AN: I do not own Doctor Who, or anything related. As this is FanFiction, this should obviously be clear. Now that that is over with, onto the rest of the story.

It had been 3 years since "five minutes."

Well it had technically been 3 years, 8 months, and 11 days since "five minutes," but Amelia didn't like to think like that as it not only proved that she was still waiting, but it made the wait seem so much longer as well.

It was the first day of summer for Amelia, which also meant increased therapy sessions. She was currently on a walk near her home after one such session; eyes still stinging with tears as the words from the session echoed in her head.

"I don't know what to say. It seems that we have come to a standstill with the progress that Amelia's been making." The latest in a long line of psychiatrists stated to her anxious Aunt while Amelia waited out in the hall.

"But I thought that you were making progress."

"We were. She finally opened up about her parents' death and the way that she's treated at school, but…"

"But?"

"But she still refuses to accept the fact that this 'Doctor' character isn't real. It's gotten to the point where she won't even talk about him anymore."

"What can we do?"

"I don't know honestly. Amelia is a bright young girl. If it wasn't for this 'Doctor' business, I would say that she is completely normal. But the thing is that she's hallucinating, and what's worse, she believes that these hallucinations are real. For a case like this I would normally prescribe medication."

"Medication?"

The psychiatrist sighed. "That is hopefully only a final option. Since the summer is coming up, I am hoping that the increased number of sessions will help Amelia realize that her 'Doctor' just isn't real, and that it's unhealthy for her to continue her obsession with him. If she doesn't improve however, I'm afraid that we should try the medication."

'Medication,' Amelia thought angrily, 'they want to medicate me. Like I'm something to be cured.' She knew that the Doctor was real, just like she knew that the sky was blue and that the crack in her wall had been dangerous. So no matter what the many psychiatrists, people at school, or even her Aunt would say to her, she would believe in her Doctor and she would believe that her Doctor was coming for her.

'Still, it would help if he got here a little faster.' Amelia thought. The frustration and pain of being left behind to be labeled "Crazy Amy" suddenly rose up like a wave and spying the nearest rock, she kicked it with all of her might.

She would have continued on walking, except that she had noticed the rock had actually hit something. Walking up to the rock, she stared at it in puzzlement. There was nothing in the vicinity that the rock could've possibly hit, yet she could've sworn that it had hit something. Taking the rock in her hand again, she threw it in the same area that she had kicked it.

Amy stared. The rock had bounced off of nothing causing the air around it to bend and distort. Amazed, she bent down and picked up another rock and threw it. Once again the air bent as if it were made out of liquid. Curious, she walked over to that section of air and hesitantly touched it and her whole world came crashing down.

As if being uncloaked by some unknown being, the little, blue police box from her childhood emerged out of nowhere.

Gazing upon it in shock, it took her a moment to realize that it was actually there. Not smoking, not knocked over on its side, just there. It then took her another moment to comprehend the implications that its presence meant.

'Doctor.'

The word was like a catalyst to her mind. She quickly sprang into action, slamming her fists against the fake wooden doors as hard and as fast as she could while simultaneously yelling out the Doctors name in the hopes that he would hear her.

It worked.

In less than thirty seconds (although it seemed much longer to Amelia) the door swung open, causing her to trip. Once she had regained her balance she looked up, expecting to see the man of her dreams staring at her. What she saw was not him.

"Can I help you?" The strange brown haired man said, looking down on her in confusion.

Disbelief flooded through her. This was not the man who had saved her from the crack in the wall, who had shared fish custard with her, who had turned her whole life upside down.

"Who are you?" Her voice was barely above a whisper, yet the longing and pain was more than evident.

The strange man looked down on her. "I'm the Doctor."

Amelia looked up at him. "That's not funny."

"Well that's not the response I usually get." The man replied flippantly. "It's usually along the lines of 'Doctor who?' and then I reply 'Just the Doctor,' and then we usually go through this large process of me…"

Amy found herself unable to hear the ramblings of the man before her as the blood began to pound in her ears. I know that people have made fun of me before… but they've never gone this far. Tears were now beginning to cloud her vision.

"… And then after all of that, their mothers start to complain about how dangerous I am. Really, what is it with mothers? And I was slapped once. Slapped! I am an ancient and noble Time Lord and some overprotected mother just decided to…"

"Shut up!" The man stopped his rambling and looked at her, shocked. Amelia seized the fact that the man had finally quit talking, and continued on, stubbornly ignoring the hot tears streaming down her face. "You are not my Raggedy Doctor. So. Who. Are. You?"

The man looked at her and then slowly kneeled down, his brown eyes level with hers. "I'm sorry, but I don't know you yet." Amelia opened her mouth to argue, but the man simply put a finger to his lips causing her to unconsciously quiet. "You know that this is a time machine, correct?"

Amelia nodded, not quite trusting her voice to keep from warbling.

"Then you have to realize that I don't live through time the same way that you do. To be put simply I don't know you yet." The man paused, as if waiting for her to respond.

"But… but you look different than the Doctor." She hiccupped out.

The man smiled sadly. "I tend to change my face a lot."

"But…" She looked at the man, his clothes the exact same as those that the Raggedy Doctor wore – only in a better condition.

"But…" She looked at the TARDIS, as bright and blue as the day that it had crashed into her backyard.

"But…" And she looked at the man and felt the same feeling of something Other that she had felt only once before in her life.

"But… but you promised me." She whimpered, closing her eyes as the pain threatened to overwhelm her.

The man – the Doctor – placed his hand on her shoulder. "But that's the thing. I haven't promised you anything."

Amelia let out a choked gasp. He didn't… he didn't mean that. He's the Doctor. He promised me. The "Crazy Amy" taunts, she could handle. Her Aunt wanting to medicate her, she could handle – if barely. But this, this she could not handle. The Doctor had been the one good thing in her life for over three years, the only thing that she had to look forward to. For him to say that he had never promised her anything was…

Amelia looked up as the weight of his hand on her shoulder lifted.

"Where are you going?" She asked as the Doctor (but not her Doctor, no never her Doctor) as he stood up and turned around.

"Away." He said simply, keeping his eyes fixed on the ground in front of him. "I think I've done enough damage here, don't you think?" He turned to shut the door.

"BUT YOU PROMISED ME!" Amelia screamed, throwing herself at the door in time to keep it from closing.

The Doctor whipped his head around. "I never promised you anything."

Amelia winced at both the words and the stern tone but continued anyway. "Yes you did. Because the Doctor promised me that he would take me with him, and you are the Doctor." The Doctor opened his mouth to continue, but Amelia interrupted him. "No! It's my turn to talk! Yes, I know that you haven't promised me anything yet, but the fact is that the future you should have remembered this you having this conversation with me. And he wouldn't have promised me anything if he hadn't planned on fulfilling his promise. Now Doctor I have been waiting for 3 years, 8 months, and 11 days and it's time for you to pay up!"

There was a moment of silence as they both stared at each other.

Finally the Doctor sighed. "Three conditions. One: this will be for one month only, and then I will return you to this exact moment in time. Two: you will not tell anyone else about this and meeting me. Three: you will do exactly as I say. I will not be losing anyone else again. Do you understand me?"

Amelia stared at him in disbelief. "You mean I can come?"

The Doctor smiled at the look on her face. "Yes, you can come. Welcome aboard Ms?"

"Pond, Amelia Pond." She held her hand out.

The Doctor shook her hand. "Welcome aboard Ms. Amelia Pond."

AN2: Please see my profile for an important explanation.