Lisa finally pulled into her driveway. It was late at night and she was just getting home from work. She sighed heavily. It had been a long day.
She hefted her large purse onto her shoulder and trudged up her driveway towards her front door, struggling under the combined weight of her grocery bags and purse. Getting the door open was a feat in itself that she thought required a good long celebration of sleep. Many hours of blessed sleep.
With the bags filled with food sitting on the counter she poured herself a cup of milk and chugged it. Her plan was simple. Put the food away, make a lovely dinner of instant ramen, watch a favorite episode of Doctor Who, and then sleep.
She smiled to herself. The Doctor always made her day better. Just watching him run around desperate to save their human lives always made her feel good about being human.
When the ramen was done and her computer screen was on FickNetwork's page for Doctor Who, she snuggled into her couch and propped the computer on her lap. The Family of Blood started to play.
She adored this episode. The Doctor was so emotional in it. So human. Granted he was supposed to be a human but still "John Smith" was the Doctor and "The Doctor" was John Smith. The Doctor was capable of all the humanity that was shown. At least that's what she liked to think.
Almost at the end of the episode her computer stalled. The screen started blinking and crackling, making loud hissing noises. Lisa quickly jumped up and set her computer on the coffee table.
"No. No no no no no," she whispered to herself. She needed this computer! "Please not the blue screen of death. Please not the blue screen of death," she chanted.
She heard a loud hissing from behind her a whipped around to see where it was coming from. Her ipod was crackling just like her computer. From in the bathroom her radio speakers started to crackle and hiss. In her bedroom her alarm clock turned on and buzzing, hissing and crackling filled her house.
Every appliance in her house with a radio or internet signature was going off.
Over all the noise she heard an unmistakable sound. It was a whirring noise at repeated intervals and a bit of a grinding sound to it. She had only ever heard that noise on the TV show.
"No way."
She ran to the sliding glass door that led to the back yard. She stared wide eyed as the TARDIS materialized in front of her, right next to her pool. When the whirring noise stopped and the TARDIS was completely parked, all the hissing, buzzing and crackling stopped.
She didn't move and inch. She didn't think she even breathed for a good thirty seconds. She waited for a long time. In reality it was probably only ten minutes at the maximum. If it was the real TARDIS and the Doctor, he was probably running around trying to figure out what had gone wrong with his "Sexy Thing."
And suddenly the door of the TARDIS swung open and a head with spiky brown hair and wild eyes popped out and looked around. The rest of him emerged from the spaceship clad in a tan trench coat, red converse and his blue suit with tie.
"No way," she whispered.
Almost like he heard her, he looked over at her. He seemed a bit confused at first but then raised his hand and gave her a big wave. A lot slower than his, she waved back. Next thing he was sauntering over to her and standing right outside the door.
They both stared at each other. Then he knocked on the glass, startling her out of her shock.
"Hello~!"
He said it so cheerfully and even waved a little. He sounded just like David Tennant. Strange. So, so strange.
"Might I have a word with you please?"
"Uh," was Lisa's intelligent reply. "From outside the glass, sure."
TARDIS or no she was not about to let a man into her house at night when she was in her pajamas. She glanced down at herself. Right. She was in her pajamas. Wonderful.
The Doctor didn't seem to notice her relaxed attire and only nodded his head cheerfully. "Quite right. Can't have a strange man waltzing into your house in the middle of the night. Smart of you."
Silence fell.
"So," Lisa started. "You have a box."
What else to do in such a strange situation then state the obvious?
He glanced behind him at the TARDIS then back at her nodding. He stuck his hands into his pants pockets and rocked back and forth on his heels.
"Yes. Yes I do have a box. I was wondering, do you happen to know the city, country, date and time that I am in? My ship couldn't tell me before she crashed here."
Lisa raised an eye brow. The TARDIS crashed? It had sounded and looked like a successful landing. She decided not to ask.
"You are in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The United States of America and it is June the 11th at-" she glanced behind her at the clock on the stove, "eleven forty-five pm."
"Brilliant!" The Doctor's eyes where lit up and Lisa couldn't help but think that when he got that look in the show trouble was not far behind.
"I'm the Doctor by the way. Nice to meet you!" He grinned at her expectantly.
"Lisa."
"Lisa. Brilliant name that is," he started looking around. Inside her house, at her yard, at the pool. He was obviously lost in thought but still talking about absolutely nothing. "I knew a Lisa once. She was a fantastic woman. Very clever although not entirely forward thinking. Went off on her own quite a lot actually. Got into lots of trouble."
He had to be travelling alone. The only time he ever seemed to ramble on to a stranger was when he didn't have a companion with him. That and no one had followed him out of the TARDIS was her other major clue.
"Doctor."
He stopped talking at looked at her, eye brows raised.
"Would you like to come in? Maybe have some tea?"
He sort of smirked at her like he was waiting for her to ask this whole time. "I thought you did not a strange man entering your house?"
She shrugged. "I think you're safe. Besides, the door isn't locked and a whole three fourths inch of glass wasn't going to keep me all that safe if you wanted to force your way in."
"Well in that case, yes. Yes I would love to come in for a cuppa tea." His eyes were positively beaming at her. It was hard not to break out in a grin with his contagious energy bouncing around him.
She slid the door open and mock bowed at him. "This way kind sir."
He sauntered in and returned the bow. "Why thank you Madame."
They both laughed at one another and Lisa led them into the kitchen.
It really was like all the companions said. He made you just trust him, not even knowing anything about him, you trusted him and wanted to help him in any way you could.
She busied herself with making the tea and watched the Doctor from the corner of her eye. He was looking at her photos on the fridge, reading her calendar and the letter she received from her mom a few weeks ago.
He was silent. The only sound was the water boiling.
"So Doctor," he glanced at her, "How did you come to end up here?"
His shoulder slumped a little. "It's probably best if you don't know all the details. For your well being and all that."
She raised an eye brow. "I don't need details but I know it's not normal for a box to appear out of nowhere and an eccentric man to pop out from inside the not normal box."
He chuckled a bit at her explanation of his arrival. "Very true. Not normal at all." And he fell silent again.
Lisa let it go and poured the hot water into the cups. She was sure he was there by accident. The TARDIS could have fallen out of the space and time vortex and slipped into this dimension. She had a pretty open mind when it came to the extraordinary.
Other dimensions where not that hard to believe in. She remembered being told about the String Theory in high school. The scientists in her world believed there could be other dimensions so why not a man who just happened to drop out of one and into her back yard?
She handed the Doctor his cup of tea and stood next to him as he stared at her photographs. He silently sipped the tea, not looking anywhere else but the fridge.
She pointed to a picture of her and her mom.
"My mother and I at her graduation. She went back to school and graduated last year." She touched the photo of her and her best friend. "My best friend John. He's battling cancer right now." The photo of her and her sister. "My sister. She is on a business trip at the moment. It's very quiet without her."
She paused when she saw the next picture. So that is what made him be so quiet. It was a picture of David Tennant as the Doctor, his intense eyes burning right off the paper. She had written above his head in silver the quote "Always be brilliant." Someday she dreamed of having David Tennant sign it.
The Doctor was no longer drinking his tea. He was just staring at the photo, not moving.
"Doctor?"
Her question caused his to glance at her. Then he turned his head to stare straight at her.
"Who is he?"
The question sounded so intense and so innocent. It was asked in a soft voice but it was firm. This man was truly a walking contradiction.
Lisa looked back at the photograph and the Doctor continued to stare at her.
"His name is David Tennant. He is a British actor who is extremely talented. One of the best actors I've ever seen really. Not so long ago he played a role in the TV show called Doctor Who. That show is a legend. Millions of people watch it. David Tennant was amazing. He played the Doctor, the last of the Time Lords and an incredible man."
He was still staring at her. It was like a fire was burning into the side of her head. She remembered the quote from the episode she had been watching earlier. It couldn't have described him any better. It may not have been the best time or place; in fact it was like dropping a bomb into a shelter but she let the words slip out.
"He's like fire and ice and rage. He's like the night and the storm in the heart of the sun. He's ancient and forever. He burns at the centre of time and can see the turn of the universe. And… he's wonderful."
At the last words, she turned to face the Doctor who still had not taken his eyes off her. She saw so many feelings flickering through his eyes. He seemed to be able to project his emotions into the room. She felt like there was a heat rolling off his body that was continuing to build and pulsate.
He was standing still but everything around him felt like it was moving at a million miles an hour. She herself felt like she was speeding up. Her life was shorter in his presence. Everything was moving so fast but so slow. Time was slowed down but the universe was speeding up.
The Time Lord. He really was magnificent.
"I don't know what you're thinking. I can't imagine what you're feeling at this moment. But I do want to tell you that your story has saved many lives."
His face slowly dropped into an intense look. He was no longer waiting for her, now he was listening. Hanging on her every word.
Every one of her words would change his life.
He knew that she had seen things about him he never showed or told to anyone. Now he found out that there were millions of people that knew his life story.
And suddenly, he was vulnerable.
Probably for the first time in his life he was completely and utterly exposed. No cheerful mask to run behind. No clever plan to go through with. Just her words.
Lisa looked back at the fridge. She couldn't tell him this and be looking into those eyes of fire.
"I've heard many fans of the show tell the actors or at least share it with other fans about how Doctor Who saved their lives. The Doctor gave them hope when they were in too deep. He pulled them out of their depression, their thoughts of suicide. He made others feel like they were worth something. That someone out there was willing to fight for them. To save them. Someone didn't think they were worthless. The Doctor thought that humans were amazing. And he saved them."
She looked at him. His expression hadn't changed but the heat that was swirling around him was more intense than ever. She felt like she was running and swimming in molasses at the same time.
She looked directly into his eyes and put all the emotion and intension she could behind her next words.
"Even in an alternate dimension, you are still saving lives Doctor."
He stayed with her for five hours. They talked about nothing and everything. They took turns making tea, sharing stories and just enjoyed the company.
He was everything the show portrayed him to be. And he was more. Much more.
The depth of his character was only shown in the tiniest sense. He was so thoughtful, so clever and so very, very alone. His voice was constantly tinged with heaviness. Like he carried a burden he was so tired of holding but he could never put it down.
She imagined that no actor could accurately portray that sadness. Not even and incredibly talented one. Only someone who was the last in existence and carried such a responsibility could ever sound the way the Doctor did.
After five hours, he left. He walked back into his TARDIS and the doors shut behind him. The whirring sound started and the blue box started to fade away.
In that whole five hours time, never once was the show brought back up. She never mentioned David Tennant, the writers or even the Whovian lore.
Lisa waved at the TARDIS as it faded. She smiled as the wind whipped around her.
Something he had said made her have hope for him. In the middle of their conversation he had stopped talking and was silent for a long while. She had sipped her tea and read a bit of her book that was on her coffee table.
"Humans never stop amazing me."
She had looked up at him, waiting for him to continue.
He looked at her, his eyes intense. "You humans. You always find a way to press on. You always look for hope. Even in someone you believe is a fictional character, you still find hope and a reason to keep pressing on. Humans are brilliant."
The sound of his voice made her think there was a lot more he wanted to say but she didn't press it. Instead she smiled at him.
"Doctor, even if here you are known as a fictional character, you believe in us. And that's all the spark of hope we need."
He shook his head a bit disbelieving. Lisa sat up straight and stared at him.
"Doctor, look at me."
He did.
"To us humans, here and in your own world, you are much more than a myth or fiction. The Daleks got your name wrong."
His eye brows shot up. She hadn't brought up anything of what she had known about his life and he seemed a bit stunned to have his nightmares brought back to him.
Lisa smile a little. "They did get your name wrong, Doctor. To us your name isn't "the oncoming storm." To us it's "the coming hope."
The TARDIS faded out of her dimension completely. It would never return carrying the eccentric man with it.
She hugged herself tightly. He had said goodbye and hugged her fiercely. He hugged her for what felt like a long time, just stood there holding her with his head buried into her shoulder. Before he pulled away he had whispered into her ear.
"Thank you. But it is the other way around. You humans are the ones that give me hope."
END
A/N: I was inspired to write this after hearing several stories of how Doctor Who saved them from self harm and depression. I think it is amazing that a story and a character has the power to save someone from death.