So, this is my first attempt writing an original story for Doctor Who. Thank you to girlwhowaited1110 for helping me gain some ideas for this!

***

"How big is this place?" Astrid gushed as she looked around the library.

Jessie laughed from where she was curled up on the couch, her hair still slightly damp but returning to that curl the Doctor loved. "It's pretty big," she answered. "Not quite sure how big." She frowned. "But I couldn't find the pool when I took a look around again . . . " She looked around. "Wonder where it went off to."

"Who knows?" the Doctor's voice asked as he walked in, wrapping his arms around Jessie's torso as he leaned over her shoulder. "It's fun not knowing." He frowned. "What're you reading?"

"Dickens is a favorite, and so's Christie, but I don't know." Jessie showed him the cover. "I like him, too."

"Edgar Allan Poe!" the Doctor cheered with a grin, straightening up to walk around the couch. "Love that man! You know, he inspired Sherlock Holmes, right?"

"That detective fellow, yes?" Astrid asked as Jessie grinned and flipped through the pages.

"Exactly!" the Doctor pointed at her. "One of the best authors recognized. Oh, there's The Tell-Tale Heart, The Fall of the House of Usher - "

"That last one creeped me out," Jessie piped up before finding something on one page that made her eyes widen. What the hell?

"And then there was The Cask of Amontillado - "

"And The Oval Portrait," Jessie said shakily. "And the woman in the portrait looks remarkably familiar."

"Really?" the Doctor asked, walking around. "Who does it - " He faltered.

"What is it?" Astrid asked, walking around as well.

Jessie swallowed, holding up the book to reveal that the woman in the portrait . . . looked like her. "Me," she said hoarsely. "That looks exactly like me!"

"How could she look like you?" Astrid wondered.

"This box does time travel," the Doctor said, narrowing his eyes. "But we have never met Poe in our lives."

Jessie looked up at him. "Should we?" she asked.

The Doctor scowled. "I don't know if this is a good idea . . . "

"The past is usually good for companions instead of the future," Jessie pointed out. "Come on, please?"

The Doctor sighed. "Oh, fine," he grumbled, walking out the door. "Edgar Allan Poe, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1840."

Jessie grinned, jumping up. Dickens had been amazing. Shakespeare had been given the idea for Hamlet. Now, who knew what they would be getting into this time!

***

When they stepped out of the TARIS in 1840, they stepped out to find themselves behind a riot.

Jessie knitted her eyebrows. "What's going on over there?" she asked, trying to stand on her toes to look.

"I don't know," the Doctor replied, narrowing his eyes. "1840s . . . not a good time period for Philadelphia."

"No, it isn't," Jessie recalled. "Riots, yeah?"

"Exactly," the Doctor nodded. "Let's just get out of the way."

Jessie nodded and followed him around before stopping when she saw Astrid hadn't followed. "Astrid?" she called.

There was a branch crack, and then Astrid appeared from behind the TARDIS. "This is amazing!" she gushed, looking around. "We really traveled in time!"

"Yeah," Jessie nodded, laughing. "Yeah, we did!"

"So, welcome to 1840," the Doctor began, taking Jessie's hand and walking down the street, swinging their hands together. "Two years before The Oval Portrait was written. Not that much really happened - "

"Have you not heard?" a small voice from the shadows asked.

Jessie jumped and spun, seeing a young boy hiding in the shadows. "Heard what, sweetheart?" she asked softly, kneeling down.

He ducked his head, suddenly bashful. "I'm not supposed to say."

"We won't tell," she promised, crossing her hearts.

He swallowed. "The murders."

The Doctor spun. "Murders?" he repeated, crouching down by them as well, Astrid remaining to stand.

"Mmhmm," the child nodded, seeming a bit more confident now. "They're not often, however, when they do, they are sudden and without warning."

"Can you tell us if there's a cause?" Jessie asked softly.

The boy shook his head. "There appears to be none." There was a scream from somewhere nearby, and his eyes widened. "Such as that!"

Jessie took off running after the Doctor when he bolted around the corner. Astrid followed, the boy with her. They turned the corner and froze to see a beautiful young woman lying on the ground, deathly pale, eyes closed. The man who had to be her husband was kneeling by her, desperately shaking her. "Let me through!" the Doctor ordered, pushing through the small crowd. "I'm a Doctor!" He dropped down next to the pair as a small crowd gathered around, and he asked lowly, "What happened?"

The man looked surprised through his tears. "Do you not know, sir?" he asked. "Of the murders?"

"It's just like that?" he asked in surprise.

"Exactly."

The Doctor quickly began looking the dead woman over when he frowned. "Do a scan," he told Jessie quietly.

He heard the soft buzz of her sonic screwdriver a few seconds later. "I'm getting ionic energy," she reported.

The Doctor looked up at the man in front of him. "I'm Detective John Smith," he said, flashing his psychic paper. "My wife, Johanna, her sister, Astrid, and I are recently new to the town. Is there a place we can talk off of the streets?"

"There is no safe place off of the streets," the man shook his head as a few men came over to take his wife's body. "Any one from any household has been taken, from the rich to the poor."

"My little sister," the boy behind them sniffed, and Astrid rubbed his back.

"There is one person," a person standing nearby said hesitantly. "This killer has not touched his place."

"Who?" Jessie asked, already able to guess.

"That would be my husband." A young, weary-looking woman stepped forward out of the crowd, her dark hair pulled into a bun. "My name is Virginia," she told them with a small smile. "If there is any way you can help us, you are welcome in my husband's home."

Jessie smiled. "Thank you, Virginia. Virginia . . . ?"

"Poe," she said with a smile. "My husband's name is Poe."

Jessie grinned at the Doctor. "One step closer."

The Doctor nodded, his jaw tensing as he stood and followed Virginia down the streets. He didn't like what they had found. Ionic energy. It was never good when there was ionic energy.

The last time ionic energy had been involved in their adventures, Jessie had been trapped in a little kid's drawing.

So caught up in his thoughts, he didn't notice the very lifelike painting hanging in the man's entrance hall, the door open, that looked remarkably like his wife.

***

"It is good that someone is finally acting on these deaths," Virginia told them as she unlocked the door to a cottage at the end of the street. "No one has understood them."

"No cause of death?" the Doctor asked, looking around.

"None." They both turned at the voice as a weary-looking man with black hair stood from a writing desk in the other room. "And it is beginning to get worse." He walked up to them. "Edgar Poe," he told them, holding out a hand to them.

Astrid made to comment, but Jessie shook her head. "There was no evidence he used Allan in his name," she whispered to her.

"Nice to meet you," the Doctor said brightly, shaking his hand. "Detective John Smith. This is my wife, Johanna, and her sister, Astrid Peth."

Astrid smiled at being called the woman's sister. They had been so close onboard the Titanic, and she had wanted to see her so bad again once they'd left. "It's nice to meet you," she greeted politely, shaking his hand as well.

Jessie did a small little curtsy. "I've read your work lots, sir," she said with a smile. "I love it."

"Thank you, my dear," Poe nodded, leading them into the other room. "I may not have the best career choice, but I would not change it for the world."

Jessie smiled. "I know of the feeling."

"Would you like anything to drink?" Virginia asked.

"No, thank you," Astrid shook her head.

Virginia nodded, but headed off anyway, most likely towards the kitchen. Poe sat down in the chair he used at his desk as the Doctor and Jessie sat down on one of the couches, Astrid opting to remain standing again. "Was there another murder?" Poe asked.

"Why would you call them murders?" the Doctor asked.

Poe shook his head. "Many accuse me and my writings to be part of it," he said dryly, waving a hand at the papers he had on his desk. "In time, they have been called murders, and I have suffered for it."

Instead of commenting, the Doctor nodded. "Yes, there was another death. A young woman."

"More women are dying now more than ever," Poe said, shaking his head as Virginia entered, two cups of tea in her hands. She gave one to Poe before she sat down on the chair next to him. "I worry my own wife is next."

Virginia smiled. "No mysterious cause of death will fail me."

"Is there anything these people have in common?" Jessie asked.

"None that we have observed," Poe shook his head. "There is no familial connection, and the only way they could have ever met is shopping."

Jessie chewed the inside of her cheek and was about to say something again when there was a knock on the door. Virginia frowned, standing. "There was no one else coming, was there?" she asked Poe.

He shook his head. "Not that I was aware of."

Virginia headed to the front door and opened it, blinking in surprise. "Hello, there," she greeted with a smile.

"Good evening," a deep voice answered, one that made the Doctor narrow his eyes. "May I enter?"

Virginia looked over at Poe, who nodded, and she held the door open. "Please do."

The Doctor's eyebrows raised at the man who came in. There was an air around him he instantly didn't like, but that might have just been the fact that both Astrid and even Jessie looked much more interested in the new arrival. His hair was short and black, but he had that air around him that commanded attention. "This is the house of Poe, I assume?" he asked, his voice a thick accent that reminded Jessie sort of the Ninth Doctor.

"That is I," Poe nodded with a small frown. "Might I ask who you are?"

"A humble painter from the North," the man replied, showing the case he brought with him. "Levi is my name. I have taken Philadelphia as my latest inspiration, and I have been looking for new ones. If I might take a look around your property?"

Poe looked a little surprised at the offer, but he nodded. "Of course. Be my guest."

Levi gave a short sort of bow before heading through the house. Jessie narrowed her eyes at him. "Who's he?" she asked in a low voice.

"We do not know," Virginia answered, staring after him. "I have seen him around town, of course, but I never thought to stop and talk."

"Not bad on the eyes, either," Astrid complimented.

But both Jessie and Virginia shook her heads. "I've seen a lot better," Jessie told her. "Ten, even eleven, better." The Doctor grinned at that, pleased.

"And I have but one," Virginia added, putting her hand on Poe's shoulder.

Astrid sighed. "Well, I'll take him, if none of you are," she spoke up.

"We need to leave some time this week, though," Jessie reminded her.

"It is a shame," Poe told them. "It is rare that someone, let alone three, wishes to talk to us outright."

"Not at all," the Doctor shook his head. "But I believe I we must get started on those murders." He stood, his arm around Jessie's waist. "Thank you for your time, Mr. Poe. Keep writing."

"I shall," Poe nodded, shaking his hand and kissing the back of Jessie's. "I bid you good luck in finding answers to these mysteries."

"Thank you," Jessie told him with a smile.

Just as they turned to go, Levi reentered. "You have a marvelous property, Mr. Poe," he said with a smile. "But I believe the true beauty you have is in your wife."

Poe nodded. "I believe that as well."

"Have you no interest in a painted portrait of her?"

Jessie stopped at that and peered back into the room, frowning. The Doctor had stopped as well, to see that Levi was smiling, but it seemed almost . . . forced.

Virginia, however, blushed. "I am perfectly fine if a portrait is wished," she told Poe.

Poe seemed hesitant, however, to do so. "I will give word on my decision for that matter," he told Levi.

Levi nodded, but his eyes brightened when his gaze next found Jessie. "Oh, but who are your guests?" he asked.

"We were just leaving," the Doctor interrupted, moving to tug Jessie off.

Levi ignored him. "I was asking the golden girl."

Jessie's eyebrows shot up. "Married," she told him curtly before holding out a hand. "Johanna Smith," she introduced herself. "Pardon my husband, John. He does not like it if he believes someone else might have me to themselves."

"I assure you, I have no interest in stealing a beautiful woman from her man," Levi assured the Doctor, who didn't look that convinced. "But as I told Mr. Poe, beauty can be transferred onto a canvas as well. If you would like, Mr. Smith?"

"Call me the Doctor," he told him with narrowed eyes. "But I will have to decline as well."

"It will not take long - "

There was a clicking noise from the top of the door, and Jessie's eyes widened when she saw the gleaming black feathers of the bird on top. "Oh, you're beautiful!" she breathed, ducking under the Doctor's arm to see the raven.

"Ah, that would be Fiachra," Poe nodded as the raven flew down to land on Jessie's outstretched hand. "He has graced this land for many years, I think. But he has come out much more often during these times of despair."

"He's gorgeous," Jessie said honestly, looking him over. "Fiachra," she tried out, and the raven made another clicking noise, tapping her gently in the shoulder. She giggled. "I think he likes me," she said.

The Doctor watched his wife with a smile, when he saw Levi looking at her much the same way. He narrowed his eyes, then cleared his throat. "If my wife is as attached to this bird as I think she is, we shall see you again soon, Mr. Poe," he told the author.

"Please do," Virginia smiled.

The Doctor gave her a nod before ushering Astrid out the door as well.

None of them saw the greedy look on Levi's face as something flashed in his eyes.

***

"We need to stay," Jessie said the moment they were outside, Fiachra still perched on her hand.

The Doctor sighed. "I don't like the way he was looking at you."

"I don't like the way people look at you around here," Jessie pointed out, "and do you see me complaining?"

Astrid cleared her throat. "If I give an opinion?" she asked timidly as both turned to her. "What makes you think we should leave and let this keep happening?"

"Exactly," Jessie told the Doctor. "If that Levi has something to do with all of this, we need to keep an eye on the Poes. And I still need to figure out why the heck my painting of all women was in The Oval Portrait."

The Doctor sighed. "Fine," he conceded the point. "But we don't stay long, understood?"

Both women nodded as they headed off down the path, Fiachra spiraling up into the trees.

***

Jessie kept a close ear on the Doctor's breathing patterns that night in the TARDIS. The instant it evened out, she was out of bed.

She slid into her trench coat over the sleeveless dress she was wearing and quickly put on a pair of boots, and she padded through the TARDIS. She found her psychic paper and her sonic screwdriver before heading out the doors.

Cautiously, she looked back and forth before stepping out into the cool air. She shivered slightly and turned on the flashlight she had, whipping it back and forth. She ran lightly across the path, heading back into town. She looked over her shoulder when she heard wings flapping behind her, but she saw nothing. Taking a deep breath, she turned back into town and headed deeper inside.

The first thing she saw that made her duck down as when she saw Levi the painter exit a house, a smile on his face as he thanked whoever was inside. She narrowed her eyes, curious, then started to follow him as he walked on.

She whipped around when there was a small squeak behind her, and her eyes widened. "Virginia!" she hissed.

"What is that?" Virginia asked, pointing at her flashlight with a shaky hand.

Jessie sighed. "I'll explain later," she answered, gesturing her closer. Virginia obediently shuffled forward, behind Jessie as she watched Levi leave. "What are you doing out at this time of night, anyway?" she asked.

"I was going to find something in town, those people who were murdered," she answered. "Some of them were my friends. I would ask the same of you, Mrs. Smith."

"Call me Bad Wolf," she said, leading her lightly after Levi as he went back through town. "And let's just say after a run through with a thief . . . well, she left an interesting impression."

Virginia blinked. "She?"

Jessie shook her head as Levi disappeared into a building. "Where's that?" she asked, nodding at it.

Virginia took a look. "Bertram Inn," she answered. "That must be where he is staying."

Jessie blinked. Bertram. That was another name for 'raven.' "We need to get inside," she decided.

"I'm coming with you," Virginia said.

Jessie frowned and looked at her. "Poe doesn't even know you're out here, does he?"

The woman's blush said that answer. Jessie shook her head with a smile. "Let's go."

They stepped inside the inn, Jessie switching her flashlight off. She held up a finger to the man at the desk, flashing her psychic paper. The man's eyes widened and he nodded, and she walked up sweetly. "Can you tell me the room of the painter who just entered?" she asked, leaning forward.

He nodded. "45, ma'am."

She frowned. 45. 1845 was when The Raven was published. Was this some sort of sign? "Thank you," she told him, nodding and heading off.

Virginia hurried after her. "Are you a detective, too?" she asked.

"I'm the detective," she grinned as she counted down doors until she made it to 45. She frowned, trying the door, and she narrowed her eyes when it opened easily.

Too easily. "What the hell?" she whispered as she entered inside.

There were canvases everywhere, yes, and she meant everywhere. Every inch of the floor was lined with a blank canvas, and paints and pencils were scattered across any surface possible. "Good Lord," Virginia breathed.

Jessie stepped cautiously over a few canvases to find a list on the table. She picked it up, frowning. "It's a list of names," she told Virginia.

Virginia followed her over and looked down the list, and her eyes widened. "Good God," she breathed, pointing at one of the names. "Edwina! That was the woman in the street tonight!"

"She's the recent murder?" Jessie asked sharply before seeing what the list was for at the top. "I'll read names, you tell me if they were the next one killed," she said. "Mildred."

"A day or two before her."

"Lenora."

"Barely a few hours before Mildred."

"Chastity."

"Before Mildred."

Jessie's heart began to thud more and more as she thought about the last time something similar to this had happened. "Zylphia."

"Before Chastity."

"Virginia, all of these names are of women that had their portrait painted by Levi," she told Virginia, putting down the list. "On the exact date that they died, that was when their painting was delivered to their house. The moment that painting crossed the threshold, they were dead."

Virginia's eyes widened. "Edwina's portrait was in the entrance hall of the house when we saw her," she realized.

Jessie bit her lip. "And I only know of one kind of thing that could do something like this."

Virginia began to open her mouth when her eyes widened. Jessie's own widened, and she tried to turn, but something slammed into the back of her head, and she crumbled like a back of bricks.

***

The Doctor jerked awake, frowning slightly as he rubbed his head in annoyance. Funny . . . that felt like he'd just been knocked out.

And then he realized the side of the bed next to him was cold.

He shot up, not seeing Jessie anywhere in the room. "Jezebel!" he shouted in the mind link, beginning to panic as he started getting dress. "Jez!" He growled angrily, finishing with his tie and ran out of the bedroom. "Astrid!" he shouted. "Get up!"

There was a rustling noise, then a bleary-eyed Astrid poked her head out of her room. "What is it?" she asked.

"The Bad Wolf is gone, and it feels like I've taken a hit to the head."

In an instant, Astrid was instantly awake. "I'll be ready," she said, ducking back into her room.

***

Of course, the moment they ran out onto the street, who else did they run into but Edgar Allan Poe? "Sorry, sorry," the Doctor said, running up, Astrid still bundling up in her jacket from her haste to get dressed. "But you haven't happened to have seen my wife, have you?"

"Have you seen mine?" Poe asked.

The Doctor blinked. "They're both missing?"

"It appears to be that way," Poe nodded, looking around. "I woke to find her missing."

"Will they be OK?" Astrid asked.

"That depends on where they are," the Doctor answered, looking around, eyes narrowed.

And who they were with. Oh, after the Metacrisis effect, he'd been more in tune to Jessie than he had ever thought possible. They were that much closer, and if she went missing, and it was someone else's fault . . . well, that wasn't exactly good for her abductor, was it?

There was a sharp call from above, and they all looked up when Fiachra the raven flew down towards them. The Doctor held up a hand, and the raven landed on it. "It is queer," Poe remarked. "He has never responded to anyone before."

"My wife and I aren't anyone," the Doctor pointed out. "And I get the feeling he isn't here for me." He scratched the bird's back. "Find her," he whispered to him. "Lead us there."

Fiachra cocked his head before taking off, and the Doctor ran after him. "Allons-y!" he shouted, Astrid and Poe running back behind him.

***

Jessie moaned softly, lolling her head, before jerking when she realized she was tied up, her jacket off, leaving her in just her sleeveless nightdress and boots. She looked around, wrenching at her rope bindings, before looking around her surroundings. Stone walls, only a window at the top of the room . . . and Levi was sitting only a few paces away, sketching something out on a canvas. She stared at him, pupils dilated in fear. "Where's Virginia?" she demanded. "What did you do to her?"

"She is perfectly fine," Levi assured her, eyes narrowed. "But I wanted to take care of the beauty who knew all first."

She narrowed her eyes. "It's been you. You paint people, and they die."

"Indeed."

"I know of a creature who could do such a thing with ionic energy, except that creature made their picture come to life, literally. And it was just a child. So what are you?"

"The same creature," Levi answered. "Separated still, when the pod went off track, and couldn't find its family. It found me, here, with women so loved by their men, and it wanted them. Except it went out of control. It demands more, and with it, the power is out of control as well."

"So the Isolus doesn't just steal them into the painting," Jessie said, her eyes wide, swallowing. "It literally kills them."

"Yes."

"You can't do that!" Jessie blurted out, wrenching at her bonds again, knowing that once he started, he only had to possibly even finish drawing her, just get her face right, and she would be dead. "You can't!"

"I can," Levi interrupted. "Now, if you will be quiet, Mrs. Johanna Smith, I would love for your husband to find two gifts in the morning."

Jessie didn't stop screaming, even though she guessed that in the stone walls, no one would be able to hear her.

***

The Doctor barged into The Bertram Inn, and the man at the front desk started. "I say, good sir," he began.

The Doctor just shook his head, stalking up to him. "Johanna Smith and Virginia Poe," he said firmly. "Where are they?"

The man's eyes widened. "Sir . . . "

"Our wives came here earlier this morning," Poe said in explanation, Fiachra flying in to land on the Doctor's shoulder. "Is there a Levi here?"

The man nodded. "They were here. Room 45, but I never saw them leave."

The Doctor narrowed his eyes. "Thank you," he ground out before heading down the hallway.

Astrid sped up to him, putting a hand on his arm. "We'll find them," she promised.

"We better," was the only reply.

He didn't even bother seeing if the door was unlocked. All he did was shove the door open, and he froze where he stood. "Virginia!" he shouted, running forward, seeing her struggling, gagged and tied to a chair nearby.

She made a muffled noise as Poe ran in next, Astrid in the doorway, her eyes wide and her hand over her mouth as she watched the two men untie her. "Where's the Bad Wolf?" the Doctor demanded. "Where's my wife?"

"He took her," Virginia breathed, shaking her head. "I don't know where, he knocked her out, then tied me down."

There was a faint lull in the back of his head, and he held up a finger. "Jezebel?" he called out worriedly.

"Kasterborous!" she cried back, sounding nearly hysterical, and his hearts broke for her in whatever situation she was in. "You need to hurry! It was Levi!"

"What did he do?"

"It's not him, it's the Isolus we met from the Olympics!"

"The Isolus?"

"All grown up. It didn't reach its family, it kept going. It landed here. Doctor, that ionic energy, that was from when he did the paintings! All those people who died, they had their portraits done!"

The Doctor froze. "And what's he doing now?"

"Sketching me!"

He actually spoke a curse in Gallifreyan, making all three other people in the room look at him in bewilderment. "Where are you?"

"I don't know! Looks like some kind of stone tower, and he's got me all tied up, and I can't - "

"Jezebel, calm down," he ordered, narrowing his eyes. Now this . . . this sounded like it was getting close to The Oval Portrait. "Stay calm. Can you do that for me?"

There was a bit of hesitation. "Yes," she said in a small voice.

"Good girl." He cut the link and turned around, running a hand through his hair. "He paints the people, and steals their life from them," he explained. "The only way we can fix this is if we kill the man."

"You'd be willing to do that?" Astrid breathed.

"He's got my wife," the Doctor said bluntly.

Poe shook his head. "I do not know who you are, sir, or your wife and her sister, but if you can set this all right, please, do so."

"Oh, I will," the Doctor promised. "But one more thing." He turned to Fiachra. "Find her," he ordered.

***

Levi took no time at all in getting his sketch completed and went for the paints next.

Jessie had to think through every single calming exercise SHIELD had drilled into her - all 53 of them - before she had to squeeze her eyes closed to avoid even looking at the man. She could feel it, he was getting closer to her . . . but she didn't know how long it would take Levi to paint her. The Isolus when it had been a kid in Chloe Webber's body had taken close to no time at all. With paint, it might take longer . . . but not by much.

"You are beautiful," Levi declared, reaching out as if to stroke her cheek. Abruptly, she bit at his finger. "OW!" he hissed, recoiling, and Jessie smirked at that small accomplishment, mere seconds before his hand slapped her across the face, whipping her head to the other side. "Do not do that!"

Jessie closed her eyes, biting her lip as she tried not to cry. She could think of a good few dozen curses in many different languages she was ready to spit out, but she wasn't going to. She heaved in a few breaths, trying to get her act together -

When there were four taps on the door. Her eyes widened. Four knocks . . .

Levi frowned and looked over. "What?" he asked, setting his items down.

Tap, tap, tap, tap.

"What is it?"

Tap, tap, tap, tap.

He pulled the door open, and was instantly met by the Doctor's fist punching him out cold. Fiachra the raven flew in and landed right on the easel, where Jessie's drawing was complete and her dress painted in, as the Doctor quickly ran over to her, eyes narrowed as he cupped her face in his hands, looking her over. "Did he hurt you?" he demanded.

"Slapped me," was all she said, shaking her head before she began to cry.

The Doctor's eyes darkened as he found the bruise forming on her cheek, and he quickly sonicked her ropes off before pulling her to him. Virginia and Astrid hurried over to take her from him as the Doctor joined Poe by the knocked-out Levi. "Who knew an innocent task could be so deadly?" Poe asked.

The Doctor shook his head. "We need to take him," he said. "If we take him away, find somewhere else, this should not happen again."

Poe nodded. "Thank you, Doctor," he said. "Thank you."

***

Jessie woke the next morning lying on a bed that was not in the TARDIS. Her eyes flew open, and she sat up with a gasp.

In a second, the Doctor's hands were on her shoulders, stopping her from hitting him in the head. "It's all right," he soothed her as the terror in her eyes began to fade. "Poe offered to let us stay here after everything."

Jessie sighed shakily, leaning her head on his shoulder. He rubbed her back, closing his own eyes. "I did leave once," he admitted, feeling her stiffen. "I found an abandoned planet the Isolus could be. As soon as it left, there was no Levi anymore."

She softened. "Thank you," she breathed against his shoulder.

He nodded, then looked up as Astrid knocked on the door. "Good morning," she told them, carrying in a tray of tea. "Someone wanted to see you," she added.

Jessie laughed as Fiachra flew in to land on her knee. "Hello," she told him softly, stroking his feathers.

"Clever bird," the Doctor said. "He's the one who found you in that old ruined tower. Brilliant."

"I'm glad you did," Jessie told them. "Sorry it wasn't quite the adventure we hoped for," she apologized to Astrid.

"It was wonderful," Astrid assured her, sitting down. "But . . . I would like to go home."

Jessie nodded, understanding. "And that's fine," she assured her.

Astrid smiled. "But there is something you should see," she said, standing up.

Jessie frowned, sliding out of bed, the Doctor helping her into her trench coat and leading her out of the room.

Poe and Virginia were sitting together on the couch, bending over something. When they looked up, Poe smiled. "What do you think?" he asked Jessie, gesturing to what he was standing over.

Jessie frowned, looking down, and she gasped in delight. Levi's painting was finished, but in much finer detail. It had gotten the silvery blue fabric of her dress just right, the curl of her hair, the sapphire sparkle of her eyes . . . it was all there, perfectly. "Wow," she breathed out, putting a hand over her mouth. That was exactly the picture she had seen in The Oval Portrait. "Did you - ?"

"A painter I completely trust," Poe told her. "I see and remember details most vividly. I do not know where it comes from, but it does happen. It did not take long to describe you."

"Amazing detail," the Doctor remarked.

"A painter I completely trust," Poe repeated. "She is not dead, is she?"

Jessie laughed. "There is that." She smiled slyly at him. "I'd like you to keep it."

That got more than one look in her direction. "It is for you," Virginia said in confusion.

"You might need it someday," Jessie said with a wink.

Poe regarded her, but there was a twinkle in his eye. "If I ever shall, you will receive full credit for the woman in the portrait," he told her, and the Doctor and Astrid looked at each other in sudden understanding. "Thank you."

"Right, then, we'll be off," the Doctor said, rubbing his hands. "We're heading towards New York."

"Good luck there, Doctor," Poe told him.

The Doctor smiled. "And to you."

***

"It's a shame," Jessie said sadly as they walked under the trees. "I really liked that raven."

"Fiachra?" Astrid asked, looking around. "I didn't see him when we left."

"I didn't, either," the Doctor agreed.

"Shame," Jessie repeated.

The Doctor chuckled and held the door open. "The mystery of The Oval Portrait solved. I want to get out of here now."

Jessie laughed and stepped into the TARDIS, followed by Astrid. The Doctor took a look around with a frown. Something wasn't setting in right with him . . .

But he shrugged and closed the door behind him, and as the TARDIS faded away, he didn't hear the faint drum of a four-beat pattern.

But back in his cottage, a certain Romantic poet . . . did.

***

"Good luck, Astrid," Jessie told the girl as they stopped in front of UNIT HQ.

"And to you," Astrid replied, hugging her. "No death by painting, have you got that?"

Jessie giggled. "No promises."

Astrid smiled and turned to the Doctor. "And good luck to you as well."

"I'll need it for her," the Doctor replied, shaking her hand. "Make yourself amazing, Astrid."

"Just watch me," Astrid told them before running off.

Jessie sighed, watching her go, when she felt something in her trench coat pocket. Frowning, she patted herself down before pulling out her psychic paper. She pulled it out, and her eyes widened at the message on it.

Westminster Hall and Burying Ground. Come at night.

Jessie frowned, showing it to the Doctor. "We have a place to be."

The Doctor took a look, then looked at her. "That's where Edgar Allan Poe was buried," he told her.

Jessie's eyes widened, and they bolted for the TARDIS.

***

At 23:30 in Baltimore, Maryland, on the lands of Westminster Hall and Burying Ground, the TARDIS materialized mostly quietly. Jessie stepped out, looking around before heading off at a brisk pace towards the monument she knew the Poes were buried at. The Doctor was close behind her. "Who could've given that message on psychic paper?" Jessie asked.

"Maybe Poe was as odd as others said he was," the Doctor suggested.

A cry overhead stopped them short. Jessie whirled around, looking for who saw them, when her eyes brightened. "Fiachra?" she breathed as a raven flew down.

The Doctor frowned. "Can't be," he said, scanning the bird even as it landed on Jessie's outstretched hand. His eyes widened. "Descended directly from Fiachra, as a matter of fact."

"Wow," Jessie breathed before turning puppy dog eyes on the Doctor. "Please?" she whined.

He huffed. "I just can't say no to you, can I?" he sighed.

Jessie grinned. "Bran," she decided on the name, smiling at the bird. "You're Bran."

The raven nodded before flying off. "Oi!" Jessie hissed, running after it.

Bran landed on top of the Poe memorial, and Jessie stopped, smiling as she looked it over. "He was well remembered," she said, running her hands over the marble, when she hit a crack in the monument with papers bunched inside. Frowning, she tried to grab at them. "There's something inside!" she told the Doctor.

He came up behind her and with both of them working together, they managed to get the papers out. A mess of them fell onto the ground, and they knelt beside them, Bran landing on Jessie's shoulder. "Why were all of these hidden inside?" Jessie asked.

"He wanted someone to find them," the Doctor guessed, shifting through a few papers before showing her one. "I think it was us."

Jessie took the paper, and her eyes teared up at what was written on it.

The Oval Portrait

To the Doctor and his wife, who helped me find the real Truth in life.

"He remembered us," she whispered.

The Doctor shifted through a few more pieces of paper, and he frowned. "Copies of writing for The Raven," he told her.

Jessie started going through the papers again when she found one piece that made her stiffen. "Oh, my God," she breathed.

"What?" the Doctor asked, reading over her shoulder.

Both of their eyes widened in horror as they read a stanza they knew had never read in the short story.

Four knocks heard, hard and loud,

Knocking, rapping at my chamber door.

"Is there a chance?" I asked. "A chance it is wrong?"

Quoth the raven, "Nevermore."

"No!" Jessie gasped, remembering Carmen's words. "No!"

"Run!" the Doctor ordered, jumping to his feet and pulling her with him, the two of them running as fast as they could off to the TARDIS. Bran flew along behind them as they ran from the author who saw enough to know of their oncoming deaths.

***

And before anyone asks, NO, Poe is not the Master. That just gained inspiration for that last quatrain in here. I hope you liked it. :)

We just finished up our Poe unit in school, and it just creeped me out, and I kept thinking that The Oval Portrait reminded me so much about the Isolus and the Boneless from Doctor Who, and eventually, I went with the Isolus idea. :) Do you guys like Bran? Who'd have thought Jessie would get a raven for a pet! :D

Next up is an adventure from "The Sarah Jane Adventures." The Doctor mades an appearance in "The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith," and that's what's coming up next! Hope you like it!