Author's Note: So, hope my fans are all still out there, ready for some new Doctor/Leslie goodness! Seeing as though this is the prologue, and I don't have much time, this chapter will be shorter than most. But, don't worry; the chapters in this will be MUCH LONGER than the chapters in "A New Beginning". I will also be bringing back some surprise guests, some new characters, and a few familiar monsters. "EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!" Ring a bell, folks? Well, enjoy.
Prologue: I've Waited So Long
LESLIE'S POV
I wake up in a cold sweat, not entirely sure where I am. Then I hear the gentle whirring noises, and see my familiar surrounding, and I heave a sigh of relief. Just the TARDIS. Only the TARDIS. I had a nightmare about the unthinkable again; losing him. Losing him to something that I can't fight, although I can't fight much to begin with.
I've been here for about a month now, although we're always switching times. Right now we're in Space, passing the Altruxicaltian Galaxy. I've worked my driving skills so that they're up to par, even though learning was a huge hassle for both the Doctor and myself.
*FLASHBACK*
The Doctor and I were both at the dashboard, while I was attempting to work the several levers, buttons, and even a sock. There were still so many things I didn't understand about the TARDIS, but she (yes, she) seemed to like me just fine.
Suddenly, the two of us were thrown backwards in the aftershock.
"LESLIE, I SAID THE BLUE BUTTON, NOT THE GREEN ONE!" he shouted at me.
I could feel tears gathering in the corners of my eyes, and I ran off into the room he gave me. There were times I felt that he didn't want me there. There was a knock on my door, but I didn't move to answer it. I kept my face buried in the pillow.
"Leslie?" he said softly through the door. "Leslie, please, open the door. I didn't mean it. I was just... just angry, Love. Please let me in."
"I'm not opening the door," I said.
"Well, then I'll open it," I heard the familiar sound of the sonic screwdriver, and the sound of the door being opened. He moved over to the bed, and lay down beside me. "Leslie, please look at me."
"No," I said, my voice muffled by the pillow.
"Leslie, please," he begged.
I looked up into those beautiful, beautiful eyes. I moved to rest my head against his chest, listening to his two heartbeats.
*END OF FLASHBACK*
I fell asleep in his arms that night. Actually, that happens a lot. I have nightmares constantly, always of him, and monsters, and things happening that I can only imagine in the late hours of the night. I stand up and stretch my arms above my head before moving out into the hallway. He's sitting in his thinking chair, eyes closed to make it appear as though he's asleep, although I know he's not.
"Doctor?" I whisper quietly.
He opens his eyes and looks at me. "Yes, Leslie?"
"I had another nightmare," I say, embarrassed.
"Well, come over here," he pulls me onto the seat beside him and looks at me. "What was it about this time?"
"There were these monsters..." I start. "But they weren't like normal monsters. They were like... robots, kinda, but they just slid across the floor. And they had these long eyelike things that were constantly moving about, and these guns. And these high screechy voices that kept going 'THE DOCTOR. WE WILL KILL THE DOCTOR. EXTERMINATE. EXTERMINATE.' I wasn't scared of them at first in the dream. I thought they were harmless, because you were there, and you didn't seem to be scared by them much. But then there was fire, and this annoying song, and the Daleks, they... they..."
He's staring at me. "How did you know they were called 'Daleks', love?"
"I... I don't know," I think for a moment, but my mind is blank. "I have no idea. I don't remember the name ever being said in the dream."
"The Daleks are real, Leslie," he says. "They aided in the slaughter of my entire race. I can't say they're not dangerous, because they are. But, I have a feeling that we're not going to be seeing them anytime soon. So, don't you worry about a thing, alright?"
"Alright," I start to move, but he pulls me back down. "Uhmm, Doctor?"
"I think I just heard something," the Doctor says worriedly, pulling out his screwdriver and standing up. "Stay here. Don't move."
He walks around the TARDIS a few times, before we both hear a knock on the door. He moves towards it, and although he told me to stay put, I follow closely behind him. The Doctor swings the door open, and a man tumbles in from outside.
"Well, can't say I'm not surprised, Doctor," he says in a smooth American voice that isn't that different from my own. "New face, new companion. It's always the same."
I feel very self-concious after a minute. I pull my knees up to my chest and watch the Doctor give this man the once-over.
"Jack, what the Hell are you doing here?" he suddenly says.
The man, apparently named Jack, stands up and dusts off his long blue jacket. "Well... I had nowhere else to go."
The Doctor looks confused. "What happened to TORCHWOOD?"
"Long story," Jack says. "Everyone but Gwen and I perished. After that, she wanted nothing to do with me."
With a sigh, the Doctor looks at me, and then back at Jack. "Alright, you can stay. But, please, leave Leslie out of this. She doesn't deserve it."
"Ah, Leslie is it?" Jack walks over to me. "Another blonde; not a surprise."
The second I shake his hand, I feel a current of electricity shook through me. "Captain Jack Harkness, of TORCHWOOD, Special Ops? The Captain Jack Harkness who not only was a con artist but also one of the greatest alien hunters of our time?"
The Doctor is staring at me, as is Jack. "Uhmm, so, you told here a lot about me, huh?" Jack says with a nervous laugh.
"Actually, I've never even mentioned you," the Doctor replies.
I look up at Jack, and blink a few times. "You have really, really pretty eyes."
Jack laughs. "I think I might just grow to like you, Leslie."
But then it hits me. Jack said new face... and new companion... oh God. I thought the Doctor was done keeping things from me. "What does he mean by new face, Doctor?" I ask. "And new companion?"
"Oh, you haven't told her?" Jack says innocently.
"Jack, don't you dare," the Doctor warns.
"Well, Leslie dear, I'm afraid you aren't the first who has traveled with our dearest Doctor," Jack explains. "He gets a new one every few months or so. Or, in Rose's case, a year and a half or so."
I look at the Doctor, and he's avoiding my eyes.
And then the tears again.
And I run from the room.
TIMEBREAK
Author's Note: So... how'd you like it? Want me to continue? Review please!