About the story: In a universe where there is no River Song or Rose, Eleven has never been romantically entangled with anyone and is rather lonesome, getting jealous of Rory and Amy's relationship. Going on a short voyage on his own to 2012 to calm down, The Doctor meets someone he really, really likes, but tries to stay away from out of concern for her safety.

About the OC: Meet Sandra, a raven haired intellectual who daydreams the hours away. Trapped in a dull office job, Sandra longs for a whimsical world like the ones she writes about in her free time. On her way home, a beautiful blue box appears on the subway and she's whisked off into an adventure she could never have even thought possible meeting a man she couldn't have imagined falling for in her strangest dreams.

(OK, Time for an author's note: I recently received a review explaining the reviewer's dislike of my excluding the existence of River and Rose, which made me think that perhaps I should include them but instead of their being romance between them, simply platonic, caring friendship. Because the reviewer is right- the Doctor would be a different, perhaps less great man without these women. Vote in the reviews, please! I'm counting the reviewer's as one for including them, but as friends. I don't want my whole story falling apart, and I don't want to tread on other's OTPs.)

ON TO THE STORY!

Somewhere in time and space...

Amy and Rory were snuggling in the TARDIS, watching a movie on one of the many screens hidden inside the ship's infinite depths. Eleven was jumping around, his usual hyperactive self, hoping someone would notice him. The Universe was pretty peaceful right now, which meant that The Doctor was bored out of his skull and looking for some, any, kind of excitement.

"HEY! Guys, why don't we go to Earth during the Sixties? I hear lots of weird goings-on were ahappening then! So, whaddya say?" The Doctor ran into the screening room and leaned over the edge of the couch, pushing his face between Amy and Rory's and receiving two very unhappy glares from the lovey-dovey humans he had split up.

Rory was the first to pipe up, coughing into his fist then speaking calmly, as though The Doctor were a six year old boy rather than 900 year old Time Lord.

"Look, Doctor, that sounds very fun and all but... Amy and I were in the middle of something." Rory glanced to his wife, and his wife to him.

"OH, fiiiiine then, get back to your cuddling," The Doctor sounded like a spoiled child, huffing out the last word.

"I'll just drop you off at home, then. You can cuddle there until I come and get you." The Doctor made a grumpy face and hit the TARDIS' brakes, opening the door to reveal the Pond's house.

"Well, alright, Doctor. Just come back soon, OK?" Amy kissed The Doctor's cheek and his heart softened.

"I'll be gone only a minute..." He smiled happily, knowing that he could do that. They might not even have time to miss him.

The TARDIS began to groan, shift in and out of vision, then was gone.

"So... to the couch?"

"To the couch."

And the Ponds darted off to more snuggling.

New York, New York, 2012

Sandra Lakesdown sat at her grey desk in her greyer yet cubicle. Her cubicle was near a window, overlooking a busy but boring street in the business sector of New York. Bland, tired business suits made of itchy fabric. Tasteless food. Mindless work. Polite but formal speaking. Nothing keeping her here but her paycheck.

Sandra rested her head on her hands and looked out out of the window, listening to the beat of the office.

Clip, snip, clack, type. The room said. People working in unison. All one mind made of hundreds of different, wonderful personalities tangled together. Sandra sighed and thought about her life.

She had gone to college, graduated with high honors, and came to work here. She had been at this company for four years, and had moved up quickly. She headed the department she now sat in, but had turned down the bigger office. She didn't see a point in having a large, empty office. She had a colorful apartment filled with books and antiques, but she was lonely- no one seemed to even know she was real other than her subordinates, who didn't even really care about her. She stood up slowly, pulled a sticky note off of her pile of them- this time a bluey one- and scrawled a message to her best office friend, Clara.

Dear Clara,

You've got the bridge.

Love Sandra

Often when Sandra got tired of work her boss would let her out early to take the train home, so Sandra would set Clara in charge. No one minded as Clara was a sweet, well-tempered girl who could keep the office in control while allowing for a bit of relaxation.

Sandra picked up her brief case, stowing away the day's debris and heading out. Her dull high heels clacked on the tile as she headed for the elevator, descending from the eleventh floor to the lobby.

She stepped out, waved to the security guards and to Old May, the Secretary, who always made her cookies, and walked through the crowded but lifeless streets. She pulled her black hair out of its tight bun and let it fall in its waterfall form down her back and stepped lightly onto the subway headed off to her stop. It was late in New York, and the sun had gone down. But Sandra didn't fear anything- she had been living here long enough to know how to avoid weirdos and dangerous people.

The car she was riding in was empty beside herself, which was a bit odd, but Sandra paid no mind. She was off in her own imagination. Today, she was fighting dragons with a prince at her side, taking on the huge beast then realizing it meant no harm. Slowly, sadly, the story came to completion and Sandra sat alone, on the subway, headed off to another day of mundanity.

Then, from the other end of the car, she heard a strange, impossible noise. One she had never heard before. She turned, her eyes widening as she saw a blue telephone box slowly start to appear on the train.

She stood up abruptly, staring at what was forming on the subway. When the whole thing had materialized, Sandra ran towards it and put her hand to it.

"Oh, wow," She whispered. "What..." She read the notice on the front, took in the sign "POLICE BOX" and mumbled something about a dream.

She heard something click at the door and saw a shadow pass over the window. The door swung open and out came a surprisingly good-looking man in a tweed jacket and bowtie. He walked right past her, hands in his pockets as he grumbled, taking in what was around him.

"Good, yeah, empty..." He kicked at a fallen newspaper and sat down on the nearest worn seat, still ignoring Sandra. She stared at him, observing everything about him.

He dresses like a hipster. Look at those too-short trousers and boots... and who wears a bowtie nowadays anyways? Not that I don't like the look... It's rather unique. She went on like this before turning to see where he had come from. She looked into the box and gasped as she saw it went on farther than was even possible. A whole room with a ginormous control panel was inside, and she took a step up inside of it when an alarm went off.

The man started and noticed her for the first time. "WHOA, WHOA, take a step back there!" He ran up to her and pulled her out of the box.

"Who're... what?" Sandra looked up at him, wonder in his eyes.

"Yeah, OK, did NOT know you were there..." He inspected her from head-to-toe, scanning her, and Sandra suddenly felt uncomfortable. She stepped back and the man realized he was making her nervous.

"Whoa, hey, it's not like that!" He blushed, as did she, and he stuck out his hand.

"I'm The Doctor! Nice to meet you! And you are..?" Sandra took his outstretched palm and shook it.

"Sandra Lakesdown. And what kind of name is 'The Doctor'? Are you some kind of performer?And WHAT is UP with THAT?" She gestured into the box and just as The Doctor opened his mouth to reply, the train shook to a halt. The muffled voice over the intercom announced Sandra's stop, and she looked between The Doctor and her station.

"Is this yours?" He said, pointing with his head at the open doors.

Sandra nodded, and The Doctor waved her inside the box as he stepped in. She put her foot in warily, expecting another alarm to sound, but when none did, she relaxed.

"OK, name the place you need to be!" The Doctor shouted over the noises in the room. Sandra gaped at the hugeness of the space and, halfheartedly said,

"Ten twenty one Oak Ridge, apartment 2b, New York, New York." She was still staring at everything when she heard him laugh, and was surprised by how childish and mirthful it was.

"Alrighty! Off we go~!" He pulled a level on the control panel and the noise started up again, the mysterious, inexplicable, unparalleled sound.

"What is this is thing?" Sandra called over the sounds of The Doctor's laugh and the roar of whatever was happening. She fell down at the place began to shake violently, and she clutched at the hand bars around the panel.

"It's my TARDIS! It's the most wonderful thing ever!" The Doctor wasn't even looking at Sandra as he spoke- he was staring up in joy at the ceiling of the "Tardus"...

Sandra laughed- her dreams were finally coming true! This was too amazing. Both turned and grinned at each other, then went back to enjoying the madness.

The Doctor was flying in the TARDIS with this brand-new Sandra and was smiling like mad. He loved the sensation of the flight of the TARDIS, but he was also liking this new girl. He looked at her casually, taking in the business suit that looked rather uncomfortable and the wide grin that had come to dominate her face. He smiled and went back to flying. He yanked the brakes, slid open the door, and gestured out.

Sandra's mouth fell open as she stepped out into her apartment with the addition of an impossible box in it.

"H-how? What?" She laughed and looked around her in wonder. She stuck her head in and it brushed The Doctor's chest, prompting a rare blush from his face.

"The TARDIS is a time machine. She can move through time and space." The Doctor spoke, looking down at the curious and excited face.

Sandra breathed out and stared at him.

"You must've seen some very amazing things." Her eyes were wide, but somehow calm, as though she were already used to the idea of time travel.

"Yeah. I've... I've seen some impossible things."

The Doctor adjusted his bowtie and strode into Sandra's apartment, leaving her behind as he poked through her belongings. Every wall was covered in bookshelves crammed full of novels and instruction books- textbooks, history books, fictions, scif-fi, all of it was there. The woman was living in a library. Her desk was neatly organized with an old-timey typewriter centered on it. In it remained the beginnings of a story about a madman who sailed the seas in a deep blue ship. The Doctor couldn't help but chuckle and lift the paper, folding it and storing it away in his pocket. Admittedly, it was theft, but he was sure she wouldn't mind.

"Um, excuse me, uh, 'The Doctor'... But what're you doing?" Sandra came over and moved protectively over her desk, clearly embarrassed by her home.

He paused, looking around.

"Do you believe in Narnia?" He asked, nonchalantly. He looked at her and saw her delighted expression at the question. When she saw him looking, Sandra hardened her face to that of a woman her age.

"No. Of course not. It's just a fairytale." She sounded sad underneath the tones of disgust, as though saying this hurt her deeply.

"Are you sure...?" The Doctor turned to face her fully, looking into her eyes. She didn't reply, but looked away, out of her window to the nightlife of New York.

"Who are you?" Sandra looked at him, and he noticed a lot of things about her face. No makeup, but still pretty. Her face was completely natural but still good looking. Her eyes were a bright grey that indicated a world of knowledge and wonder inside of her head. He relaxed and laughed heartily.

"I'm The Doctor. I travel through time and space and save things. And eat. What've you got?" He grinned at her and waltzed off to the kitchen.