Getting to Know You

Charlie and the Doctor ran till they both ran out of breath. "Is he behind us?" Charlie gasped for air.

The Doctor turned around, "No." He coughed, "You are quite the runner, Charlie. I say, are you an athlete?"

"I've always been light on my feet." She chuckled until it turned into a harsh cough.

"You alright?"

"Fine. It's all this running." She caught her breath, "Hey, my apartment's right down here. The man with the laser gun won't be able to find us." She took the Doctor's hand and began to run down the street.

"Ooh, more running. I like it!" He smiled.

Charlie and the Doctor walked inside the Marcus' apartment, it was small, but everything was so neat. Very few family pictures hanged on the wall and there were dishes in the sink. "Sorry if it's a mess, I wasn't expecting visitors, you know. Well, not visitors that you bring home when you're being chased for your life." She laughed.

The Doctor drew a confused look as he stepped inside, "It's very small."

"Well, yeah. But you get used to it after a while. I have to use the bathroom real quick. Make yourself at home." Charlie walked into the bathroom while the Doctor sunk into the couch.

"It's so small." The Doctor muttered.

Charlie fixed her hair in the bathroom mirror and began to cough harshly again, "Ugh, not again." She groaned as she opened her medicine cabinet. "Where are they?" She turned and noticed a bag from the pharmacist on the counter, "Duh." She pulled out a bottle of pills and popped one in her mouth. "Much better." She sighed with a smile.

When Charlie came out of the bathroom, she noticed the Doctor watching the news on TV, "Whatcha watching?"

"I clearly have no idea. Something about politics." He said as he turned off the TV.

"I really don't care about politics. I'm fine if someone is doing a good job of running the country, not running it into the ground even further. But then again, we're not perfect. We all make mistakes. What we think is good is terrible for others. It would be better if they found some common ground."

The Doctor nodded at her with sincerity, "You don't look like a Charlie." He bluntly said.

"Charlie's just a nickname." She smirked.

"Charlie stands for…?"

"Charlotte."

"Charlotte! It's a pretty name! No, not pretty, beautiful! And you prefer to be called a name as plain as Charlie than Charlotte?"

Charlie looked at the man with a blank face, "Charlie's just a nickname. But called me Charlotte if you want, I really don't care."

"You don't?"

"Nope. A rose by any other name would smell as sweet. William Shakespeare."

"I know. I've met him."

"You've met Shakespeare? Something about tells me that you're not the man you seem to be, Doctor."

"You're absolutely correct, Charlie. I'm not human."

"So, are you going to pull out a laser and threaten my life, too?"

"Of course not, dear Charlotte. I'm nothing like Thalos, I'm not even the same species."

"But you're still an alien."

"There are different aliens. Some are good, some are bad."

"Why are you here, then?
"For that." He pointed to her necklace.
"This?" Charlie looked down at the shining emerald. "Okay, what's this? Because I'd feel pretty worthless having to be killed over a tiny, green rock."

"Tiny green rock? Is that you think that is?"

Charlie held it out for him to see, "It's tiny. And green. So yeah, I would think so."

"Come on, Charlotte. I'll explain everything in my TARDIS."

"Your what-DIS?"

"TAR-DIS. It means Time and Relative Dimension in Space. TARDIS."

"Judging from that, you could've said time machine." She smirked.

"Come along, Charlie."

"Wait! I forgot something!" Charlie ran to the bathroom and grabbed her pill bottle, and ran back. "Okay, let's go."
"What did you forget?"

"What? Oh, my keys. They're right here in my pocket." She patted her jean pocket.

"Aren't those your keys on the table right there?" The Doctor pointed to the dining table. Sure enough, there were Charlie's keys.

"Those are my mom's. I was borrowing hers until I found mine, which I did."

"But-"

"Are we going to talk about keys or find out what this is?" She pointed to her necklace.

"Okay, let's go." He led her out and closed the doors behind her. "Americans are really touchy when it comes to keys."