The park was silent and empty, like a frozen void in space and time containing only one speck of light. This speck was a young woman. A young woman with deep, thoughtful, hazel eyes and a misty smile. Her pretty eyes were glazed over as she stared at the void before her, her thin, pale arms folded in a pose of solidity and gracefulness. Her cream tea dress fell to her knees which beyond were two skinny legs coated in an array of goose bumps. She blinked down at the notebook in her lap; a page drizzled beautifully with curling numbers and slanting words, a jumble of nonsense to most people. She added another number; slowly caressing each curve and corner to the shape of a 5, her smile widening at the perfection of it. To her, numbers were like a brush's perfect stroke of paint on paper. Not quite meaning anything yet, however the beauty of that stroke will contribute to the final painting, like a long string of numbers in an equation. She blushed slightly at that thought, wondering if she had become too poetic lately.
It was a peaceful and sunny Saturday morning and the water sun's rays had not yet gathered the strength to warm the dew-coated ground. Birds fluttered happily in the trees, causing them to rustle, the odd leaf floating drearily down to the ground. A little way off, there was an odd noise. Like a whooshing sound, like machinery or engines whirring in pain and frustration. The young woman, Elizabeth Hazel Jenkins to be precise, shrugged it off as the sound of a leaf blower or lawn mower. She sighed contentedly, the cool morning air cloaking her in a feeling of protection and calmness.
Just as she shut her eyes, leaning back against the wooden bench, footsteps, quite eager ones at that, sounded towards her direction. Her eyes fluttered open. To her right she could feel the presence of someone, and turned quickly to greet that someone with a calm smile and curious eyes. Sat next to her, with his legs crossed over and hands intertwined together, resting upon his knees, was a young-looking man. Oddly enough, he was smartly dressed with an ancient looking tweed jacket and a small, maroon bowtie. His hair was in the messiest of styles, like the end of a brown mop. She knew he was intellectual almost instantly; it was the wise look in his seemingly old eyes. It was also the way his clasped hands tapped graciously against his thigh, as if Mozart of Beethoven were playing in his head. He smiled sweetly at her, his face crinkling greatly.
"Lovely morning isn't it? I quite like these birds, though not large birds, large vultures. Never want to run into them...again." He paused, slowing down at the confused and startled look on Elizabeth's face. "Sorry, I should introduce myself, shouldn't I? I'm the Doctor, not a Doctor, the Doctor. Too many mistakes in that area, and you should know I have no proffesional degrees and I cannot, under any circumstances, mend a broken leg. That was a bad day, a very bad day." He wavered his hands about then clasped them back again firmly and placed them upon his knees.
"I noticed," He tapped the notebook in her lap "you know quite a lot about numbers don't you?"
"Yes," She replied and without thinking, she spilled the story about paintbrushes and numbers to him, the look in his eyes forcing her to pour the words out to him. Her voice wavered at the end and she blushed incredibly. To her amazement, he didn't laugh, he sat in silence accepting and acknoledging her every word.
"Sorry," she mumbled "I'm a bit of a geek. Never could resist a nice group of numbers."
"No, no! Numbers are the best. Numbers are cool." He grinned as if it were his own private joke, then he stared out at the park.
"Ooooh, a duck pond! With ducks!" He noted it carefully in his mind, something to tell the Ponds about when they were picked up from their wonderous honeymoon. "So, what's your name then?"
"Elizabeth." She smiled, holding out her hand. The Doctor didn't take it, instead grasping her arms and kissing each cheek in turn. Elizabeth's eyes widened in shock however she didn't pull back. This man was different, just different.
"Well Elizabeth, unfortunately, and very unfortunately, you are now in grave danger. We both are." He cursed himself internally. No wonder the Tardis had taken a detour from the Rift, where he had been planning to go. There was something wrong, something extremely very not good. He looked behind Elizabeth and his face dropped to a large frown. "There's something behind you."