There it was, the thing I had dreamed of for what seemed a lifetime. Everything felt so surreal. I took my first step toward it. It seemed to be the center of the universe, as if everything in the world was spinning around it. Nothing else in the world had ever seemed so important to me as this moment.
I reached my hand out. A second of hesitation caused me to jump as the tip of my finger brushed across the blue paint. It felt exactly like wood, but I knew that wasn't what it really was. As I circled the large object my hand touched the delicate metal handle.
Would it open? I felt so many things. Was I dreaming? Was I happy? Was I afraid to open it? My finger curled around the handle, but I couldn't pull. A million thoughts ran through my head. What if it's just a cosplayer prop? What if it's a real police box? What if it's a prank? What if I'm making a fool of myself? What if someone's watching? What I am dreaming? What if none of this is real? …What if it is real? What if this moment will change my life forever? What if all this time, this is what was supposed to happen? On this day, at this second, what if I'm meant to walk into the real TARDIS? What if it's locked? What if the Doctor is running around in this very town where I live? What if he's inside the TARDIS? Then a couple of my previous questions reoccurred. What if this is a hoax? What'll I do If I open it and nothing's on the inside?
I took a deep breath and tightened my grasp on the door handle. I lowered my head and pushed. Ca-chink. Oh. It is locked. I gave quick look around to check for an unwanted audience, then tried the door again. Nothing. I place my ear on the door, and at that second my heart skipped a beat. A mechanical whirring was on the inside. I went into a frenzy and yanked on the door. My feet paced in front of the door before my body could react. "calm down, Hillary. Calm Down." I stopped and stared at the odd blue doors. I reached out a hand and knocked. I held my breath.
Footsteps approached the door from the inside.
"Hello?" I knocked again.
"Hello?" A familiar voice replied.
I froze. Oh my gosh. This was real. I was normally and extremely shy person but something so unreal seemed to have broken my shell of comfort. "…Doctor?"
"… You know me?" The voice replied.
"Oh my gosh!" I screamed.
"Are you alright?" He opened the door of the TARDIS, revealing himself to be the man I had seen on television so many times before. A tall, thin man wearing a brown, pinstriped suit partially hidden behind a very large tan trench coat. He wore large squared glasses, the eyes behind them a deep brown. The features I had always found defining about him shone like they never had before. His hair was done up into a spike over his forehead. He didn't always wear it like this, but it was my favorite hairdo of his, and here it was right in front of me. I noted his sideburns, as glorious as ever. His eyes flicking around, observing my body. His lips forming a confused frown as he looked me over. He cleared his throat. "Ahem. I said, are you alright?"
I screamed. Not on purpose, the situation was just a bit overwhelming. "Yes! Yes I'm fine!" My heart slammed around inside my rib cage as if screaming at me to let it out.
"Urm… Uh" He scratched the back of his neck. "Alright…" He gave me another scan with his eyes. "If your sure." He started to retreat back into the TARDIS before I grabbed his tie, pulling him to a halt. "… Do you need something?"
"Oh. My. Gosh."
"Pardon me?"
"Oh. My. Gosh." I repeated.
"I- I'm sorry, is there something I'm missing?" He avoided looking into my unintentionally violent stare.
"Y-y-y…" I stammered. "YOU'RE THE DOCTOR."
"No, no, I didn't miss that. I know I'm the Doctor. And you are..?"
My eyes followed his tie down to my hands and back up to his face. "You're the Doctor!" I yelled, unable to control my own volume.
"U-um. Have we met? See, things don't happen to me quite in the right order, I may not have met you ye-"
"N-no." I gained a small amount of control and let him go. "I just…"
"Then… you've heard of me?" He gave the area around us a look down as if it were a foreign planet. Well. In a way it was, but not to the Doctor, right?
"Yes. No." I shook my head. "Sort of." It was then that it occurred to me. If THIS was the real Doctor… Then who was David Tennant? Was he just a look alike? Wait, I'd SEEN behind the scenes specials of Doctor Who, I'd seen David talking about his role as the Doctor. So who was this?! "Are you David Tennant?"
"No… I thought you said you knew I was the Doctor."
"I-I know. But- the Doctor is David Tennant." I could see so many thoughts rushing through his head; most likely ideas and theories on what the heck I was talking about. I shook my head. "Come with me."
"I- I really can't. I've only got a little bit of time until the TARDIS powers off-"
"Just come with me, it'll only take a second!" I grabbed his arm and ran towards my house.
I could've never been so happy to choose to go on a walk. Normally, especially when I'm home alone, I would never ever go outside by choice. I usually try to stay inside, maintain my pale skin, draw, maybe play some video games, and most of all, watch Doctor Who. But no, today I had the weirdest instinct to take a walk. Even if this was only an actor, I was still meeting one of my top heroes, David Tennant, the tenth Doctor of the best show in the world, Doctor Who. This was the peak of my life, I thought. It could never in a million years get any better than this. And I was right, in a million years… my life would get even better.
The Doctor flipped over the DVD case in his hands, carefully reading the back. "Wellp, that's me alright." He took his glasses off, and looked at me. "Or is it?"
"How should I know?"
He paused and gave me an odd look. "You do know that wasn't an actual question."
"Well, how was I supposed to know?" I was already feeling incredibly stupid, them my mouth ran off and made that comeback without a brain controlling it.
He stared at me, as if searching for some alien reason for my stupidity, but he wouldn't find it. I was just plain old, every day, earthly stupid. I turned my head away from him, feeling my face get very hot.
"So what do you make of it?" I questioned.
"It may actually be a very simple answer. You see, I'm from a different reality than this universe," He gave a quick glance around the room. "Everything could be different here. There are still questions I'd like answered, but I don't have time for that, I have to be going. The TARDIS only has a couple more minutes of energy before it's power dies." He turned to leave, but I grabbed his tie again. I really needed to stop doing that.
"Wait!" I swallowed hard and mustered up a quick burst of courage. "Take me with you!"
He took his glasses off and looked at me carefully. "I can't, I really can't."
"why not?"
"This is a different reality, I don't know anything about this place. For all I know, taking you could ruin a fixed point in time here, ripping a whole through the universe."
"But I do know about this universe! I'll never amount to anything here. Please. Ever since I first watch this DVD! Ever since I watched this I wanted you to come! I wanted to believe that you were real, even though all common sense told me you were just an actor on a set! It's like I knew that all this would happen!"
He rubbed his eyes. "Listen, if I take you, you can never come back, there's not enough time for you to think this through properly. I won't just swoop in and take you out of an entire reality. I have no reason to take you-"
"You have no reason not to!"
"I don't know who you are."
My fingers shook as my emotions took control. "Ever since I watched Doctor Who, I knew! I knew if you ever, ever came I would go with you in a heartbeat! I HAVE thought it through!"
"I don't even know if that DVD has the same events! Just because I appear to be this guy, doesn't mean it'll be anything like it really is."
"You're the Doctor. You're a Time Lord. You're the Last of the Time Lords. You're 900 something- depends on where in the series you are- years old. You have two hearts. You survived the Time War. You're biggest enemy is the Daleks, who somehow keep popping up all over in your life in huge armies, even though they supposedly died out with the Time Lords in the Time War. Listen, listen, I can even name off some of your companions you've had! Um, um." I quickly ran through all the companions I could think of at the moment. "There, there was… Jo, Harry, Sara Jane, Tegan, umm… Oh, Romana, K9... Ace… I mean, I know there's a ton more, I haven't watched a ton of Classic Who, though." I could tell he was quite flabbergasted at my ranting as if one word was his deepest secret and the next was a child's made-up language. "Oh, and of course there's Rose, and-" He glared into my eyes and his jaw tensed at the mention of Rose. "Wait," I continued. "You're the Tenth Doctor… Which means you've met Rose already. But, if you're not with her now…" His eyes flicked between my own. "Did she already…?"
He lowered his head. "Ok, so maybe this television show is right about everything… but how?" He started to pace. "YES! NO! Agh, the TARDIS!" He yelled. "It's about to run out of power any second!" He yanked his tie out of my grip and shot out the door.
"No, come back!" I cried. "Take me with you! I'm sure I want to come!" I ran out behind him, struggling to keep up. "I'm positive! 100% positive!" I called, swinging my arms as if to pull myself forwards. "Please! I won't blame you if I change my mind!"
He turned his head, still running top speed. "I can't just take every little girl who asks to come!"
"Isn't that more or less how you picked up all your other companions?" I huffed.
He gave me an irritated look as he reached the TARDIS. He quickly pulled open the doors and ran inside, me a couple feet behind him. I quickly pushed the door shut behind myself and looked around. The TARDIS. The actual TARDIS. The infinite ship inside of room hardly big enough for two people. I swallowed my comments for later as the Doctor began to speak.
"Out." He stated firmly as he tinkered with odd buttons and dials on the TARDIS' console.
"Make me." He glanced at me angrily.
"I don't have time for this, I have to leave NOW."
"Well, it looks to me like you only have time to either get the TARDIS in flight and escape this reality or come over here and make me get out. Take your pick." I felt so extremely out of character, but I guess that happens when a TARDIS lands in your backyard.
He gave me a calculating stare, then reluctantly pulled a lever, sending the TARDIS into flight. It was really happening. Doctor Who was all real and I was on board the TARDIS in flight, no chance of ever returning home.
"I'm going to at least need your name." He said.
I smiled. "Hillary. Hillary Dawn."
He smiled back. "Nice to meet you, Hillary Dawn. I'm the Doctor."