The Doctor

Charlie sat and waited for her Mum to come back from the shops where she had gone to get Charlie a birthday present. Of course, having been Charlie's fifth birthday today, she thought her Mum already had her present…but no.

And it wasn't very unusual for her Mum to forget either…she always seemed to forget everything these days. And Charlie was more than used to the hundred times her Mother put her mobile in the microwave and cooked it, having not realized she'd done so.

She was sat on the garden swing right at the end of their long, wide garden. They was lucky to have such a beautiful house and garden, and having no friends, Charlie often enjoyed sitting out in the garden alone and gently swinging on the wooden, garden bench she had helped her older Brother make when she was four.

She swung her legs loosely from back to forth, waiting and waiting for her Mother to come home with her present whilst Charlie took in the beauty of their back garden; filled with apple trees, and tulips and roses.

The grass was long and wild, but Charlie liked the way her garden look, especially in night-time like this, with the sparkling stars shining down on her.

Charlie always wanted to see the stars someday. And someday, somehow…she knew it would happen. She had faith that she would travel one day, see the stars like how she always dreamed to.

She may not have had any friends, but Charlie didn't need any friends.

She liked being able to sit around and think properly, by herself. She liked the silence, the peacefulness, the relaxation of it.

Charlie looked around confused, hearing a small but very definite whooshing noise beginning to be heard. She looked about all over the garden; her long, straight, dark brown hair swinging loosely from her shoulder in the wind, her wide, brown eyes searching everywhere in the dark garden.

Gradually, the noise got louder and Charlie's eyes settled on the very back of the garden, just behind her where a blue object started to appear. A box…an actual blue box started to appear, shocking her.

"It cant be!" She gasped in shock, getting up from the swing and taking in the blue box that started to appear in front of her very eyes. The whooshing noise was furiously loud by now-so loud that it almost hurt Charlie's ears a little bit as the box became a clear solid right in front of her eyes-and there was no denying that the sound was definitely coming from this mysterious box.

Suddenly the blue box stopped moving, the whooshing silencing automatically, and Charlie could finally see what sort of box it actually was. Along the top, the words; ThePolice Phone Call Box were written, confusing Charlie.

She had never seen a call box before, and she knew they had been popular a long while ago in the fifties and sixties. So…why in 1992 was there one right in her very garden? And where the hell had it come from!

It had just came from nowhere; Charlie had seen it with her very own eyes and as she rubbed her eyes and looked again, she knew there was no way that she could have been dreaming about this.

She had had a dream about a blue box last night…but it was nothing alike this, and it was in the 60's, dreaming about a young man who wore funny bow ties, and had pretty hair, and a dark haired lady who was very pretty and was his companion.

Even though the box had stopped though…it was like time had frozen.

There was no noise anymore, there was nothing. Just Charlie stood in front of this strange box, without it moving or making any other strange noise.

She took a chance; shyly stepping forward with careful hesitation at first, before stepping forward again with more determination, getting closer to the box. She stepped around her swing, stepping right in front of the box and looking up at it with a careful curiousness.

It looked so amazing; like something you saw in old movies, except to Charlie…it looked so much more amazing, so much more real.

She gasped in fright as the right door suddenly swung open, expecting a horrid monster to pop one of its four headed heads to pop round the door, and terrify the young, scared five year old Charlie.

But…nothing seemed to happen.

For what could have been minutes or hours, Charlie stood there, waiting for a monster to come out and come and get her or something…and then suddenly it happened…………………

Charlie's small body jumped back in shock, a gasp coming flying out of her as she tripped on her own feet as a Man's face popped round the door.

It was him! It was actually the Man she had dreamt about last night…finally here! She shouted to herself in her head; her dark brown eyes instantly widening in shock and alarm. She thought he hadn't been real.

And he looked exactly like how she had imagined him in her dream; with the blue bow tie, the chequered, grey jacket, the blue shirt, and navy blue trousers with black shoes…and the same face too.

It was the same Man with pale skin, mesmerizing green eyes, and the messy, light brown hair too.

His eyes were curious; alight with the emotion as he took a long look around the garden…and then straight back to the small Charlie again. He wasn't smiling; his face was dead serious as he finally stepped around the box, and stepped just outside of it.

Charlie watched him with extreme curiosity as he kept his eyes on her, watching her with a look that a Father might give to a young Child when they are in trouble. This itself made Charlie look away in terror, wondering if she was actually in trouble and why, too of course.

"You there…what year is it?"

"1992." Charlie shot back instantly, letting her eyes find the Man's face again curiously to see why he wanted to know such a strange, random question.

He nodded, finally a smile lightening up the whole of his face. A smile so bright, so kind that it actually made Charlie smile with him too. She wasn't sure what it was about this Man, but…she liked his smile.

"Ah yes…the twenty first century! The best century to be in……would I be correct to guess this was London?" He asked the young Girl smugly, the lucid grin still on his face.

"Ur…sort of…it's just over a hundred miles from London. It's Peterborough actually."

"Oh…I should get going in that case…." he said, starting to walk back into the box in a hurry. "I have a show to see-"

"WAIT!" Charlie had to stop this strange Man from leaving again; he was curious, a little funny and…for some reason, Charlie found herself wanting to get this strange Man to talk again. She had been brought up not to talk to strangers of course, but then, he had just randomly landed in the back of her garden and he didn't exactly look like any other random stranger.

He turned, spinning around in surprise and letting them green eyes fall on the small Girl's face again. She didn't know what to say to get him to stay any longer, so she said the first thing that came into her head.

"Urm…do you fancy some chips? We….have good chips in the freezer." She stuttered out awkwardly, and her heart did a funny little boom in her chest when that same lucid grin lightened up his face.

"Chips? Chips are good."

She skipped back through the garden, whilst the strange Man followed just behind her, asking her a number of important questions as they headed back to the garden. Like her age, and whether she trusted any random stranger she bumped into.

Of course her answer was no.

"Of course not silly…but you don't exactly come across as a normal, random stranger if you don't mind me saying?" She checked, just to make sure that the answer hadn't come across as rude to this Man.

"Well yeah, you'd be right about that." He seemed to force himself to agree.

Charlie skidded to a stop on the edge of her garden, spinning round on the spot to face the strange Man again and ask him the most important question which she had totally forgotten to ask.

"I'm Charlie Stewart by the way."

He smiled; not a crazy, lucid smile this time. It was a kind, welcoming smile. "Charmed, Miss Stewart. I'm The Doctor…and I imagine you've never met a person quite like me before!" He grinned that crazy looking grin again, winking at her as he walked around her, and straight into the house whilst Charlie happily followed him, skipping contently as the two made oven chips from the freezer.

And Charlie and The Doctor talked more about this strange Man and his adventures in what he called his TARDIS.

***