It was a mostly quiet journey back to Amara's home. She found herself badly wanting to see and experience more of the little bit she had with him so far. At the same time, she didn't know exactly how to ask for it and it's not like she knew him well, or at all really. It wasn't until he announced that they were back in her own time and city that she finally spoke up.
"So, there are just a few things I don't understand." Amara started. She remained standing by the console not wanting to leave yet. If I walk out that door, I might not be able to walk back in it again…
"Alright." He nodded and then waited for her to continue as if he knew perfectly well she would have questions.
"Donovan seemed to know a lot about you, he mentioned others and he called me a 'companion'. What's all that about?" She decided to start there.
"Ah, well, sometimes I take on traveling companions; friends. Donovan was one of them a long time ago, but he had a real nasty habit of lifting things where ever we went. It got us into more trouble than I care to remember; really complicated things at times." The Doctor explained and Amara was kind of surprised that he readily did so. She half expected him to not want to talk about it since at the time he seemed put-off with Donovan.
"So, what? One day he crossed the line and took something that he got punished for and you stopped being friends?" She prodded on.
"Something like that, yeah." He agreed. "He finally got himself into a mess that he couldn't talk or charm his way out of. He's actually right from when and where we meet him this time. I just wonder who gave him that vortex manipulator, and how would he even have known that you would inherit the pearls someday and not that they would be sold or lost along the way. He had to have gotten outside help from somewhere. Donovan's not dumb, but it's not all that possible either that he really did all this on his own." He was beginning to go off on a tangent of thought out loud.
"And these companions; you just 'take on' people every now and then?" She brought him back to what she was wanting to get at.
"Yup." He agreed once again.
"What do you do?" She asked.
"You have a lot of question." He replied.
"And I'm going to keep asking until you answer them. It's not like I'm asking about your life story or anything personal really." She crossed her arms in an 'I'm-not-moving' gesture.
"Why don't you come with me and find out?" He shrugged. She felt her mouth move to make words, but nothing came out so she closed it again. It wasn't so much shock that he had asked, but excitement at the offer that seized her thought process. Unfortunately in the moment he seemed to mistake it for something else. "Of course if you don't want to that'd be completely understandable."
"NoIwanttogowithyou!" She quickly said and had to admit it came out too rushed and eager making her laugh at herself. "I'm sorry; it must have been so obvious."
"Just a bit." He chuckled using his finger and thumb to us just how much; the space between the two was barely noticeable.
"I can though? It's alright?" She double checked.
"I wouldn't have asked otherwise." He confirmed. "Now then, since we're here, anything you need to grab or anyone you want to tell you're heading off for a little while." It was less a question and more of a suggestion as he jerked his head to the door.
"There's no one there." She shook her head and it came out a little sadder than she wanted, but she moved past it hoping he wouldn't ask. "How long would we be gone?"
"I'm a Time Lord and this is my TARDIS; T, A, D, R, I, S meaning Time And Relative Dimension In Space. We could travel to the farthest reaches of the universe and back and only a few hours would have passed." He said proudly with a flourish of showmanship. At the same time it also sounded slightly rehearsed as if he had to say it many times before.
"Back and forth in time? Other worlds?" She felt more and more excited as it was all becoming a reality.
"For starters!" He beamed before it turned questioning. "Did you need to get anything? I did ask you that didn't I?"
"Five minutes! Don't you dare leave without me!" She bolted for the door as if it were a race her life depended on to get to her place, grab some things, and get back to him. As if she would wake up from the wonderful dream if she didn't get back on time. She stumbled a bit upon exiting as her mind tried to wrap around the fact that they were in her living room and not outside like she thought they'd be. Taking a quick look back marveling at how he even got the large blue box to just fit inside the room, she quickly turned back to her task feeling better that her room was right there and that much closer. It took her no time at all to practically fling her duffle bag out of her closet and start grabbing for various pieces of clothing she thought she'd need. She even made sure to grab some of her standard toiletries just in case. She finished and felt like it should have been a personal record worthy of a Guinness World Record if only she had timed it. Returning to the blue box in her living room, she had to stop short when she saw him standing in her kitchen on the other side of the room. He was standing in front of the window over the sink with his back to her, so she joined him to see what he was doing.
"The plants you blame?" He pointed to the three small pots standing there.
"Yeah. That's the herb garden I was trying to grow, my mom's African violet, and a cactus for my step-dad." She pointed them out in turn.
"Who will take care of them while you are gone?" He asked and it sounded strange to her. She hadn't thought about it at all.
"I thought you said we'd be back pretty soon, Mr. Time Lord." She was confused.
"Well, I have been known to make mistakes concerning arrival time. This one time, I brought a friend back one year later and everyone thought she was missing that whole time." He was smiling like it was a grand joke, but there was a slight sadness behind it.
"Like I said, there's no one here, so even if we don't come back for a long time it's not like anyone will notice or care. I could give them to the neighbor though; I know she likes to garden so she may not have an issue taking on a few more." She shrugged at the thought.
"They mean a lot to you though, don't they?" He had reached out to gently stroke at the velvety leaves of the African violet.
"Yeah, I guess." She admitted. He glanced at her like he was waiting for more and she found herself obliging suddenly feeling the need to explain. "I really like to cook so I was trying to grow the herb garden, but that didn't work out too well as you can see. That African violet isn't the same one my mom had for a long time, but it reminds me of her and it always blooms. The cactus didn't belong to my step-dad, but it's so him."
"You really do have no one." It was absentmindedly said, but he seemed to read between the lines of what she was saying.
"For the last three years, no." She looked down.
"It will never be the same, will it? I mean after today." He asked with a knowing smile, completely changing the subject.
"You know," She said look back up to him. "I have always looked up at the stars and knew there had to be someone or something else out there. The sheer number of solar systems and galaxies, there just had to be something else. Now, within one day, I'm hostage to a group of green aliens and saved by another bowtie wearing alien with a screwdriver."
"Sonic screwdriver and bow ties are cool." He corrected waving the small wand in front of her face briefly.
"Thank you. I didn't get a chance to say it before." She thanked him with a small bow of her head.
"You're very welcome." He returned the head bow and replaced the screwdriver inside his jacket. She suddenly swat him against his shoulder. "Oi! What was that for!"
"You didn't apologize!" She sternly accused.
"For what?" The Doctor was utterly confused as he gave the battered arm a quick rub.
"For bumping into me in the theater! You bumped into me and you didn't stop to apologize. That was rude!" She swat his arm again.
"Well pardon me for being slightly preoccupied with saving everyone at the time!" He retorted. "You know, you could have gotten hurt or worse, but you came back anyway. May I ask why?"
"I just couldn't walk away and pretend nothing happened. Have you ever felt you were meant to do something, whether or not you know what it is, but you also feel like it will never happen to you? And then suddenly, there it is! The moment, the opportunity, the choice." She tried to explain.
"You were meant help a dashing bow tie wearing alien?" He asked, once again fiddling with the bow tie.
"You know what I mean!" She laughed and hit at his arm again, playfully this time.
"Ready?" He asked.
"Yes!" She lifted her duffle bag as if to present it as proof she was all set. The two made their way back to the living room and reentered the blue box. All of the day's events were rushing through her mind and she could barely contain her child-like excitement at the thought of really traveling through time and space and seeing new worlds. For the first time, there was a small black spot of worry in the back of her mind. She was already starting to wonder when he'd stop letting her travel with him. 'Companions' obviously came and went no matter the reasons why, Donovan and the Doctor's own story about him made that clear, and now she found herself his latest companion. But… how long would it last? She shook her head of the thought and buried it for now. They were just starting and this was no time to let thoughts like that get in the way and ruin the moment.
"What's wrong?" She heard him ask and she realized her thoughts must have been showing on her face.
"Oh, just thinking about something." She brushed it off. "So much has happened today."
"I know it can be a lot to take in, but you seem to handle it all very well." He complimented.
"It's not that I'm not taking it well, but I just remembered something." She set the duffle down at the top of the ramp to the center console not really sure where else to put it. What she was about to say was something she had meant to ask him about earlier, but she was using it now as a means to avoid saying what was really floating around the back of her mind. "You told me that the extra things added to the pearls were illegal, but Donovan made it sound like you lied to me."
"I didn't lie, but I may have misled you a bit." He admitted. "Let me put it to you this way: every country on earth has their own rules and laws and ways to enforce them. It's the same out there. Every country, state, territory, kingdom, and so on, on each planet has their own rules and laws and ways of enforcing them. So does each system and sometimes whole galaxies if they are unified enough. However, it is impossible to have one central overseeing enforcement that covers everything; just like on Earth. Mainly because everyone has their own way of doing things and believes it is right. What might be considered illegal in one place by one people may be common place to another or not even heard of yet."
"Makes sense." Amara nodded. Donovan had obviously been punished by one kind of court system for a crime he committed either to those people directly or at least on their turf and they banished him to Earth where he was from to begin with. She smiled at the idea that he was basically grounded to his room.
"And now, Miss Amara Deegan!" He started and noticed her curious look at the mention of her last name. "It was on your mail on the kitchen table."
"Sneaky, sneaky." She smiled remembering that she did leave a pile of mail there and he had been in the kitchen.
"There is really only one question I have for you right now: where to?" His smile was wide and his eyes were bright.
"Surprise me!" She matched his excitement. Instead of saying anything more, he started to rush around the console as she had seen him do before and everything start to shutter and shake with life once again.
A/N: Ta-da! That's the end to this little introduction story between Amara and the Doctor! I hope you all enjoyed! Reviews are always loved!
I do have another story outlined to continue their adventures I'm just waiting to see how people like this one before I decide how thoroughly to invest my time in it. If I don't plan on posting it here, then it will be more of a leisure activity during downtime. If enough people liked this story and want more, then I will dedicate some time to writing it. This story was actually short by my normal writing standards. I also realized I left out a lot of detail, such as basic descriptions of people. I didn't even say what Donovan looked like at all aside from 'handsome'!
I also have a *ahem* bonus one-shot between Amara and the Doctor. It is rated M for a reason, lo1. I'm torn on whether or not to post it here though. I do want to see what others think of it and provide some 'fun' material to read, but… I don't know. I'm just nervous and worrying for nothing most likely. I think I'll wait and see how future adventures between Amara and the Doctor pan out and if people even want to read it. It is supposed to be a PWP/OOC-ish fic anyway parallel to this main story anyway.