Every day you walk home from university. Every day you walk the same path. Every day you see the same things. Eventually, you retreat into your mind. Listening to music, day dreaming of things that are impossible and fantastic. You dream of seeing distant lands, and touching the stars. You are in your head ever day after university.
You are so far in your head you almost miss it. A blue box just sitting on the side walk. You would have missed it completely if you hadn't almost walked into it. It was never there before. You know it wasn't. You walk this way every day, how could you have missed it? You reach out, unsure, and touch the box. It's wooden, and somehow warm despite the winter chill in the air. It's got the words police public call box on top, with a phone attached to the back. You try the doors but they're locked.
You shrug, deciding it's not worth it. It is, after all, just a thing. Completely unimportant. You wouldn't have even noticed it had you not almost run into it. You walk away from the mysterious blue box, deciding to go home and forget about it.
You don't get more than five steps when you stop. There's something there, you know it. There's a pressure in the back of your head, and it gets worse when you try to leave the damnable box. You turn around and glare at it. What is so important about this box? You stomp back, furious. You rattle the doors again, trying to get inside, but it doesn't budge an inch. You let out a few choice curse words, aimed at the box, but you apologize immediately when the pressure-like a person-seems to get mad.
You are startled out of your confusion when the phone on the back of the box begins ringing. You look around the empty street and wonder why no one hears this. Or why no one has noticed the small woman cursing at the new blue box. You cautiously walk around the box and answer the phone.
"Hello?" You call, voice cracking.
"Hello!" There's a man on the other end of the phone, sounding cheerful and happy.
"Um. Is this...your box?"
"Yes, that's my TARDIS. I was wondering if you could do me a slight favor."
"That depends on the favor." You should really get going, but when the thought of hanging up on the man, the presence just gets angrier.
"Well, you see, I am kind of stuck. In this building. On…well. That's not important. What I need you to do is get inside the box, pull the big red lever, the one underneath the console on the opposite side of the door. I've installed a failsafe so my TARDIS should come to me. Think you can do that? Of course you can, you're a clever girl." He rattles on faster than your little cousin after two cups of coffee.
"But I can't get inside." You point out, feeling somewhat proud that you've foiled his plan.
"Of course you can, you have a key, don't you?" You laugh and tell him of course you don't have a key to his weird box. "Oh, I'm sure you do. Or my name isn't the Doctor!"
You reach into your pocket and grab your keys. "What kind of name is the Doctor? And I have three keys! One for my house, one for the mail box, and one…" you stare at the last key. You've had it since…always, but you can't recall what it goes to.
"That is the TARDIS key, be a dear and do what I asked. I'm in a bit of a hurry." The line cuts off, leaving a low, dull tone blaring in your ear.
You stare at the third key on your ring. It's always been there. What does it belong to? You struggle to come up with something; anything to explain the key in a rational way.
You look up from your keys to find you've moved to the doors again. You slowly slot the key, your breath picking up when it fits perfectly. You turn the key and your breath catches when it makes a metallic click sound signaling it's been unlocked. Slowly, you push it open.
You immediately slam it shut again, eyes wide, breath accelerated to near hyperventilating levels. There was no way that was real. You swing the doors in again, and stand there in awe at the sheer size inside the box. You whip your head around, looking at all of the people just walking by, paying the magic box no mind, like you would have if you hadn't almost run into it.
You take a few steps inside and jump when the doors close softly behind you. You look around the room, twirling as you walk; being extra careful to not trip and wake up from this wonderful dream. You get to the opposite side of the center piece, what you're assuming is the console. You bend your knees and look under this side of the circular panel and of course.
Of course there would be two unlabeled red levers right next to each other. You wonder which one to pull. You decide it really doesn't matter before pulling the right one. The entire room tips and you go crashing into the wall (now the floor, really) before a horrible grinding/wheezing noise fills your ears. It lasts for about fifteen seconds maximum before the noise stops and the room rights itself, resulting in you crashing into the floor (previously the wall). You groan before you freeze as the doors open and in walk a man.
He looks thin, lanky even, and he's dressed in a fitted blue suit and converse sneakers. He has thick rimmed glasses resting on his nose, but he's looking over those as he fiddles with the console in the center of the room. He throws another lever before the room lurches again, this time not as violent or noisy. After it settles down, he turns and looks at you with a smile on his face.
"So, where to?" You just gape at this man, with his child-like wide eyes and wild brown hair.
"Excuse me?" You squeak out.
"Where do you want to go, Becca? In all of Time and Space, where would you like to go?" He stands there with his hands in his pockets and waits. Like he has all the time in the world.
You think about it. In all of time and space. This is a time machine. This is a teleporter. This is a teleporting time machine. You can feel the smile splitting your face in half and it hurts. You can't remember the last time you smiled this hard.
"Where ever you'd like to go, Doctor. I'm just along for the ride." You clasp your hands behind your back and rock on the balls of your feet.
He nods, seeming satisfied with the answer. He fiddles with the controls, sending the box lurching again. "Well, I've always wanted to visit the planet Trafalgar! It's in the Fry'lth Galaxy, let's see. We should go in the year….2780! That seems like a good time period! Did you know they have beaches with blue sand and purple water? Ooh! And the sun is Green! They have this really odd bird, too! It's sort of like a cross between your chicken and an alligator, don't get too close to it, they bite!"
It stops it's lurching and the Doctor walks towards the door, throwing them open without a care in the world. You scuffle up beside him to take in the view. It's cold outside, colder than it was at home, and you're glad you dressed for the occasion. You pull your thick parka tighter around yourself before looking at the Doctor. He smile and hold out his elbow.
"And I thought Chivalry was dead!" You smirk and link your arm with his.
The two of you step outside and he stops to lock the TARDIS door before leading you along the beach, pointing out differences between here and Earth. He points out this planets mix between a whale and a horse as it jumps out of the wonderfully smelling ocean. He points out the birds he wanted to see and the two of you crack jokes left and right. Suddenly the Doctor stops and looks at you, with a very serious expression on his face.
"It's just occurred to me that I did not tell you which lever to pull." He looks contemplative for a minute before smiling and dragging you along again. "I'm really glad you didn't activate the self-destruct!"