Horror Film Aftermath

"Hello!" The Doctor greeted his companion cheerily as he entered the TARDIS room. Sadie Mitchell, who was sitting with her back to him, shrieked, nearly jumping out of her skin. Her involuntary movements caused her to accidently fling the book she'd been reading over her head. It came down, as all things that go up tend to do, directly onto the Doctor's head. He muttered under his breath for a moment, rubbing a hand over his head, as he bent down to pick up the fallen book.

"Sorry!" Sadie exclaimed, sliding off her seat and approaching quickly. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! I didn't see you come in and you scared me! Are you okay?" The Doctor handed the book back to her, slightly irritably.

"I'm fine. You're terribly jumpy today. That's the third time I've had a book come flying in my direction. First time it's actually hit target though. What's gotten into you?" Sadie shrugged.

"Nothing." The Doctor wasn't buying any of it.

"Liar," he said simply. Then realization struck. "It was the movie, wasn't it?" Sadie didn't answer, but her cheeks tinged slightly pink. That told him all he needed to know. "Oh you have got to be kidding me…"

"Don't say anything," Sadie warned, her cheeks flushing a deeper pink. The Doctor didn't listen.

"That movie was terrible. A terrible sequel, actually," the Doctor said, incredulously. "I can't believe it's gotten you so worked up."

"It was a terrible movie. I'll give you that, but you gotta admit that parts of it were really scary!"

"Like what?"

"Like…when that guy is developing photos, and he notices this little black smudge on them. Then he puts another in the little tub and the blur starts coming towards him, then that creepy lady pokes her head out and snatches him…" Sadie trailed off, shuddering. The Doctor looked amused, if anything.

"Not scary."

"What about when the girl chugs the milk and then pukes it all back up?"

"Nope."

"Fine, what about at the end, when the girl goes into the house and that guy starts going after her, after she falls and breaks her ankle, he comes after her and snaps her neck. Then it gets all weird and everyone starts to-"

"Sadie," the Doctor interrupted, knowing full well that if he didn't, she would go on babbling forever. "Not scary in the slightest." Sadie huffed, heading back to her seat, plopping down on it. She opened her book again, finding where she'd left off. The Doctor shrugged and headed for the console. He began fiddling with it, but pressed a button inadvertently, causing sparks to fly and a loud noise. Sadie shrieked yet again, her book once more flying through the air. This time the Doctor was prepared and he caught it before it hit the floor.

Several hours later, Sadie was still sitting quietly in the console room. She had long ago finished her book, and was now gallantly fighting off sleep. Although she'd never admit it, she was too spooked to allow herself to drift off. She knew if she did, she'd most likely be plagued with horrid nightmares. If that happened, and the Doctor found out – which he would, since he seemed to figure out everything she didn't want him to - she'd never hear the end of it.

Twice she'd nearly fallen to the floor after nodding off, but she still refused to give in. The Doctor found this highly amusing to watch, and kept sneaking glances in her direction. After she nearly went crashing into the floor for the third time, he decided to speak up.

"Sadie," he said quietly, hoping it wouldn't startle her. It didn't work so well. Her head snapped up, drawing her breath in sharply and audibly, eyes wide. Well, at least she hadn't screeched.

"W-what?" she stammered slightly, having to stifle a yawn with the back of her hand.

"Go to sleep already before you hurt yourself." Sadie shook her head.

"'m not sleepy," she declared, before yawning again. The Doctor looked at her pointedly. "Okay, so maybe just a little…"

"I mean it. I don't want you falling to the floor and getting hurt."

"I'm not going to get hurt!" Sadie protested. She slid off the seat with a small thump. "I think I'll just go get another book or something to keep myself occupied." She made her way to the door, and then paused.

The hallway seemed to stretch much further than she remembered. It was a lot darker than she'd remembered, as well. She swallowed hard. There had been dimly lit hallways in the movie. Dimly lit hallways where people were stalked by creepy ghost-like beings that would kill you. She shook her head, trying to clear the images from her mind. She knew there was nothing at all that could hurt her while she was in the TARDIS, and with the Doctor there, besides, but she just couldn't get her imagination to switch off. There were lots of doors in the TARDIS. And behind each one…she shook her head again, cursing her imagination. She stepped back from the doorway, deciding that maybe going for a book wasn't the best idea.

"Change your mind?" the Doctor called, grinning. Sadie turned to glare at him briefly before turning back to the door. She took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and took off at breakneck speed down the hallway. Behind her, the Doctor just shook his head.

Some time later, the Doctor strolled down the hallway that Sadie had disappeared into previously. He'd finished his tinkering, and had decided to check up on his companion, since she hadn't returned. There was no doubt that she was fine. The TARDIS would have alerted him, if anything had happened. The Doctor figured she'd simply fallen asleep somewhere, her exhaustion finally winning out over her fear. He made his way to the room she had claimed as her own, finding the door closed, as usual. One thing he had learned quickly about Sadie was that she very much valued her privacy. He knocked lightly on the door. There was no answer, so he turned the knob to open the door. It opened a few inches and then stopped. He pushed against it, but it wouldn't budge. She'd pushed something in the way, apparently. The Doctor sighed and leaned heavily against the door, successfully managing to open it wider.

He stepped halfway inside the room, looking around at the new furniture arrangement. There was a small table in front of the door, which was what had prevented him from opening it immediately. The lamp had been moved so that it was sitting beside the bed, It was on, and shining brightly. A night light. The Doctor grinned at that. The mirror that was hanging from the wall had been turned around, so that its reflective side couldn't be seen. A chair was sitting in front of the closet door, blocking it from being opened. She'd covered all the bases, it seemed. Tucked safely under the covers was Sadie, who was sleeping peacefully.

"Exhaustion wins every time," the Doctor said to himself, moving to switch off the lamp before he left. He closed the door quietly behind him and began making his way back to the console room. He hadn't gone far when he heard a screech come from Sadie's room. He turned around and just in time to see light spill from underneath the door. There was a scraping noise, and a thump as the table went back to its location blocking the door. He chuckled softly and continued on his way, knowing that tomorrow morning, Sadie would be eagerly chattering about which horror movie she intended to see next.

Notes: So…guess who watched a horror movie today? Bonus points if you can guess which one! :) I love horror films to bits, but they always make me jumpy…especially around mirrors and showers, since films tend to prey on those two things. Anyway, I thought it'd be an interesting little idea to explore. Hope you enjoyed!!