Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who, Hugh Grant (thank God), or Barty Crouch Junior.

I smiled as Riley twirled around my bedroom (cleaned for the occasion) in her wedding gown, squealing and practicing skipping in the large garment. It was now the day before the wedding, and this was our version of a bachelorette party. Just the two of us goofing off in my room. The dress had only been delivered to her house the day before, and she needed a place to keep it so Dave wouldn't see it until the wedding. For some odd reason, she immediately thought that my house would be safe. She obviously forgot that the Doctor (we'd convinced her that his given name was John) was here.

"I have a question." I mumbled from my post on my bed, lying on my stomach with my head propped up in my hands.

"Shoot!" She squealed, lifting her skirt to look at her bare ankles.

I blinked and pushed my glasses up my nose. "If you and Dave get to wear Converses, why do I have to wear heels?"

"Cat, you silly little kitten," She cooed, skipping over to tap the tip of my nose. "You're the Maid of Honor."

"And that makes sense how?"

She shrugged, her red hair bouncing around her shoulders. "Ask my mom."

I sneered and folded my arms, dropping my chin into them. Upon the jerking motion, my glasses slipped down my nose again, and I was forced to get out of my comfortable position and pushed them up again.

"You're planning to wear contacts, right?"

I shrugged. "Maybe, I haven't decided if looking nice is worth the irritation."

"If they bug you so much, get some eye drops."

I snorted. "I'd rather not pour cold, wet chemicals all over my already damaged eyes in order to look 'pretty'."

She folded her hands behind her back and started swaying from side to side, blinking at me rapidly through her long eyelashes. "Not even for my wedding?"

I tried to stay strong, but saying no to Riley was like saying no to a dying puppy. It just couldn't be done. "I really hate you."

"No you don't-"

Riley was interrupted as the door slammed open, and the Doctor waddled in carrying a tray covered in what appeared to be tuna sandwiches.

"I've got lunch!" He yelped as he stared down at the food. "Chicken, tuna, peanut butter and jelly, you name it. I've even made some-" Finally, he looked up to see Riley in her dress. "You look beautiful!" He grinned.

As I rolled my eyes, Riley curtsied and muttered a shy thanks, which was odd because Riley didn't get shy.

After setting the tray on my bed bench, he threw himself onto the bed beside me, and excited smile decorating his features. "Where's your dress?"

"Hidden."

"Hidden where?"

"If I told you it wouldn't be hidden, would it?"

He frowned. "Spoil sport."

"That's my name, don't wear it out." I mumbled as I set my head in my arms once more. "You've got a tux, right?"

He made a really annoying whining sound and scooted a bit closer to me. "Why can't I wear my suit?"

"Because I love to make you wear ugly and uncomfortable clothing."

"Like those tee-shirts…" He sneered.

I smirked. "I liked the tee-shirts," I mumbled as I poked my elbow into his side. "They made you look sexy."

"Ah, thank you very much!" He grinned.

"You two are such a couple!"

My eyes hopped from the Doctor's happy smile to Riley's amused smirk, just as the Doctor's eyes did from me. Both of our eyebrows sat in the middle of our foreheads, surprise apparent to my weird best friend.

"And you're both so clueless." She giggled. "It's just like all of those romance novels my mom used to read! Oh, time to play matchmaker!" With that, she lifted her skirt and skipped out of my room, leaving the Doctor and I alone to process what she'd just said.

Suddenly, the Doctor turned to me. "Do we look like a couple?"

"You are kidding, right?" I asked with a raised eyebrow as I held the Doctor's tuxedo out in front of me. "We want you to look like a choir-boy, not the groom."

"It's either this or a full set of dress robes." He snorted, leaning back against one of the thousand racks of clothing in the TARDIS wardrobe.

"Not if I'm involved," I mumbled, throwing the tux at him. "Put it on."

He sneered, but nodded and wandered off to change without me staring at him. Once he was out of sight, I turned and started randomly flicking through the clothing on the rack beside me. It looked like clothes from the 30's. You know, lots of frilly dresses that end at the knee and full suits. I bet the Doctor loved those.

"Hate this thing,"

I turned and caught the Doctor slowly waddling towards me. He was fiddling with his cufflink and his bowtie hung loosely around his neck.

"Something bad always happens when I wear it."

I smiled and slid to his side, reaching up to help with his bowtie as he finished with his cufflinks. "Ah, so you've got superstitions!"

"Well," He smiled. "Maybe."

I grinned. "This tux isn't as bad as I thought it'd be." I mumbled. "You're still not wearing it, though."

"So you want me to wear the dress robes?"

I laughed. "No, that's just a little too close to Barty Crouch Junior for me. But I've got a plan."

"Oh, not more shopping!"

"No, no, just shut up and listen for a moment," I smiled as I reached up again and pulled the bowtie from around his neck. "Take off your jacket." I quickly undid the top button on his shirt.

"Why?"

"Just do it."

He shrugged and pulled the black jacket from his shoulders, leaving him in his white dress shirt, black slacks, and his black trainers. I didn't even bother to try and get him out of the trainers. That was a job for another day.

"Hm," I mumbled to myself, fiddling with his collar. "Different shirt, a tie and you'll be good to go."

He looked down at himself. "You think?" He posed, an amused and silly smirk playing on his features. "Sexy?" He winked and made that clicking sound I loved so much.

I grinned and nodded enthusiastically.

He returned the smile. "We should go, before Riley gets out of the shower."

I nodded, and he turned to go change back into his suit.

Riley and I, both of us clad in our pajamas, were curled up on my couch watching some cheesy romance movie starring Hugh Grant. I honestly didn't like it that much, but Riley loved it so I dealt with it. The Doctor had holed himself up in the TARDIS, hiding from us hormonal girls on an emotional rampage. I respected him for it. If I were him, I would've done the same thing. Hiding is always the honorable choice when it's either that or inevitable death by flying remote.

"No, no, no," Riley cried, throwing yet another pillow at the TV. "Don't do that! She's not the girl you want!"

I sighed and rubbed her back. "It's alright, he'll see his error eventually."

She glared at me. "But they need to be together now," She growled through clenched teeth. "They're perfect together and he can't see that! I hate men!"

Pulling my blanket around me tighter, my shoulders drooped and a tired look came to my face. Taking care of Riley was like taking care of a giant four-year-old.

With that, my mind slipped off. I started wondering what the Doctor was doing in that little blue box that Riley had been ignoring. My guess was that he was fixing something, or breaking it in the process. Maybe he was in the library, reading a book that shouldn't exist anymore. Or perhaps he was swimming (the thought of him in a swimsuit still sent me over the edge). Whatever he was doing, I desperately wanted to be there with him. Don't get me wrong, I loved spending time with Riley, I just loved spending time with the Doctor a little bit more.

I sighed again and reached over to grab a handful of popcorn, only to be disappointed when I found the bowl empty.

"I'll go make more popcorn." I mumbled. I snatched the bowl, wrapped myself tighter in my blanket, and got to my feet. I trudged around the couch and into the kitchen, quickly popping a flat bag of un-popped popcorn into the microwave. Listening to the slow popping eventually speed up, I leaned against the counter and looked out the window at the barely visible blue box. Maybe I could sneak out for just a moment. Tell Riley I was going to the bathroom or something.

Suddenly, the timer went off and I jumped, rushing over to pull the bag from the microwave and empty its contents into the bowl. Then, I turned and went back into the living room.

"Hey, I'm gonna go to the bathroom quick. Be right back."

Riley barely grunted as she ripped the bowl from my hands. I doubt she'd notice I wasn't actually walking into the bathroom, the way she was glaring at the TV.

So, as quietly as I could, I pulled the sliding-door open and ran across the lawn to the TARDIS, sitting in the exact same spot it had been sitting for almost two weeks now. The doors were closed, and the Doctor had told me that they couldn't be opened from the outside without a key. As is the age old story, I didn't happen to have a key.

I sighed, and decided to knock like a civilized person.

A few moments afterwards, the doors opened and the Doctor's head popped out. "What are you doing here?"

I folded my arms across my chest. "I got bored. You really should give me a key, y'know." I pushed past him and inside, grinning as the floor hummed beneath me.

"You should be inside." He scolded me, giving me his serious look.

"But that movie sucks…" I moaned. "I love Riley, but her taste in movies is that of a blind person's."

"You're her host, Catherine."

"And?"

"God, you're stubborn."

"Thank you."

He glared at me, and I glared back. Although this wasn't my idea of fun, it was better than watching Hugh Grant for any amount of time. After several moments of having a glaring contest, he growled and turned away, mumbling to himself as he dropped to the floor on the opposite side of the Console. With a cheeky, satisfied smirk I threw myself onto the white seats and stared into the source of the blue light.

My thoughts moved to Riley, sitting alone in the living room. The Doctor was right, I couldn't just leave her. It was the night before her wedding, after all. But I still didn't want to leave. So, instead of choosing one or the other, I compromised.

"Hey, do you think we could show Riley the TARDIS?" The words had escaped my mouth before I could process what I was saying.

The Doctor slowly rolled on the grating, propping himself on his elbow as he got a clear view of me. "I thought you said that was a bad idea."

"I did, but I changed my mind."

He stared at me for a few more moments, and then broke into a wide grin. "Why not? Plus, she'll probably say 'it's bigger on the inside'. I love it when people say 'it's bigger on the inside'! They always have this look on their face and then they say 'it's bigger on the inside'!" He paused for a moment. "Isn't that brilliant?"

I smiled and nodded. "Absolutely fantastic," I muttered, hopping to my feet. "I'll go get her."

The smile sticking to my face, I ran through the doors, taking care to make sure they remained open. After speeding across the lawn and through the sliding-door, I jumped the couch and spread my arms out in front of the TV screen.

"Cat, move!" She yelled, squirming from side to side. "I can't see! He's gonna tell her he loves her, so move!"

I turned around and poked the button that turned the television off. "Forget Hugh Grant," I grinned. "There's something I wanna show you."

"It can wait!"

"No, it really can't," I stomped over and grabbed her hand, pulling her to her feet. "Trust me, you'll thank me for showing you." I pulled her away from the couch with great effort, and had to work hard to get her through the door.

"But they were about to make-out!" She cried, bracing herself in the doorway.

"You can watch them make-out any day of the week!"

"Yeah, but I wanna see it now!"

I finally managed to un-wedge her and dragged her across the lawn to the TARDIS. She caught the slightest glance of the large blue box and forgot all about her movie.

"I've been meaning to ask," She started, pausing in her movement and staring at it. "What is this thing?"

I grinned. "Just go inside."

"But why?"

"Just do it."

She sighed and pushed on the doors, jumping inside without caring enough to look first. I followed, and shut the doors behind me. When I finally paid attention to Riley's reaction, I didn't get anything. She was acting completely normal.

"So, what'd you wanna show me?" She asked, looking over at me innocently.

My jaw dropped. "You're kidding, right?"

She winked. "Cat, I believe in ghosts, aliens, psychic abilities, vampires, and werewolves, this isn't out of my depth."

"First time I've gotten that response." The Doctor popped out from behind the Console, his geeky glasses and a look of disappointment on his face. "And you didn't even say 'it's bigger on the inside'."

Riley grinned. "It's bigger on the inside."

"Thank you."

Riley nodded, and looked around. "So, what is this thing?"

I jumped to her side. "It's a time machine."

"TARDIS!" The Doctor corrected.

"Oh, let her start with the basics," I mumbled, flashing him a look before going back to Riley. "And the Doctor's an alien."

"So," Her brow furrowed as she looked to me, running her hands through her hair subconsciously. "His name really is the Doctor? Not John Smith?"

I shook my head. "No, but we still need you to call him that at the wedding. My family thinks he's a historian."

She nodded, and caught sight of the controls. I was a moment too late to realize what she was doing, and the Doctor couldn't stop her seeing as he was turned the other way.

So, she had free reign to poke buttons.

"Riley, I don't think that's a good idea!" I yelped.

"Ooh, a lever!"

"Don't pull that!" The Doctor turned around, realizing what she was doing to his poor machine. "Riley, that's-"

And we were all caught in a cloud of black smoke that smelled like gasoline.

A/N: Sorry, had to add in the Barty Crouch Junior thing. It's just been begging to be done since I started writing the story. I couldn't help it.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed it. There's only three more chapters now! I'm thinking I'll finish this off next week and get the sequel up in time for Christmas, because it's kind of Christmas themed. Well, no, it's Doctor themed, with a hint of Christmastime. Albeit, if I put the rest of this up next week I might need a week or so to write some more. I've got about four chapters ready at the moment, but that's not nearly enough. I had almost ten when I posted the first chapter of this.

So, life's busy. It's once again why I'm posting early. Basketball tomorrow, basketball Saturday, and Basketball Sunday. And I think I have it Monday, as well. Yeah, and then again on Tuesday. Then I get a little bit of a break, though. Thank the Lord!

Next chapter is the wedding, I think. And then the chapter afterwards is the reception. Oh, the joy of weddings!

And, I just wanted to thank you all. I honestly believe that I have the best readers in the world. I plan to write a book one day, and I swear to mention all of you because that's just how much I love you. You're all my inspiration, and a large piece of my will to keep going. Without you guys, I never would have gained the confidence to face life head on, and make the best of it. You guys are my world, and there will always be a special place for you in my heart.

I LOVE YOU ALL!

Jazmine