Jurassic TARDIS Ch. 1

Clara's phone began vibrating for the third time in the five O'Clock hour. Three texts; three different people; one subject: dinosaurs. A smile came over Clara's lips as she read how excited Adrian had been by seeing Jurassic World in cinemas for the second time. It was like it had become people's addiction. After a speedy reply, she set her phone back on the arm of her chair and picked up her steaming cup of coffee. Before she even took a sip, however, there was another buzz. Clara rolled her eyes, but the smirk on her face grew. She was almost annoyed at how often her friends were disturbing her afternoon coffee shop ritual, but in the back of her mind she knew she was just as obsessed as they were.

When she actually looked at her phone, however, she was surprised to find that it was a call from the Doctor. She set her coffee down hastily on the coffee table, allowing it to spill a few drops onto the wood, and pressed the green button quickly. "Doctor?Are you alright?"

The Doctor's puzzled voice came through the speaker. "I was about to ask you the same question."

Clara's eyebrows furrowed. "Why wouldn't I be alright?"

"You're not coming into the TARDIS."

"I'm not home."

"Aren't we going on a trip today?"

Clara's eyes widened as she searched the shop for a calendar. As she squinted at the letters in the distance below the stock picture of lion cubs, a gasp escaped her. "Oh my God; it's Wednesday, isn't it?"

"Of course it's Wednesday. Do humans not keep track of the date anymore?"

Clara fumbled with her free hand for her purse and coffee. "Not while we're on our summer holiday."

Finally situated, Clara began clicking her heels rapidly across the tile and then the pavement, pausing only to hold the door for an elderly man entering the shop as she exited. "I'll be home in a few minutes, alright? Just; stay in the TARDIS. I haven't cleaned up since school let out."

"I don't mind a little mess, Clara"

"Just stay in the TARDIS!" Clara ended the call and tucked her phone into her purse. Her feet seemed to be gliding across the ground at the rate at which she was moving.

Panting heavily, Clara opened the door to her flat to the sight of the tall blue box in the center of her front room. Just as she guessed, articles of clothing she was not keen on the Doctor seeing were strewn across her chair and couch. She silently thanked her past self for warning the Doctor not to leave the TARDIS.

"Sorry for the delay. It's hard to remember what day it is without class."

The Doctor had his hands in his pockets and his eyes looking down at the floor. One shoe seemed to be kicking imaginary dust. Clara sighed. "Doctor..."

The Doctor's gaze focused more intensely on the metal below. "I got curious."

"I specifically asked you not to go out there."

"Sorry."

"What?"

Though he still wouldn't meet her eyes, his head raised up enough for Clara to see that he was serious. "I'm sorry. It was stupid and inconsiderate of me. Won't happen again."

Clara took a step towards the Console, feeling the controls with both hands to make sure this was reality. "You don't sound like yourself."

The Doctor's eyes finally fell on her, but quickly his face blushed pink and he turned down to the closest control panel. "How about you decide where we go today?"

"I picked last week; didn't I?"

"Well, you can have my turn."

Clara raised her eyebrows at the Timelord through the distortion of the Time Rotor. "You're being weird."

"Where would you like to go?"

Clara stepped around the Console, eyes looking to the ceiling as she thought of a good one. Only one thing came to mind. "Dinosaurs."

The Doctor met her gaze and held it this time. "Which ones?"

"Any? All? They're all anyone's talking about since Jurassic World came out."

"Ah; Jurassic World. Begins a whole new dino-craze for all of one summer. Still; successful in it's own right. Inspires many a great paleontologist. By human standards, at least."

"So is that a yes?"

"I never pass up a chance to see dinosaurs, Clara." Clara's smile broadened as the Doctor's hand pulled down a nearby lever and the ship took off.

"I have to get ready."

The Doctor watched Clara's retreating form as he flipped a few more switches. He could swear they had seen dinosaurs together at some point, but he couldn't remember any of the details. Shaking his head, he cursed his old brain and pulled another lever.

Ten minutes later, Clara emerged from one of the TARDIS' winding corridors in full adventurer apparel. Her button down shirt was tied up, revealing a black tank top underneath, and her boots seemed to reach halfway to her khaki shorts. On her shoulders was a green backpack filled to the brim. Her ponytail brushed against it every time she took a step.

"You don't have to wear all of that, you know."

"I've seen those films. Rule one is to be prepared for anything. Come on."

Clara led the way to the doors, pausing for a moment to grab both handles and pull them open slowly. The scene that unfolded between the doors took her breath away. Trees; endless green trees; plants; life. It was like nothing Clara had ever seen before. Strange creatures cawed in the treetops. Shadows rustled in the bushes. It was wonderful and terrifying. Clara took a step out of the box and was glad that she had worn her boots. The whole ground seemed to be covered in a layer of mud.

The Doctor followed slowly behind his companion and closed the doors tightly before jogging to catch up with the enthused young woman who was already ten steps away. "What do you think?"

Clara's mouth was agape as her eyes traced the highest branches she could see. "It's beautiful. There's so much life here."

"No people. No cars. No skyscrapers. Just the Earth and it's first big lifeforms."

A tiny reptilian creature dashed in front of them, disappearing into the shrubs before they could see what it was. "What year is it?"

"150 million years before your time."

Clara gazed around her, turning in a slow circle. Everything was so vivid; so colorful. This was why she loved travelling so much. These were the wonders she always had to see. It was a moment later when she realized the Doctor wasn't standing next to her anymore. A panic rushed through her before her eye caught his coat flopping in the breeze as he dashed away from her. "Doctor!"

She carefully but hastily made her way through the thick weeds and tree roots to where the Doctor had thankfully stopped running. She had a good mind to remind him of the dangers of leaving her behind, but his extended hand and rigid features froze the words in her throat. Reluctantly, she turned her eyes to where he was staring and a broad smile stretched across her face. As silently as she could, she whispered, "Brachiosaurus?" The Doctor's only reply was a slight nod of the head.

The towering creatures were standing in an open field below where Clara and the Doctor were observing. A cliff sat in between the two time travellers and the dinosaurs' enormous bodies, but one long neck was stretching directly in front of them, it's owner taking advantage of the forest's hearty leaves. At least five or six others of its kind were scattered across the vast area, some taking from the few trees in the field, some simply stomping a path towards the crystal blue lake to the far left.

The Doctor took a step closer to the brachiosaurus, and, the cliff. "Be careful!"

He shot a disgruntled look back at Clara, who put a hand over her mouth to keep from talking again, and took another step closer. His right hand reached out, shaking slightly from either excitement or anxiety, but the long neck that had been his target began moving downward. A large eye with an even larger head appeared where there had been a neck a second before, causing Clara to jump back a step or two. The mouth of the dinosaur was chomping heavily on a pile of leaves, seeming more like a cow than any reptile. The Doctor's hand lowered onto the dinosaur's head and he finally relaxed. "Come here, Clara. Feel this."

Though she knew it was harmless, Clara still felt hesitant as her boots edged closer to the Doctor. Finally she turned off the voice in the back of her head and approached the brachiosaurus with an open palm, which she lowered into its head just as the Doctor had done. The scales felt smoother than she thought they would, which brought the smile back to her face. "This is so cool."

The Doctor stroked the dinosaur with the back of his hand and gazed into its beady eyes. "She doesn't get much attention out here."

"That'll never stop being weird."

"What?"

"You; speaking dinosaur. I bet you could have a conversation with a cat."

The Doctor furrowed his eyebrows. "Cats are excellent speakers . Better than most of your lot."

Clara cast a sideways glance at the Doctor before shaking her head. "Whatever you say."

"I'll have you know-"

The Doctor's words faded as his eyes widened. The smile fades from Clara's face. "What is it?"

The ground suddenly lurched beneath their feet as the sound of distant footsteps shook them to the core. Clara's eyes bored into the Doctor's as her heart pounded in her chest. They both turned to where the brachiosaurus had been standing and saw that it was gone. In fact, all of the brachiosaurus were gone. In their place stood a tall, menacing dinosaur with a tall ridge on its back and none of the kindness of the herbivore in its eyes. "Ugh, Doctor?"

"TARDIS. Now."

The Doctor and Clara began sprinting as fast as they could back to their beloved time machine. The color blue now represented so much more than the 'sadness' explanation Clara had given to her English classes over the year. It was hope. It was home. It was safety. Her boots barely made contact with the ground as she fled. This wasn't the fear she had felt earlier when the Doctor was in her flat. This was primeval. Instinctive. Life or death. Simple but powerful.

The Doctor slowed his pace to a stop near a tall, proud tree. "Something is wrong."

In between breaths, Clara asked, "How...do you know?"

The Doctor's face had taken on the look he always had when trouble was afoot. Clara hated that look. Eyebrows furrowed. Lips curled in a frown. It only meant bad things. Very bad things. "The Spinosaurus we saw isn't supposed to be here for another 40 million years."

Clara's ears perked up to a strange sound. Familiar, yet impossible. Without any further thought, she followed it. The Doctor hurried after her without protest, though she knew he would probably say something about running off later. The sound grew louder as she stomped through the thick mud and slashed through the heavy foliage.

As they entered the clearing where the TARDIS had landed, their day went from bad to worse. The sound Clara had heard turned out to be, as she had believed, a truck's engine. A human truck. And the humans had loaded the blue box into the bed of the truck. To make matters worse, before either of their brains could process the scene before them, the truck began speeding away down a path that either hadn't been there or hadn't been noticed when they were here earlier.

Arms flailing, the Doctor and Clara raced after the receding truck, calling out as loudly as possible. "Come back!"

"You can't steal my TARDIS!"

The truck's outline disappeared from view and, finally, the Doctor stopped chasing after it. Clara's eyes were bigger than ever before. "What just happened?"

"A group of humans who shouldn't be born for at least another 150 million years just stole our only means of escape and drove away. Weren't you paying attention?"