It took Barbara a while to realize why the Doctor was so unnerving. The young girl looked sweet enough, and she actually rarely said a harsh word to Barbara or Ian.
But, behind the girl's sweet smile, there was something far too focused in her stare. Most girls her age would dawdle, or be talking behind the teacher's back, or talking about boys. But the Doctor (back then, Barbara called her Susan. The girl now insisted on being called the Doctor, and Ian and Barbara humored her. Nevertheless, Barbara occasionally slipped, which would cause Susan to pout adorably. ) . But the Doctor would focus utterly on the lesson. It became unnerving, to the point where Ian, who had noticed the same thing, questioned the girl about it. The Doctor apologized about the distress, and soon Ian forgot about it.
But Barbara didn't. She watched as Susan would slink off after school toward some mysterious location, or, when she thought no one was looking, tinker with mysterious devices in the back of the school, and if she was approached, quietly joke about how she was just "curious" about technical topics. However, Barbara had spent time with Susan, and even then she knew that the girl was far smarter than she acted.
It was that concern, that brought Barbara to the junkyard, with Ian as an accomplice. Most junkyards would be deserted, but this one had books , and clothes scattered about. In the distance, Barbara could hear what sounded like a bird call, but it sounded odd. There was almost a rhythm to the bird's speech, like human speech.
Barbara heard Ian trip on something, and turned around. He wasn't there.
"Ian? Where are you?" said Barbara. She looked around, but couldn't see anything.
"What are you doing here?" called a voice Barbara knew well. She turned around, to see Susan staring at her. Susan's green eyes were glaring down at the teacher, grinding down into her soul. It almost felt like someone was piercing into her mind.
"I was looking for you. To make sure you were safe," said Barbara. She peered into Susan's glare. The girl wouldn't get to hide her secrets this time.
"Why would I be in danger?" said Susan. A small smug smile tugged at the girl's mouth, like she wanted to laugh..
"You disappear off to school on odd hours. You have knowledge, and interests, far beyond your peers, yet you never talk to people. You never talk about your home life. I just wanted to make sure you were okay," said Barbara.
Barbara felt the same sensation of someone pushing into her brain, and tried to shake it off. It receded, and Susan sighed, apparently in relief.
"You're telling the truth," the girl said. It wasn't a question, but a statement of truth. Her face brightened up into a large grin, and she grabbed Barbara into a huge hug.
"What did I do to deserve this?" asked Barbara.
"For caring about me. I didn't expect human beings to care so much," said Susan. Barbara couldn't tell whether Susan was honestly happy, or was just doing her "little girl" act.
Had Barbara left right then, she probably would have had a normal life from then on.
But she didn't. She continued to ask questions.
"Have you seen Ian?"Barbara asked. Susan's mouth twisted into a grimace.
"Was he with you?" Susan asked. The girl's eyes darted to something behind Barbara, like she was trying to hide something.
"Yes. Have you seen-"
"Barbara! You have to come here. There's some sort of police box, and the inside is…" Ian trailed off.
When Barbara saw the inside of the box, she realized why he was speechless.
That was the start of her adventures with Susan, whose real name was apparently the Doctor, and her grandfather, John Smith. After learning more about Susan, the mystery around her seemed to increase for Barbara. Both Susan and John Smith, came from another planet, and had the views nothing like anyone Barbara had seen.
"WWII was a terrible battle. Many lives were lost, all proudly given. But when you were on the ground, it didn't feel proud," Ian was telling Theta. Although Theta wasn't really as enamored of humans as Susan was, Theta would often pick the brains of the two Earthlings on his ship. Barbara suspected that he was starving for companionship, although he'd never admit it.
"It was a foolish battle. Deaths over such a small piece of land! You could have just divided it," said John. Both the Doctor and John never really saw the importance of human struggles.
The Doctor (she had abandoned the name of Susan for some time, and seemed to consider "the Doctor" her real name) was staring at the two with distant eyes. A red leather cap was lazily placed on her head, and her grey wool skirt was draped around her, blending in well with the beige of the ship. Her eyes were focused on John and Ian with the same intensity she gave Barbara's lessons. Barbara wondered what she thought of this argument. The Doctor shared John's distance from humanity, and yet, Barbara occasionally sensed deeper empathy from the young alien girl.
For a split second, the Doctor's eyes moved from Ian, and focused on Barbara's. The teacher jumped. The Doctor winked, and looked back at Ian and John, who, predictably, had begun arguing loudly.
"The war was not all about land! It was about glory, and honor, and protecting all that was good in the world," said Ian.
"Poppycock! All wars have good rhetoric behind it, but in the end, it's just fighting over nothing!" said John.
"Well, Grandfather,", interjected the Doctor, "what about the wars in our planet? Were they worth fighting over?"
"Of course, granddaughter," said John. "They were about protecting the timeline, and honor, and…"
Even John realized the hypocrisy in what he was saying. There was a small silence, and then the Doctor began to giggle.
"What's so funny, hmm?" asked John, but a grin was spreading over his face as well.
That was one of the good days in the TARDIS.
Not all days were good.
"You promised that you could take us to Earth, Doctor?" snarled Ian. He bared down at the alien child, who didn't seem at all perturbed by his anger.
"Actually, it's my grandfather who promised. Now that he's left, expecting that I'll take up the slack is a little arrogant of you, Chesterton", she said. Her expression was impenetrable, but at the time, neither Barbara nor Ian was in the mood for mysteries.
"No, but you never said you couldn't. We came with you, under the impression that you could take us to Earth. Why aren't we there?"said Barbara.
"There's just some technical hiccups," said the Doctor. She didn't meet their eyes.
"Well, how soon can they be fixed?" asked Ian.
"Soon," said the Doctor.
Something in the Doctor's expression troubled Barbara. The Doctor was hiding something...and then it dawned on Barbara.
"You can't fly the damn ship," said Barbara.
"What did you say?"asked the Doctor, whose usually enigmatic face had frozen like a deer in headlights.
"Oh, I think you can hear me. You lied to us. You never learned how to fly the ship. Not well enough to get us home," said Barbara.
"I-I…" said the Doctor, lost for words, and guilt written over her face.
"Do speak up, Susan," said Ian icily.
"Yes. I cannot fly this ship," said the Doctor.
A wave of despair flooded Barbara's mind. Ian was arguing with the Doctor now, but Barbara could not even hear them. She walked away from them to her room, closed the door, and shrieked loudly. Whether or not they heard her, she neither knew nor cared.
She didn't see the Doctor again until a few days later. The Doctor knocked on her door, and came in.
"I just wanted to let you know that Ian and I are about to leave to visit China. 3400s, I think. Ian wants a trip to help clear our heads," said the Doctor. Barbara was facing the wall, but even just from the girl's voice, she could tell that the Doctor was uncomfortable.
Barbara turned around, and said "I think I'll stay here, Doctor."
The Doctor nodded. Barbara immediately cursed herself for looking at the Doctor. Despite the unknowable alien within, in some ways, the Doctor was still a young girl. Right now, those large eyes were already making Barbara regret being so cold to her.
The Doctor sat down next to Barbara, on the floor. Leaning forward, she whispered "I'm sorry."
"You can't just fix this with an apology. This isn't just a spilled glass of milk," replied Barbara. Her tone sounded icier than she intended.
The alien nodded, and replied "I know. But I can promise you, that I will do everything in my power to get you home. After all, now that Grandfather has left us, you are under my care."
At first, all Barbara did was make an affirmative grunt. But at the Doctor walked out the door, something possessed Barbara to get up, and tap the Doctor on the shoulder.
"I'll go with you and Ian," said Barbara, and continued "That doesn't mean I've forgiven you. But I'll go. Someone has to keep you two out of trouble."
The Doctor grinned, and clasped her hands together, but wisely said nothing.