The Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS with a sigh. "Another crash landing? Really? Now that is just getting annoying." Shaking his head and adjusting his bow tie, he walked out onto what appeared to be a normal street in a city. He knew he had just made quite a bit of noise, but it was night in the city, where such things did happen, so hopefully nobody would come out to investigate.
Unfortunately-or fortunately, depending on how one was to look at it-the TARDIS had not landed on just any street, but on a specific street and at a specific point so that it was just underneath a window of the Clarkson residence, specifically the window behind which 17-year-old Emma Clarkson sat working on her assignment.
She looked out of the window, eyes widening. She couldn't believe what she was seeing-was that a blue box? It looked like a blue box! It was a Christmas present, surely. Unless she was imagining it, or it was a joke of some kind. How could she be this lucky? And just when she had been thinking about him! Pulling on some shoes and a coat, she ran out of the apartment and down the stairs to the lobby, then out the back door onto the street, quickly slowing into a walk.
"Hello, sir," she said politely as she passed the man walking on the street, looking around in a bit of a daze.
"Oh, hello," he said with a smile. "I don't suppose you could tell me where I am."
"One hundred and thirteenth street," she said with a bit of a giggle. A giggle? God, where did that come from?
"Ah yes, thank you," he said with a smile. "And the date?"
She laughed again. It was him! Only a time traveler could be this confused... well, or a drunk. "It's Christmas day, sir." And my, had she gotten her present. But she needed a confirmation.
"Merry Christmas, then," the man said.
"Merry Christmas, sir. What's your name?"
"My name? Oh, well, they call me The Doctor."
"Funny name," she said, grinning widely. "I'm Emma."
"Nice to meet you, Emma."
"What are you a doctor of, then?"
"Well, you know, this and that. A doctor of everything, I guess one could say."
"Ah. And what university does one go to in order to become a doctor of everything?"
"Well..."
"I only ask because it's my senior year of high school and I'm applying to colleges, so I could use any recommendation." She laughed again.
"Why are you laughing so much?"
"Sorry. I'm just happy."
"But why?"
She shrugged. "Why not?" Then she stopped giggling. "What brings you to New York, Doctor?"
"Honestly, I got here a bit by accident. But I figure if I'm here then there must be a reason."
"Oh yes, I would imagine so." She gestured to the TARDIS. "What d'you reckon that is?"
"It's mine," he said.
She feigned surprise. "Oh, really?"
"Yes. My, er, box."
"Interesting things, boxes."
"Right... sure..."
She laughed yet again at the bemused expression on his face. Oh, this was going better than she ever could have hoped! But before she could say anything else, the sky above them began to darken, until it was an inky black, and Emma felt a chill spread over her. How was that possible? It was New York, the sky never got dark, and even if it did there should be stars. What was covering up the stars? "Well, that's unusual," she noted.
"Indeed it is," he replied, pulling out his sonic screwdriver, which removed the chill from her for the briefest of seconds. She could barely make out its lit-up tip in the dark.
"What is that, and is it going to fix the sky?" she asked.
"It's a screwdriver, and, probably not," her father replied. "But it's possible that it could, at the very least, tell me what is wrong with the sky."
"Well then, guess I'll leave you to your work, Doctor of Everything." She sighed and began to turn back inside. She couldn't stay any longer without somehow letting slip who she was. As much as it was against every fiber of her being to turn down a chance to solve a mystery, and in particular a chance to solve one with her father, she had to do it, for the sake of herself, for the sake of her father, for the sake of the universe.
"Don't want to help, then?" he asked.
She turned around, and suddenly the universe was forgotten. "Actually," she said, with a smile he couldn't see in the infinite blackness. "I would love to."