"Ah-" she hissed. A drip of red blood ran down her arm. Her other hand shook nervously, the blade in her fingers quivering. Tears rolled down her face as her ears rang with her parent's fighting.

Why wouldn't it all just go away? Of all the times for them to be arguing about each others' fidelity and/or infidelity, during a power outage no less. The hurricane that had swept up the east coast of America was tearing down trees and houses, and ripping her own family apart from the inside out. It was only natural that her father's girlfriend called to check up on him... it was also natural that he took the phone call in front of her mother.

The 17 year old girl sat in the middle of her bed, the lantern she used when she went camping standing on her dresser, dimly lighting up her room. It wasn't a very large room, but she didn't have much furniture- her bed, a small dresser and a nightstand. The rest was open space. She kept it clean, for the most part. And today was one of those days- she had cleaned her room from wall to wall, her chest tight with anxiety due to the storm.

It wasn't like she could really explain to her parents that she was depressed. It was always, "Well, its just one of those bad days- it'll go away once you get to school." Or, "Well, of course you're depressed, your mother/father is a horrible person."

WOOOSH, WOOOSH, WOOOSH, WOOOSH.

She looked up, grabbing the flashlight off her bed and flipping it on. Something was- was materializing in her bedroom. What- no- not possible! She jumped to her feet, holding her small pencil sharpener-blade like it would actually made any difference.

She shone the flashlight on the... the blue box? There looked like two doors, with square windows. The top of it was pointed up, with a light on top. It read, "POLICE PUBLIC CALL BOX."

She read it out loud to herself and then saw the words printed in black on white right in front of her. She read, "Police telephone. Free for use of the public. Advice and assistance obtainable immediately. Officers and cars respond to all calls. Pull to open."

She saw the brown handle. She warily stretched her right hand out, forgetting about her self-inflicted wounds on her left, and let her fingers touch the box. It was definitely wooden, and definitely concrete. Well, not concrete, she thought, contradicting her own findings. As opposed to abstract, of course.

She wrapped her fingers around the handle, and lightly pulled. It gave a little resistance, but it opened. Light poured out. Her curiosity getting the best of her, she opened it farther and stepped inside.

"Doctor, you don't even know where we are!"

"Of course I know where we are! We're in America. I love America. The food is so... wonderfully greasy and chewy."

Two British men argued back and forth. The man in the bow tie and tweed jacket was running around a large, round panel in the center of the room. Wait- was it really that large? How did this all fight into her bedroom?

A woman with hazel-green eyes and bright orange hair stood with her arms folded, leaning against a red railing. She sighed and spoke with a thick Scottish accent. "Come on, Doctor! You promised us another planet."

"I'm going to a planet but for some reason, she keeps bringing us here!" the man in the bow tie shouted. The other man, in a plaid vest and long sleeve shirt groaned and rolled his eyes, throwing his arms up in exasperation.

"You're absolutely mad!" he yelled back at him. "You said we would be gone for an hour, and I'm pretty sure its already been a week!"

"This is more fun, though, isn't it?"

"I'm a nurse, Doctor. I can't travel like this!"

Nurse? Doctor? What were they- some sort of medical bus? Was the ginger woman their secretary? And why hadn't they noticed her yet? For a group of medical professionals, they weren't very keen.

She closed the door behind her quietly, forgetting that she was dressed in a ratty black tank top, cut off denim short-shorts and socks with cats on them. Her glasses were fogged, and her arm bleeding, but she couldn't care less at the moment.

The box was bigger on the inside.

"Fine!" the odd man they were calling the doctor- probably the boss of their bus- pulled down a lever hard, and the entire box started to shake. Her knees buckled beneath her, but she grabbed onto the railing, dropping the flashlight. But as soon as she grabbed it, pain shot up her arm and she cried out.

They all looked. Her stomach twisted. They saw her. None of them reacted.

"Hello there." the Doctor blinked his bright blue eyes. "Where did you come from?"

"You're in my bedroom." she was surprised at her steady voice, especially since her arm was throbbing.

"You're bleeding." the other man rushed towards her. She almost flinched, but he gently grabbed her arm. The woman followed behind him, her eyes wide.

"How on earth did you do that?" she asked, pulling a tissue from the pocket of her denim mini-skirt and handing it to the man. He lightly dabbed the wounds.

The girl pulled her arm back and backed up against the door. The man in the bow tie stood at the top of the three stairs, his hands in his pockets. He asked quietly, "Did you do that to yourself?"

She looked up at him. "Uhm-" a lump formed in her neck. She tried to swallow and clear her throat, but it came out as a squeal.

"You cut yourself?" the man with the larger nose said, an almost accusing tone in his voice. "Why would you do that? What could've possibly made you believe that it was a good idea?"

"Rory!" the ginger woman smacked his arm hard.

"Ow." he snapped, his voice dull. "That hurt, Amy."

"You're so insensitive sometimes." she pushed him aside and put her arm around the girl. "Come on, then. You're probably scared."

"More... confused."

"I'm Amy. What's your name?"

She hesitated, looking around at these strange people. The man with the bow tie was staring at her through narrow eyes, like he was trying to solve a puzzle.

She looked back to Amy. "Elaine."

"What year is it?"

"Two tho- What?!"

"What year is it? Come on- tell me!"

"Two thousand twelve, but how does-"

"Actually, its 1492." the Doctor said, stepping down the stairs. He approached her silently. "Time travel. Interested?"

"Time travel? Are you crazy?" she asked, her voice getting slightly high pitched at the end as she spoke. "Time travel isn't possible."

"It seems strange," Rory smiled a bit. "But its very possible."

"Very extremely possible. We're going to go greet people as they walk off of Christopher Columbus's explorer ships. Coming?" the Doctor asked.

"The bleeding's stopped." Amy pointed out. Elaine realized she had been looking at her arm and wiping the dried blood away.

"Or," the Doctor added, smiling down at her. She started back up at him. There was a certain aura about him- she didn't know what. She wanted to go with him, but she listened to him continue: "we can take you home, and you can return to whatever is making you so sad to the point of self-abuse. I'll tell you right now- it won't always be easy. It might be very sad, too, sometimes, and you'll want to go back home. You'll want to forget you ever met me. But until that point comes- should it ever come... care to join us?"

He held his hand out to her. She stared and hesitated, but stretched her hand out to his. Her palm rested on his, and his fingers quickly closed around her entire hand.

"Good choice." he smiled. He looked to Amy. "Up the stairs. First left, second right, third on the left, go straight ahead, under the stairs, past the bins, fifth door on your left, there's a wardrobe. Get her shoes and trousers, because its going to be frigid."

"Come with me." Amy grinned. Within minutes, Elaine had on long jeans, a sweatshirt and sneakers and was following the group of three to the door. But not before she stopped to look at the different flashing lights, buttons and levers that decorated the center of the room.

"What is this?"

"My... time machine." the Doctor grinned, suddenly standing behind her. He put his hands in his pockets and smirked. "This is my TARDIS- Time And Relative Dimensions In Space."

"TARDIS."

"Say that again."

"Say what again?"

"Tahhr-dis."

"Tar-dis."

He imitated her accent and then laughed. "I love American accents. You all over enunciate your R's."

"No we don't. No, I don't- shut up." she snapped. But he kept smiling and held his hand out again to her.

"Right then, Miss America. Let's go meet Christopher Columbus."

She put her hand in his and let him lead her out the door, into the bright sunlight of 1492.


God, it was so much fun- running with the Doctor and Amy and Rory. Elaine learned so much more in the month she was with them in the 17 years she'd been alive. Well, she thought it was a month. It felt like a month. When she asked, he responded with an immediate, "3 hours."

"Three hours?!" she shouted in surprise. "But its been an entire month!"

She saw Amy and Rory exchange knowing-glances between each other. The Doctor simply grinned at her and put his hand on top of her curly brown hair. He ruffled her hair a bit and winked. "So young. That's how time travel works. We could be gone for years and years and while you get older, everyone you know and love are still young. You, though." he put his hand on her chin and lifted her head up. "You haven't seemed to age at all yet."

"I'm only 17."

"Everyone ages, no matter what age." he let go of her chin and she saw him glance to the Ponds. They were chatting with each other, so she supposed he took that moment to turn up her left arm. She looked away.

The cuts were healed completely, reduced to thin, pale scars. The Doctor lightly touched them with his fingertips.

"How are you feeling?" he asked her, and she pretended not to notice he leaned in a bit closer as he lowered his voice.

"Alright." she shrugged.

"Elaine, there's something you have to learn about me. I don't tolerate my companions lying to me about how they feel." he lifted his hand to bop her nose with his pointer finger. "I always find out one way or another and then they get angry with me for figuring it out. Now tell me how you're really feeling."

She looked up at him. She closed her green eyes for a moment and took a breath. When she opened them, she said, "I don't know. There are some days when... I feel like... I can feel your pain and Amy and Rory's pain."

"You feel our pain."

"When you frown, and I notice and..." she lifted her hands and put them on his chest. His hearts beat under her palms. "Your hearts slow down so... so slow, mine does too."

"Hearts."

"What?"

"You said hearts." she looked up at him.

"Of course I did. You have two hearts."

"Did Amy or Rory tell you that?" he looked to the married couple before she could respond. "Did you tell her I had two hearts?"

The both said no, shaking their heads. The Doctor looked back at her. "How did you know?"

"S-Someone told me."

"Who?"

"I-I don't-"

"Tell me who told you."

"I don't know who-"

"Tell me!" he shouted. She jumped. "I'm sorry- Sorry, I didn't mean to yell- I didn't. I thought you didn't even know what I was."

"You're a Time Lord." she said, folding her arms. "I know that. You're from Gallifrey."

The Doctor put his hand over his mouth, sliding it down to his chin. "I know for a fact I've never mentioned Gallifrey to you. You, young lady," he pointed in his face. "Are not allowed to go home yet."

"Like I'd want to go home."

"Home is important."

"Not mine." she paused. "That house hasn't been home for a long time."

"Then where is your home?"

Elaine smiled. "Here. With you and Amy and Rory."

"Actually, speaking of home." Amy spoke up. They looked to her. She smiled a bit. "The Ponds are going to take a slight leave of absence."

"Aww!" the Doctor whined, his eyebrows raising. "Already?"

"I've got work." Rory shrugged. "People die without me."

"Everyone dies." they all looked to Elaine, who blushed and looked down. She scratched her cheek nervously. "Sorry."

"Anyway." Rory went on. "We have to go."

The Doctor sighed. "Alright."

Within minutes, they were standing in the middle of a bright open street, in front of a house with a door the same color blue as the TARDIS. They exchanged hugs, said their good byes, and with that, the Ponds walked into their house, waving to them. The ginger and her husband watched the Doctor lead Elaine back into the TARDIS, but Elaine watched them walk inside, frowns on their faces. When they closed their door, she closed the door of the blue box.

"What next?"

"Hm?" she looked at him. She expected him to be fiddling with buttons and levers, not standing with his arms folded against the railing. He was frowning deeply, too, and Elaine took a breath. "Take me anywhere you want, Doctor. Anywhere you can think of."

"Actually, I'm going to bring you home."

"What?!" she heard herself shout before she could. "What do you mean- home?! You just said I wasn't allowed to go home!"

"I said you weren't allowed to return home, as if to stay." he gave her a half smile. "I'm going to meet with your parents and tell them that I'm taking you away from that life."

"Really?"

"Of course." he held his hand out to her, beckoning her closer. She went immediately, putting her hand in his. He pulled her closer and wrapped his arms around her, dropping her hand. He lowered his head to whisper close to her ear, "There's something else you should know. I don't like to be alone."

"I don't either."

The Doctor smiled down at her and kissed her forehead. She shut her eyes and didn't move, but felt him frown. But he wasn't sad. She could feel his sadness; it made her chest tight and her heart race slow to a frighteningly slow pace. Her mind would fog and she felt... lethargic. Like she couldn't move.

And when he was happy, her heart felt lifted. Like there were fireworks exploding inside her mind at all every moment. She knew anything was possible at this point, but when he was cheerful and excited, it wasn't that everything felt possible. Nothing felt impossible.

But now. He was sad, but he was also happy. He was... torn. One of his hearts beat faster and one slowed down. She heard both of them when she laid her head down on his chest. It didn't last long, though. He put his hand on the back of her head and she looked up.

"Elaine Speers. The girl who walked into the funny blue box and ran away. The girl who knows. The girl who feels. Running away... its not a cure, you know." she didn't answer. "Its simply a distraction."

"I know." she interrupted. "And one day..." she sighed. "It won't work anymore and it'll be waiting. All the sadness I wanted to escape from. It'll be waiting and ready to take me over again, only worse because I saw what it it was like to... to not be sad." she shook her head and sniffed. The Doctor lifted his hand to wipe the tears that had formed in her eyes. "Until that day comes, all I can do is...wait. Be ready for it. Hope it doesn't catch me."

"I'm going to show you everything." he promised. "More than you ever knew existed. And should that day ever find itself before us, I'll be there with you."

"Please don't let it get me."

"I won't."


A/N and thus came forth my first Doctor Who fanfiction! review and please be nice xp