Where was he? What happened? The softness of air and warmth of a sun against his skin told him he was outside. The surface he was laying on was firm, but abit gravely. Compacted dirt, dry grass. Desert? What he was he doing lying down in a desert? Wasn't on a spirit quest or anything was he? Didn't quite like the last one. His head was all fuzzy, memories clouded..he was somewhere else before, wasn't he? Home yet not home. Gallifrey? What he was doing there of all places? Had he been alone? No..he hadn't been alone. He had been with..with..oh come on, was right there on the tip of his brain..no wait tongue..tip of his tongue.
"Uhm..H..hey? You alright?", inquired a voice nervously. A man judging by the timbre, young but not overly so. Confidence issues..Oi Doctor, wakey wakey..open your eyes! Cant lie around here all day can we?
The Doctor slowly opened to his eyes to confirm he was lying on the side of a dusty road. Staring up from where he lay prone in the dirt, he registered a blurry impression of a face before it resolved into focus. A classically handsome young man stood over him, looking down. He was tall and athletic, looking like he was in his late twenties, with deep brown eyes, a straight nose, and straight, short, dark brown hair.. He was dressed in a brown long-sleeve shirt, blue jeans, and black boots.
"Where am I?", asked the Doctor. The Doctor was startled a bit, that wasn't his voice was it? It still had a slight Scottish burr, but was softer and more lilting. Bloody hell! Was there an oxygen leak nearby or something? That's just great. Freshly regenerated and already another problem needing solving! Ugh..typical. Hopefully this wasn't a permanent vocal condition. Mean, always did want to sing like Frankie Vali, but still..not exactly intimidating, if left witha squeaky voice, eh? Oi.. seriously.. Focus.. focus.. moving on now...one thing at time.. Had he regenerated again? If so, how? Why? What happened to him? His mind was still a jumble of conflicting thoughts, crisscrossing like hyperactive trains at a switch track. Talk about spaghetti junction! Wait! Was that right? Focus! Right..must be suffering from some kind of post-regenerative haze? Again? Great?! Always takes abit to settle in, then just as you do, bammo!
The Doctor sprung up from his prone position, now fully awake. Also, felt like still fizzing. The process must still be in prbamboo! Say that five times fast! Oi! Right right, bossy! Hmmm newness! Likey!
Taking a moment to orient himself, something became noticeably clear. Clothes felt looser now. Had he lost weight this time around? Was already skinny before, certainly hope wasn't gonna be a stick man. Again. Oooohh hold up! No not skinner..This new body was shorter now, felt like he lost half a foot this time.
"Clara said to look after you", chirped a voice from behind him, startling him from his assessment of his newest self. Whirling around, the Doctor noticed a young woman standing by a blue SUV. The Doctor approved of the color. The girl was slim, and pretty in her mid 20s, with an adorable innocence to her appearance. Her long wavy hair was brown, accenting her oval-shaped face and slightly tanned skin. She was dressed in lime green skinny jeans, a black tee with the logo "Come to the dork side we have video games" and a graphic of a cartoon gameboy with a smiley face and glasses, and pink Converse sneakers. Over this she wore a lovely aqua blue and ivory Japanese bomber jacket with red piping, and koi fish embroidery.
"What did you say?", asked a befuddled Doctor.
The woman stepped away from the truck to step toward him, stuffing her hands in the pockets of her jacket. "Clara..said she was a friend of yours. Kinda asked us to look after you.", the girl repeated, "She said you might be abit upset or something."
His new acquaintances were definitely American, judging by their accent. Was he in America? How did he get there? Wait..wait. Focus, Doctor..focus. The girl..the girl had said something important. Something about someone had asked them to look after him. The name, she had mentioned a name..what was it again?
"Clara?", asked the Doctor. That was it! Now why did he know that name? It felt somehow familiar and important, but when he tried to put a face to the name, it slipped through his grasp like sand. More blurs. So frustrating. "Clara Who?"