A/N: A story about a broken little girl, and how the Doctor saved her life. First person POV. Reviews make me smile :)

I used to be the perfect representation of an angel. Flaxen hair, that shined a bright gold in the sun, perfect blue eyes, rather petite and perfectly innocent. I was the little princess, the perfect daughter, the honor student. It's funny how little girls like those can grow up to become monsters.

It all started after my parents divorced. Or so I think. I was only 7 back then, and I'm 15 now. It's hard to imagine how something that happened 8 years ago can still affect one's everyday life. I guess that, in a way, it has just been building up ever since. But don't let my rubbish theories distract you, it's not really important anyway.

Anyhow, after the divorce, my mother was a wreck. Everything seemed to be going wrong for her, and soon, I wasn't her little angel anymore. I was just a nuisance. But that was okay. I had my books to keep me company, and every day I would fly off to Neverland with Peter, or have a tea party with Alice. I would go to Hogwarts with Harry and wander through the forest as I relived every single one of the Grimm fairytales. Once in a while, I'd even hop off for a quick trip to Narnia, before heading out to Camelot and Avalon. I didn't need people to keep me company, nor did I need my mother to care for me.

Or so I thought. Maybe, in the end, this is all my fault. Maybe I shouldn't have hidden myself away. Or maybe I just saved myself from an even worse fate. Time can be rewritten, but this isn't one of the times I feel like tampering with.

Then secondary school came around. The social skills I lacked due to the fact I always hid away with my books were now becoming a serious problem. I was the weird one, the odd one out, the girl no one wanted to be friends with. And I was okay with that, in the beginning. I felt lonely, yes, but I was used to it. I got average grades, had average looks, and was just.. well, just that. Plain, average, no one special.

Not too long ago though, I lost even that. My grades started plummeting, I hid away a lot more, and to say I was 'insecure' about my looks would deserve the award of understatement of the year. My blond hair didn't shine and just looked filthy. My blue eyes were hollow, and I only spoke when spoken to, which wasn't often.

My at home situation wasn't too great either. The only time I talked to my mom was when we were fighting, which was nearly every day. In a way, it was an improvement to her ignoring me every day, but it also emphasized the fact of how useless I really was.

I guess that's the time I snapped. Not even the castle of books I had stacked up in my bedroom were able to cheer me up these days, and I just wanted everything to end.

I didn't think my mom even noticed the knife going missing from the kitchen that following day, as I headed out towards the river at the outskirts of town. I would come here for some peace and quiet every once in a while, when I couldn't bear staying at home anymore. I'd just sit down in the grass, resting my back against a tree and read, with the sound of flowing water and chirping birds in the background. No one would ever disturb me here. And it was just what I needed at that point.

My pillow was still soaked in tears. My mother made it clear she wanted me gone and out of her life. I went by unnoticed at school, and I hadn't seen or heard from my father in 8 years. I was certain I wouldn't be missed.

I sat down at the waterside, taking off my hoes and socks to dangle my bare feet in the cold stream. Then, I took out the knife, studying the iron blade that shone a beautiful silver in the sunlight. For a split second, fear rushed through me. Part of me didn't want it to end. The little girl I used to know was still in there somewhere, begging the monster in me to stop. But it couldn't, it wouldn't. It had found a home in this weak and broken little girl, and wasn't letting go until she was shattered completely.

I don't think I ever noticed the blade slashing my wrists. Or the bloody knife falling down in the grass. I rested the open wounds in the water, watching the stream carry away strains of red. I remember closing my eyes, waiting for everything to be over.

I never heard the engines roaring, I never noticed the fight, and I never saw him approaching. What I did feel, was a hand clasping around my arm, and a man's voice telling me to run.

Why I listened to him, and why I suddenly found myself running away from the fate I wanted to embrace, I don't know. Drops of blood fell in the grass as I ran, leaving a red trail behind, until I collapsed on top of a hill.

When I woke up, night had fallen, and I was staring up at a starry sky. I wondered how long I had been here, and how I got here in the first place. Then I remembered. The river, the silence, the blade, the blood and the running.

I looked down at my wrist, only to find them wrapped in bloody bandages. Those most definitely hadn't been there before. I sat up straight and looked around, searching for the person who might have done this.

He was standing a few feet way from me, looking out over the town beneath us. I coughed to attract his attention, and he turned around. "Good, you're awake." he said.

I studied him suspiciously. He seemed rather odd, with his tweed suit and red bowtie, as if he were either really old-fashioned or wasn't from around these parts.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, and I suddenly became aware of the nagging pain in my wrists I hadn't bothered to pay attention to before. Damn him for pointing it out, I thought angrily.

"Why would you care?" I usually didn't treat people with that kind of attitude - I strongly believe in not being rude to someone if you don't know him or her very well, but today I couldn't seemed to be bothered with manners. I'm guessing it was the pain in my wrists speaking.

The man didn't seem to mind, as he just chuckled. Clearly, he found it all rather amusing.

"Because usually, girls your age don't bother obeying their monsters by trying to end their lives." He replied, as he sat down in the grass.

"And you felt it was your mission to help me, or what? Who are you even? You could be some sort of rapist for all I know. Or an axe murderer!" I huffed. "Although I wouldn't mind the last option one bit." I added sourly.

"If I were a rapist, or an axe murderer, don't you think I would've taken advantage of you while you were unconscious?"

I shrugged. "Maybe you've got a weird fetish of watching girls suffer? How would I know? And you still haven't answered all of my questions."

He laughed. "I'm not that kind of guy. Trust me, I'm the Doctor."

I waited patiently for the man to continue but when I realized he had stopped speaking, I frowned.

"That sounds like a bad pick-up line, buddy. What do you mean, you're 'the Doctor'? Don't you have a proper name?"

The Doctor shook his head.

"Nope, just the Doctor. And who's to say what's proper? If it were considered proper to wear a fish on your head, would you do it?"

I smiled at the Alice in Wonderland reference, and nodded. "Touché."

He grinned.

"And what's your name then. I assume you've got a 'proper' name, don't you?"

"It's Lucy." I replied, suddenly realizing how fitting that name was. Lucy, short for... Lucifer? The fallen angel. As if it was fated.

A comfortable silence followed, and I lay back in the grass to start gazing at the stars above my head, imagining all the worlds that were just begging to be explored.

"They're amazing, aren't they?' The Doctor asked, and I nodded in awe.

"I know all their names, you know?"

His voice was calm and soothing, and I had mostly forgotten about the monster inside me. All that mattered now was the endless world above my head, filled with mystery and wonder.

"You're joking, you can't possibly know that."

I laughed. I was speaking directly to him, but I never stopped staring at the shimmering bright spots, lighting but the dark-blue sky.

"Oh, but I can. I've got a time machine, you know? I've seen all of time and space. Knowing the names of the places I've visited is only mandatory."

I smiled, not really caring if what he said was true or not. I just wanted to believe him, not unlike the way I used to believe in fairytales. I wondered how I had stopped believing in the stories I used to love. How I could possibly ignore the world of wonders I had grown up in.

"Reality tends to do that to people."

His voice interrupted my silent musings, as if he knew exactly what I had been thinking about. I never really figured out how he did that. Must've been another one of those impossible things.

"Doctor, will you take me to see the stars one day?" I asked, still gazing at the wonders above my head.

I'm not sure if I meant to ask that question. I think it was more of a 'living in the moment' kind of thing. Hell, I didn't even really believe his time machine story.

The Doctor smiled and stroked my blond hair, something my father used to do when I was sad or scared. "Maybe someday." He said, and I was surprised at the sincerity in his voice.

"Is that a promise?"

"Yes."

"Do you intend to keep it?"

The Doctor frowned. I had probably hurt him by asking that question, but I had to know. I had heard a lot of promises in my life, and I always ended up disappointed. I don't think I could take another one.

"Why would you ask?"

As I suspected, there was a thin layer of hurt in his voice, but I brushed it off.

"Because people always promise me things, but lately, no one seems to be able to keep them."

"Well, I'm not people. So yes, I intend to keep that promise." He replied, and relief washed over me. I wasn't sure why I trusted this man, or why I put my last bit of faith into him. It seemed silly, in a way, but I guess it was the last thing I had to believe in. A promise to see the stars one day.

After laying there in silence for a while, I suddenly realized I still had a house to return to. A routine to follow. A mask to wear.

"I should probably go back." I muttered, as I got up. The Doctor followed my example, and we slowly walked down the hill.

I realized there was still a question he had left unanswered.

"Why me?" I asked. "Why help me?"

"Why not?" He replied, a kind smile on his face.

"Well, I'm not exactly important, just a girl everyone ignores."

"Nonsense. I've seen all of time and space, and I've never met someone who wasn't important before."

This made me smile a little. He must've seen kids like me before, I thought. All shattered, and he fixed them. I was certain of it. Why else would he be called the Doctor.

"But why?"

We had reached the bottom of the hill, and he paused in front of a big, blue police box. My first thought was how a blue police box could possibly have appeared here, which was shortly followed by the thought of why we were standing in front of it.

"Because girls like you are haunted by monsters. You're living in your nightmares, and lose all hope. But the monsters often forget about their own nightmares."

"What do monsters have nightmares of?" I asked, a little confused by his answer.

"Me." The Doctor replied, before stepping into the police box and closing the door. Before I could even as much ask as to where he was going, or what he meant by saying monsters had nightmares of him, the box started to vanish. And with a loud vworping noise, the man and the box had disappeared.

Even with the sudden disappearance of the Doctor and the pain in my wrists, I felt better than ever before. I don't know why, but I just wanted to sing and dance and laugh and just.. be a kid again.

My heart and soul sparkled and shone like never before, and for the first time in a long while, I was certain everything would be okay in the end. No matter how tough life might seem, there's always something impossible and unreal waiting for you to brighten your day.

I picked up my shoes and socks from the waterside, and kicked the knife into the water. I wouldn't need it anymore, and the smile I got from kicking it away didn't vanish for a long time.

A few years later I was walking through the busy streets of London, when I suddenly recognized an item I hadn't seen in a long while. A blue police box. The man standing in front of it smiled as he saw me, and I ran towards him for a hug.

"Doctor!" I exclaimed, as I wrapped my arms around him.

"Lucy, Lucy the Stargazer, is that you?" he asked, and I nodded excitedly. I wasn't too surprised by the fact he didn't recognize me. I had changed a lot since that night on the hill.

"But, your hair!"

I laughed.

"Do you like it?"

"You're ginger!"

I nodded excitedly.

"But… you were blond last time!"

"Yeah, I dyed my hair. Do you like it?"

"How did you get your hair ginger? I always wanted to be ginger, why can't I be ginger-"

"Doctor!" I snapped my fingers, ordering him to focus.

"Hair dye, Doctor." I continued, and he nodded slowly.

"Oh."

"Do you like it?" I asked again, and this time, I did manage to get a reply.

"Of course I do! Gingers are cool." He said, a little too serious for my liking. I appreciated the compliment nonetheless.

"So Doctor, why are you here?"

He smiled brightly, his eyes sparkling with excitement. Clearly, he had something amazing to announce.

"Well, I still have a promise to live up to." He said, as he snapped his fingers, after which the doors of the police box opened. As I gazed inside, I wondered how it could be possible for such a tiny box to be so big inside.

"Still want to see those stars?"