Rebecca was sitting on the couch in her living room folding laundry, when suddenly she heard a strangely familiar whirring noise. Rebecca checked the TV to make sure it wasn't on, and then she checked her phone to make sure that wasn't where the sound was coming from.
Rebecca's eyes widened when she realized that the noise was coming from outside. "Could it be…?"
Rebecca raced to the window and peered out anxiously. There was a blue phone booth type box sitting on her lawn. It had small foggy windows under a sign that said 'Police Public Call Box'.
"No way!" Rebecca yelled and practically flew out the back door.
A tall, thin man opened the door of the box and looked around. He had short brown hair that was spiky in the front, and wide brown eyes; he wore a tight brown pinstripe suit, and a pair of sneakers.
Rebecca stood staring at him with her jaw on the ground.
The strange man finally spotted Rebecca and grinned broadly. "Hello. I'm the Doctor."
Rebecca blinked. Could this be some sort of elaborate prank? Not likely. But time travel being real? The prank was more likely. Still…
The Doctor began to look uncomfortable. "Did I say something wrong?"
"It really is you." Rebecca whispered, slowly walking towards the Doctor.
The Doctor looked relieved and smiled a bit. "Yes it is. Now, if I may ask… Who are you, and where am I?"
Rebecca looked dazed. "Rebecca. And this is Oregon, United States of America, 2014."
"Nice to meet you." The Doctor smiled.
"You too." Rebecca looked curious. "But why did you choose to come here?"
"I didn't. I just closed my eyes, pushed a few buttons and let the Tardis surprise me." The Doctor patted the blue box affectionately.
Rebecca mentally rolled her eyes. "Men and their machines." Then she cleared her throat and spoke out loud. "So, what are you going to do now that you're here?"
"I don't know. Is there anything to be done?"
Rebecca shrugged. "Not really."
"Then how would you like to go on a little trip?"
"Seriously!?"
"Yep." The Doctor replied, popping the 'p'.
"Then yes!" Rebecca grinned broadly and scurried through the door.
The Doctor followed at a more leisurely pace and closed the door behind him.
The large round room inside the Tardis was blue and covered in a metallic crisscross pattern, there were metal mesh stairs leading up to a circular platform of the same material, and in the middle of the platform there was a round console filled with levers and buttons.
"It's bigger on the inside!" Rebecca grinned, whispering the commonly used line from the TV show.
The Doctor walked up the stairs and headed for the console.
Rebecca followed him. "So… where to, Doctor?"
"Wherever you like."
"Really?" Rebecca looked excited.
The Doctor nodded.
"Well, that's easy. Philadelphia Pennsylvania, 1776."
"Right then." The Doctor began flipping switches. "Allons-y!"
The Tardis made more whirring noises as they lifted off, and Rebecca felt a jolt as they zipped out into space, only to land back on solid ground just minutes later.
The Doctor grinned and walked over to open the door. "Ladies first."
Rebecca walked outside and looked around in awe. "I can't believe I'm actually here."
The Tardis had landed in an alleyway somewhere in colonial Philadelphia, and Rebecca could see out onto the street where people were milling around and looking at street peddlers wares.
The Doctor stepped out and leaned on the Tardis, shoving his hands into his pockets.
Rebecca turned around and grinned broadly at the Doctor. "This is awesome!"
The Doctor gave her a lopsided smile.
"Yep. I'll never get tired of time travel." A voice said from the back of the alley.
Rebecca froze, and the Doctor frowned. "Who are you?" He pulled a shiny object out of his pocket and pointed it into the shadows at the back of the alley. "Show yourself!"
Footsteps calmly made their way towards the light, and then a young man became visible.
He was tall and thin like the Doctor, but with broader shoulders; he had a very pronounced jaw, olive green eyes, almost invisible eyebrows, and brown hair parted on the left, causing most of it to hang over the right side of his forehead.
The way he was dressed gave Rebecca the impression of a disorganized and slightly eccentric professor. He wore a red bowtie, a brown tweed suit with pants that were just a little too short, lace up leather shoes, and an almost knee-length dark purple coat.
"Eleven." Rebecca whispered.
"There's no need to point your sonic at me." The man smirked. "I'm the Doctor."
Rebecca's Doctor squinted. "So, you're me?"
"No." The other Doctor winked. "You're me."
Rebecca's Doctor rolled his eyes. "Don't play games."
The other Doctor made a face. "Did I really use to be so grumpy?"
"Do I really become so immature?"
"Oi!"
"Doctor!" Rebecca said loudly.
"Yes?" The Doctors asked in unison.
Rebecca ran a hand over her face. "This isn't going to work." She pointed at the Doctor she came with. "From now on, you're Ten." She pointed at the other Doctor. "And you're Eleven."
"Right then." Ten said.
"Why not call me, Doctor, and just call him, sand-shoes?" Eleven asked, referring to Ten's sneakers.
"Oi! They're not sand-shoes!"
"Yes they are!"
Rebecca rolled her eyes. This situation brought new meaning to the term 'arguing with yourself'.
"I'll just go exploring on my own." Rebecca thought. "I doubt they'll even notice I'm gone."
And sure enough when Rebecca walked down the alley and out into the street, the Doctors were too busy arguing about footwear to notice.
~
After Rebecca had been walking for several minutes, she came upon a printing shop and decided to check it out. When she opened the door it bumped a little bell that was mounted on the doorway, alerting the young man who was operating the printing press.
"Can I help you…?" The young man asked.
The way he was looking at Rebecca's t-shirt and jeans made it sound more like he was asking if she needed help choosing proper clothing.
"No thank you, I'm just looking." Rebecca smiled politely.
The young man nodded slowly and Rebecca turned to examine the samples of printing hanging on the walls.
Out of the corner of her eye, Rebecca could see the young man inching towards the office in the back.
Rebecca chuckled to herself. "Probably going to tell his boss about the strange girl that just came in."
Sure enough, Rebecca heard a man's voice several seconds later. "Can I be of some assistance, Miss?"
"No thank you, sir, I was just-" Rebecca turned around to face the owner of the shop and had frozen when she saw who it was.
"Are you alright, Miss?" The owner looked concerned.
Rebecca snapped out of it. "I'm fine; I just didn't realize this was your shop, Dr. Franklin." She curtsied. "It's an honor to meet you."
Benjamin bowed slightly. "What is your name?"
"Rebecca."
"A pleasure to meet you, Miss Rebecca." Benjamin gave an amused smiled. "I'm afraid you frightened my employee with your choice of apparel."
Rebecca chuckled. "I suppose I did. But where I come from this outfit is acceptable."
"Where do you come from?"
Rebecca smiled. "A very far away place."
~
Meanwhile, the boys were still arguing about Ten's choice of shoes.
"Why do you wear those things anyway?" Eleven made a face as he looked down at Ten's feet. "They look ridiculous with a suit."
Ten crossed his arms. "And I suppose you look perfectly normal?"
"I look more manly."
Ten burst out laughing.
Eleven looked offended. "What!?"
Ten stopped laughing and took a deep breath. "What do you think, Rebecca? Which one of us looks more manly?"
There was no answer.
"Rebecca!?" Ten looked around frantically.
"Brilliant." Eleven said dryly. "You can't even keep track of your companion."
"She's not my companion, I was just bringing her on this one trip and then I was going to take her home."
"But you still can't keep track of her."
"Shut up and help me look!"
~
The employee had gone back to work and Benjamin and Rebecca were now sitting in the back office discussing various things.
Rebecca noticed some papers on the desk. "May I ask what you were writing?"
"Just a few little anecdotes." Benjamin smiled. "What's that in your hand?"
"What?" Rebecca looked down to see that she had absentmindedly pulled out her Smartphone. "Um… It captures moments in time."
"In what way?"
"Well… It's like an instant painting, but more true to life."
"Would you be willing to do a demonstration?"
"Sure." Rebecca selected the camera app and took Benjamin's picture. "See?" She held the phone out to him.
"Marvelous! How does it work?"
Rebecca laughed quietly. "I honestly have no idea. I've never studied technology."
Benjamin looked at Rebecca curiously. "Where did you say you were from?"
"The heck with it, I'll just tell him." Rebecca thought. "If he thinks I'm nuts, so be it."
"Actually, I'm from the future." Rebecca searched Benjamin's eyes for disbelief and surprisingly found none.
Benjamin looked very interested. "How did you come to be here?"
"I came in a time machine. It's-"
Suddenly the bell above the front door rang, and a man could be heard frantically talking to Benjamin's young employee. He asked if a girl had come into the shop, then he proceeded to describe Rebecca.
"That sounds like the Doctor." Rebecca thought, and immediately felt guilty when she realized how worried he was.
Rebecca slowly stepped out of the office. "Hi…"
Ten's eyes snapped in her direction and he visibly relaxed. "Thank goodness!"
Rebecca looked at the floor. The Doctor had invited her on this trip, and she had gone and run off without telling him where she was going. But then Rebecca remembered the stupid argument he had with Eleven. If it wasn't for that she wouldn't have had to go off on her own in the first place.
Benjamin came out of the office just as Ten was pointing his finger at Rebecca. "Don't ever run off like that again!"
Eleven sauntered into the shop. "What'd I miss?"
Three strangely dressed people was more than Benjamin's employee could take; he ripped off his apron and ran out the door as fast as he could.
They all paused to watch him leave, and then Ten looked ruefully back at Benjamin. "Sorry about that."
Benjamin looked amused. "It's quite alright."
Rebecca cleared her throat. "Dr. Franklin, these are my friends, the Doctors."
"What sort of Doctors are you?" Benjamin looked curiously at Ten and Eleven.
"We help people." Ten said.
"You are medical doctors, then?"
"Not exactly."
"They travel through time and try to save peoples lives." Rebecca spoke up.
Ten blinked at Rebecca. "I wasn't going to mention that."
"I already told him I was from the future."
"What!?"
"Those sand-shoes make you awfully uptight, don't they?" Eleven asked.
"You are getting on my nerves." Ten glared at his future self.
"Only because the-"
"Don't even say it!"
"Are they brothers?" Benjamin quietly asked Rebecca.
"Okay." Rebecca replied.
Benjamin looked at her quizzically.
"I mean, yes."
Benjamin was still a little confused, but he brushed it off. "Where is your time machine?"
"It's in an alley about two blocks from here."
"May I see it?"
"I'll ask." Rebecca smiled and turned to look at Ten. "Dr. Franklin would like to see your Tardis, is that okay?"
"Of course it is." Eleven piped up.
Ten didn't contradict him, so Rebecca figured it was okay.
"Alright then." Rebecca smiled. "Shall we go?"
"Pardon me for just a moment while I retrieve my coat." Benjamin said and went back into the office.
Several minutes after they got underway, Rebecca glanced back and realized that she was way ahead of the others. "I'll just wait up here at the corner."
When Rebecca reached the corner, she saw the cemetery across the street. But something seemed out of place… Inside the wrought iron fence there were two identical angel statues with their hands over their eyes. They looked normal enough, except they were sitting on a patch of unused ground rather than marking graves.
"Doctor!" Rebecca shouted, not taking her eyes off the angels.
Ten and Eleven came running up, sonic screwdrivers at the ready.
"Rebecca, what-" Ten started to ask what was wrong, but then he saw the angels. "Oh no…"
Benjamin limped around the corner. "What is it?"
"Weeping Angels." Ten nodded towards the statues in the cemetery. "The only species that kills you nicely. They just send you back in time and let you live to death."
Benjamin looked confused. "Couldn't you simply go back and retrieve the victim?"
Eleven shook his head. "They would be locked, so to speak, in the time they were taken to. The only way they can go forward in time is to age."
"If one of those angels was to take a ten-year old child back to, say 1746, we could very possibly see him again today, but he would be forty by now." Ten explained solemnly.
Benjamin looked over at Rebecca, who was still staring at the angels. "Why is she still watching them?"
"The Weeping Angels can only move when you're not looking at them." Eleven explained. "If you even blink, they get closer."
"Can they be killed?"
"Only by looking into each others eyes, but it's really hard to trick them into doing that."
Ten glanced at Rebecca and noticed that her eyes were watering. "We'd better figure out something soon."
Eleven began walking in circles trying to come up with a plan.
"I'll take a turn if you want." Ten said quietly to Rebecca.
"Yes, please."
"Okay." Ten stood next to Rebecca and fixed his eyes on the angels. "Ready."
Rebecca blinked rapidly and rubbed her eyes.
A few moments later, Eleven stopped walking. "I know how we can trick them."
"How?" Rebecca asked.
"Well, there's two of them right?"
"Right."
"So, we'll need two decoys and someone to operate one of the Tardis'. The decoys will lead the angels in opposite directions to opposite sides of the Tardis, then the person inside will activate the invisibility shield as the decoys duck, and the angels will be forced to look at each other."
Rebecca grinned. "That just might work."
"If you cannot turn your back on the statues, how will they follow you?" Benjamin asked.
"We'll blink so they get closer, then we'll back up several feet and blink again." Eleven explained. "So, Rebecca, I was thinking that you should probably be the one to operate the Tardis. I'll stay here so that sand-shoes can show you how it works."
Ten elbowed Eleven in the side without looking away from the angels.
"Ouch!" Eleven glared at Ten.
"Sounds like a plan to me." Ten said. "You ready to take over?"
Eleven fixed his eyes on the angels. "Ready."
"Okay." Ten headed back towards where the Tardis was parked. "Allons-y!"
~
Rebecca and Ten stood at the door of the Tardis, shaking hands.
"Good luck." Rebecca said quietly.
Ten nodded. "Thanks."
Rebecca shut the door and walked up the stairs to where Benjamin was standing.
"Does the word, 'Tardis', have a meaning?" Benjamin asked.
"It stands for, time and relative dimensions in space."
Benjamin nodded and began to examine the various controls on the console. "This is marvelous." He murmured. "How is it possible?"
Rebecca gave a small smile. "That's something you'll have to ask the Doctor."
~
Ten backed up several steps, never taking his eyes off the angel in front of him. He could tell by his surroundings that he was getting closer to the Tardis.
"Just a bit further…" He murmured.
Ten blinked and the angel appeared three feet in front of him. He started to back up again and ran into something solid, which he could identify by feel as the Tardis.
~
Inside, Rebecca and Benjamin felt the jolt.
"One down, one to go." Rebecca said.
~
Minutes later, Eleven bumped into the Tardis as well.
Ten felt it move. "Is that you?" He called.
"Yes." Eleven replied.
"Ready?"
"Now!"
Rebecca heard Eleven and threw the switch that activated the invisibility shield. For several seconds no more sounds came from outside, so Rebecca raced down the stairs and threw open the door, only to collide with the two Doctors as they gave each other a bear hug.
"We did it!" They both exclaimed happily.
Benjamin came outside and observed the angels. "What will be done with them now?"
"Well, now that they're permanent statues they can be destroyed." Eleven answered.
"Like this." Ten pulled out his sonic screwdriver and blasted one of the angels so it shattered into dust.
Eleven followed suit with the remaining angel.
"Can I talk to you for a minute?" Ten asked Rebecca.
"Of course."
They walked several feet away and Ten shoved his hands in his pockets. "You handled things very well today."
"Thank you." Rebecca wasn't sure what this was about, but she was glad for the compliment.
"Rebecca, would you like to be my companion?" Ten asked seriously.
Rebecca blinked. She would get to go on all sorts of adventures, and even though it would be dangerous at times, it would also be loads of fun.
"I would like nothing better." Rebecca grinned
Ten grinned back. "Welcome to the crew of the Tardis."
THE END
