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'He has you.'

'I'm not enough,' she said sadly.

'But he says he wants me to model for the Angel of Death,' said the Doctor.

'Why would he make the Angel of Death beaut-' He broke off. Her eyes just got brighter.

'You haven't got another nondate with Rust any time soon, have you?' the Doctor asked Anji at dinner.

She looked up irritably from her plate of romaine lettuce and unsauced boiled shrimp. 'No smirking,' she snapped at Fitz. 'It suits you.' To the Doctor she said, with what she thought was admirable calm, 'We haven't made any definite plans.'

The Doctor sliced into his crabmeat cheesecake. 'Good. Since neither of you is busy -'

'Hey' said Fitz.

'Yes?'

'You haven't asked if I'm busy'

'Are you?'

'Well, no. But I might have been.'

'Since neither of you is busy,' the Doctor resumed, 'you can go up to New England for me.'

'What?' said Fitz.

"This is very good crabmeat cheesecake,' the Doctor said to Anji. 'Are you sure you don't want any?'

'Yes. What's in New England?'

'Last known abode of Delesormes Jnr, only survivor of the unexplained drowning. He was in foster care there, or possibly adopted. In any case, that's where he died.'

'If he's dead,' said Fitz, 'what is there to find out?'

'Oh, lots. Exact circumstances of his death, for example. Whether there was anything strange about it. I've contacted the local police, but no one currently on staff was there in 1990. This isn't something that can be done over the phone.'

'It's cold in New England,' Fitz objected.

'Nonsense. It's lovely this time of year. Turning leaves. Clear air smelling of wood smoke -'

'If people are burning wood, it's cold.'

'- jack o'lanterns, hot cider and maple syrup, bracing walks in the mountains. Also excellent local cheese.'

'All you think about is food,' said Anji.

'I didn't used to. I used to be quite austere, a vegetarian in fact; then I decided that after all I had senses, so why not -' The Doctor stopped abruptly, his face blank with confusion. For a rigid moment, they all three sat staring, Anji and Fitz at the Doctor, the Doctor into the air. Then he shook himself slightly and frowned, as if puzzled. 'Lost my thought. Where was I?'

'New England,' said Fitz softly.

'Oh, yes. I just think it's worth pinning down the facts about the demise of the last of the Delesormes.'

'So when do we leave?' said Anji resignedly.

'Tomorrow morning. I'll take you up there in the TARDIS.'

'Why not tonight?'

'It's late, you're tired. Fresh start in the morning.'

'Also,' said Fitz, 'you have something you plan to do tonight.'

The Doctor smiled innocently. 'Perhaps.' * * *

Anji and Fitz walked back to the hotel along Royal Street.

'It spooks me when he gets like that,' she said.

'Yeah.'

'You know why he does, don't you? Why he forgot. What he forgot.'

Fitz sighed."There's so much I don't know, Anj. He had decades on him before I met him. Maybe centuries. Probably centuries.'

"This whatever-it-is he thinks is chasing him, is it after revenge?'

'I hadn't thought of that. I suppose it could be. But you know how he makes enemies. "Revenge" could cover ninety-nine per cent of any attacks on him.'

She had been thinking of the Furies who pursued Orestes for his matricide.

But she didn't say so.

'He always squeaks through,' Fitz went on. 'And then you're glad you're with him, 'cause you feel like you came through on his coat tails.'

They were passing a large-windowed gallery displaying paintings of a small, melancholy and startled-looking blue dog. Anji stopped. "That's what I feel like.'

"The dog?'

'Look at that expression:"Huh?""Hang on a minute!""Where am I?" That's me in a nutshell where the Doctor is concerned. I mean, here I am, wanting to get back to the time when I left, and here we've landed - almost there, but, oops, not quite.'

'You could still hop a flight home.'

'Oh, yes, and waltz into work a couple of years late: "Hi, everyone. Miss me?" No, thank you. I'll wait till he hits it spot on.'

He's