The First Jump

Callie gasped in pain as she landed hard on the ground. She blinked furiously, rubbing at her eyes. Finally, after what was probably only ten seconds but felt like ten minutes, the golden light ebbed away from her vision. Her headache lulled as her vision cleared up, and she was able to see her surroundings once more.

She stilled. Completely frozen solid. She was no longer in Amelia Pond's house.

She was inside the TARDIS. In the console room, which was warm and yellow and homey. Spiral pillars jutted from the grated flooring and into the roof. It was gorgeous, and it took Callie's breath away.

This was the TARDIS. The TARDIS! She hadn't had time to take a good look when she'd been climbing out with the Doctor before, so this was her first proper time in there. It was like something from a dream. No- it was better than she could have dreamed. It was real and it was right there!

Callie had spent many a lonely night during her teen years watching and rewatching Doctor Who. It was her dream to one day step foot in the TARDIS, to wander its halls, to read its entire library. Daydreaming about it had been her escape for literal years. And now she was finally here.

She rose to her feet shakily. Her headache was, remarkably, gone without a trace, but she was still shaky from- from whatever just happened. Teleporting? Had the TARDIS somehow teleported her, like it did with Donna on her wedding day? Gingerly, she reached out a hand to touch one of the pillars; it was just a rough and sturdy as it looked.

A grin grew over her lips.

The TARDIS hummed happily, the lights brightening for a moment in greeting. The room felt a little warmer, like the TARDIS was giving her its version of a hug.

"Hello, sweetie," she murmured, and was pleased when the TARDIS hummed in response. It was nice to see that the TARDIS liked her. She didn't know what she would have done if she'd been treated like Clara.

Callie's gaze fell to the center console and she walked up to it. It looked just like it did in the show, all bulbous and round, covered in an eclectic mishmash of technology. Her fingers itched to push a button, but she resisted. She didn't want to send the TARDIS into the sun or something by mistake. Especially without the Doctor there to help. She looked around once more, taking in the soft yellow glow.

That's when she realized she was in the wrong TARDIS.

Eleven's TARDIS console room was bigger, orange, and had glass floors. This- this one had to belong to either Nine or Ten. But how? How could she have appeared in a different TARDIS, in a different point in the Doctor's timeline? And how the hell had she disappeared from Amelia's house and appeared in here? The Doctor certainly had some explaining to do- none of this made sense.

"But where is he?" She murmured to herself. She looked over to the doors, contemplating what might be on the other side, when the TARDIS hummed once more. She looked up, and out of the corner of her eye saw the lights brighten in the hallway behind the console room. Callie raised her eyebrows. "Uh, thanks."

She was confused as to why the TARDIS would help her, but she wasn't about to ask questions. If the Doctor was in the TARDIS, she needed to find him. He'd skirted answering her many, many questions only because little Amelia had been the more pressing matter. Now, nothing would stand in her way.

Callie walked through the console room, fingering brushing the side of the console as she passed. The hall was long, yellow, and angular in a way that screamed Classic Who. When she came to a junction where she could go either straight or to the left, the lights above her cut out and turned on to the left. In this manner, the TARDIS led Callie deep down the halls before delivering her into a roomy kitchen.

The Doctor stood by the counter, pouring hot water out of a kettle. How very British for an alien, she mused. And as she suspected, it was not the eleventh Doctor standing there. He wore his brown pinstripe suit, his hair messy as usual. There was no companion in the kitchen to give Callie an indication on when she'd appeared.

Good. It might be easier to get answers from him on his own.

"Hello," she said a little awkwardly. The Doctor jumped a little, but whipped around with a huge grin on his face.

"Callie! Oh good, it's been too long," he said. He set the kettle back on the stove and walked over to her. Before she could say anything, he scooped her up into a tight hug, lifting her off the ground a little. She hugged him back, though she still felt so confused. He set her down after a long moment, but only pulled back enough so he could see her face.

"Um," she said. "Hi."

"Hi." The Doctor's voice was so... fond. It was the voice of someone looking at their very most favorite person in the world.

It kind of scared her.

She stepped back, pulling herself from his hold. "I have questions."

Finally, he noticed something was off about her. "What do you mean?"

A hysterical laugh slipped through her lips and tears sprang into her eyes. This was all so overwhelming and just too much. "Yesterday I was living my normal life. And then a crack in the wall appeared and I was in the Time Vortex and I jumped into the TARDIS and you were there but it was you in the future and then I had a headache and suddenly I'm in your past and I don't understand what the hell is going on you know my name and things about me you shouldn't and I don't look the same and I'm kind of freaking the fuck out right now!"

She gasped for breath after spilling everything out for him. She stared at her feet, still bare, and her cheeks burned when she remembered what she was wearing.

"Also I'm practically naked because the Time Vortex burned my clothes off," she tacked on. The Doctor looked stricken. He stared at her in utter shock, until she squirmed under his gaze.

"That's- that's a lot to take in," he said after a long moment. She let out a huff.

"Imagine how I feel," she said, "I've fallen into a TV show."

The Doctor pressed a warm mug into her hands. She was finally wearing real clothes (a tank top and sweats, but real clothes nonetheless), but she didn't feel much better. They were back in the kitchen, and the Doctor had fixed them both cups of tea. Numbly, Callie took a sip. To her surprise, he'd made it exactly as she liked it, with milk and honey.

The fact that he knew how she liked her tea just reminded her of the situation she was in.

The first thing the Doctor had done was show Callie her room so she could get changed. Determined to finally get answers to her questions, she hadn't taken the time to look around the room. She just went to the wooden wardrobe, which looked like it was straight from Narnia, and pulled out the only clothes inside. Then, he explained her situation.

For reasons unknown, Callie was tied to the Doctor's timeline. Given what she'd said about her time in the Time Vortex, they could guess that something about grabbing the TARDIS and using it- and by extension, the Doctor himself- as an anchor, the Vortex saved her by tying her to him. So now, she goes on adventures with him all over the universe, and every so often she gets pulled to a different point in his timeline.

"We never, ever meet in the right order," he'd told her with a rueful grin.

"But- how do I get home?" She'd asked. "I- I have a family. I can't just leave them."

"Oh, Callie. I'm so sorry, but there's no way back. We would have found it a long time ago if there were."

"So, what? I'm just stuck here? Bouncing around your timeline, no real life of my own?" His silence had been answer enough.

Now, they sat in the kitchen, sipping their tea as Callie digested all this.

"So, what happens next?" She asked finally.

"We travel, I suppose. You can get to know me, we can see the stars," the Doctor answered. He was watching her carefully. "Wherever you like."

"How long until I jump again?"

"We never know. Sometimes you're only here for a few hours, sometimes a couple weeks."

She nodded. They had barely been at Amelia's half an hour before she jumped, though perhaps that one hadn't counted.

She knew there was nothing to be done. It was like the multiverse had taken her wildest fantasy- traveling with the Doctor- and twisted it until it was less a fantasy and more a nightmare. She was ever going to go home. Vaguely, she wondered if there was even a home waiting for her.

The crack on the wall- if it was the same as the crack on Amy's wall, or in the Byzantium… She may not even exist back home any more.

Quickly, she shook her head and shut down that line of thinking. No need to give herself more of an anxiety attack than she was already going through.

"It's not so bad," the Doctor said, as if he could hear her thoughts. "We still have a great time. Lots of adventure, you and me."

"Yeah?" She asked. He was polite enough to ignore the way her voice cracked.

"Yeah." He paused. "We're each others' only real constant."

The TARDIS gave a little shake, as if offended.

"Besides the TARDIS," Callie corrected him, the corners of her mouth tilting up just a tad. She took a deep drink of her tea. "Okay. So then, when are we?"

"Currently, we're just locked in the Time Vortex. I was waiting until-"

"No," Callie interrupted. "I meant in your timeline. Like, who's traveling with you right now? What have you done last? That sort of thing. I need to get my bearings."

"Right." The Doctor took a final swig of his tea before responding. "Donna's been traveling with me for a while. Recently, we went to Greece, had a run-in with the Sontarans, and then I finally got to go to Barcelona. The planet, not the city."

"Okay, so midway through season four, got it." Callie said, nodding. "Nice. Always wanted to meet Donna."

The Doctor nodded and stood, taking both of their mugs to the sink. "You okay?" He asked, looking concerned.

"Nope," Callie said lightly. "But I guess I just have to make the best of it, yeah?"

He smiled, but his eyes looked sad. "Yeah."

"Do you mind showing me to my room again? I'd like to have a real look around."

The Doctor walked her back to her room, but made a point of telling her that the TARDIS would show her how to get anywhere she wanted.

"The TARDIS always helps you. You never have to worry about that."

"But, why?"

The Doctor shrugged. "You have Time Energy from the Vortex running in your veins. It connects you to the TARDIS. She loves you."

Callie couldn't help but smile at that. She patted the wall closest to her. "Well, I already love her too, so that's good."

The TARDIS hummed around them.

Finally, they came upon her room. The door was wooden and very old looking, with a gold plate embedded. Something (Callie assumed it was her name) was etched into the plating in circular Gallifreyan. Callie touched it, feeling the indentions as the Doctor explained how the room was tied to her jumps; the room always matched wherever she was in her timestream.

"But how?"

"The TARDIS, I assume. She adjusts so you won't stumble on any spoilers. And she doesn't like cleaning up after you, so if you leave a mess you will come back to that very same mess."

Callie snorted, but nodded. "That's fair. I hate cleaning up after others, too."

"I'll go see if Donna's awake yet, and then we can go somewhere," the Doctor said, a little awkwardly. Callie frowned a little, not liking that he clearly felt uncomfortable around her. "I mean, if you like."

"Yeah, that would be fun. So far, I've only seen a small town in England. So anywhere else will be a treat."

The Doctor nodded, stuffing his hands into his pockets. Callie turned the doorknob when he spoke again.

"I just- you need to know. I'm here for you." She looked back at him and was a little taken aback at how serious he looked. "I wasn't exaggerating when I said we were each others' only constants. You can tell me anything, especially when you're feeling low. You don't have to hide it."

Throat tight, she nodded. "I might take you up on that sometime. For now, though, I think I just want to distract myself with adventure. Make the best of it."

"Of course."

Callie let herself into the bedroom, closing without looking to see if the Doctor was still there. Emotions swirled inside her. It was a relief, all things considered, that she and the Doctor were clearly very close in her future. How horrible would it have been to meet her favorite fictional character and for him to hate her? Or worse, not care about her either way. And how awkward, to be tied to the timeline of someone who didn't want her around.

But it felt terrible, as well, to have someone know her so much more than she knew them. Like she was letting him down constantly.

Callie shook her head, then pushed her newly blonde curls out of her face. Reminders of her new appearance were not going to help her keep her anxiety in check. When she opened her eyes, she finally took a good look at her new bedroom.

She was a little surprised at how normal it looked. Even the kitchen had a spacey-alien vibe to it, but this looked like a normal bedroom waiting to be decorated. There was a large bed with plain white bedding, a wooden desk and chair, a side table, and the wardrobe she'd used before. There was a door in the far corner, which Callie soon discovered was to her own private bathroom.

She ended up sitting on the bed, which was cushy and comfortable. She bounced a little, for good measure. Looking around, she wondered how this room would look in five years, full of trinkets from different planets and times. What sorts of souvenirs would she bring back here?

Hadn't the Doctor said that he's known her a long time? How long was long to a Time Lord?

Her head swam, but she pushed it all back. There was no time for a meltdown or a panic attack. The Doctor and Donna were waiting for her.

She glanced down at her outfit. While comfortable, it wasn't the sort she normally would wear out of the house- er, TARDIS.

The wardrobe have a little lurch, making Callie jump. She stared at it, wondering if she'd imagined it. It lurched again.

"Alright, alright," she muttered. "I get it."

She opened the heavy wooden doors. Instead of Narnia or an empty wardrobe, it had a single outfit sitting inside. It seemed the TARDIS liked to pick out her clothes for her. (She'd have to ask someone if this was a normal occurrence.) The outfit was simple. The kind of clothes she would wear on a normal day- high-waisted jeans, a striped T-shirt, and a pair of faux combat boots. Next to the boots was a cream-colored scrunchie. Callie immediately used it to tight her long hair into a ponytail. In the corner of the wardrobe, there was also a beige backpack. The tag was in circular Gallifrayen, like the plating on her door. She flipped it over and, in cursive script, it read, "Bigger on the inside".

She got changed, leaving her sweats and tank on the bed for later. Slinging the backpack over her shoulders, she stepped out of the room.

"Help finding the Doctor? Callie asked, looking up at the ceiling. She didn't really know where to look when talking to the spaceship she was currently inside. "Or Donna?"

The corridor to the right lit up and she followed it after saying thanks. She made two turns when the TARDIS told her to before stopping midway down a hall.

There was a door cracked open. All of the dozens of doors she'd passed had been closed, except for this one. There was a soft light emitting from the mostly-dark room. Curiosity got the better of her and she pushed the door open further. Just a bit.

The first thing she saw was plush, cream-colored carpeting covering the floor. The lights were off, but there were little glowing stars on the walls and ceiling. Not like the little glow-in-the-dark stickers she'd grown up with in her childhood bedroom, but like little miniature stars in the walls. It created a cozy, inviting ambience, along with the small nightlight by the dresser. There was a rocking chair in the corner with a stuffed... something (some sort of alien bunny?).

Callie finally noticed the crib in the other corner and realized she was in a nursery.

Face flushing and feeling like she was intruding on something personal, she ran out, leaving the door gaping open behind her.

Of course, she knew the Doctor had had children. A wife. But there was something so intimate about seeing the nursery for one of his children that just... She felt so out of place. Like she'd seen something she really shouldn't have. She hurried down the corridor in search of the Doctor or Donna, deciding to just push the memory straight out of her brain.

If she had taken the time to look around the nursery more, she would have noticed the green silk baby rag hanging on the crib. The one that, with the TARDIS's translation and the Gamma Forest's lack of a word for "pond", read River Song.

Slowly, the TARDIS shut the door to the nursery, and the door melted away. To be hidden until it was needed one day.

Callie's journey through the TARDIS finally took her back to the console room, where the Doctor and Donna both stood in deep discussion. The Doctor appeared to be almost scolding Donna, or else impressing something of great importance on her. Callie cringed, feeling like she she was intruding. It seemed like she was going to forever feel this way, but she supposed it couldn't be helped. It would be more awkward to stand in the doorway as they spoke.

She knocked on the doorjamb to announce her presence, drawing both gazes straight to her.

Donna brightened immediately, giving a little squeal. She ran forward and wrapped Callie into a hug.

"Callie! Oh, it's been too long," she said, saying the exact same thing the Doctor has said. Callie couldn't help but smile and squeeze her back. Donna had always been her favorite companion. (Uh, don't tell the others.)

"How long has it been?" Callie asked as they broke apart. God, it was still so weird to see characters from a TV screen in real life. It still didn't feel real. She wondered if it ever would.

"Oh, a week, maybe?" The Doctor answered. "Hard to tell with time travel, something like that."

Callie let out a little laugh. "And a week is too long?"

"A day is too long," the Doctor said seriously. Callie flushed a little.

"So, the Doctor said this is very early for you," Donna said, looking pointedly over at the Doctor. She brushed a bit of baby hair from Callie's forehead. "Earlier than I've ever seen."

"Uh, yeah," Callie said, tugging on the strap from her backpack. "It was my first time jumping. First time meeting you, too. Been quite a day."

Donna was worse than the Doctor when it came to concealing her disappointment that Callie didn't really know her.

"Right," the Doctor said, clapping his hands together. He started circling the TARDIS, poised and ready. "Let's make today even bigger then, yeah? First real trip. Where do you want to go?"

"Shit," Callie muttered. "There's so many options. How do you pick a good one?"

"I've been saying we should go do the twenties," Donna said. "I want flapper dresses and speakeasies!"

Ah, well now she knew what the next episode would be. They were on their way to The Unicorn and The Wasp.

"Well, it's Callie's choice," the Doctor reminded her. "You'll get your Gatsby experience after."

"The twenties would be cool," Callie said. Shyly, she added, "But I kinda want a planet. An alien planet, nothing like Earth. With no humans!"

"No humans?"

"Yeah, you're always going to planets after humans have colonized there, or it's a human tourist site, or something. So I would want to see something different." Callie paused. "I mean, unless you really don't want to."

"No, it's your choice," Donna cut in before the Doctor could say anything. "What you say goes."

With a smug little smirk, the Doctor pressed a button. "Well, then, I know exactly where we should go."

The TARDIS gave a huge shake, throwing Donna onto the floor and Callie into the captain's chair. Callie couldn't help but grin. Let the adventures begin.

A/N: Hey guys! I'm so glad to see you guys following and faveing this story! I've wanted to write my own time-jumping story for a while, and I'm so glad I finally bit the bullet and did it. Please, though, please leave me some reviews! Even if it's as simple as a "good chapter" or "i liked it", it really makes me happy and motivated to write more!