Shades of Gray
"I had to find you; tell you I missed you; tell you I set you apart… nobody said it was easy, no one ever said it would be this hard…I'll take you back to the start." -Coldplay, The Scientist.
Prologue: The Scientist
Leaning over the bathroom counter, Penelope Gray squinted at herself in the large mirror. The public restroom was dead quiet this time of day, which suited her just as well. On slower days, the long walk to this side of the park was worth it. Not only were the restrooms better tended to, but one had to walk under the main aquarium to get there–a sight that always took her breath away.
Penny's lab coat brushed up against the counter, the cloth quickly consuming stray droplets of water from the sink: it wasn't something she worried over, though.
Her hand eased up to caress the freshly stitched laceration above her left eyebrow. The white, vaguely butterfly shaped bandages were rough against her soft fingertips. Hissing at the contact sting, Penny frowned and sat back down on the heels of her sneakers.
Eyebrows furrowed, she pushed her glasses further up on her nose. She had a raging headache. She'd had one since yesterday afternoon and being at work did not help her case. But Penny was already behind on her rent–she couldn't afford a day off. Not even after what happened.
With a long, sad sigh, she straightened her crisp coat and sauntered out of the too-bright lavatory. It was just a matter of keeping a smile on until she could get a hold of some aspirin, then it would all be okay. This too shall pass; she solemnly told herself.
Hands in her large pockets, her footsteps were loud against the tiled floor as she made her way to the back side of the adventure park. Without hesitating, she crossed through the "Employee's Only" half-door that was cheaply decorated with a cartoon whale breaching the water.
Granted, an aquatic adventure park wasn't the most ideal place to work, but it gave her an opportunity to be up close and personal to marine animals–unlike her more desirable dream-job of working for a conservation based, non-profit like Greenpeace.
She bit her lip and scoffed; ironically, the park was also the easier place to get a job–and no matter how much she wished, the bills wouldn't pay themselves.
Penny navigated herself through a maze of hallways before reaching her destination. She pushed through the light doors–past security–into the research-and-care portion of the park.
Noting the eerie emptiness of the laboratory, she slowly found her way to her own corner. Her desk was just as clean as when she'd left it, even the little icon on her computer still flashed that she had new email. It was a skeleton crew today–had been for the last few weeks–and Penny was almost used to being the lone biologist for the slower parts of the season.
Penny sighed as she sat down in her not-so-comfortable roller chair and glanced about her station. Everything she needed to examine and prepare biological samples from the aquatic animals within the park was neatly positioned along the walls, atop the desk and within the clear cabinets of her little corner of the laboratory.
Finally remembering what she was looking for, Penny pulled open the metal drawer below the centrifuge. Her hand jostled the items that were haphazardly strewn into the drawer until her fingers grasped the smooth plastic bottle. Snatching the white container from its home, Penny settled back into her chair and sighed before twisting open the top.
She'd barely gotten the two pills of Advil into her mouth before–
"Gray!"
Penny looked up–nearly dropping the bottle–only to lay her eyes on a goofy, pale man in a tweed jacket hurrying through the laboratory towards her. Furrowing her brows, she quickly stood from her chair. The man definitely wasn't dressed like an employee, and yet security was not pursuing him. Before she knew it–before she get in a word, edge-wise–the man had come forward, wrapping his arms around her, patting her back and laughing.
She choked on the pills in her mouth from the jostling.
"Penny," The man–clearly British by this thick accent–announced as he pulled back and affectionately rubbed his hands up and down her arms. "What did I tell you!" His smile was disarming, his eyes barmy with affability. "I knew I'd find you here!"
"Uh–" She started, coughing. While Penny worked to swallow the thick capsules, her eyes settled on the bright red bowtie he wore; she'd only ever met professors that wore bowties–and Penny was sure she'd remember someone like him lecturing for one of her classes; though, no image of him registered within her thoughts.
He shook his head, completely oblivious to Penny's discomfort. "I won't lose you again, rest assured." The man shook his finger at her; like a parent rebuking a child.
"What?" Penny frowned, her head pounding. He spoke to her like they were old friends…"I think you have me mistaken for someone else." He tilted his head at her words, as if trying to understand. His pale, green eyes searched hers.
"Who are you?" Penny asked, after a moment–after trying to suppress that uneasy feeling of familiarity.
"I'm the Doctor." The man replied, a little too quickly. He dropped his hands from her arms and moved closer to study Penny's face. "Oh dear." He made to touch the cut above her eyebrow, but she shied away. "Just like I saw. You were in an accident," he commented, mostly to himself. His brows furrowed with his frown. "How long ago? Two–three days?"
"Yesterday," She replied, suspiciously; the man in front of her looked a little young to be a Doctor.
Once more, a dashing smile caressed his thin lips. "My timing in impeccable, then." Placing one hand on his back, he considered those words before musing–with a wave of his thin fingers–"But when isn't it?" Then after a moment's pause and before Penny could reply, the man's gaze averted to the ceiling and he muttered; "Don't answer that."
Glancing beyond him at the empty laboratory, Penny opened her mouth to call for security. She had no idea how this odd fellow had gotten through without someone noticing. He didn't look like much of a threat, but one could never tell about people these days.
Her glasses were suddenly plucked from her face.
"Honestly, Gray, I don't know how you function with spots like these on your lens'." Moistening her lenses with his breath, he proceeded to rub them clean on the sleeve of his shirt.
Words bubbled from her lips. "I hate it when you do that." she scolded before snatching her frames from his hold and replacing them on her nose. She felt like she was dealing with a two year old.
His smile merely grew, his gaze flicked over her face. "You fibber, you. Had me going, you did." He rubbed his hands together and imitated her in a high-pitched, shrill voice; "I think you've mistaken me." The man blew a raspberry.
Her heart stopped. The words had just tumbled of out her mouth; like an old song she'd long forgotten but remembered every word when the music began. Penny scoffed. "I don't know why I said that…" A nervous laugh escaped her lips. "I-I don't even know you."
"Keep up, Money-Penny." He laughed, and ignoring her comment, he waved for her to follow him. "I've the perfect planet picked out for us, next—its name literally translates to 'eight moons'. The tides are devilish, but–" The doctor trailed off, his hands wildly gesturing as he wandered towards the front of the laboratory.
Another bout of familiarity struck her, and then left as quickly as it came. Her head pounded in her ears and Penny reached up to pinch the bridge of her nose. She then interrupted his train of thought. "You say you're a doctor?" Penny asked–one last time–exasperated. "Doctor, who?"
"Precisely." The Doctor then reached out and took her hand.
To be continued in: First Time (Chapter One of; Shades of Gray.)
A.U: Definitely a work in progress as the second half of season six (with Matt Smith :D) winds to an end. Hopefully with this little taste, you'll be interested enough to either continue on (when it is posted later this week) or leave me a review. Or both. ... "Geronimo!"