On a deck overlooking a bay, a white-haired man and a young woman sat at a table. The remains of their breakfast had been cleared away and they were enjoying the warm sun and brisk morning air. The woman, Jo, sat with her eyes closed as she listened to the waves crash into the rocks below.

"I love the sea," she murmured, quickly adding, "When there aren't Silurians or Sea Devils crawling out of it." Sitting up she took a sip of her tea. "This is wonderful Doctor. How did you convince the Brigadier to let us come to San Francisco?"

"I haven't yet." The Doctor smiled over his own cup. "Don't worry Jo," he continued as a look of concern spread over her face. "I'll have an appropriate excuse ready when we need it." Jo sat back in her chair, eyeing the Doctor with suspicion. He no doubt would take care of explanations, but she was sure that she would catch some grief from it anyway. Still, the sun was warm and it was shaping up to be a beautiful day. Somehow the wrath of the Brigadier just didn't hold much of a threat right now especially when there was sightseeing and shopping to be done!

***

Later in the afternoon, the Doctor and Jo were making their way down a line of shops. They had visited the famed Alcatraz and Fisherman's Wharf. They had made a trip over the Golden Gate Bridge and rode a cable car. Now Jo was on a mission to find the perfect pair of shoes to go with the new dress she had bought as a personal souvenir of the trip. The Doctor, grappling with several bags, was wondering how it was that any human female could turn a simple walk into an excuse to go shopping.

As they entered the latest boutique, a shiver ran down the Doctor's spine. Stopping at the door, he looked back over his shoulder. Outside the day was proceeding along its way. Across the street children were playing in a park. People were busy going on with their everyday lives. No alien ships were to be seen, no monsters were parading down the street, and no megalomaniacs were attempting to take over the world.

"Come on Doctor!" Jo called. The Doctor turned his attention back to his companion. Jo already had four pairs of shoes out and was reaching for a fifth. As he walked toward her, the shiver again went down his back. He froze in his tracks, every nerve in his body on the alert.

"Jo, we have to leave," the Doctor ordered. "Now!" he added as she started to protest. Jo looked up in alarm. She recognised that tone of voice and knew immediately that something was very wrong. She dropped the shoes and with an apologetic glance at the annoyed clerk, ran after the Doctor who was already out the door and moving down the street.

"What's wrong?" she cried as she caught up to him. The Doctor grabbed her wrist and pulled her across the street, narrowly missing being hit by a car. As they reached the wide-open space of the park she could hear a low rumbling. "What is that? Aliens?" she cried.

"Earthquake!" No sooner had he got the word out, than the ground lurched beneath them. Jo screamed as she grabbed for the Doctor's arm and hung on for dear life. In the street behind them a roar of noise erupted as cars swerved as the ground rolled beneath them. Buildings shuddered and as some of the walls collapsed, great clouds of dust rolled out into the street. Farther down the street there was an explosion.

As the shuddering subsided, the Doctor and Jo turned towards the confusion in the street behind them. Several buildings and numerous cars had been damaged or destroyed. The more fortunate people were slowly making their way out of the ruins or crawling out of their cars. They huddled together on the sidewalk, seeking comfort and first aid from one another. Further away he could see smoke billowing into the sky.

"Jo, get those people into the park," the Doctor ordered. "Any aftershocks could bring the rest of the buildings down on top of them." As Jo hurried over to the nearest group, the Doctor started to check the remaining buildings for people. Soon Jo was back by his side as he ushered dazed people to safety and tended to the injured. Mercifully there were very few dead. When the emergency crews arrived, nobody questioned the Doctor's authority as he directed them to areas that needed searched and patients that needed more care.

As they were entering yet another building, this one seemed to be a collection of offices and was several stories tall, Jo's attention was caught by the sound of a crying child. Looking around, she saw a small blonde girl sitting on the ground nearby, tears leaving trails in the dust and dirt that covered her face. Leaving the Doctor she moved quickly to her, and asked if she was hurt.

"N-n-oo!" the girl sobbed. "I can't find m-m-ommy!"

Scanning the block, Jo could see no sign of a parent. Glancing at one of the crumbling buildings and hoping against hope, she forced herself to smile and wiped the dust off the girl's face as she stopped crying. "Don't worry. We'll find her," she said, hoping she sounded reassuring. Taking the child's hand, she made her way back to the Doctor.

"Are you alright Jo?" the Doctor asked as he peered through a door.

"Yes, but she's lost," said Jo, indicating the child. The Doctor glanced down at the girl, only now noticing her. Squatting down, he looked her in the eyes. "I'm called the Doctor and this is Jo. What's your name?"

The little girl crowded close to Jo's side. "Gracie," she mumbled.

The Doctor smiled at this. "Well, isn't that amazing. Gracie, you are a very brave girl. Can you be brave for just a little while longer?"

"Like Batman?"

"Batman?" Confused the Doctor glanced up at Jo, who gave him a quick nod. "Yes, I suppose so. Just like Batman."

Gracie nodded and gave a small smile. No one had ever called her brave before. Too bad she didn't have a mask and a cape, she thought.

***

The trio continued to move through the building, the Doctor checking for people and Jo and Gracie trying to stay out of his way. The girl watched the Doctor intently, her eyes rarely leaving the man as he worked. They had checked the entire building and he had helped several people out of the wreckage. It seemed that everywhere he went people stopped yelling and crying and things weren't quite so scary.

At one point she pulled on Jo's sleeve and whispered up to her, "Is the Doctor magic?"

"Sometimes I think he must be," Jo smiled. "He manages some pretty amazing things!"

"Why do you talk so funny?" The girl glanced at Jo with a puzzled look, just now noticing her accent.

"I'm British." She answered laughing. The girl seemed to accept this and continued her study of the white haired man.

***

Everybody had been evacuated and they were making their way back through the building to the front doors. Suddenly everything began shaking again. Dust and plaster fell from the ceiling and the walls groaned with the stress. Jo grabbed Gracie and covered her head as the Doctor quickly pushed them into a doorway. As quickly as it had started, the tremor stopped.

"Another earthquake," groaned Jo.

"No, I think that was just a little aftershock."

Jo glared at the Doctor. "Little aftershock?" Then remembering who she was talking to, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath before continuing. "Let's just get out of here, please."

"This way." The Doctor led the way back down the hallway. Jo and Gracie nearly ran into his back as he made a quick stop. Looking around his shoulder, Jo could see that the way was blocked by a section of collapsed ceiling.

"Oh wonderful! Now what do we do?"

The Doctor turned around and headed towards the back of the building.

"Ah-ha!" he exclaimed as they turned a corner. They had found the back door and with a triumphant smile he turned the handle and gave the door a shove.

"Ooof." The door wouldn't budge. He examined the door handle to make sure it wasn't locked. He gave it another shove.

"What's wrong?" Jo asked.

"It seems the quake has thrown the building off level. There's enough of a kink in it to have jammed the door shut."

"So we're trapped." Jo sat down heavily against the wall. A trickle of dust floated down to land on her hair and shoulders. She wiped it away angrily and glared at her shoes.

Gracie came to stand beside her and wrapped her arms around her neck. "It's ok Jo. The Doctor will use his magic." She looked up at the Doctor and smiled at him. Jo looked up at him also and arched her eyebrows at him expectantly.

The Doctor stared down at the two and smiled mischievously. Winking at Jo, he reached into his pocket and triumphantly pulled out a thin metal object. Holding it up, he looked at Gracie with a twinkle in his eye. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped open. "A magic wand!" she breathed. Jo could barely stifle her laughter as she climbed to her feet.

"Yes, well, let me make an adjustment or two." Gracie had come over and was closely watching as he tweaked at his sonic screwdriver. Finally satisfied, he raised the screwdriver and aimed at the side of the door. Just as he was ready to fire, he felt a tug on his coat.

"Don't forget the magic words," Gracie said.

"Magic words?" He looked at the door and then at the screwdriver as if he could find the words etched into the metal. Taking aim with the screwdriver again, he intoned in a loud commanding voice, " V(r) = -e^2a/2r^4"

The sonic screwdriver emitted an almost inaudible hum that rose in intensity until Jo and Gracie had to cover their ears. The walls around them began to vibrate and dust choked the air. On the door, a bolt was sliding out of its hinge and dropped to the floor. The Doctor quickly aimed at the second hinge and soon that was sliding slowly too. By now the building was creaking and groaning. Plaster was falling off the walls and sections of ceiling were falling.

"Doctor hurry! The building's going to collapse." Jo screamed.

The Doctor moved quickly to the door and gave it a solid kick. The door buckled outward and fell to the ground. Ushering Jo and Gracie quickly out of the building, they found themselves in an alley. As they ran down the alley and out into the safety of the street, the rear of the building collapsed in a thunderous roar of dust and bricks.

Inside the Tardis, the Doctor was moving around the console setting the controls for the trip back to England. Jo leaned against a wall and quietly watched him.

"Well that was some holiday. Is there anywhere we can go without being placed in mortal danger?" queried Jo.

"That wasn't so bad, Jo." He flicked a switch with a flourish. The Tardis' engines began their whine, as dematerialization started.

"You were very good with Gracie." Jo smiled wryly at the Doctor. "You have quite a knack with children."

"Hmmph," the Doctor grunted. "A lot of hand waving and imposing words. Nothing difficult about that and children are easily impressed." The engines faded and the Doctor flipped another lever. "We're back."

Jo grabbed what she had salvaged of her packages and made for the doors. "You'll make a good father someday," she quipped as she left the ship.

For just a moment, the Doctor's hands paused over the controls as his thoughts turned inward. He could see children playing along a stream under an orange sky. He could remember their laughter as they tried to catch minnows with their bare hands and their squeals of surprise when they actually did.

A good father, she had said… What kind of father would he have been? What kind of an example would he have set? What would his children have said of him? All his decisions and all the consequences of his actions had made that choice impossible…

Coming back to the present, the Doctor shook his head and scowled. "Good grief," he muttered.

***

As the sun sank under the sea, a young mother put her child to bed. It had been a frightening day and she was glad it was over. They had been shopping and had become separated during the earthquake. Luckily that nice man and his daughter had found Gracie and taken care of her until she had found them. Her daughter seemed none the worse for wear and was happily chattering away in the way that little girls do. The mother tucked her into bed and gave her a kiss.

"Know what I'm gonna be when I grow up mommy?"

"A fairly princess?" her mom replied as she got up and turned the light out.

"No! That was yesterday! Today I'm gonna be a doctor when I grow up." The girl tucked a toy cat under her arm and pulled her blanket up to her chin.

"Well, that is a very good thing to be. Goodnight Gracie."

Gracie smiled at her mom as she closed the door. She lay thinking for a moment and with a serious nod whispered into her cat's ears, "Yes, I think that is a very good thing to be." Closing her eyes and snuggling deeper into her bed she went to sleep.