The TARDIS made me my own bedroom. At least, that's what Rory said as he and Amy opened a large wooden door into a large, beautiful master suite.
"We've never seen this room before, so..." Rory said, gesturing me inside, "for you."
I felt incredible warmth welling up inside me as I looked, around, because everything about this room said "me" everywhere; the colors (green and white), the decorations (glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling like I'd always wanted since I was a little girl), even the bathroom (a large soaking tub with several delicious-looking scents of bubble bath). Rather speechless, I turned back to Amy and Rory and they smiled back; they probably knew exactly what I was feeling.
"Now, bed," Amy said, shooing me further into the room like a mother hen.
"Let me check your bandage, Hero," Rory added, assuming a professional air and moving closer to examine my covered wound. I had barely felt a twinge all day since the Doctor had started taking me around in the TARDIS.
"You're a good nurse, Rory," I said as he peeked at the wound, blinking in surprise as he did so.
"You're... a good patient, apparently," he stammered, and Amy leaned in to look as well. As awkward as it was to have two people both attempting to get a closer look at my chest, I felt no pain as Rory gently removed the bandage. I glanced down at myself.
Where my wound had been, all that remained was the pinkness of new skin. Apparently it had somehow healed over in one day. I lightly brushed a fingertip across the area; it was a bit sensitive, being new, but otherwise felt perfectly fine.
"And your shoulder?" Rory asked, taking hold of my arm and slowly rolling my shoulder blade around as he spoke.
"Fine," I said, feeling a bit surprised at myself.
"So, erm, do you always heal up so fast?" asked Amy.
"I... wouldn't really know..." I replied, feeling a bit uncomfortable, "I've never been really badly hurt before, just the usual bumps and bruises. They usually fade pretty quickly..."
"Hmm..." was her only comment, and then she looked up with a smile. "Well, it looks great, yeah Rory?"
The nurse nodded, releasing my arm and adjusting my shirt in a professional manner.
"Well, goodnighty night, then, Hero," Amy continued, patting my on the other shoulder. Rory smiled at me, and the two of them began to turn towards the door.
"Wait... um..."
They turned back in sync.
"Sorry, but... what was that... alien... that was chasing you? I mean, I had no idea there were aliens at my school," I said lightly, trying to play it off.
"Well, according to the Doctor," Rory replied, "we apparently trespassed in some way."
"On my school?"
"Yeah, your school has some pretty tough protectors," Amy giggled.
"But..." I went on, "then that would explain why he never looked at me, he was only interested in chasing you away.
"Yup, it was hard to run away, he had a perception field," Rory put in, folding his arms across his chest. Amy nodded, quickly adding,
"An energy shield, makes things invisible or look different."
I nodded, trying to understand.
"So... none of you could see him?"
"Well, I couldn't," Rory answered, "Not sure about the Doctor, though..."
But I could see him... Now I had even more questions, and I wasn't sure that Amy and Rory, lovely couple though they were, could really answer them.
"Alrighty then," I said aloud, smiling politely, "I'm really tired... should probably get some sleep..."
"O' course," Amy smiled, and the two of the them left the room, closing the door behind them carefully.
Leaving me alone with some very confusing thoughts.
xoxoxoxoxox
My bed, comfortable as it was, couldn't seem to lull me off to sleep in the way my body wanted. I tossed and turned in the soft sheets for nearly an hour before giving up. Rising, I walked over to the large corner wardrobe, selecting a nice soft bathrobe to go over my pajamas.
"Thanks..." I whispered to the room. Did I just talk to the TARDIS? I chucked to myself, then returned to the task at hand. I needed something to make my mind realize that it was time for sleep. Not being able to think of anything else, I decided to leave my room and explore a bit. Of course, the idea had occurred to me that I could get lost, so I chose to first head back to the main control room to make sure I could find my way back.
Slowly I padded down the long hallway, taking my time as I glanced back and forth at the side rooms, hallways, staircases, ladders leading into the ceiling... Oh goodness...
I had reached the entrance to the control room and was momentarily startled to see that the doors of the TARDIS were open. It wasn't so much the fact that they were open that surprised me, but what we were apparently flying past; a swirl of glowing particles and distant stars shown outside. A nebula... oh my god... Even from across the room, the little part of it that I could see was breathtaking. I had to see more.
Edging around the center console, I stopped dead when I was able to see the entire doorway. The Doctor was sitting on the floor, his legs evidently dangling out of the TARDIS ad into space. For a moment I stayed very still. I could see part of his face, and he was gazing out into space with an almost... tired... expression on his face. I examined his face for a moment; yes, it looked young, like he was only a year or so older than I, but as I looked at his eyes and where his gaze was staring out into the stars I again got that feeling that he was really much older than he looked... much older...
I jumped as he spoke, "I'm sorry you can't sleep, Hero Smith."
Realizing that I had no need to hide anymore, I slowly made my way over to him until we were only a few feet apart. He kept his eyes on the stars as he went on, "Would you like some herbal tea? I find that sometimes herbal tea is just the thing for falling asleep."
"Um, sure, thanks..." I replied, staring at his feet. They really did look like they were dangling out into space, and I found myself opening my mouth the speak and then not having any good words. The Doctor took his eyes away from the nebula and looked up at me.
"The force field extends out a bit," he said, nodding to the doors, "keeps us in and all that..."
"...Oh," I said, super intelligently, and I looked back at the shimmering lights outside. It was, truly, the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen.
"You're probably wondering why you could see the alien," the Doctor murmured, and I jumped, tearing my eyes away from the view in space and looking back at him in surprise, "Amy came and mentioned to me that you'd asked about the alien, that you seemed worried. I just guessed from there. I am right?"
I nodded, biting my lip.
"Don't worry," he went on, slowly getting to his feet so that he wouldn't have to keep looking up at me from an odd angle, "I could see him too. It just means that you aren't fooled by perception filters. Some human can see right through them, you see."
I nodded again, feeling myself relax a little.
The Doctor straightened his bow tie, taking one last look out of the TARDIS doors before pulling them shut.
"Can you not sleep either?" I asked, looking for something to talk about with him.
"Oh, that... Time Lords don't sleep very much, really, just a couple of hours here and there and we're fine." He smiled boyishly at me, and again I was struck by the age I could read in his eyes.
"Cool," I managed, inwardly cringing at how this man could make me into a monosyllabic dolt. I could feeling myself beginning to blush and was grateful that the light was fairly dim. What the hell was wrong with me?
"Tea, yes?" the Doctor said, turning towards the TARDIS console and opening a cupboard underneath it. He drew out a tea bag and mug. "My secret stash," he explained, fiddling around more underneath all the buttons on the console. He straightened up a moment later and I was shocked to see that the mug was now filled with steaming hot water.
"Tadaaa!" the Doctor cried, handing me the warm mug. How many things does he keep under there, I wonder?
"Thanks..." I murmured, taking a careful sip. The soft taste of herbs and perhaps of a little peppermint suffused my mouth and felt nice running down my throat. I nodded to indicate that I liked it, and he grinned.
"Good, well then," he began, but was cut off by a jarring ringing sound right next to us. We both jumped, but he recovered much more quickly than I and smoothly picked up... the phone I had seen earlier. Judging by the expression on his face, the Doctor was not used to getting calls but was excited all the same.
"Yes?" he said into the receiver, ducking his head slightly like a girl getting her first call from a boy she likes, "Oh really?" He went on, and I wondered who he could be talking to. He remained silent for a couple of minutes while I sipped on my tea. "Not to worry, we'll be there," he said, then crashed the receiver down on the console at me and began pushing the buttons again.
"What's up?" I asked, holding the warm mug to me.
The Doctor grinning, pulled a couple of important looking levers, then replied, "Something... cool."
I smiled in spite of myself.