The first thing you notice, as you step inside and the door slowly squeaks shut behind you, is the smell… The alien, fresh, simply…non-earthy atmosphere. It's hard to explain…but even the simple smell is unique and amazing! And your eyes are traveling differently now. Up and around instead of the straight forward tunnel vision that dictates your everyday life. Your eyes are open and wide, taking in the circles that line the walls and ceiling, the orange light like the Gallifreyan sky, the openness of it all, the bright green…time rotor? Yeah…that big sparkling pillar was the time rotor… sitting dormant…for now, you hope. The glass floor! The old car seat chairs! The strange tubes hanging from the ceiling! It's all right there! The wonder of the actual inside of the actual TARDIS…you can completely tell why The Doctor calls her sexy…wow…
But the reason you've stopped breathing…the reason your feet are glued to the ground now…the one thing your eyes have locked onto, the whole rest of the control room melting away - is the man…no…the alien…whipping himself around the control panel. His fingers are flipping switches and pushing buttons and pulling leavers and doing…heaven knows what else! His eyebrows are furrowed and he seems unsure about things as he's slipping his way around on the glass floor but…he hasn't seemed to even notice you yet. You figure that simply shows how focused on whatever he was so puzzled about he is.
Well…you're not about to stand there until the absent minded man finally decides to look up from the levers and switches…which would be never. So you take in a deep breath of the fresh TARDIS air, and hope your voice will come out correctly.
"I…AM dead! I mean...it's a bit easier to fathom the whole "bigger-on-the-inside" thing when you're seeing it through a TV screen..."
From the other side of the console, where The Doctor had bent down, a head pops up, eyes wide and burning through you suddenly. Quickly, the rest of the body follows and the eyes remain on you as his skinny legs bounce a few feet around the hexagonal console.
"Wot?" comes the man's confused voice.
And it's stupid, but you can't stop from letting a mad looking smile spread across your face…cause The Doctor is talking to you!
"Wot? ?" he says again. His repetition of words reminds you of his past regeneration's reaction to foreign things suddenly appearing in the control room.
So now you're laughing because of this and The Doctor's cluelessly looking around the open room, his eyes searching for what's so funny.
All of the sudden, it appears something has clicked in the Time Lord's head.
"Oh…" he sighs. "Let me just shoot out a guess here? You've met this really cool person and they bring you tea or coffee or flavored fizzy water everyday and now your getting married and…" he clasps his hands together, "…here you are…"
The man leaves the air silent and awkward. You know he's just going off one of the only other times a person's suddenly appeared in the TARDIS uninvited, but you have nothing to do with those huon particles of sorts that Donna did…you think.
"No…" you mumble out, still finding your voice behind the shock. "Actually I walked in…"
His head cocks a bit and his hair bobs above his narrowed eyes as he whispers without removing his scanning gaze, "How?"
For a moment, you almost forget…what happened before I stepped into this amazing place? But a slight tingling in your hand reminds you. You lift your arm and hold up the key. It shines brightly in the rooms light.
Now The Doctor's eyes have widened even further and he's striding over to you, around the rest of the console and down the stairs. Your eyes have to widen too to behold the Time Lord towering next to you.
The Doctor's so close now…it take every bit of control you have not to wrap your arms around him and hug him. Slowly, his eyes still not wavering from yours, he reaches up and plucks the key from your grasp. For a moment, where he is searching your eyes for something or another, you feel just paralyzed. Swiftly, The Doctor reaches the key up to this chin level and licks it.
Again, you're struggling not to chuckle.
"It's a TARDIS key alright…" he whispers. You wonder what he sees behind your eyes that requires so much studying.
He continues - "Which means you stole it."
You hands shoot up defensively, "No! I knew it was there! I only…grabbed it…behind the 'P'…"
The Doctor raises his hand and points at you right in-between the eyes. Briefly, you find yourself wondering if he can hear the heartbeat pulsing through you so loudly or see your hands shaking so quickly.
Finally, the Time Lord takes his eyes off of where they were locked with yours. Gradually, both The Doctor's dark green eyes and his pointed finger fall down to your shirt. You watch as he reads the text printed in large letters on the blue top - "My other vehicle is a TARDIS".
You can just about hear the awkward music playing in the background as he looks back up at you, that "Thought I burst out of the wrong cake…again?" look coating his eyes.
He steps back a few steps and you would probably say something if the situation hadn't left you at such a loss for words.
The Doctor mumbles to you, very matter-of-factly, "Have you, by any chance, seen a fob watch with strange…uh…circularly…uh…squiggly writings laying around you house…lately? Any time? Ever?"
"No…I'm 100% human…always have been…always will be!" you whisper back at him as you run your tongue along your suddenly very dry lips.
"Yeah…" he breathes out and takes a sort-of-suspenseful pause, "That's what they all say…"
"OW!" you shout out as pain shoots briefly through your head. Somehow, The Doctor had gotten his hand around the back of your head and plucked out a hair. Now he was bouncing back up the stairs and over to the console again. He goes on to place your strand of hair into some strange TARDIS contraption.
"You see the TARDIS…" he shouts down to you. "She doesn't just let anyone inside her…if you managed to get this key to work, which no one has even used in ages…then you must be…" he stops. Suddenly, you notice that your feet have carried you up the stairs and over to the controls without you even noticing. The Doctor had to stop because you are actually standing in the way.
"…special…" he finishes.
He continues to stare at you until you side step to let him go on with messing with…whatever he's messing with. Your eyes are now rolling along the console as you can vaguely hear The Doctor saying something about how Time Lord DNA is so powerful that it never actually fades away when…yeah, and he lost you. There was a problem with this, you briefly think…there's no way you can rewatch this to try and understand what he's actually trying to say now…oh well. That seems so unimportant at the moment.
Your fingertips lightly touch each lever and random bit of retro technology. You come to the keyboard and find yourself wondering what would happen if you were to just type your name into it…just to see where it could take you. The urge to push every button in site is buzzing through you, making it hard to resist…but the urge to not blow up the whole thing is more…so you manage, of course.
Suddenly, you can hear footsteps down one of the many corridors leading to the main room. Your head snaps in the direction of the echoing noise, eager to see who it is.
Your eyes first fall upon the bouncing bright blond curls.
Then, the familiar tone - "Hello Sweetie!"
"River Song!" you shoot out, unable to hold back your excited voice.
"Oh, hello love!" and you see something strange in her eyes - sparkling familiarity…at you!
The Doctor must have noticed it too. "Wait…Doctor not sure right now…Doctor very confused…you know this peculiar person whose just popped into my TARDIS?"
"Oh…" River sighs as her feet clunked down the last few stairs onto the glass floor. She turns to you, stuffing her hands into the pockets of her fur coat she's wearing over the white long-sleeve shirt and thick brown belt. You struggle to remember the episode you saw her in this outfit before…Ah! Pandorica opens…haha…good times.
"First night aboard the TARDIS?" River finishes with a smirk.
You nod and smile back…rather widely…cause a first night indicates other nights. More nights. More days. More…lots of stuff!
River laughs her wide-smiled laugh at your excitement, "Ah well…" She walks closer, now only a few feet from you. She reaches out her hand but you hardly notice when the overwhelming urge to hug overcomes you again.
"River Song," she introduces herself.
"I know!" you return the handshake.
"Haha…right…I knew that…" she sighs and turns her head. You follow her gaze to the extremely confused Doctor.
"But how can…" he begins to stutter.
Say it say it say it!
"Spoilers!"
Yes!
"Where are your parents?" you ask River, hoping that they were somewhere aboard, completing the crew.
River's smile falls slightly and her slick eyes side-glance at The Doctor who is studying something on the screen intensively. The archeologist mumbles, "I'm sure I don't know what you mean."
Another side-glace…no attention from the Time Lord, now tapping the screen with his finger. River leans in closer to you. Not moving her gaze, she whispers - "Up the stairs, fourth door on the right." She winks.
The Doctor still hasn't seemed to noticed what you and River were talking about as you race out of the room. You start down the long dark, hallway, with walls that arch over your head instead of normal ceilings. As you slowly walk, taking it all in, you start to think - TARDIS…ok…cool. And still breathing! No sign I'm dead yet.
River whispered…which means…it's before A Good Man Goes To War! Rory must be here…so after the Pandorica. Before The Impossible Astronaut? Can't tell yet…wow…this is insane…
And it's about to get even more insanerer…
Fourth door on right! The end of the hallway.
You knock on the door. One-Two-Three times.
"Come in!" comes a Scottish voice from inside.
Deep breath - still breathing.
The door cracks open in front of you. Inside, the first thing your eyes jump to is the…bunk-beds.
"Bunk-beds!"
"Yeah…I think The Doctor thinks it's funny to give a married couple bunk-beds…either that or…he just really likes them…" the man in the room speaks.
You heart begins to race again at the sight of the two people relaxing in their ordinary looking bedroom. "You're…you're Amy Pond!" You begin to stutter, pointing to Amy who is doing her hair in a mirror to the left of the door. She hasn't even looked to see who she had invited in. Neither of them have looked at you yet. You hardly notice.
Shaking, your finger travels to the man sitting on the bed not looking up from the book he's reading. "And you're Rory Pond!"
"Technically…it's Williams for both of us." Rory again, finally shutting his book and looking at you. You can't determine if his face is saying "Who the hell are you?" or "I should be used to this by now" Hm…both, you decide.
Amy turns around now from where she was eyeing your reflection in the mirror. Her red waves bounce as she starts to walk towards you. "Oh, shut-up stupid face…" Rory looks like he's about to say something but closes his mouth when Amy keeps talking. "How do you know our names?"
Rory was standing behind her now. A perfect picture of the two. Amy in front, hands on hips, face demanding, and hair fiery. Rory behind her like a little kid trying to see the scary salesperson at the door.
"I know all sorts about you!" you blurt out. Then…oh jeese…that sounded creepy.
"Ah, great." Rory sighs, rolling is eyes around the room. "Let me guess…you're River Song's friend? You know all about us but we know nothing about you yet…"
"No. I…" you start. Suddenly it hits you…how strange this all is. Here are these amazing people…no…characters? that you watch on TV…and they're…they're here, standing in front of you. Solid and real…not like a dream.
You can't spot a dream when you're having one.
But no! It can't be a dream…they're here. Not the actors or fans dressing up as them. Actual Amy and Rory.
"I watch you on Television…" you mumble, not even sure if the two heard that last bit. You wander out of the threshold and back into the dark hallway. Your hands reach up to touch the walls…so solid…Smooth and textured and…real. This can't be a dream…can it?
"Doctor!" you suddenly hear a voice behind you call. You hadn't realized that River was standing in the shadows behind you.
You look up from your hand to see the Time Lord automatically responding to River.
He runs past you, bangs bouncing, jacket flapping, eyes fixed on the end of the hallway where the call had come from. He didn't have to run to get to River, her voice wasn't that urgent - but, you know…he likes to run.
You spin around as his rush of wind blows past you to see River too, eyes wide and mouth opened slightly.
"Look." she simply says, pointing to the door left of her. Next to Amy and Rory's. Fifth door on the right. You hadn't seen that before.
The Doctor turns to the door and mumbles softy, "Well…you're new…" Apparently, he hasn't seen it before either.
Not removing his studying gaze, The Doctor begins sonicing the door knob, his eye's narrowed. Amy and Rory are now out in the hallway with everyone. The picture of the whole gang makes a smile curl your lips. Now all you have to do is step into the picture.
You join the group all gawping around the door.
The lock on the knob clicks. The Doctor turns it as the rest of you wait, silently gathered tensely around the door frame. He pushes it open like slow motion…and no one is moving, all in wonder of what could behind the door.
You're the first to gasp at the sight.
While the other four are still confused, you somehow manage to mutter out… "This is my room!"
And it is…an exact replica. From the bed spread, to the wall color, down to the Doctor Who DVDs lining your shelves.
You push through the crowd and are the first to step into the room. After scanning the sight before you eyes for some sort of hallucination, you turn around to the others who still haven't dared to step past the threshold.
"What does this mean?" you ask, out of any other words.
"I don't know who you are…" The Doctor mutters, his lips barely parting and eyes circling the room even though he's obviously talking to you. "But whatever it is…" his wandering eyes finally lock with yours and his gaze coated with years and years makes your heart begin to skip several beats at a time. "You're very amazing…"
Ah! I apologies that seemed to take so long to get up!
Thanks for all the enthusiastic reviews! I'm so excited to continue writing this!
So congrats if you noticed a suggestion of yours made it into this chapter! Obviously, this is still just the intro and there is still an awful lot of running to do! (Sorry…that Chameleon Circuit song has been stuck in my head all day. BTW, who else listens to them?) Keep suggesting worlds to visit, things to run from, and crazy things to do!
Special question for this chappy - what room in the TARDIS do you want to visit? It can be normaly (cause what is normal in the TARDIS?) like the library or kitchen, or it could be something crazy (Read a fanfic once, sorry don't remember which one, where there was a bowtie and fez room…I love that idea!). Tell me about the room or leave it completely up to me! I'll pick a few to include in further chapters!
So review on my loves!