROSE (exasperated): No, you're not keeping the horse!

THE DOCTOR: I let you keep Mickey! Now go, go, go!

Mickey and Rose run back through the mirror portal. The Doctor closes it behind them and turns back to Reinette.

THE DOCTOR (CONT'D): Reinette, you're going to have to trust me. I need to find out what they're looking for, there's only one way I can do that. Won't hurt a bit.

Reinette nods her assent and the Doctor places his fingers on her temples and closes her eyes. Reinette also closes hers.

REINETTE (after a moment): Fireplace man... you are inside my mind.

THE DOCTOR: Oh dear, Reinette. You've had some cowboys in here.

INT. SPACESHIP, CORRIDOR

Mickey and Rose are back on the ship, walking down a corridor. Mickey gives a short laugh.

MICKEY (suggestively): So, that Doctor, eh?

ROSE: What are you talking about?

MICKEY: Well! Madame de Pompadour. Sarah Jane Smith. Cleopatra.

ROSE (stopping, pissed off): Cleopatra, he mentioned her once.

MICKEY: Yeah, but he called her "Cleo".

A droid appears behind Mickey

ROSE (shrieks): Mickey!

It clutches him by the neck as another comes up behind Rose, grabbing her before she can use her w*apon. Part of its arm extends, with two vicious needles on the end, which points at Rose's neck. The one behind Mickey does the same. The needles are pushed in, and Mickey and Rose slump unconscious to the floor.

INT. THE PALACE OF VERSAILLES

The Doctor and Reinette are still linked.

REINETTE: You are in my memories. You walk among them.

THE DOCTOR: If there's anything you don't want me to see, just imagine a door and close it. I won't look. Ooh.. actually... there's a door just there.

Reinette opens her eyes and grins slyly.

THE DOCTOR (CONT'D): You might want to clo... Ooh. Actually, several.

REINETTE: To walk among the memories of another living soul... do you ever get used to this?

THE DOCTOR: I don't make a habit of it.

REINETTE: How can you resist?

THE DOCTOR: What age are you?

REINETTE: So impertinent a question so early in the conversation. How promising.

THE DOCTOR: No, not my question, theirs. You're twenty-three and for some reason, that means you're not old enough.

Reinette flinches.

THE DOCTOR (CONT'D) (quickly): Sorry, you might find old memories reawakening. Side effect.

REINETTE: Oh, such a lonely childhood...

THE DOCTOR: It'll pass. Stay with me.

REINETTE: Oh, Doctor. So lonely. So very, very alone.

THE DOCTOR: What do you mean, alone? You've never been alone in your life...

His eyes snap open.

THE DOCTOR (CONT'D): When did you start calling me "Doctor"?

REINETTE: Such a lonely little boy. Lonely then and lonelier now. (Opens her eyes). How can you bear it?

THE DOCTOR (stepping away from her): How did you do that?

REINETTE: A door, once opened, can be stepped through in either direction...

The Doctor stares at her, vulnerable.

REINETTE (CONT'D) (softly): Oh, Doctor. (Steps towards him). My lonely Doctor. Dance with me.

THE DOCTOR (warningly): I can't.

REINETTE (adamant): Dance with me.

THE DOCTOR: This is the night you dance with the King.

REINETTE: Then first, I shall make him jealous.

THE DOCTOR: I can't.

REINETTE (sadly): Doctor... Doctor who?

She looks at him for a few moments.

REINETTE (CONT'D): It's more than just a secret, isn't it?

THE DOCTOR: What did you see?

REINETTE: That there comes a time, Time Lord, when every lonely little boy must learn how to dance.

She smiles and takes his hand, leading him away.

INT. SPACESHIP

Close up on Rose's eyes. She's beginning to stir. Her eyes open and she becomes aware of a loud ticking. She slowly focuses on one of the clockwork droids, staring down at her.

ROSE: What's going on? (Calls): Doctor?

She has been manacled onto some sort of operating table which has been tilted at a sharp angle. Mickey is manacled onto another at the other side of the room.

MICKEY (scared): Rose? They're gonna chop us up. Just like the crew, they're gonna chop us up and stick us all over their stupid spaceship. And where's the Doctor? Where's the precious Doctor now? He's been gone for flipping hours, that's where he is!

DROID (stepping before Rose): You are compatible.

ROSE (stalling for time): Well... you... you might wanna think about that. You really, really might because... me and Mickey... we didn't come here alone, oh no! And trust me, you wouldn't wanna mess with our designated driver.

The droid thrusts a sharp and lethal looking tool in front of Rose's face. Rose stares at it apprehensively.

ROSE (CONT'D): Ever heard of the Daleks? Remember them? They had a name for our friend. They had myths about him, and a name. They called him the...

In the distance, there is a loud banging and the sound of someone singing drunkenly.

THE DOCTOR (off): I could've danced all night, I could've danced all night...

ROSE (distracted): They called him the... they called him the... the...

The Doctor staggers into the room, dancing with an imaginary partner, wearing a pair of sunglasses and a tie around his head.

THE DOCTOR: And still have begged for moooore... I could've spread my wings and done a thou... have you met the French?

Mickey looks bemused.

THE DOCTOR (CONT'D): My... god, they know how to party.

ROSE (sarcastically): Oh, look at what the cat dragged in. The Oncoming Storm.

THE DOCTOR (distastefully): Oh, you sound just like your mother.

ROSE (crossly): What've you been doing?? Where've you been?!

THE DOCTOR: Well... among other things, I think just invented the banana daiquiri a few centuries early.

Rose lies back, exasperated.

THE DOCTOR (CONT'D): Do you know, they've never even seen a banana before!

He leans over her.

THE DOCTOR (CONT'D) (sincerely): Always take a banana to a party, Rose. Bananas are good.

He spots the droids.

THE DOCTOR (CONT'D) (absolutely delighted): Oh ho ho ho ho, brilliant. It's you! You're my favourite, you are, you are the best! Do you know why? 'Cause you're so thick. You're Mister Thick Thick Thickity Thick Face from Thicktown, Thickania. (As an afterthought). And so's your dad.

He strolls away.

THE DOCTOR (CONT'D): Do you know what they were scanning Reinette's brain for? (He sniggers). Her milometer. They wanna know how old she is. Know why? 'Cause this ship is thirty-seven years old. And they think that when Reinette is thirty-seven, when she's "complete", then her brain will be compatible. So, that's what you're missing, isn't it?

He stares one of the droids mockingly in the face.

THE DOCTOR (CONT'D): Hmm? Command circuit. Your computer. Your ship needs a brain. And for some reason, God knows what, only the brain of Madame de Pompadour will do.

DROID: The brain is compatible.

THE DOCTOR: Compatible? (He approaches the droid). If you believe that, you probably believe this is a glass of wine.

He removes the droid's mask and pours the 'wine' into the clockwork inside the head of the droid. He replaces the mask and pats it on the head. The droid wind downs. Rose leans back in relief.

THE DOCTOR (CONT'D) (suddenly sober): Multigrain anti-oil. If it moves, it doesn't.

A droid from the corner of the room begins to advance, but the Doctor quickly deactivates it using a nearby lever.

THE DOCTOR (CONT'D): Right, you two, that's enough lying about...

He releases Rose and Mickey quickly with the sonic screwdriver, and they slide down the tables onto the floor.

THE DOCTOR (CONT'D): Time we got the rest of the ship turned off.

MICKEY: Are those things safe?

THE DOCTOR (pulling the tie down and pushing the sunglasses up): Yep. Safe. Safe and thick. Way I like them. Okay, all the time windows are controlled from here. I need to close them all down. (He feels his pockets). Zeus plugs. Where are my Zeus plugs? (Looks around for them). I had them a minute ago, I was using them as castanets.

ROSE: Why didn't they just open a time window to when she was thirty-seven?

THE DOCTOR: With the amount of damage to these circuits, they'll be lucky to hit the right century. Trial and error after that.

He tries to operate the computer.

THE DOCTOR (CONT'D): The windows aren't closing. Why won't they close?

There is an ominous pinging sound.

ROSE: What's that?

THE DOCTOR (over the clicking sounds): I don't know... incoming message?

MICKEY: From who?

THE DOCTOR: Report from the field... one of them must still be out there with Reinette! That's why I can't close the windows, there's an override!

Behind him, one of the clockwork droids springs to life with a whirring sound. Rose gasps. The droid expells the "wine" the Doctor poured into its mechanics over the Doctor's shoe.

THE DOCTOR (CONT'D): Well, that was a bit clever.

The rest of the droids spring to life, filling the room with ticking.

THE DOCTOR (CONT'D): Right... many things about this are not good.

The pinging sounds again.

THE DOCTOR (CONT'D): Message from one of your little friends? Anything interesting?

DROID: She is complete. It begins.

They teleport out.

ROSE: What's happening?

THE DOCTOR: One of them must've found the right time window, and now it's time to send in the troops. And this time they're bringing back her head.

INT. THE PALACE OF VERSAILLES

Madame de Pompadour stands by the window, looking up at the sky. A shadow passes over the shaft of light spilling into the room through the doorway as someone slowly approaches. At the sound of the footsteps, Reinette turns. Disturbed, she checks the clock face. A figure is reflected in it's glass.

ROSE: Madame de Pompadour... (Reinette gasps). Please, don't scream or anything, we haven't got a lot of time.

INT. THE PALACE OF VERSAILLES

Reinette stands before Rose who has taken a seat.

ROSE: I've come to warn you that they'll be here in five years.

REINETTE: Five years?

ROSE: Some time after your thirty-seventh birthday. I um... I can't give you an exact date. It's a bit random. But they're coming. It's gonna happen. In a way, for us, it's already happening. I'm sorry, it's hard to explain. The Doctor does this better.

REINETTE: Then be exact, and I will be attentive.

ROSE (apologetically): There isn't time.

REINETTE (persistently): There are five years.

ROSE: For you. I haven't got five minutes.

REINETTE: Then also be concise.

Reinette takes a seat opposite Rose, ready to listen.

ROSE: Erm... there's say, um... a... a... a vessel. A ship. A sort of sky ship. And it's full of... well, you. Different bits of your life in different rooms, all jumbled up. I told you it was complicated, sorry.

REINETTE: There is a vessel in your world... where the days of my life are pressed together like the chapters of a book so that he may step from one to the other without increase of age... while I, weary traveller... must always take the slower path?

ROSE: He was right about you...

REINETTE: So, in five years these creatures will return. What can be done?

ROSE: The Doctor says keep them talking. They're kind of programmed to respond to you now. You won't be able to stop them, but you might be able to delay them a bit.

REINETTE: Until?

ROSE: Until the Doctor can get there.

REINETTE: He's coming, then?

ROSE: He promises.

REINETTE: But he cannot... make his promises in person?

ROSE: He'll be there when you need him. That's the way it's gotta be.

REINETTE: It's the way it's always been. The monsters and the Doctor. It seems you cannot have one without the other.

ROSE (slight laugh): Tell me about it. (Pause) The thing is... you weren't supposed to have either. Those creatures are messing with history. None of this was ever supposed to happen to you.

REINETTE (angrily): Supposed to happen? What does that mean? It happened, child. And I would not have it any other way. One may tolerate a world of demons for the sake of an angel.

She stands with her back to Rose, facing the fireplace.

MICKEY (calling): Rose? Rose?

Reinette and Rose turn. Mickey appears from behind a tapestry just outside the room.

MICKEY (CONT'D): Rose!

Rose rushes to meet him.

MICKEY (CONT'D): The time window when she's thirty-seven. We found it. Right under our noses.

He stops as Reinette pauses. She looks at the window behind the tapestry and makes for it.

ROSE: No, you can't go in there, the Doctor will go mad...

But Reinette has already walked through onto the spaceship.

INT. SPACESHIP

She looks at her surroundings, lost and confused, and evidently slightly scared. Rose and Mickey can only watch her.

REINETTE: So, this is his world.

They hear screaming and chaos in the distance.

REINETTE (CONT'D): What was that?

MICKEY (to Rose): The time window, the Doctor fixed an audio link.

REINETTE (as if afraid of the answer): Those screams... is that my future?

ROSE (really meaning it): Yeah... I'm sorry.

REINETTE: Then I must take the slower path.

Reinette's voice sounds in the distance from the time window.

REINETTE (off): Are you there? Can you hear me? I need you now, you promised. The clock on the mantel is broken. It is time.

REINETTE (disturbed): That's my voice.

MICKEY: Rose, come on, we've gotta go. There's... there's a problem.

ROSE: Give me a moment.

Mickey rushes away, but Rose stays and approaches Reinette, concerned.

ROSE (CONT'D) (gently): Are you okay?

REINETTE: No. I'm very afraid. But you and I both know, don't we, Rose? The Doctor is worth the monsters.

Rose nods. Reinette walks back through the tapestry into her world.

REINETTE (from the future): Doctor! Doctor!

After a moment of reflection, Rose heads off.

INT. BALLROOM

Screaming people run down the corridors of the palace, followed by the ticking droids. They are armed.

INT. BEDROOM

REINETTE (into the fireplace): Doctor!

KING LOUIS XV (urgently): We must go. No one is coming to help us.

One of the droids appears in the doorway. Reinette stands and turns. When she sees it, memories flash through her head of that nightmarish encounter with them as a child. Her eyes widen with fear. Two other droids flank the first.

DROID: You are complete. You will come.

INT. BALLROOM

In the ballroom, the droids advance, backing the guests against a wall as they cower and scream.

INT. SPACESHIP

The Doctor works frantically as Rose joins him and Mickey at the time window.

ROSE: You found it, then?

THE DOCTOR: They knew I was coming. They blocked it off.

INT. THE PALACE OF VERSAILLES, CORRIDOR

One of the droids has Reinette by the arm as it leads her roughly away.

REINETTE: Where are we going?

DROID: The teleport has limited range. We must have proximity to the time portal.

REINETTE: Your words mean nothing. You are nothing.

Behind her, two more droids have King Louis between them.

INT. SPACESHIP

ROSE (looking through the time window into the ballroom): I don't get it. How come they got in there?

THE DOCTOR (still working): They teleported - you saw them. As long as the ship and the ballroom are linked, their short-range teleports will do the trick.

ROSE: Well, we'll go in the TARDIS!

THE DOCTOR: We can't use the TARDIS, we're part of events now.

MICKEY: Well, can't we just smash through it?

THE DOCTOR: Hyperplex this side, plate glass the other. We need a truck.

MICKEY: We don't have a truck.

THE DOCTOR (shouts): I know we don't have a truck!

ROSE: Well, we've gotta try something!

THE DOCTOR: No, smash the glass, smash the time window, they'd be no way back.

Rose stares at him.

REINETTE (in the ballroom): Can everyone just calm down? Please.

INT. BALLROOM

REINETTE (CONT'D): Such a commotion. Such distressing noise. Kindly remember that is is Versailles. This is the Royal Court. And we are French.

She turns to the droids.

REINETTE (CONT'D): I have made a decision. And my decision is "no", I shall not be going with you today. I have seen your world, and I have no desire to set foot there again.

DROID: We do not require your feet.

Two droids come up on either side of Reinette and push her to her knees. They point their maiming instruments at her neck. The 'chief' droid approaches her and also points his w*apon at her. Reinette looks up at him.

REINETTE (CONT'D): You think I fear you. But I do not fear you, even now. You are merely the nightmare of my childhood. The monster from under my bed. And if my nightmare can return to plague me, then rest assured, (she lowers her voice to a whisper) so will yours.

The sound of a horse whinnying is heard in the distance. Reinette, the droids, and the guests all look around for the source of the sound. It is followed by galloping hooves - and after a few moments, the horse leaps through the glass of a large mirror on the wall, the Doctor on his back. The guests shriek and Reinette's mouth drops open. The Doctor winks as he trots past her. The horse comes to a halt and the Doctor drops down.

THE DOCTOR: Madame de Pompadour. You look younger every day.

Reinette smiles.

KING LOUIS XV: What the hell is going on?

REINETTE (to the Doctor): Oh, this is my lover, the King of France.

THE DOCTOR (distastefully): Yeah? Well, I'm the Lord of Time. (He approaches the chief droid). And I'm here to fix the clock.

He removes the mask of the droid, revealling the clockwork underneath, which elicits a gasp from the crowd. The droid points it's w*apon at the Doctor.

THE DOCTOR (CONT'D): Forget it. It's over. For you and for me.

He glances up at the broken mirror. There is only a brick wall behind it.

THE DOCTOR (CONT'D): Talk about seven years bad luck. Try three thousand...

The droid cocks its head to look at the mirror.

INT. SPACESHIP

On the spaceship, there are only shards of glass and the interior of the spaceship where the time window into the ballroom used to be. Rose stands before it.

MICKEY: What happened? Where did the time window go? How's he gonna get back?

Rose is still. She does not answer. The camera swings slowly around onto her face. She's just staring at the remains of the time window. A single tear runs down her cheek.

INT. BALLROOM

The droid repeatedly tries to use it's teleport, to no avail. It turns to the Doctor.

THE DOCTOR: The link with the ship is broken. No way back. You don't have the parts. How many ticks left in that clockwork heart? A day? An hour? It's over. Accept that. I'm not winding you up.

And finally, the clockwork winds down and the droid goes dead. The other droids follow suit and slump forwards. One of them falls backwards causing the clockwork to smash over the floor. The guests whisper amongst one another as the Doctor holds out a hand to Reinette.

THE DOCTOR (CONT'D): You all right?

Reinette nods and takes his hand. He pulls her to her feet.

REINETTE: What's happened to them?

THE DOCTOR: They've stopped. They have no purpose now.

The camera pulls away. The Doctor and Reinette stand in the middle of the destruction, hand in hand.

INT. SPACESHIP

Rose has not moved.

MICKEY: We can't fly the TARDIS without him. How's he gonna get back?

Rose raises her head and looks up at the stars overhead.

INT. THE PALACE OF VERSAILLES

The Doctor stands by the window, holding a glass of wine and looking up at probably those same stars. Reinette comes up behind him, also holding a glass of wine. She follows his gaze.

REINETTE: You know all their names, don't you? I saw that in your mind. The name of every star.

THE DOCTOR: What's in a name? Names are just titles. Titles don't tell you anything.

REINETTE: Like, "The Doctor".

THE DOCTOR: Like, "Madame de Pompadour".

Reinette laughs.

REINETTE: I have often wished to see those stars a little closer. Just as you have, I think.

THE DOCTOR: From time to time.

REINETTE: In saving me, you trapped yourself. Did you know that would happen?

THE DOCTOR: Mm. Pretty much.

REINETTE: Yet, still you came.

THE DOCTOR: Yeah, I did, didn't I? (He smiles). Catch me doing that again.

REINETTE: There were many doors between my world and yours. Can you not use one of the others?

THE DOCTOR: When the mirror broke, the shock will have severed all the links with the ship. There'll be a few more broken mirrors and torn tapestries around here, I'm afraid. Wherever there was a time window. I'll... I'll, er... pay for any damage. (Reinette laughs). Um... oh, that's a thought, I'm gonna need money. I was always a bit vague about money. Where do you get money?

REINETTE: So, here you are. My lonely angel. Stuck on the slow path, with me.

THE DOCTOR: Yep. The slow path. (He grins and holds up his glass). Here's to the slow path.

Reinette laughs and they chink their glasses together and sip their wine.

REINETTE: It's a pity... I think I would've enjoyed the slow path.

THE DOCTOR: Well, I'm not going anywhere.

REINETTE: Oh, aren't you? (She sets down her wine). Take my hand.

The Doctor takes her hand and she leads him out of the room.

INT. REINETTE'S BEDROOM

They enter Reinette's bedroom and stand in the doorway.

REINETTE: It's not a copy. It's the original. I had it moved here and was exact in every detail.

THE DOCTOR: The fireplace... (He walks slowly forward). The fireplace from your bedroom. When did you do this?

REINETTE: Many years ago. In the hope that a door once opened, may someday be opened again. One never quite knows when one needs one's Doctor. (They smile at each other). It appears undamaged, do you think it will still work?

THE DOCTOR: You broke the bond with the ship when you moved it. Which means it was off-line when the mirror broke. That's what saved it. But... (he moves closer to the fireplace) the link is basically physical, and it's still physically here.

Reinette watches him, not saying anything but with a hint of sadness in her eyes.

THE DOCTOR (CONT'D) (tapping the woodwork): Which might just mean, if I'm lucky... if I'm very, very, very, very, very, very lucky...

He seems to find the spot he is looking for. He beams.

THE DOCTOR (CONT'D): Aha!

REINETTE: What?

THE DOCTOR: Loose connection!

He holds his sonic screwdriver to the loose connection.

THE DOCTOR (CONT'D): Need to get a man in!

He bangs on the mantelpiece, then stands ready for the fireplace to turn.

THE DOCTOR (CONT'D): Wish me luck!

REINETTE: No...

The Doctor's grin fades from his face, but too late - the fireplace has already started to revolve.

INT. SPACESHIP

As soon as he is on the other side, he crouches and calls through the flames.

THE DOCTOR: Madame de Pompadour!

She crouches on the other side.

THE DOCTOR (CONT'D): Still wanna see those stars?

REINETTE: More than anything.

THE DOCTOR: Give me two minutes. Pack a bag!

REINETTE: Am I going somewhere?

THE DOCTOR: Go to the window. Pick a star. Any star.

He stands and dashes off to the TARDIS. Reinette rushes to the window and looks up at the night sky, breathless with anticipation.

INT. SPACESHIP

The Doctor has Rose in a tight hug.

THE DOCTOR: How long did you wait?

ROSE (giddy with relief): Five and a half hours!

THE DOCTOR (releasing her): Right, always wait five and a half hours.

He makes to hug Mickey, changes his mind and shakes his hand instead.

ROSE: Where've you been??

THE DOCTOR: Explain later. Into the TARDIS, be with you in a sec.

He rushes back to the fireplace. Mickey goes into the TARDIS without hesitation, but Rose watches the Doctor go back.

THE DOCTOR (CONT'D) (calls): Reinette?
(he kneels before the flames, tries to peer through)
You there, Reinette?

He triggers the fireplace again and it revolves again.

INT. REINETTE'S BEDROOM

The Doctor finds himself back in the palace - except the room is completely dark. He pauses, then wanders out into the halls.

INT. THE PALACE OF VERSAILLES, HALLS

THE DOCTOR (CONT'D) (calling): Reinette?

There is no one around except for King Louis, who is standing by the window, looking outside.

THE DOCTOR (CONT'D): Oh. Hello.

KING LOUIS XV: You just missed her. She'll be in Paris by six.

THE DOCTOR: Ah.

The King stares at the Doctor and takes a few steps towards him.

KING LOUIS XV (awestruck): Good Lord... she was right. She said you never looked a day older.(The Doctor raises his eyebrows). So many years since I saw you last, yet not a day of it on your face.

He walks slowly over to a sideboard and opens a drawer. He takes out a letter.

KING LOUIS XV (CONT'D): She spoke of you many times.

The Doctor's smile is fading as he begins to understand.

KING LOUIS XV (CONT'D): Often wished you'd visit again. You know how women are.

He holds the letter out to the Doctor, who takes it and looks at it. The King is distracted by the thrash of a whip, a neighing from outside and then the sound of hooves. He goes back to the window.

KING LOUIS XV (CONT'D): There she goes.

Through the rain, the King watches the hearse carry Reinette's coffin away through the gates of the palace.

KING LOUIS XV (CONT'D): Leaving Versailles for the last time. Only forty-three when she d*ed.

The Doctor walks slowly up behind the King to watch the hearse, face solemn with a pain that he can't quite hide.

KING LOUIS XV (CONT'D): Too young... too young. Illness took her in the end. She always did work too hard.

His eyes are glistening with tears. He turns to the Doctor.

KING LOUIS XV (CONT'D): What does she say?

Without a word and without looking away from the window, the Doctor silently tucks the letter inside his jacket.

KING LOUIS XV (CONT'D): Of course. Quite right.

After a few more moments, the Doctor turns and walks away.

INT. TARDIS

The Doctor closes the door of the TARDIS wearily behind him and walks slowly up to the console.

ROSE: Why her?

She and Mickey are standing by the console.

ROSE (CONT'D): Why did they think they could fix the ship with the head of Madame de Pompadour?

THE DOCTOR: We'll probably never know. There was massive damage in the computer memory base. Probably got confused. (He goes to the controls). The TARDIS can close down the time windows now the droids are gone. Should stop it causing any more trouble.

He taps on the computer, acting for the world as if everything is okay. But Rose knows there's something wrong.

ROSE (after a moment of watching him): Are you all right?

The Doctor looks up.

THE DOCTOR: I'm always all right.

He smiles briefly, and fiddles with the controls again. Rose still watches him, aware that he's keeping something to himself. Mickey realises he wants to be alone and tugs on Rose's arm.

MICKEY: Come on, Rose. It's time you showed me around the rest of this place.

Rose is hesitant to leave the Doctor, and glances over her shoulder as Mickey leads her from the console room. The Doctor continues to pretend to work at the computer for a few moments, and then glances around to make sure they are gone. Then he slowly takes the letter out of his pocket and carefully opens it.

REINETTE (voice-over): My Dear Doctor. The path has never seemed more slow, and yet I fear I am nearing its end. Reason tells me that you and I are unlikely to meet again. But I think I shall not listen to reason. I have seen the world inside your head, and know that all things are possible. Hurry though, my love. My days grow shorter now, and I am so very weak. God speed, my lonely angel.

The Doctor, having finished reading, tucks the letter away again and turns back to the console, so very heavy of heart. He takes one last look at the image of the fireplace on the monitor, which is still lit with merrily dancing flames. He presses a few keys, and they go out, leaving the fireplace shrouded in darkness. He stands there watching it for a few more moments before looking up at the rotor.

INT. SPACESHIP

Outside the TARDIS, a wind picks up as the engines grind into the life and it dematerialises. Just behind where it was parked is a portrait of Reinette, labelled: Madame de Pompadour 1721-1764.

EXT. SPACE

The now truly deserted spaceship revolves slowly in space. On the outer hull is engraved the name "SS Madame de Pompadour".

END