The Doctor.
The Doctor.
The Doctor.
Kayla sighed after yet another dead end. This one had progressed for quite a while. But it hadn't gone far enough.
She pulled her brown hair back in a ponytail and pushed her black, square-framed glasses up her nose. She sighed. This was getting her NO WHERE. She'd been searching for The Doctor for MONTHS, and there was NOTHING. Absolutely NOTHING.
"C'mon babe, open this door. I won't bite…"
Kayla shivered as Falcon's voice drifted from the outside. She pretended like she hadn't heard him. It was better that way.
"Seriously, sweetheart. I'm sorry for what happened. I… I don't know what happened. Please, just give me another chance…"
ANOTHER one? Kayla wanted to spit the words out at him. How many chances have I GIVEN you? And how many times are you just going to get worse…?
She kept the venomous thoughts in her head. She didn't want to make everything worse than it already was.
She collapsed on her keyboard, sobbing. How could it GET any worse? It was impossible. IMPOSSIBLE!
And that was why she had to find him. The Doctor. Because he was the only person who could help. He'd done many impossible things. He could help. He could help…
She sighed and wiped away the tears, annoyed with herself. Even if The Doctor couldn't help with her problems, he COULD take her away from them. If he still wanted her with him, that was…
She brought her fingers to the keyboard again, enjoying the small ticking noises the keys made. This was her element. Her world. This was what she did.
She typed the words in again. The Doctor. Blue Box. TARDIS.
She sighed. Another dead end.
"Kayla! OPEN THIS DOOR!"
He was getting angry again. Kayla shivered and tried not to think of how fragile the lock was, how easily the wood could crack, how the splinters would fly across the room…
She looked back at the computer screen. She remembered, so long ago, how the Earth had moved. Planets different from the normal ones that hovered in the sky glistened brightly at the heart of the Medusa Cascade…
She tapped the keys again. As far as she could tell, there was something that happened those days. Something important.
"Kayla! If you don't open this door you…" Falcon let loose a stream of harsh words, words Kayla didn't want to hear again, much less repeat.
She almost collapsed again. But she knew. There was a phone number, one that everyone in the world called at the same time. And if she was right, and she could find that number…
She typed faster as she heard Falcon bang on the door.
It took a total of five minutes. In those five minutes, the pounding on the door grew louder, then lessened as Falcon gave up, probably thinking she wasn't home. That was fine by her.
And there. There it was.
07700 900461
Kayla's breath caught in her throat. She swallowed. This was it.
She picked up the phone and slowly dialed the number, as though she feared the phone would shatter in her hands if she went too fast.
The phone rang twice before a confused and familiar voice answered.
"Hello?"
Kayla stopped breathing. Her voice cracked. "Doctor?"
Inside the TARDIS, The Doctor was sitting down. At last, he was getting SOME peace and quiet.
He flipped quickly through his eighth book, and then set it down on the ground next to him. He listened to the quiet, the silence filling his ears. Nothing was wrong, nothing was chasing after him, for once. He was safe. He was having some well-deserved peace and rest.
"BORING!" He cried, then leapt to his feet. The TARDIS moaned softly in agreement.
He grinned and started running around, hitting random buttons, turning random knobs, and giving the TARDIS a good whack with a hammer.
His boredom didn't last for long. The ringing of a phone shattered the would-be silence.
The Doctor looked around, searching for the source of the noise. He picked up the phone.
"How are you RINGING?" He asked. He grinned. "Is it Martha? Hmm? Who else knows this number?"
He looked at the number that was calling him and raised an eyebrow. "But THIS isn't Martha."
He put the phone to his ear. "Hello?"
He heard a woman's voice on the other end. "Doctor?" Her voice cracked on the word.
Despite everything, The Doctor smiled. "Yeah, that's me. Who wants to know?"
"Doctor, it's me. Kayla."
The Doctor's eyes widened. "Kayla?"
He could hear the smile in her voice. "Yeah."
"Kayla!" The Doctor smiled. "How did you get this number?"
"Long story." Kayla laughed.
"It doesn't involve anything illegal, does it?"
Kayla scoffed. "Please. Do you really think so little of me?"
"Kayla…" The Doctor said, warning, yet smiling at the same time.
Kayla sighed. "Nothing! I promise. A simple search. I had to hack into a few systems to find the number, but that was it!"
The Doctor sighed, though he wasn't really disappointed. "Which ones?"
"Well, tell Sarah Jane that Mr. Smith needs better security."
"Mr. Smith? How in the universe did you manage that?"
"Easy enough, if you know how. 'Course, people who don't believe in aliens would have a harder time."
The Doctor grinned. "Well, of course."
Kayla chuckled. Suddenly, her voice became serious. "Umm… Doctor? Can we… You know… talk?"
"What are we doing right now?"
He could imagine her glare. "You know what I mean."
The Doctor smiled. "All right. Where do you want to meet?"
"How about my old house?"
"Old? You moved?"
"I have a life outside of you."
The Doctor's smile widened. "All right. When?"
"Umm… April 4, 2010. In twenty minutes, so… 11:48?"
The Doctor nodded, though she couldn't see it. "I'll be there." He promised.
Kayla's voice was filled with relief. "Thank you, Doctor. See you in twenty."
"See you in ten." The Doctor corrected. He set the phone down.
He sighed. Kayla! It had been so long since he'd seen her. He grinned. "Do you miss her?" he asked the TARDIS.
The TARDIS groaned in agreement.
He looked fondly at his ship. "Yeah. Me too."
He pressed a few buttons, then pulled a single lever.
The TARDIS shook as it flew through the Time Vortex. The Doctor was thrown to the ground. When it finally stopped, The Doctor was laughing. He pulled himself off the ground, grinning.
"Right!" He cried. "Let's go meet Kayla, shall we?"
Kayla carefully peeked out the door. Falcon was gone. She was safe. Despite that, she went out silently, as though her very footsteps could bring him back, bent on revenge.
She ran outside to her small, bright blue car. She sat inside and turned the key. She smiled as the car purred into life.
Five minutes later, she was in front of her old house.
True to his word, The Doctor was there after another five minutes had passed. The TARDIS groaned into life, shimmering into existence in front of her. A thin, energetic and incredibly familiar man jumped out.
"KAYLA!" he cried.
Kayla ran over to him. "Doctor!"
The Doctor grinned as they met, his arms wrapped around her. It was nothing more than a friendly hug; it could never be any more.
Kayla grinned as they separated. "It's been way too long since I've seen you." She smiled and gently stroked the side of the TARDIS. "And her too."
The Doctor's smile couldn't be wider. "Far too long." He agreed.
She sighed and looked at him. "So… umm…"
He looked back. "What?"
Her eyes went to the ground. "I just… You know. Wanted to see you again."
He grinned. "You want to come back." He translated.
Her eyes lit up. "Can I? Please, please, PLEASE?"
"I don't know… after all, you were the one who left me…" He teased.
She looked at him, her eyes pleading. "Please, Doctor? PLEASE?"
The Doctor's face broke into a smile. He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed the breath out of her. "Of course!" He held her at arm's length. "Do you really think I wouldn't want you with me anymore?"
Kayla smiled and hugged him back. "Thank you! Thank you, thank you thank you THANK YOU!"
The Doctor chuckled. "I take it you're happy."
Kayla laughed. "You think?"
The Doctor looked at her. "But what about your boyfriend? Freddie, was it?"
Kayla smiled weakly. "Oh, he'll be ok." She looked at him.
He looked back, concern in his eyes. "What is it?"
She shook her head, as though trying to clear it. "Nothing. It was nothing."
He smiled. "But won't he miss you?"
"Freddie? No. I don't think he will." She smiled softly.
He nodded slowly. "So, do you want to pack? Or do you just want to take off?"
Kayla shivered. No doubt Falcon would be back by now. "Let's just go. The TARDIS has a closet, doesn't it?"
The Doctor nodded with a smile. "Right then."
She grinned. "It's been way too long since I've been inside this thing." She said, stepping over to the TARDIS. It groaned softly at her touch.
The Doctor grinned back. "You first."
She smiled and gently, softly, carefully opened the door.
The inside of the TARDIS greeted her. Coral-like structures supported it, and a tall, glass pillar decorated the center. Kayla's eyes widened, wonder filling her face.
"The TARDIS." She breathed. "Oh, it's been far too long."
The Doctor followed her inside. He chuckled at the look in her eyes. "Happy now?"
She whirled to face him. "Yes. Yes yes yes yes."
He laughed. "So! Where next, eh?"
She smiled. "Anywhere. Absolutely anywhere."
The Doctor nodded. "You got it." he ran to the controls and started stabbing buttons energetically.
Kayla laughed. "Good to be back."
Her gaze grew distant. Falcon would be wondering where she was. He would have broken the door down by now. He would see that she wasn't there…
She shivered, and the TARDIS seemed to groan sympathetically.
"I never asked." The Doctor said, breaking her out of her thoughts. "That boy, Freddie? How is he?"
She looked at him, a sad smile on her face. "Falcon." She corrected. "His name is Falcon. And he's fine."