The Possible Paradox
Chapter 1: Lost And Found
[Edited by Teagan; (Vozana666)]
"Doctor?! What's going on?!" Amy Pond screamed as she clung to the rails of the TARDIS.
"Uh..." The Doctor began as he worriedly wrung his hands together, "it appears that the TARDIS has found something interesting, something to attract her. So she's put up a tri-mensional vortex block and she's flying us through the time vortex to end up" -the TARDIS thudded as it hit the ground "well...here."
Amy moved slowly, her brow furrowed in worry and fright. "So we could be anywhere right now?"
"Or any when..."
(***)
"Doctor, what are you doing?" Rose giggled as she was twirled about the room.
"I...got...bored!" The Doctor said, grinning as he brought her in close and clicked his fingers, his head swerving side to side. Rose laughed, tossing her head back. She mimicked the Doctor's dancing, laughing.
"Hem hem." Someone cleared their throat from the doorway. Rose turned around, a smile still painted across her pretty face.
"Hey mum!" Rose said, and Jackie Tyler stepped into the room, a small toddler resting on her hip.
"Are you two gonna keep being idiots all day or actually do something productive?" Jackie said with an accusing tone.
"Sorry, mum." Rose and the Doctor murmured simultaneously, heads bowed and hands behind their back. Jackie shook her head and the young boy on her hip copied her.
"Hey, little Andrew!" The Doctor greeted the young boy cheerily and the boy's face lit up with joy.
"Doc-ta!" He screamed excitedly, and tried to squirm free, causing his mother to lose her balance and frown.
"Whoops. Sorry Jackie." The Doctor said, holding his hand out to the little boy. The boy took it and smiled.
(***)
"Doctor, where are we?" Amy said as she stepped out of the TARDIS and looked upon the familiar world before her.
"Well...Earth, in a way..."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"We're in a parallel universe."
"And how do we get out?!"
"We find a gap...same way we came here...I didn't know there was one. I thought for sure they were all closed up! If I'd known, I..."
"You'd what?"
"Nothing, never mind." The Doctor locked the TARDIS door and walked away, Amy skipping a little to keep up.
"Doctor, where are we going? Is this another adventure?" Amy's voice dropped to a murmur in that curious, Scottish voice of hers.
"Amy, this is bad. Very, very bad. There are people here I don't want to see and if I do...well...I just can't, OK? We need to leave as quick as we can."
The Doctor walked boldly up to a random house and rapped his knuckles lightly on the door, impatiently fiddling with his bowtie.
"Doctor, what are we doing?" Amy asked, glancing at the Doctor worriedly.
"We need to find somewhere to stay while we figure out how to get back."
The door opened and the Doctor launched into speech, before looking up and stopping himself abruptly.
"Hello, I'm the D-"
(***)
"Sorry?" Rose asked of the strange man in the doorway.
"I...Rose?"
"Uh...yeah?"
The Doctor suddenly threw his arms around Rose, and she stood still, shocked.
"Um...OK..." She said, and Amy stared at her in shock.
"Oh, Rose. My Rose. Rose, Rose, Rose." The Doctor sighed sadly.
"Sorry, but do I know you?"
The Doctor stiffened and let Rose go, his face a blank mask.
"I guess not." His voice sounded strained and he turned abruptly on his heel before walking, running, and eventually sprinting away.
"Sorry..did I do something wrong?" Rose asked of the equally surprised Amy.
"I have no idea."
"Would you like to come in?" Rose asked, and Amy shook her head.
"No, I'd best be off to go find the Doctor. He's often running off like that."
"Sorry, who?"
"Oh, that man I'm with. He's the Doctor. Anyway, bye!" Amy lifted her hand in farewell before turning and following after the Doctor.
(***)
"Doctor?" Rose called out as she re-entered the house.
"Yep?" He asked, his head poking around the corner comically.
"I just had the strangest people knock on the door."
"Oh?" He walked beside Rose, intrigued.
"Mm. One of them was a man, and he saw me and he knew my name! Then he hugged me and I asked if I knew him and he said 'I guess not' and ran away...Then I asked the girl if I did something wrong and she said she has no idea, and that she'd better find the Doctor!"
"Me?!"
"No, that man she was with! She called him the Doctor..."
"That's very odd! We should investigate!" The Doctor said, grinning. Rose agreed, excited.
The Doctor grabbed his coat, Rose grabbed her jacket, and off they went.
(***)
"Doctor, hey! Doctor!" Amy grabbed the Doctor's arm, forcing him to face her. "What was that all about?!"
"You wouldn't understand, Amelia."
"Try me."
"I...can't. We just have to stay away from them, OK? Make sure you stay away from them."
"And if I don't?" Amy asked cheekily, treading the waters.
"Well, in simple terms, there is the highest possibility that if the four of us, yes, four of us, were to meet, the planets would collide, stars would fall, fires would burn and BOTH universes would Hoover themselves up before you could blink, leaving a blank, empty, nothingness behind."
"...right...we'd best stay away then, yeah?"
The Doctor nodded curtly and turned on his heel, wringing his hands.
"So...who was the fourth person you spoke of?"
"Nobody."
"Well, it's obviously somebody. Somebody important.."
"Everybody's important."
"You know what I mean."
"You called her Rose..."
"Yes."
"THE Rose?" Amy asked, incredulous. The Doctor remained silent.
"But you said you could never see her again!"
"Well obviously something's changed."
"Well what are we doing then?! Shouldn't we be...you know...going to go get her?!"
"No."
"Why not?!"
The Doctor was silent.
"Doctor!" Amy stopped walking when the Doctor turned abruptly, advancing on her with a sad look in his eye.
"I don't know how this universe works. I've been here twice! I don't know, I'm not used to this. Back home, the possibility of a paradox in this situation is slim. Very slim. But here? I don't know. I just don't know, OK?! I don't know what would happen if I got too close to her...if I met him...this could be dangerous. Very dangerous."
"But you hugged her! You got close!"
"Apart from the fact that it doesn't have to be PHYSICALLY close, I...it was a moment of weakness. It won't happen again." He said this to Amy, but it appeared to be a threat to himself rather than an assurance to his companion.
(***)
"What did they look like?"
"Well, the male one, the Doctor, was rather tall. Tweed jacket, bowtie...bit of a chin..."
"And the female?"
"Red hair. Scottish accent."
The Doctor looked thoughtful after hearing Rose's description.
"They don't sound familiar, but...maybe...no, surely not!"
"Surely not what?"
"We've got to go find them."