It had been three days since that business with the Doctor up atop the Weather Bureau and George and Alicia were back on the streets. Streets that, while still a danger all of their own, were no longer piled with snow - real or alien.
It had begun to melt, leaving the streets lined with dirty slush and the well-to-do had started abandoning their winter coats. It seemed that whoever was running the Weather Bureau now was putting things back on track. The endless winter was over and the sun was beginning to peek through the clouds. Spring was on its way at last.
"Take a look at this," whispered George as he showed Alicia a golden pocket watch tucked into his right palm. "That toff in the stupid hat didn't even notice."
Alicia wanted to admonish him, but she knew she couldn't, so she smiled instead. "Good work, Georgie."
He beamed back at her for a moment, but his smile quickly faltered.
"Do you think we'll ever see him again? The Doctor."
Alicia furrowed her brow and turned away from him.
"It's best to put him out of your mind, Georgie. I told you, no hero's gonna show up and whisk us away. We gotta take care of ourselves, you got it?"
George looked disappointed. "Yeah, I know."
She hated having to spoil is delusions, but it was a necessary evil.
She smiled and pulled him in close, wrapping her arm around him and giving him an affectionate squeeze.
"Come on, don't pout. We've got enough stashed away for a hot meal - what do you say to some nosh down at the Frog's Head? I say we've earned it these past few days."
George gave a smile and said, "That sounds a treat, how about - "
He trailed off as a distant but distinct sound filled the air. A wheezing, groaning sound.
George's face exploded with delight and he took off immediately, following the sound.
"George!" Alicia called. "George, come back!"
Their feet pounded against the cobblestones, splashing through puddles of half-melted snow and darting through the crowd of well-to-do gentry.
"George, wait!" she called, before bending over and taking a deep breath. "You can't just run off like -"
She stopped mid-sentence as she saw that same blue box that the Doctor had disappeared in, sitting in a quiet side street. George was standing before it, staring up in wonder. She took a few small, cautious steps towards the box itself, reaching out to gently grasp George's hand.
"Stay close, Georgie," she said, although she couldn't help but stare up at the strange wooden box herself.
There was something about seeing it up close that she couldn't quite explain, it gave her a weird feeling at the back of her mind. Her skin tingled, as if the simple wooden structure was pulsing with some kind of energy.
The lamp on top of the box was flashing with a pale blue light, and the frosted windows were likewise illuminated.
"Police public call box," said George, reading the sign up top, "what does that mean? I thought he was a doctor, not a copper."
"I don't know, Georgie," she said distractedly as she reached out gingerly, allowing her fingertips to touch the wooden door ever so gently.
She could feel it humming with energy. What was this thing?
Suddenly they both gasped and Alicia pulled her hand back quickly as the doors creaked open. She clutched George tighter and took a step back, but George slipped loose and took a step closer, his face bathed in the cool, low light that came from within.
"It's OK sis," he said, smiling. "Can you hear that? There's music!"
Then without another word, he raced through the doors.
"Georgie!" she called, before racing after him. "Georgie, come back before...oh, my God..." she said, her voice trailing off as she crossed the threshold and came face-to-face with the wonders that awaited inside.
"Wooooah!" said George as he looked around the cavernous room with a look of pure, unbridled wonder and delight.
Alicia was too stunned for words. Somehow, the moment they'd stepped through those doors, they'd entered a vast and wondrous new world, well beyond anything that could have been contained by that simple wooden box.
Cautiously, she ran her fingers along a hand rail that sat just inside the doors, looking around in every direction. A coat stand sat just inside the doorway, with several frock coats and a couple of silk top hats hanging from its hooks.
The dominant piece of architecture however, was a large glass column in the centre of the room that ran from the ceiling, down to a six-sided console adorned with all manner of buttons, levers and controls. A monitor screen sat above one of the panels and within the glass tube she could see rods of some kind rising and falling in a slow and steady fashion.
The whole room was awash in a muted blueish white light and all around them, the walls were lined with large cogs and gears that rolled slowly and gently around the room, keeping in time with the rods in the glass tube.
Spread about at equidistant points, mounted upon a hexagonal metal latticework that weaved over and between the gears, there were a dozen or so portraits. The kind of fine oil-painted works that she imagined nobility to have adorning their studies.
Squinting for a closer look, she recognised the men in the paintings from the visions conjured by the killer snow. These were the Doctor's old faces.
It was then that she bumped into something, distracted by all that was around her. She turned her attention to what she'd hit and saw an old gramophone, from which emanated the most beautiful music. Cocking her head in confusion, she saw another device plugged into the gramophone - it was another form of antique music player, rectangular with a little screen. Scrawling across the screen was the name of the song being played: 'The Madman with a Box - Murray Gold and the'... it trailed off.
She became aware of some of the musical notes sounding as if they weren't coming from the golden bell of the gramophone, but from the other side of the room. She looked over beyond the console and there he was - The Doctor, dressed down to his shirtsleeves and a purple waistcoat, with a violin tucked beneath his cheek. His eyes were closed and he smiled as he strolled slowly around the room, gliding the bow across the strings of the instrument. She noted a music stand behind him, holding what she presumed to be a book of sheet music.
It was only now that her attention fell to George, who was looking up at the Doctor with pure joy and bewilderment. She hurried over to him and gently gripped his shoulders.
This seemed to snap the Doctor out of his musical trance, as his eyes sprung open and he stopped playing mid-note. Somehow the music from the gramophone stopped at the exact same time.
"Children!" he bellowed enthusiastically. "Sorry I'm late, I had a bit of a rough ride with that nasty Crystalline Confederation - they gnawed up the old girl pretty badly, didn't they?" He patted the console affectionately as he said the last part. "Still, she's managed to repair herself and I took the opportunity to redecorate a little. She even threw in a new screwdriver for good measure, the sweet thing."
He produced a slender, cylindrical device from his waistcoat pocket and held it out lovingly. It looked a lot more old-fashioned than the previous model, all bronze and brass with a copper ring surrounding the central node. He flicked an unseen switch and two matching rings began to rise and fall along the device's shaft. Two puffs of steam sprayed out as the device emitted a high-pitched whir.
"Old girl?" asked George.
"Yes, the TARDIS," he said indicating the space around them, before stashing the screwdriver back in his pocket, "Time and Relative Dimension in Space - she's my time and space ship."
"It's bigger inside than out," said Alicia, still a little stunned.
"Is it really? Hadn't noticed," he replied with a twinkle in his eye. "So tell me, how far off was I this time? How long was I gone?"
"Three days," said George.
"Three days?" He repeated, cringing a little. He let out a whistle and said, "Sorry about that, the brain's still settling down. That's why it's not advised to drive or operate heavy machinery for a few days after a regeneration. Still, it could have been worse, I once overshot my mark by twelve years. I ended up having to deal with a very cranky redhead in a police uniform. Took a cricket bat to the head."
"This place is well wicked!" said George, enthusiastically.
"Thank you," said the Doctor proudly. "You know, I really was impressed with how you two handled yourselves out there. So what do you say, want to come with me?"
Alicia furrowed her brow. "Come where?"
"Where?" laughed the Doctor. "Anywhere and everywhere! Everywhen and anywhen! The TARDIS can take us to any point in existence and a fair few out of it too. The past or future; distant worlds and other realities." He crouched down to face them at eye level, causing Alicia to take half a step backwards. "An entire infinity of infinite possibilities awaits just outside of those doors. What do you say?"
"I'm in!" exclaimed George, causing the Doctor to smile.
"Hold on a minute, Georgie," said Alicia, gripping his shoulders. "What is it you want from us exactly?" she asked in an accusatory tone.
The Doctor shrugged. "Nothing at all. I just… what's the point in having the universe at your fingertips if you've got nobody to share it with?"
"We're children."
"I'm over 2, 500 years old, probably. You're all children to me."
Alicia took this statement in her stride as she wandered over to the central console. She took slow and measured steps around the hexagonal structure, gently running her fingers over the controls.
"Who are you?" she asked, fixing him with a very intense look.
"That's the thirteen million dollar-pound question, isn't it? I'm still sorting it all out."
"How can we trust you then if you don't even know who you are?"
The Doctor gave a reassuring smile. "Because I'm the Doctor and that much I do know." He gestured at the portraits that decorated the room. "I'm all of them and they're all me. For a long time I've fought to escape my past, but now I've come to accept that it's my past that's made me who I am, and that's a lesson I should never forget.
I'm the Last of the Time Lords. I stole a TARDIS and ran away to see the stars. I travel with friends by my side and I help those in need. And I swear to you Alicia, that I would never hurt you or your brother."
Alicia stood directly opposite to him, on the other side of the console, her arms folded as she mulled it all over.
Suddenly George started yanking on her sleeve. "Oh, come on sis, do you really want to go back out into the cold streets when we can travel round the universe in a magic box?'
Alicia looked down at her brother and bit her lip. She'd only ever wanted to protect him and do what was best for him. In that moment however, she was finding it incredibly difficult to decide what was actually best for him. They'd been alone for so long, with nobody to look out for them except each other. Could she really accept that there was someone out there who wanted to take care of them, without wanting something in return?
"Please, sis?" pleaded her brother.
"Yes, please, sis?" asked the Doctor, who suddenly appeared on his knees beside George, looking up at her with the same imploring eyes.
Alicia kept a stern face as she looked down at her brother and the ridiculous man. Finally though, a smile cracked across her face.
"Oh, alright," she said, rolling her eyes.
"Yes!" screamed George as he practically tackled her, embracing her with a hug that would suffocate a boa constrictor.
All she could manage was a chocked gasp as she returned the hug.
The Doctor also sprang to his feet, beaming ear to ear.
"That's the spirit!" he exclaimed as he raced over to the console and began working the controls. At the same moment a new song began playing from the gramophone, which according to the scrolling text on the little screen, was titled 'I Am the Doctor'.
George finally released his sister and ran over to watch the Doctor in amazement. Meanwhile Alicia was able to catch her breath and finally speak.
"But the second you put George in danger, that's it, we're outta here. Got it?"
The Doctor danced around the console with frantic enthusiasm, pressing buttons and flicking switches. "Alicia, I promise you you'll both be perfectly safe. Cross my hearts! Now, hold on tight children. Because here. We. Go!"
With that he plunged down the final lever and the ship began to shake and shudder as the time rotor began to rise and fall with a laborious groaning and wheezing sound.
All three of them lost their footing and had to grip the console for support. George and the Doctor both laughed, but Alicia looked less enthusiastic.
She didn't know where or when they were going, but she prayed to the Lord above that she'd made the right choice and no harm would come to her brother.
The blue box groaned and wheezed as it faded in and out of existence, with nary a soul noticing. Soon it was as if it had never been there at all, save for a bare patch in the snow.
But one person did notice. A figure watched silently, tucked behind a corner.
They smiled as the box vanished from sight.
Excellent, they thought. All according to plan. Despite this, they looked sad, even as they smiled. It had to be done and they knew that, but they couldn't help but think about all that had led to this. They wished things could have gone differently, but there was no use dwelling on that now.
Taking a breath, they turned around and began trekking back through the snow.
Everything was set in motion now and events would unfold as they were always meant to. The Doctor had good times ahead, but they wouldn't last. He would know the truth soon enough, but for now let him enjoy his adventures.
The figure stopped and looked down at a patch of snow and made a quick drawing in the slush, almost on instinct.
They smirked as they looked down upon the crudely drawn ouroboros – a snake devouring its own tail. Sighing, they shook their head and brushed it away with their foot.
Before fishing out a key…
…and stepping into their TARDIS.
THE END