It was lonely on the TARDIS at times. When the Doctor was off with River Song, he would leave me at some planet or other that was perfectly safe and then they would fly off to have some romantic adventure. I mean, I didn't want to complain and I agreed to it. Sometimes I went with them and we just separated when we got to the destination, but sometimes I preferred not to go because they were at romantic getaways. And that sucked when you were alone. Sometimes I even stayed in the TARDIS in some forgotten room away from everything else.
Like I said, I didn't want to complain, but still, sometimes I got lonely, no matter how much I liked being on my own.
"Darling, you must tell me exactly where you get your clothes." I smiled over at River. We had just picked her up from wherever she was. She and the Doctor were going on a date.
"As always, River, your hair is marvelously amazing." I returned to playing with my outfit. I was trying to figure out which bag to take with the jeans and top I was wearing. The Doctor and River were just chatting with each other.
"What shall we do with our lovely child while we're away, sweetie?" River was following the Doctor around the console and correcting his mistakes as he flew the TARDIS. She smiled as we stopped. I grabbed a backpack, shrugging it over my shoulders.
"I'm not a child, River." I stuck my tongue out at her, even though I knew she was kidding. I smiled and she kissed the top of my head. River had been a friend to me, but part of our relationship was certainly maternal in nature. Though, the Doctor was too goofy to ever be a father figure. So no one would call us a family. But we sure felt like one.
"Oh," The Doctor smiled as we walked to the door. "I've gotten our dear Rachel a sitter." I tilted my head in confusion. He walked out the door and I made sure I had my TARDIS key in my pocket. The Doctor and River walked in front of me. When they stopped, I nearly ran into them. I was too busy concentrating on my feet and their shoes to notice the person in front of us. "And here he is." I looked up from the floor.
"Seriously, Doctor? You think that I want to spend a day with him?" I gestured to the familiar man in front of me. "Last time we met, he was rude and conceited and-"
"You couldn't stop talking about him for weeks." River finished my sentence. "My, my sweetie, you must tell me how you pulled this off." She looped her arm in the Doctor's. I rolled my eyes.
"Hello, Dorian." The Doctor spoke and Dorian turned around towards us, but he was confused. "Don't tell me you don't remember us." The Doctor pulled me forward. I looked into Dorian's eyes. He was genuinely unaware of who we were. I smiled. "Well, obviously you don't know us." The Doctor ran his fingers through his hair. "Well, meet my friend Rachel, she thinks you're all cool and stuff." The Doctor pushed me forward.
I turned to glare at the Doctor, but River had already whisked him away for their romantic day. Dorian tapped me on my shoulder and I slowly turned back towards him.
"Umm, are you the Rachel in this note?" Dorian handed me a crumpled up paper. I immediately recognized the Doctor's handwriting. I sighed and read the note. The Doctor pretty much just invited Dorian to spend the day with me and gave him a time and coordinates. "I don't know any Doctor, so I was hoping that if I came, someone could explain it to me." I looked up and smiled at Dorian. It was obvious in his eyes; he was a lot younger than when I met him in Camelot.
"Right, well, I'm Rachel. Rachel Clover. And this is going to be a little complicated to explain." I looked down at my shoes. "Better just leave it. Maybe one day I'll see you again." I started to walk away, but he grabbed my arm. I looked up at him. His eyes were so young and I couldn't get over it.
"Just because I haven't met you yet; it doesn't mean you have to leave." He smiled down at me. I tilted my head, looking up at his face. I didn't have anything else to do, so I decided to comply. I nodded and Dorian and I started to walk, to no specific destination, together. I certainly didn't know where I was walking.
"Where are we anyway?" I looked over at Dorian, who looked just as lost as I was. He smiled down at me and shrugged. I couldn't help the laugh that escaped my lips. He looked around for a second, scanning over the heads of the crowd.
"That looks promising." He pointed in the direction of some lights that flashed even in the daylight. It was a midway full of people riding the Ferris wheel and playing midway games. I agreed and we walked over.
"Get your tickets! Tickets for the Midway! Only four credits! Hurry before they sell out!" The man with a handlebar mustache, straw boater hat and cane was shouting at the crowd as the people passed him. We walked up to him. And I realized, as I rifled around in my backpack that I had forgotten my credits on the TARDIS.
"Dorian, I have to go back, my credits are in my friend's ship." I pulled away from his arm, but he grabbed my hand.
"Don't worry about it. You can pay me back later." He handed his credits to the man and grabbed my hand. The man took out a gun needle thing and took our hands. There was a slight sting as he shot our hands with the ticket.
"Your ticket will last for 24 hours. You may leave and re-enter the park as many times as you like. No outside food or drink. The Midway is not responsible for any injury or illness you may or may not experience as the effect of you time spent here. Enjoy your time at the Midway." The man's voice was monotone and bland, as if he hated his job, but the next second he was calling others to get tickets as well. I looked at Dorian and we both started laughing.
We walked over the line into the midway and through the veil that separated the midway from the rest of the area. As soon as we were through, it was as though the world instantly transitioned to the night. The sky darkened and the lights sparkled.
"You know, this is almost like the Chicago World's Fair in 1893 and 59128." He smiled down at me. "I've been to both. They were amazing, I'm sure we'll enjoy this." I almost didn't hear anything that he said. I was too amazed by the lights and the music playing was just so magnificent. I could barely focus on anything else. My head started to get a little woozy. "Whoa," Dorian's arms reached out and grabbed my waist. "I think the super florescent colored bulbs have given you a little bit of vertigo. Let's go sit down."
"Yeah, pretty lights." I closed my eyes a bit and leaned on Dorian. We sat down on a bench and I placed my head on my lap. "Wow, I am never doing drugs if they're anything like this." I smiled up at Dorian. "I guess it's a bit of a culture shock or something, but it's very overwhelming." I looked back at the lights, more adjusted to them.
"Looks like you're better now." Dorian stood up and grabbed my waist as if to help me keep upright. It was a little strange to have his hand resting there, but it also felt oddly comfortable.
We walked down the midway, looking at what the place had to offer. There were arcade games and small rides. There were also pavilions and mini boutiques and shops. But the main attraction everyone was heading to ride was an incredibly large Ferris wheel. I looked up at the wheel and it strained my neck.
Dorian gestured to the wheel, I nodded and we got in line. It moved quickly because each car held about 20 people. Dorian and I boarded and were pushed to the side. The whole car was like a large glass bubble; see-through with no sturdy floor, just glass and seemingly empty space.
I hadn't realized it when we entered, but as soon as I did, my heart jumped to my throat. My eyes grew three times their size and my hands started to shake. I turned towards the closing door, but it was already shut and the bubble had started moving upwards. I tried to look through the glass in front of me and ignore the emptiness below, but all I saw was the distance between the ground and my feet. Being extremely scared of heights, coupled with the fact that I could see everything around, I silently freaked out.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Dorian glance at me, but I couldn't really look back. I was frozen in fear. Before I understood what was happening, his arm was around my waist and his other hand was grasping one of mine and his head was near mine.
"I'm sorry that this is so forward, but I think you need this. Remember, I won't let you fall." He pulled his head away and I closed my eyes. We went around the wheel once and then the unloading started, which left us at the top of the wheel for a few minutes. Dorian squeezed my hand and slightly bumped me to get my attention. "Just look out for a moment."
My eyes peeked open for a second, but then stayed open a minute longer. Out in the distance, there was a huge field speckled with patches of white. A small smile flashed across my face before my eyes snapped shut again as the wheel lurched to life and we moved.
As soon as we got off the wheel, Dorian's arm was off my waist, but his hand still grasped mine. A crowd had formed as we walked away from the wheel. I guessed he didn't want to lose me in the mass of people. Still my cheeks were blushing a furious red.
We walked around for another hour or so, but eventually we had seen everything that we wanted and decided to adventure and find the field with the white flowers.
A breeze was blowing and the sun was still in the sky as we found our way through the midway and out the exit, into the sunlight and into the field. It wasn't that far off. It felt peaceful and serene and like it was picked out of a fairytale. I sat down on a patch of grass and pulled one of the daisies out of the ground.
"So, how did you, you know, come here?" I placed the daisy behind my ear and looked over at Dorian who was sitting a few feet away from me. Dorian was ripping up some grass and watching as it flew away in the breeze.
"Well I got the note with your name, the coordinates and the time. I just arrived when you and your friends found me." He smiled over at me. I looked back at him.
"But how? You're not some sort of Time Lord. How did you get here? Is it because of that leather bracelet? The vortex manipulator or something?" I gestured to his arm. Dorian looked at his wrist where the manipulator was resting.
"Yeah, I'm borrowing it from a friend, well permanently. How did you know it was a vortex manipulator? Not many people know one on sight." He was looking at me and I could see all the questions in his eyes.
"I've just seen one before is all." There was an awkward silence between us with the breeze blowing by.
"How do you know who I am?" Dorian broke the silence. He stood and walked the two steps closer to me before sitting down.
"Well that's going to be a sort of complicated answer." I smiled over at him. "I mean timelines and all that junk. And you seem like a nice enough guy. I think when I first met you, I don't know. You were having a bad week or something." I smiled and he smiled back at me. "I can tell you that you were older when I met you. I mean, I think I can tell." He chuckled. He was still looking at me expectantly.
"Well, I hope I wasn't too bad." He leaned back on his hands. I chewed the inside of my lip, wondering if I should say anything. Apparently he noticed. "Was I incredibly rude to you?"
"Not incredibly. You just said some abrasive things and you weren't very gentle as you dragged me through the forest." There was a confused look on his face. "We were in Camelot and you saved me from a dragon, then I saved you from that same dragon." I hoped I wasn't telling him too much. I didn't want to rip the space time continuum in half or anything. "But you had your moments of being a gentleman and you helped me find the Doctor, my friend."
"Well I hope I can redeem myself either way." He grabbed the daisy from behind my ear and placed it behind his. He then plucked a new daisy from the grass and placed it in my hair. I laughed at what he did; not completely understanding it. He smiled over at me.
"So, how does a vortex manipulator work exactly?" I picked up the wrist it was on and looked at the buttons. "Do you just type in where you want to go or something?" I could feel Dorian's eyes staring at me as I looked at his wrist.
"Sort of. It pretty much compresses all time and space so you just sort of pop from one time and place to another." He took away his wrist. "Do you want to try it?" I shook my head.
"No, I travel enough through time and space. I mean, I travel with the Doctor in the TARDIS. Plus I have to stay around here so that he can find me when he's ready to leave." I smiled as Dorian nodded his head in understanding.
"Maybe some other time." He smiled at me.
"If there is another time, you've got it." I stopped smiling as the smile from his face dropped. "I mean, I would love to see you again, but the Doctor and I are everywhere. We go from one place to another so quickly." Dorian grabbed my chin in his hand and tilted my face towards his.
"Then I'll just go searching for you." I couldn't stop my cheeks from blushing bright red as he kept his eyes on mine. I had to drop my gaze for fear of intense embarrassment. "I'd be crazy if now and Camelot were the only times I saw you. You're so interesting, I feel this inexplicable need to know you; everything about you." He tilted my head so our eyes met and I smiled, hoping my cheeks weren't completely as red as I imagined they were. He smiled back at me.
Somehow, he had only just met me, but still, he wanted to know everything about me. It didn't make sense in my mind. And yet he was leaning towards me and I was completely comfortable with the idea of him kissing me. But I wasn't at the same time. I pulled my head back and redirected my lips to his cheek.
"I want to get to know you as well; which is why I'm not going to kiss you right now." I smiled and stood up. "Now, you might see me in the future or you might not." I started to walk away. I heard him stand up and walk in my direction. He grabbed my hand and it felt right. "Either way, I want this day to end happy. A kiss isn't needed for that."
"No," He squeezed my hand. "A kiss isn't needed for that." He smiled down at me as we stopped walking. "But, you know my name. I was born in the 51st century on a faraway planet to my mother and father. My whole family is human except that one weird uncle." He chuckled a bit. "There was an alien invasion and I became an orphan. Everything after that is mostly unimportant. I acquired a vortex manipulator and really have been travelling around ever since." He looked down at me. "Is there anything else you would like to know?"
I stood silent, trying to think of other questions to ask. Standing with Dorian in that field felt incredibly serene, but invigorating at the same time. The breeze was blowing and the sun was shining. There were a ton of other things I wanted to know about him. What were his parents like? What was his favorite color, animal, author? Did he have any friends? What were they like? What happened to him right after he had become an orphan? How old was he when his family died? Where was he going to go after I left today?
But I didn't ask. I didn't want to disrupt the serene quiet of the field. Really, I wanted it to go on forever. I was happy where I was right now. Just standing, not running or fighting. Then the thought of the Doctor popped into my head.
The TARDIS engines sounded and it appeared a few yards before us. I let go of Dorian's hand. It was as if the Doctor had read my mind. I smiled at the big blue police telephone box in front of me. The door opened and the Doctor popped his head out.
"Are you ready to go, Rachel?" I smiled and nodded. The Doctor disappeared back into the box. I walked forward, away from Dorian.
"Before I go, Dorian, I just have one more question." Dorian smiled at me as he walked towards the TARDIS and I kept backing away from him. "What's your last name? I never found that out." I felt the TARDIS door behind me. I opened it and stepped one foot inside.
"My last name is-" Before he could say, River had pulled me inside and closed the door. I looked back at her. She just shrugged.
"What? It isn't safe for you to be half outside the TARDIS as it takes off. Trust me, I've seen some things." River smiled and went to her usual task of helping the Doctor fly the TARDIS. I grabbed up all the blankets and pillows from the control room and walked to my bedroom.
I flicked the lights on and dropped everything in my doorway. I sat down on the bed.
The mystery man came back. But everything was wrong. He had never met the girl. So they had to start from scratch. The girl couldn't stop thinking about this man, even as she flew away from him.
She knew his name. And she learned more about his family. He was alone in the world. But he filled the void in his heart with travel. The girl couldn't help but be smitten by this man. He was gentle this time and he almost kissed her. When she pulled away, he respected her. She flew away, though, without learning more.
But she knew he was going to find her.
The Doctor came in a while later. Actually, he danced in with a goofy grin on his face. I smiled and laughed at his expression as he threw himself on my chair.
"How was your date?" I asked, curling my legs under my body and leaning forward, eager to hear about it.
"You know me and River, we just went on a date. We saw you and Dorian at the midway. Not too fond of heights are you?" The Doctor smiled at me. I blushed. "It was good the two of you got out of there when you did. Turns out, the ticket selling man snapped and programmed all the robots to attack the patrons. Of course River and I fixed it." He smiled all too proud of himself.
"Well, that sounds like an exciting date." I smiled at him.
"That wasn't even half of the date." He smiled, but ran a hand through his hair, getting uncomfortable. "Anyways, how was your date?" I shook my head.
"Doctor, I didn't go on a date. He didn't even know who I was, remember?" The Doctor leaned forward in his chair.
"Of course he didn't know who you were. He had never met you before. You didn't kiss him, did you?" His face scrunched up, right around his nose. "I mean, it's all well and good that he finally met you, but please tell me you took it slowly." I rolled my eyes and walked out of my room. The Doctor followed me as I walked into the TARDIS console room.
"You should teach me how to fly her." I touched a few of the buttons lightly, so that I didn't actually push them. My notebook was still in my hand as I traced my fingers along the controls, gently caressing the buttons and levers. "I mean I've spent so much time in the TARDIS already. Shouldn't I know how to fly her, at least a little bit?" The Doctor looked at me for a second before smiling.
"You've got a flower in your hair." The Doctor's hand reached up to pluck the daisy from behind my ear.
"Yes, I do." I smiled and grabbed the flower, placing it between the pages of my notebook hoping it would dry out and flatten so I could make it a bookmark. I put my notebook on my chair and walked up to stand next to the Doctor. "So how do you fly this thing?"
"How about I just tell you what to push, pull, and smack?" I smiled and did what he told me to do. I couldn't stop smiling as I did it because I felt so useful and the Doctor made me dance with him as I did it. Eventually I spoke up, answering the Doctor's previous question.
"I didn't kiss Dorian, by the way. Just his cheek, so it doesn't count." The Doctor stuck his tongue out in disgust. I smiled at the Doctor and rolled my eyes. I didn't want to mention that Dorian would find us again eventually. The Doctor probably already knew. After all, Dorian was looking for me, his kiss, and his four credits.