The strange man led me down the street toward a blue box. An old sixties police box to be exact. I glanced behind us and found that the ice cream man was still chasing us, knocking down everything in its path. I stifled a squeal and picked up the pace. The man stopped at the box and started to open it.
"What are you doing?" I yelled, scared as the ice cream man neared us. The man cheered as he pulled me into the box. I turned around to scream at him, but found that there was a completely new world inside. The man walked over to the controls and flipped a few switches. I nearly fell over in confusion.
"Don't do that. There's a seat by the console. It takes a moment to get used to it," he laughed as he folded his arms. He smiled, hoping that he was impressive, which he was, but that was beside the point. I felt sick and dizzy.
"It's bigger on the inside," I whispered as the man grinned madly. "What was that? And don't you dare tell me that it was just an average ice cream man."
"You're right. He wasn't you ordinary ice cream man, as you put it. I'm still trying to figure out that mystery," he answered, giving me a soft smile. I examined the box, or whatever it really was and exhaled.
"Who are you?" I demanded, confused and ill. He glanced over at me before turning back to his monitor.
"I'm the Doctor," he answered as I gaped, stunned by his words. He became concerned. "You've heard of me."
"My mother told me about you. The Doctor and his time machine. Is this the TARDIS?" I asked, astounded that my mum wasn't making up a silly story. It was all true. Down to the very last detail. The Doctor seemed confused and worried.
"Who is your mother?" He implored, walking over to me. Somewhere inside, the Doctor knew who my mum was. He started to recognize me through her.
"Ginny Rubartel. That was her maiden name," I informed as the Doctor smiled again. He knew that name very well.
"Ginny? That means your little Felicity. Well, not so little anymore, I see. Do you remember me?" The Doctor grinned as I laughed.
"That was a change if heart, but vaguely. My mum told me that you came to play with me when I was a toddler. Why did you stop coming? Mum said you promised to take me for ice cream," I teased as he shrugged. The air grew dense with tension.
"I'm sorry about that. Something came up and I never got around to it," he answered, looking away.
"But you're a time traveler! You can just pop back whenever you want. Can't you?" I reminded as the Doctor frowned.
"It's been a year for me since I've last seen you. Trust me, I meant to go back to you and treat you to ice cream, but things came up. That ice cream man was one on of those things that came up. Over the long years, something's happened to the truck drivers. They've been replaced. That's why. I've been saving humanity again," he replied as calmly as he could. Biting my lower lip, I nodded. Obviously he meant to come back, but it didn't happen. The Doctor flipped a few more switches before he sat next to me.
"Why did you leave my mum and aunt? They needed you," I whispered, staring at him. He froze, not expecting that question.
"She told you about that?"
"Yes. Why did you leave them?"
"They couldn't live a fantasy life forever. They were going to grow up quickly, so their mum would have been suspicious if her daughters came back bigger than they were supposed to be. They needed a stable life. Without running or danger and have nice family dinners and watch television. I wish I could have kept them, but they weren't mine to keep," the Doctor answered as I shook my head. He looked at me strangely.
"Next time, at least say goodbye and tell them why you were leaving. They thought that you grew bored of them and dropped them home because of it," I continued, taking a deep breath. "Mum talks about you, you know. You saved her life. You were like a second father to her. A proper father. Not like the jerk she had already."
"She did?" He laughed, grinning again. Even he seemed surprised at the truth. I stood up as the sickness went away.
"Let's go see her. Won't you? It would mean the world to her," I pleaded as he gave me a look. He sighed and nodded.
"Then I'll take you for ice cream. Like I promised," the Doctor winked as he smiled from ear to ear. I laughed back, relieved that he agreed. "Hold on!"
"What?" I asked as he pulled a lever, sending the machine flying. As a result, I landed on the floor. I waited there until it stopped and the Doctor helped me up.
"I told you to hold on," he sighed as we heard a dish break from outside the door. I rolled my eyes as kept for the door. The Doctor nodded, thinking that I was taking it in better than anyone else he had around. I opened the door and found Mum doing the dishes. At least, she was. Now she was frozen in the middle of the kitchen.
"Hi, Mum. Guess you I found?" I smiled as the Doctor came through the doorway and waved. Mum walked over to him, completely stunned, then slapped him.
"Ow!" The Doctor shouted before Mum embraced him. My jaw dropped as Mum started to cry. "What was that for?"
"Never showing up," she whimpers as she let go. He stared, holding his cheek. "Do you know how long I've waited? How many schemes I planned with Kathy to find you again? When you showed up around Felicity, I wondered if it had worked. Why didn't you come and see me when you saw her?" Mum asked, wiping her tears away. The Doctor said nothing before sighing.
"I didn't want you to live a fantasy. You needed stability in your life. Especially when your real father left. I would have said hello, but I didn't want you to leave your husband and daughter to come with me," the Doctor explained softly as Mum nodded, understanding. She wrapped her arms around herself, unsure how to proceed.
"I wouldn't have left them. You have no proof of that," Mum whispered, trying to sound offended. The Doctor just smiled and shook his head as I sat at the dinner table.
"You left your mother to come with me," the Doctor reminded, trying to be delicate with her feelings. Mum took in a sharp breath, knowing it was true. If she had another chance, she would drop everything and run to the TARDIS as fast as she could. "Felicity didn't need a mother like that. Like your father."
"Don't you compare me to him!" She screamed, her face red with anger and rage. The Doctor folded his arms as she turned away from him. "I wouldn't ever be like him. He ran away because he was bored of this life. Bored of his family. I've never been bored of Felicity or Phil, nor will I ever! Maybe I would have gone with you, Doctor, if you showed up, but I would have brought Felicity with me. I would bring Phil, but he doesn't believe in such things."
"I'm glad to hear that you wouldn't leave your child, but how would Phil feel about that. By the way, where is Phil? Is he here? I would love to speak with him. Doesn't believe in such things? Bah," the Doctor smiled as Mum chuckled under her breath before she went downstairs to get Dad. I leaned back in my chair, trying not to laugh too hard.
"Dad's going to be so surprised," I whispered as the Doctor sat across from me. He shook his head and sighed.
"I don't know if he's going to believe me. A man comes off the street could easily be seen as crazy," the Doctor reminded, folding his arms. I sighed, realizing that Dad wasn't going to believe this after all.
"Maybe you could show him the TARDIS. He would believe you then," I suggested as the Doctor shook his head. He was about to explain as Mum came back up with Dad. "Hey Dad."
"Who is he?" He demanded as the Doctor stood up. Dad stepped back, surprised to see a stranger in his house.
"I'm the Doctor," he introduced, holding out his hand. Dad gave him a look before laughing. Mum flinched at the noise. Dad was making fun of her. I was shocked. Dad had never teased or made fun of her. I stood up next to the Doctor as Dad turned to Mum.
"Darling, did you really go out and hire a man to come in here and convince me the Doctor is real? Ginny, I told you. He was a coping mechanism that you and Kathy made up. Your terminal illness was either misdiagnosed or you're lucky that you had a good medical doctor," Dad insisted, sounding unsure of himself.
"Phil! Do you really think that I'm that desperate? Honestly? And the Doctor is real, and he wanted to meet you, of all people," Mum countered as the Doctor crossed his arms and nodded. Dad stared at him, still not sold on the idea.
"Dad, Mum is telling the truth," I added as he turned to me, shocked and offended.
"How would you know?" Dad demanded as I jumped at his voice. He sounded angry. "You've never met the Doctor before! He doesn't exist. This man is just someone your mother hired to see if I was a fool. Well, I'm not. I hope she didn't waste you time, sir."
"Are you kidding me?" the Doctor replied, astounded by my father. Dad tilted his head to the side at the remark. "I mean, really. Ginny did not pay me to show you that I was real! She isn't a liar! You are her husband! You should believe her when she says something, even if you think it's childish! At least pretend that you care! Since I've seen you, you've done nothing but insult her! Was that your goal?"
"What?" he whispered as he turned to Mum, whose eyes were starting to tear up. He ran over and tried to grab her hands, but she turned. The Doctor raised his eyebrows at me, trying to look impressive. "Ginny, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."
"Then what did you intend to do?!" she shouted back, furious.
"To get you to look at the other side of things. The grown up side. Where we left our childish things behind. You can't live in a fantasy forever," Dad explained as she sighed. She was sad, more so than I had ever seen before. Before Mum was able to reply, there was a crash. The Doctor ran to the front window and found more 'ice cream men' outside, smashing in windows of their neighbors.
"We have to go," the Doctor announced pushing my parents toward the blue box. Dad stopped and shook his head.
"Why are we going into a small box?" he laughed, wondering what was going on. The Doctor rolled his eyes.
"Because there are creatures out there that want to kill us. Now get in the box," the Doctor explained, shoving him toward the machine.
"We are not going to fit!" Dad argued as the Doctor pushed him in and held the door open for Mum and me. Once we went in, Dad fainted in surprise as Mum smiled in delight. The Doctor went to the console as I dragged my father toward the middle of the control room.