City of Waiting

This is the first chapter of my contribution to the Eleven_Romana ficathon. I feel like I'm fudging it a bit because Romana doesn't actually appear in this chapter (or for several of the ones that follow, but she does appear, I assure you). But I'm late enough already and want to make sure I post something before the month passes. The rest will probably arrive via the Teaspoon, but I didn't know how long the moderation process would take. The month is, after all, near its close.

It's all unbeta'd. If you see any mistakes please don't hesitate to let me know. The Arrival dates are not a mistake. I'm just ignoring the PS. And if you have a better title idea I'd be happy to hear it since I'm rubbish with titles.
( Fic Under Cut )