The TARDIS doors were pushed open by the Doctor as he put the key into the lock and within seconds his ears were greeted with the familiar sounds of the place he called home. His back ached, his legs were tired, and having spent all the day on his feet meant he was eager to get inside the ship and have a well-deserved rest.
His two younger companions Steven and Vicki followed on behind him, Vicki perched on Steven's shoulders as he struggled to lower himself through the door without her slamming head first into the police sign above them. He panted as he took a moment to compose himself and then took a deep breath, bent his knees and walked through the opening.
Vicki climbed off his shoulders as he lowered himself near to the ground. "A delightful excursion, sir," she said in her best posh voice and then helped him back to his normal stature.
Steven felt his back ache, having carried Vicki all around the forests at a good speed. She had found a tall tree, fallen out of it and then he'd been forced to carry her the rest of the way, though he wondered whether her injury was as bad as she'd made out or if she just wanted a nice lift. She'd started out simply being in 'piggy-back' hold but as the journey continued she'd ended up requesting sitting on his shoulders for a better view of the beautiful landscape.
Steven rubbed his shoulder. "We must have walked miles, well I must have. Any idea yet where we were Doctor?"
The Doctor rubbed his chin. "I can't be certain dear boy, but most definitely Earth, but it could be anytime in the past or future or any place with dense forests."
Steven folded his arms and looked wryly at the Doctor. "That narrows it down! I'm so glad we travel on such a sophisticated state-of-the-art ship with pin-point accuracy."
The Doctor scolded him. "My dear young man, even a marvel of engineering has its weaknesses and the ship's not perfect either." He let out a chuckle.
"It's a shame we didn't see anyone," Vicki said, pulling some twigs out of her hair. "I'd have liked to have met some of the locals."
Steven rubbed his shoulder again. "And because of 'Tarzan Vicki' here deciding to climb the most dangerous tree in the woods, we didn't even have a chance to examine any of the nature around us to get an idea of where we were."
There was a sudden bleating sound behind them and on auto-pilot the three travellers turned to the console to determine the source of the noise. Their faces peered over the machine, eyes darting back and forth over buttons and levers, looking for a mechanical fault.
"What's that sound?" Vicki said.
"I haven't a clue, child," the Doctor said, disconcerted. "Nothing on my ship sounds like that."
"It sounds like some sort of animal," she said with hope in her voice.
There was a gasp from Steven as he turned to face the doors. "Doctor, Vicki, who didn't lock up? We didn't get to meet the locals but I think we've just invited one of them to us instead."
Vicki's eyes widened and a large grin erupted on her cherubic face as she saw the black and white fluffy bear crawling along the console room floor toward them. She held her hands together tightly and let out an excited squeal as it seemed to clumsily hurry itself to greet them.
"It's an adorable bear, look how cute it is."
The Doctor chuckled. "Goodness gracious me, now how did a panda bear get in here so quickly?"
"Must have followed us," Vicki said.
Steven laughed and bent down to stroke the animal cautiously as it reached their position. He couldn't help but wonder if Vicki had done it on purpose somehow. "A real panda bear, I can't believe it. In my time they're extinct."
"Mine too," Vicki reminded him as she got down onto her knees and stroked what appeared to be a very tame cub, "such a shame those Daleks ruined it, because these are so so fluffy!"
"But where's its mother?" the Doctor asked with concern. "A panda this size surely shouldn't be alone."
Steven continued to stroke the animal with gentle care. "I'm not sure but it's a curious little thing. I better not let Hi-Fi see him though, he might get jealous."
The panda bear made some more grunting noises as it backed away from them and started to investigate the room, sniffing along all the pieces of furniture. As it reached one of the Doctor's bamboo chairs, it started gnawing at it and bleating again.
"It's got dinner sorted," Vicki said but the Doctor was already racing forward to remove the bear, his arms flailing about unsure of how to proceed.
Though the panda looked small, the Doctor had a tough time lifting it away.
"Come help me remove him, my boy, don't just stand there with that infuriating smirk on your face."
Steven laughed and finally moved to assist his friend, picking the panda up under the arms, unsure of how one was supposed to move them about or whether they were meant to be held at all. He hadn't anticipated the weight and was thankful he didn't have to carry both Vicki and the panda through the forest. He finally moved the panda away best as he could and the Doctor quickly threw a blanket over the chairs to protect them from unwanted bite marks. It didn't take long however for the panda to turn back and start to head back to where it had just been moved.
Vicki placed her hands over her mouth to stop an array of giggles and watched as Steven was forced to repeat the action, lifting the panda under the arms and moving him to the other side of the room. "Doctor, I don't suppose the food machine does bamboo?" he said breathless with the strain of his task.
"No, my boy, but I do have just the thing."
…
Beautiful green and red leaved trees greeted the travellers as they made their way into a section of the ship Vicki and Steven had never seen before. They both gaped in awe at the room and began to wonder what the purpose was of a trip through a forest when there appeared to be one in the ship all along, it also brought up many more questions about exactly what else was inside the TARDIS.
Trying to get the panda to the room had been tricky but it was with relief that the panda was introduced to some much needed food when it arrived.
"Why are there trees on the TARDIS?" Vicki finally asked as she surveyed the room and thought about all the mischief she could get up to in such a space.
"You're very nosy, my dear, but I will say I am fond of having nature around me. This ship is in need of some plants, foliage- it keeps the body relaxed. Aside from that, Susan was fond of it."
His companions didn't notice the sadness in his eyes as they were too preoccupied watching the panda run around happily as if it was right at home.
"Look at Pandora go!" Vicki said as she watched the animal shuffle about in all directions, nearly falling over itself like a clumsy child as it did so.
"Pandora?" Steven shot her a look.
"Well it needs a name. I think it suits her."
The Doctor ran his index finger over his chin and sighed. "I'm still not satisfied that the creature is safe here and we certainly cannot take off with it on board. I think I'll head outside to see if I can find some clue to where she belongs. You two stay here and babysit."
"But Doctor, shouldn't I go and look for you?" Steven said.
"Nonsense, nonsense, besides that panda's taken a shine to you!"
Steven looked down to where Pandora was now nuzzling against his leg with a piece of bamboo sticking out the side of its mouth like a cigar.
…
Pandora scurried around the several small trees and let out a yawn as it started to tire at the circling. Steven knelt down and beckoned the bear over, grasping a piece of bamboo between his fingers, holding it tightly- waiting for the panda to come to him for a feed. Vicki smiled as she watched Pandora sniff the bamboo and then circle Steven as he pulled the treat away whenever the panda came close.
"Oh you're teasing her!" Vicki said giving her older friend a shove.
He smiled. "I'm just playing, look she enjoys it."
Steven placed the small piece of bamboo onto his palm and within minutes Pandora had eaten it off his hand and taken the treat to a place it could devour it. After gobbling the bamboo, Pandora grunted happily. Steven stroked her softly and tickled her under the chin. "She's got quite an appetite. Bit like you," he said cheekily and he waited for Vicki to respond.
She smirked but didn't reply, getting down onto her knees to cuddle the panda and kiss it on the head. "She's so cuddly."
He sat down beside his friend and stroked Pandora. "You know, I'm sort of going to miss her when she goes back."
Vicki was horrified at the thought. "Go back? Can't we keep her?"
"Vicki, she's a panda and she's going to go back to where pandas belong." He kissed the panda on the head in the same way Vicki had done. "I must admit I've grown fond of her myself. Hi-Fi's my best panda of course but she comes a very close second."
"Perhaps the Doctor will find its mother."
"Perhaps we could ask the mother to do a trade, we'll take Pandora and raise her here, and the mother can raise the Doctor."
She chuckled. "Don't think anyone deserves that."
She then watched as Steven stared fondly at the panda, seemingly lost in his own thoughts as he tickled the panda on the belly.
Vicki nudged Steven. "You really are taken with her aren't you? You have a thing about pandas, how did you come to have Hi-Fi anyway?"
Steven smiled shyly, overcome with embarrassment as he felt her looking at him. He felt his cheeks flush as he tried to avoid the question, but it was useless ignoring her when she was always persistent in getting the truth out of him. He flinched. "Oh it was quite boring." He thought that would stop her inquiry but it only made her more interested.
"Oh come on, Steven, there must be a story there. How did he come to be on your ship?"
"You can't leave anything alone can you?"
Vicki's mischievous smile widened. "No. Now come on, spill the beans."
He sighed, realising he'd been beaten, and much like the days he'd spent in therapy when he was younger he'd have to open up about his feelings at some point. He shuffled uncomfortably.
"Well, he was a present for my little sister Beth. I'd been on a space station and I only had one more mission before heading back home so before I went I found a shop that sold a manner of toys and games. On the top shelf, all dusty and alone was this sad looking little panda and I thought if anyone could cheer him up it'd be Bethie."
"And you crashed on your next mission?"
"Yes, Mechanus was to be Hi-Fi's next home, not Earth. It was then I realised I was never going to be able to give the toy to my sister." Steven looked away and sniffed. "Still that was a long time ago now- she's probably got loads of cuddly animal toys anyway."
"Still it must make you sad, never getting there. Bit like me and Astra I suppose."
Steven tapped Vicki softly on the shoulder, unsure of how to comfort her. "Come on, we should see if the Doctor's back yet."
…
There was a loud crash as Steven and Vicki entered the console room with Pandora beside them.
The two friends stared in horror and amusement at the sight in front of them. The Doctor was standing in front of the doors, his arms stretched wide across the door-frame, his legs apart as though he was about to start doing star jumps.
With half of its body wedged through the double doors of the ship was an elephant. It made a tremendous noise as it tried to squeeze through a gap that was much too small. Its trunk rose upwards above the Doctor's head and waved about frantically.
Sensing his companions were in the room, the Doctor waved his arm at them to assist. "Don't just stand there, there's an elephant trying to gain access to my ship!"
"We can see that," Steven replied, trying hard not to laugh at the sight. "Doesn't look much like Pandora's mother though."
"This is no time for your smart mouth, young man. Do you know the irreversible damage this creature could do to my TARDIS?"
Steven was amused greatly. "You mean it could break something and get the ship to start working accurately?"
Vicki giggled- keen to get in on the joke. "Perhaps he's simply packed his trunk and wants to join us on holiday."
They both laughed hysterically as the Doctor growled at them.
The Doctor ignored his unhelpful companions and looked into the elephant's eyes with fiery determination. "Listen here, sonny, I will not have any more unwelcomed specimens in my ship, have you got that? No teachers, no space-pilots, no pandas, no trunks, no entry from herein."
Vicki and Steven grinned at each other. There was always going to be unwelcomed specimens aboard the TARDIS and he was really going to have to get used to it!