Sam ran quickly along the ragged surface. The Doctor called out to her, and she ran towards his voice. At that same moment, the native that had been chasing them chose to throw his spear.
"SAM! Down!" she turned and saw a spear flying at her. She barely moved out of the way, but the spear still brushed her pants, unknown to Sam, it ripped a hole in the pocket, allowing the contents to spill out as she got up and ran.
The Doctor pulled Sam into the TARDIS and quickly dematerialised.
"Drat." she said patting her pockets.
"What?" the Doctor looked at her with those inquiring blue eyes of his.
"Oh.. nothing. Just some memories, I guess."
"What did you lose, Sam?" he walked over to Sam and stared into her eyes. "You know very well we can't interrupt natural progression.. what did you leave behind?" the Doctor said with a worried tone in his voice.
Then Sam told him what she had lost.
"C'mon.. hurry up!" Sam cried out to the Doctor as she ran towards the doors, "I want to be the first!"
The Doctor trudged along moments behind Sam. "I don't see what the big deal is Sam. You've told me that you've seen this movie hundreds of times."
"Well, that was different. That was in the future. This is the day to be here. It's not every day I get the chance to be."
"Yes, yes, I know, first in line to buy tickets for Professor X: The Movie. I never have quite figured out what you find so -- exciting -- about that."
Sam sighed and set the blanket out next to the theater door. Sitting down, she patted the blanket next to her. "Sit down, and you'll see what the hoopla is."
The Doctor sat down and looked at her. "You know, I could just go back to the TARDIS and pop forward 24 hours and meet you again." He started to get up.
Sam pulled him back down. "No, you wait in line with me. People should be showing up soon.. and then the fun starts."
For the next few hours, people trickled in, expecting to be the first in line, but finding the Doctor and Sam already there. As the day progressed, more and more people arrived. The Doctor watched as Sam ran up and down the line, talking to other fans, smiling for the pictures, talking to the interviewers, generally just having a good time. Finally, Sam came back and sat down.
"I am sooo tired. I think it's nap time." Sam yawned and stretched out on the blanket.
The Doctor nodded. "While you're napping, I think I'll go out and sample the local scenery."
Sam nodded. "Okay, just be back in a couple hours, and no running away." She gave him a stern look.
"I promise. No running away," the Doctor agreed.
A few hours later, the Doctor gently shook Sam awake. "Sam, wake up. I've something to show you.."
"Hrrr?" Sam opened her eyes. Standing next to the Doctor was a tall, blond man.
Wearing a trenchcoat, which seemed to conceal something, the man stared at Sam for some moments.
"Sam, meet R'ranthar. R'ranthar, meet your god."
R'ranthar instantly dropped to his knees. "Oh great goddess. Please bless this humble servant with the words of wisdom."
"Erm, this is a joke, right Doctor?" Sam looked up at the Doctor.
"It seems that they found," the Doctor held up a holo-picture in front of Sam's face, "this. Not knowing what it was, they came to revere it as an image of their goddess. Tell her, R'ranthar."
R'ranthar nodded. "One day, Goddess come down from sky, gave mightiest of mighty hunters great chase. As reward, she gave him this token." He pointed to the holo-picture. "And then she vanished into the sky once more, never to return."
"The religious beliefs of the planet are entirely based on this holo-picture," the Doctor added.
"So, what does that have to do with me?" Sam asked, looking at the picture.
A sudden realization came to her, and then she nodded.
"You're not the Doctor I arrived with, aren't you?" Sam figured it out.
"Nor are you the Sam I left his planet with."
"But isn't this against the rules or something? I didn't ask to become a goddess. I'm just a girl. No magic powers, I can't heal the sick or raise the dead."
R'ranthar nodded his head in shame.
Sam looked a tad concerned with this. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to let you down, but I'm human. Not a god. I only wish people could find strength in themselves, to be -- to be just who they are, and nothing else."
R'ranthar's eyes widened.
"Well, I'm currently off having lunch with Voltaire, and I don't recall coming back til just about a few minutes from now."
"So, what does this mean? What can I do about it?"
"Knowing what you know now, was it worth it, Sam?" the Doctor asked her.
The Doctor came back from the alleyway across the street where the TARDIS had
landed, and looked down at Sam's sleeping form. Pulling out a holo-cam, he
smiled and snapped off a picture.
"So, you see, Doctor, that's what I lost. The innocence. The joy of it being something special and unique. Something that would remind me of some of the brighter parts of my childhood. I think most people would see becoming a goddess an honor, but not me. It's not just my style. I only wish I'd known then what I know, oh wait. I do, don't I?"
"That's one of the problems of causality, Sam. We haven't taken the trip yet, but we will and still have to."
"Can't we change anything?"
"Nothing. Best we forget about it, time has ways of sorting these things out."
R'ranthar stepped up to the podium, addressing the crowd below. "The goddess has spoken to me."
"WHAT DID SHE SAY!?!?" came the crowd's response.
"Find strength in yourself. Be who you are, and nothing else." He raised his arms to the sky, and the crowd cheered.