A/N: Hey, if you're reading this, I love you. This is fluffy but also sort of angsty. It's mostly just character introduction, I'm afraid that's all these first few chapters are going to be. Stick with me though, I have big plans and my summer break is coming soon, so I'll be writing more and more! Enjoy!

Lizzie sat on the console, careful not to sit on anything that could possibly start the TARDIS up. Her legs swung back and forth as she watched the Doctor fiddle with wires and things under the floor. The famous sonic screwdriver, the one she'd always wanted to own, buzzed and hummed as he repaired the damaged circuitry of his machine. She mentally planned her next diary entry.

Dear Diary,

He's amazing. Utterly and totally amazing, everything the show gives him and more. Already he's said about three things I don't understand, science-y stuff, and he is definitely more good-looking in person. Everything that he's experienced matches the show... But Diary, he's only just wiped Donna's memory. He hasn't completed so much... I feel so powerful, knowing his future so well. I need to be careful.

"Well, that ought to hold her until she can get some more power," He interrupted her musings as he pulled himself up from the floor. "D'you know if there's a rift around here?"

"A what? Sorry..."

"A rift. Y'know, a big gap thing in space and time. Leaks energy. Stuff the TARDIS can use." Lizzie shrugged. "Okay, I guess not. Well, she'll recharge herself in about..." His grin fell, looking utterly disappointed. "Two whole days?! She's never taken that long before! What's the matter, baby?" Lizzie cracked a smile as he stroked the TARDIS, seeming to forget she was there.

"You want some privacy? I can just step out for a minute," She brought him back to the moment with her gentle teasing, and he stepped past her to the door.

"Nah. I've got a week to explore new territory where I'm a celebrity! Just think of all the trouble I can get into!" He grabbed her hand and pulled her out the door with him, the excitement infecting them both with the giggles.

They sat on her back porch, eating frozen sweets while enjoying the abnormally hot spring day. The Doctor's long brown coat was discarded over a chair, and they had their feet up on the table with a pint each in their laps. He was enjoying a large bowl of custard, but something was missing according to him. "Something salty, maybe seafood?" He addressed Lizzie, who tried her very hardest not to choke on her ice cream. "What? What'd I say?"

Lizzie swallowed, shaking her head as she hid her smile. "Brain freeze. Eating too fast, I s'pose."

"Ah. Always avoid that, you can get indigestion y'know. I'm a Doctor, trust me," he winked at her, drawing another giggle out. "Anyway, I've got questions for you, missy. First, where are your parents? I don't think they'd be too thrilled 'bout a strange old man in their yard, eating their custard..." To add emphasis, The Doctor licked his spoon vigorously.

"Well, my dad's just away at work. He's got a thing tonight, though, some sort of business retreat that'll keep him away for the weekend. He said so long as I didn't throw any wild parties I could have a few friends over. He trusts me like that," Lizzie explained to him, feeling completely secure in trusting this man who she knew through fiction. "My mom's passed away, about two years ago now," she finished sadly, stuffing a chocolate chunk into her mouth to soothe her sorrows. "Let's change the subject, 'kay?" The Doctor nodded, recognizing that dodge, that escape line, that route away from the pain that thinking and speaking can bring. He understood it better than anyone, that topic that is avoided in every way yet still remains in the front of the mind, never truly leaving.

"Well, what's really been bugging me is how you know what my next face is." She giggled. "Really though, what do I look like next? Can't ya tell me?" Lizzie shook her head. "Aw, it's not bad, is it? Please don't tell me I end up as some old fogey with ridiculous ears again."

"I liked your ears."

"Well, thank you, I suppose. Am I shorter? Please don't say I'm shorter."

Lizzie was adamant in keeping her secrets. "Spoilers! Geez, you should know better than to pester me about this!"

"Oh, letting me know what I look like can't be too bad. Am I a looker, at least?" He wiggled his eyebrows and she laughed.

"Well, you're definitely good with the ladies. I prefer you this way, though," Lizzie licked her spoon absentmindedly as she mentally compared Matt Smith to David Tennant. They both had good points and no real bad points, just differences. "You're just different."

"Mmf." The Doctor had a giant glob of custard in his mouth, too big to talk around. "'Hat's what they all say." Glancing down into the plastic tub on his lap, he frowned. "It's all gone."

Lizzie laughed on the outside, but inside she had the sickening feeling that sooner or later the Doctor would find out what his future was. She didn't know how long she could keep it a secret. As she watched her hero bemoan the lack of custard, she mourned for him, and all he had suffered, and all he would suffer, and she vowed to herself that she would make him as happy as she could while he was in her company. It was the least she could do for the man who had shown her so much and given her hope when there was none.