937PROLOGUE
"We can experience nothing but the present moment, live in no other second of time, and to understand this is as close as we can get to eternal life."
P. D. James
She was happy.
I mean, why wouldn't she be? She had a job she loved, a stable enough income, good friends, a flat she liked and family she could rely on. Sure, her life wasn't perfect, but whose was? She supposed it was just a fundamental truth of the world that even the happiest, most content people on the Earth would choose to escape it, when presented with the option.
Wasn't it true that everyone, deep down, craved more? Hartley made a living on shooting stars and impossible heroes and wishes that came true. Could anyone really blame her when she seized the opportunity to live it all out for herself?
And the world wasn't as black and white as most parents and high school principals would have you believe.
Because it wasn't choice at all. You could argue all day about destiny and fate, but the truth was undeniable. From the minute Hartley Daniels was born into the universe, she was always heading for this – madmen with boxes; living stars; aliens and immortals and gods. Maybe she always knew.
But we're getting ahead of ourselves. One story at a time.
UPDATED A/N: Welcome readers, new and old, to Heart of the Storm.
This story's been up on here for a long time now, but recently I've given it some – shall we call it…reconstructive surgery…? I've gone through a re-edited every single chapter, smoothed out the prose, added quite a few scenes, and in some cases (particularly towards the end) changed how a lot of events play out entirely.
The reason for the change in these events came about because as I'm writing the sequel (which is well, well underway) it became clear to me that for the sequel's story to function, I would need to alter this story a little to make it fit, and since I wanted to update the writing for this one a little anyway, I figured – what the hell?
If you haven't read this in a while, or even if you have, I highly encourage giving it another squiz. If you've been thinking of re-reading, there's never been a better time! This story is jam-packed with new – improved – content! I hope you enjoy!
If, however, you don't really feel like reading over 1 million words again as a refresher; the most important changes in relation to the sequel happen from chapter 57 onwards. Some chapters are literally entirely re-written. These changes really are quite significant, and I do recommend you at least skim these chapters to get up to speed at some point before the sequel releases. (No confirmation on the date of that…)
Anyway, that's enough from me about the update. Here's my original author's note for your perusal, and whether you're a first-time reader, or you're returning, I hope you enjoy 3:
A/N: This is something I've been working on for at least the last two years, trying to get it just right before beginning to post it. This will be an incredibly slow burn between the Doctor and my OC, quite possibly the slowest slow burn I've ever written, and that's saying something.
I know there are a lot of sources for Doctor who outside of the show, including audio stories and comics, but none of these will be taken into account in this story. This is strictly show-canon, and always will be (this makes things so much easier to track).
A lot of people have been doing 'Time-Lady' and 'timeline-jumping' stories (which, don't get me wrong, I love and spend hours reading myself) but I felt like I wanted to bring something a little different to the table. This story will be moving chronologically with the show, starting with nine and going forwards. I will be doing episode rewrites – but not every episode, only the ones I felt were crucial to keep the plot moving – and to balance it out I have original chapters and new adventures interwoven throughout.
I sincerely hope you enjoy reading this as much as I've enjoyed writing it! We're about to go on a crazy journey together you guys, I hope you're ready for it! xx