This is my first published fanfic! Please leave reviews, and I'll try to update often. However, don't think the rate of the updates depends on whether I get reviews-I hate when people withhold content just to get feedback on previous chapters.
I'll try and extend chapter lengths later, and keep in mind this is quite rough. I don't have a beta...nor would I want one at this point.
One more thing. The cover of the story is an image of Chris Eccleston in The Borrowers, and that's how I'm imagining him while I write. Hasn't been taking care of himself, forgot to shave, fresh off the Time War. Happens to be bearded. Feel free to keep that sort of look in your head through the rest of this.
Adric?
How could this boy possibly be Adric? Adric was born in the 32nd century, and not even on this planet, nor even this universe! It had to be a coincidence, of course. But a boy who was a genius at math and had a teenage brother in a gang could only be his Adric.
"This probably sounds daft, but are you absolutely sure your name is Adric?" the Doctor asked, disbelieving his ears. He stood up from his perch on the edge of the cliff and began to pace.
"Yeah, it's been my name all my life." the boy- no, Adric- replied.
"And if you don't mind me asking, what century is this?"
"32nd, of course! Say, you never told me your story. Sir."
It was the 32nd century, but he was still in the wrong universe. Obviously, this wasn't E-space. So was this the Adric of this universe? He might have only grew up on Alzarius in the parallel one. Then this could be Adric, but not the one the Doctor knew. Not the one that would die for him, but cause the rise of humanity in the process. Not the Doctor's Adric...
But an Adric who could live to old age. A mathematical genius who could advance his entire planet, who could find his parents and live a happy, normal life.
This was the Adric who could go on adventures with the Doctor and have the time of his life, see the turn of the universe, and give the last of the Timelords one of the only second chances he'd ever get!
"Sir?"
"Yes, Adric?" the Doctor replied, feeling how the name tasted on his lips again. It no longer had a bitter tinge to it, as it had in the days following the demise of the Cyberman freighter.
"I don't know who you are." Adric stated, coming back into the Doctor's view. "You know my story, but I don't even know your name."
"I'm the Doctor," he said, kneeling down to the short boy's height. "I'm not from around here."
"I figured that out already...Doctor."
The Doctor took a deep breath, making the final decision. "I have my own ship, you know."
"You do? Does it work? Where is it?"The boy lit up. Adric knew of many people who had their own crafts, but they had entire crews to man them and keep them running. The Doctor was obviously alone.
"Of course it works!" The Doctor answered indignantly. "And it's just on the other side of the mountain, down a ways."
"Could I see it? I swear I won't touch anything. I've never been inside a ship." The boy was bouncing on his toes with anticipation. "I've done research on starships before, though. What kind do you have? How far does it go? What type of fuel does it use? Is it really big?"
The Doctor smiled at the last question, and out his hand on Adric's shoulder to calm him down. "I'll let you see it, and then I think a few of those questions'll be answered. Here, follow me."
Adric grinned, and began to walk after the Doctor.
As they got around the curve of the mountain, the familiar blue box came into sight. For the Doctor, it was a welcome relief to see- the first time he had met Adric, it ended up being carried off by marsh-men- but it puzzled the boy with limited knowledge of dimensional transcendentalism.
"What, is it only a one-seater?" The boy asked, disappointed. His hopes of seeing the stars fell. He wanted to get a ride, of course, but not if he had to sit on this leather-jacketed man's lap the whole time! What sort of adventure was that?
"Don't worry, there'll be room," the Doctor said, seemingly reading his thoughts. He stepped ahead, opened the door with a flourish, and gestured inside to the dark interior. Adric stepped inside, hands out, expecting to trip over a seat…
...but instead found himself staring at the massive console room of the TARDIS, impossibly big for the space it occupied.
"Whoa!"
It never got old, that wonder. Everyone felt it when opening the worn wooden doors of his TARDIS, but getting the chance to see it again on Adric's face was incredible.
Adric was now running around the console room, almost to make sure it was real. He stopped in front of the now-wistful Timelord, voicing his thoughts, unable to keep them to himself.
"Bigger on the inside! Okay…" He thought hard for a few seconds, in the comical way a child might think when asked a question about philosophy. "It's got to exist on a different plane of reality then, right! The outside of the ship and the inside are actually not the same, they're just sort of layered on top of each other? Does that make sense?" Looking at the Doctor expectantly, he took in the man's stunned expression. "Oh. Am I really that off?"
"No, no, you're completely right! Usually people who come in here don't figure it out in such technical terms, though. I'm impressed!" He really was, honest. He had tried to explain it to a companion or two before, but Adric grasped it the moment he stepped inside. So much for being a simple village boy! The boy at his feet beamed, proud to have figured out the concept. But the Doctor wondered where he could have mastered such an advanced principle at his age.
"Adric, where'd you learn that?" He had gotten a glimpse of the local school on the way up, and it didn't seem to be incredibly equipped for sophisticated teaching.
"I do a lot of reading, I guess. I take books up here and study every night, because if I ever get to go anywhere I don't want to be stuck with the knowledge of a seven-year-old, do I?" He grinned wider, if that was possible for the boy at that point. Even though he had never been in this sort of environment before, Adric was in his element. "Plus, you know, it's interesting!"
The Doctor walked behind him to lean on the TARDIS console. "Adric, I have a proposal for you."
"Two trips. Anywhere in time and space. I did mention that this was a time machine, right? Probably not, judging by the look on your face. You can go to any time, any place, but you have to at least try to say out of trouble- I've had companions who weren't very good at that- and listen to me. Do you think you can handle it?"
"Yes, of course I can!" Overcome, the boy hugged him, and the Doctor awkwardly patted him on the back. Hugs had never been his strong suit. Adric soon let go and looked at the Timelord.
"So," the Doctor asked, turning to the console, "Where shall we go?"