Sadie's Got Her New Dress On

Sadie Mitchell stood in front of the full length mirror in her bedroom, checking her reflection in the glass. She tugged at the skirt of her new dress, making sure it was aligned correctly in the front and back. She always seemed to have trouble getting the hemline arranged just right, even with the mirror. Realizing the skirt placement was probably not going to get any better than what it already was, Sadie moved on. She smoothed down the blouse of her dress next, then grabbed a nearby hairbrush, running it through her medium length auburn hair. Somewhat satisfied with her overall appearance, she headed out of her bedroom. Her mother was waiting for her at the bottom of the staircase.

"Sadie Mitchell! You are not wearing THOSE shoes with that dress. Go change now." Sadie sighed.

"But Mom, I hate those shoes and you know it. Besides, I can't walk in them! What's the good of going to this dance if I'll have to sit on the side because of my stupid shoes?"

"No daughter of mine is wearing Converses with a nice dress like that. You'll never get anyone to take you seriously as a potential bride if you wear those. Go and change into the shoes I bought for you."

"Can I at least wear my flats?" Sadie asked. "I'll have a better chance in those. At least I won't be falling all over everyone."

"No. Go change." Sadie sighed again.

"Yes Mom."

Sadie returned a few minutes later, wobbling unsteadily on her black high heeled shoes. Her mother smiled.

"That's much better. You look beautiful. Now hurry up, or else you'll be late!" Sadie gripped the stair railing tightly as she descended the stairs, knowing that if she let go she was sure to fall. She took the tiny purse her mother handed to her, and slowly made her way out the door. She carefully walked to the car and slid herself onto the seat. Her mother got into the driver's seat, started up the car and backed out the driveway. Sadie hadn't been looking forward to her mother driving her to the dance, but now she was thankful that she wouldn't have to worry about driving with those horrible shoes on. She stared out the window, mindlessly counting the trees and telephone poles as they whizzed past, her mother's mindless babbling becoming just a hum in the background.

Before Sadie was quite ready, the Hall where the dance was being held came into view. Her mother stopped the car just in front of the door.

"Here we are, sweetheart! Off you go, and have a wonderful time. Bring home a boyfriend, okay?" Her mother chirruped sweetly. Sadie rolled her eyes as she opened the door to get out of the car. She stood on the sidewalk in front of the doorway for a moment, debating whether or not she could run far, far away from this whole mess, but her heels and the fact that her mother was watching to make sure she went in stopped her. Taking a deep breath and trying to look as confident as possible, Sadie began making her way towards the door. She made it all of about two feet before she stumbled for the first time.

As she began to fall towards the pavement, all Sadie could think of was how her mother was going to kill her for ruining her dress. That, and how whoever had invented high heels should be drug out into an alley and beaten senseless, maybe even killed. It took a minute to register in the madness that somehow she had escaped falling, and was suspended above the pavement now. She looked down quickly and noticed an arm around her waist. Well that explained it.

"Are you alright?" a strangely accented voice asked as she was set back on her feet. Sadie didn't recognize the voice, which was strange, as there weren't that many people in her small town. She looked up, mightily confused, to see who had caught her. He was tall, much taller than Sadie, even in her heels, dressed in a brown pinstriped suit, with a long brown coat over top of it. He had brown eyes, and wildly styled hair. Overall, he seemed very gentlemanly, and just generally nice, and Sadie took a liking to him instantly.

"Yeah, I'm good. Silly shoes," Sadie said, laughing a little. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it," the man replied, making sure she was steady on her feet before heading into the Hall. Sadie noticed as he walked away that he was wearing Converse sneakers. She threw a pointed glance to her mother, who was still sitting in her car, watching, before turning and walking into the Hall.

Once inside, she immediately scanned the crowds. It was typical. There was a group of young people dancing happily to the music that was blaring from the speakers. Others were standing around a table that had various finger foods on it, chatting contently. There were a few milling around, here and there, as well. Sadie made her way over to the side, plopping herself down on a chair. She caught a brief glance of the brown-suited man she'd met outside, grabbing a sandwich off of the food table. He was strolling aimlessly around the edges of the Hall. Sadie's eyes followed him around until her view was blocked by a pair of thighs. She didn't even have to look up to see who was standing in front of her.

"Hello Dylan." Dylan had a bit of a crush on Sadie, and he was fairly cute, but he was a good five years younger than her. Way too young to be taken seriously.

"Hi Sadie!" Dylan replied, moving to sit on the chair next to her. "I was hoping you'd be here. I've been watching for you. Is that a new dress? It sure is pretty! Would you like to dance??"

"Can't," Sadie said simply. "I can barely walk in these shoes, much less dance in them." Dylan's face fell considerably.

"Oh…" Sadie felt a twinge of guilt.

"Look, over there's Amanda Lynn, I'm sure she'd be happy to dance with you. Why don't you go ask her?" she suggested.

"Okay." Dylan stood and headed over to the girl Sadie had pointed out. Soon the two of them were on the dance floor, but Dylan kept looking over Amanda Lynn's shoulder at Sadie. Sadie shook her head. Crazy kid. She leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees, wondering how long she'd have to sit before she could go home.

"Don't you dance?" the oddly accented voice broke into her thoughts. Sadie looked up to see the man smiling down at her.

"Not in these shoes, I don't," she replied. The man sat down beside her, leaning forward as well.

"Can't blame you there," he said. "Never had much use for dancing, myself. By the way, I believe I forgot to introduce myself to you before. I'm the Doctor."

"The Doctor? That's really your name?" Sadie asked.

"Yep."

"Well, that's different. But I've heard worse," Sadie said, shrugging. "I'm Sadie Mitchell." She took the Doctor's outstretched hand and shook it, grinning. "Nice to meet you."

"So what brings you here, Sadie Mitchell?" The Doctor asked. "Most people that come to dances seem to enjoy dancing."

"My Mom. She thinks if I come to a dance I'll find a boy, get married, have a few kids, you know, that whole thing. She seems to think that since I'm over twenty and unattached I'm destined to be a spinster, or something. I think it's insane, honestly. What about you? You're not from around here, so what are you doing here?"

"I'm a traveler," the Doctor explained. "I was just passing through, heard about the dance, and here I am!"

"And why on earth would you be traveling through this town?"

"I've always wanted to experience small-town life, I guess."

"You're crazy, then. It's pretty boring."

"Well, maybe we'll get lucky and something exciting will happen."

"Doubt it."

Notes: So, I've wanted to write a back story on how Sadie met the Doctor, it's just taken me awhile to get it sorted out in my head. I figured since I had the idea, I might as well start it! Oh, and depending on how you read this, Sadie might be gasp an American. :)