Serena collapsed into the familiar seating of her velvet lounge comfortably. Her business trip had taken more hours than planned and apart from her recent lack of sleep, her workload had exhausted her completely. She was more than happy to be back in her run-down Manhattan apartment. Serena's bluish grey eyes trained themselves on the wooden bookstand on the brick wall opposite her, but she couldn't bring herself to leave the comfort of her black, velvet lounge. Sighing, she slowly laid her head on the edge of the piece of comfortable furniture and convinced herself a few moments rest would do her good. Serena closed her eyelids delicately before snapping them back open in shock. She had seen a flash, a face that was mostly blurred apart from the eyes; eyes which had the same bluish tint but held green in combination instead of grey. Serena wondered at the oddity as she did not believe she had met this man before. Certainly she would remember eyes that were strikingly similar to her own, wouldn't she?
Finding she was wide awake Serena pulled her curled auburn locks into a bun simply, reaching into her handbag and grasping her phone from it before walking towards the mahogany door in despair. She had wanted to sleep, but it seemed like more exercise was all she had on offer. Serena took poised steps as she reached the front door open of the apartment building and pulled it open confidently.
I'll only go around the block and then be back to have a nap, she resolved mentally, making a note to check the time periodically. Her resolve halted however when Serena could feel the heat of a stare on her back. In a flurry she whirled around and met eye-to-eye with a woman with hair equally as red as her own. Serena froze; the woman was staring at her strangely. Her eyes held the sense as if she thought she knew something. Serena stared back equally, waiting for the woman to decide on whether to speak to her or not. After a few minutes of silent communication between the two Serena decided to walk away, attachments and friends are things that she could not let drag her down. Not in her lifetime, not anymore. She walked slowly however, giving the woman a few more moments to pluck up the courage to speak to her before she disappeared. Serena was disappointed however when no voice called her back and she continued her exercise around the block with a renewed anger at the rudeness of the person.
Is it not rude enough to blatantly stare at someone right in front of their face as it is without continuing to disregard them further by not giving an explanation as to why? Serena continued to angrily contemplate as she stalked around the last corner of her block and in the direction of her apartment building. I mean, the least she could've said is hi, not stare at me like that. Jesus Christ I thought I looked like a goddamn freak show. Serena sighed as she stalked further towards her building, what a creepy little-
"Hello!" a some-what masculine voice called, scaring Serena out of her wits and causing her to drop her phone, "Sorry about the mess I hope you don't mind," The voice prattled on, "my friends and I were just passing through."
Serena trained her eyes to her phone on the ground and let out a frustrated sigh as she reached down to grasp it. Just when she was about to grab it however, a pair of sturdy hands grasped it and lifted it out of her sight quickly. Serena gave a frustrated growl and turned to look at the perpetrator menacingly, "Hey! That's my-"
Her voice stopped short when she saw the same eyes she'd envisioned just an hour ago. Something flashed behind the bluish green irises, but was quickly replaced with a glint of mischief as the man stared at her, a half smirk gracing his face, "Your phone?"
Serena gave him an incredulous look, well what else would it be halfwit? Thrusting that thought to the back of her mind she immediately plucked her phone from him. After studying him for a few more moments Serena came to the conclusion that the man was a complete nutcase. The suit would be okay if he wasn't wearing a bowtie, that's for sure. Serena thought bitterly, she wasn't in the mood for people without an IQ today.
It took a few moments before the man gave her a strange look, "Is something wrong?"
Serena found the words tumbling from her lips before she had thought them, "Who are you?"
The man seemed to perk up at this question, as if it was his favourite game to play, "I'm the Doctor!" He cried happily, a silly grin placed on his face.
"Doctor Who?"
"Just the Doctor!" He sang.
More like you need a doctor... "Uh-huh. You are… 'The Doctor'?" She spoke slowly, like she was tasting the name as she spoke it.
He bounced on the balls of his feet, "Yep."
"Doesn't seem like a real name to me." Serena claimed, raising her eyebrow at 'The Doctor' quizzically.
The Doctor's eyebrows fuddled as he stared at Serena, "It's a real enough name if I have it though isn't it?"
"I don't think so; you must have another name that you're hiding somewhere." Serena glared, daring the man to contradict her.
Something flashed behind the Doctors eyes again. He concealed it quickly however when he pointed to her apartment building next to them, or at least some sort of building.
"What happened?!" Serena cried as she looked at the 'Benzels' pizza restaurant in its place, "My apartment block is supposed to be here!" She turned to look at the Doctor with an surprised expression. She couldn't have been lost; she'd only taken her regular route around the block.
The Doctor gave a defiant look as he tore his eyes from the building, "No it isn't!" He replied, shifting his hands to his hips in a childish manner, "As you can see, the pizza building is here!"
"Well I'm not lost."
"Obviously you are if your apartment building isn't here."
Serena gave the man an incredulous glare, "I think I ought to know where my apartment building is."
"Yes you ought to."
"And buildings don't just disappear into thin air. It can't possibly just be gone."
"Or rather, if it's gone why aren't you gone with it?" The Doctor fired back, raising a brow and giving her a questioning glance.
Moments of silence passed as Serena looked at the incredulous man in front of her.
The Doctor broke the silence, "Do you think we should check and see why-"
Serena waved her hand and cut him off, "No, I don't think I want to even consider that option right about now." She sighed, staring at what was her shelter and comfort for the past three months.
"Do you need somewhere to go?" The Doctor offered, "I have friends in the area that could-"
"No that's perfectly alright," She muttered, sitting on the curb and placing her head in her hands, "I don't want to be a charity case."
"Well you could stay with me if it were absolutely necessary -"
"You're just saying that because you want to figure this out don't you?"
"Oh I already know why the building isn't there."
"Oh?" Serena lifted her head to look at the Doctor, "And why is that?"
"Spoilers."
"What? Why would something that's already happened spoil something like that for me?"
"Depends on your perspective on the matter." The Doctor answered mysteriously.
Serena scoffed, "You refuse to tell me anything and yet you ask that I follow you home?"
"Well if I told you everything straight away that would ruin the fun," the Doctor extended his hand to help her up, "Wouldn't it?"
Serena stared at the hand like it was a foreign object for a few moments, "Why are you so certain that I'm going to go home with you?" She questioned.
"Well, it's better than sleeping out in the cold." He reasoned, him his eyes pleading for her to take the offer.
Serena sighed, staring longingly at where the missing building was. What other option did she have? The man may seem a little crazy but as far as crazy went he would be better than the rest of the population that lived on the streets. And since it wasn't safe for her at night…
"One night." She agreed, grasping the hand and letting him pull her into a standing position "Then I will be out of your hair." Hopefully for good, Serena amended.
"Right! So here we are," The Doctor exclaimed as Serena followed him up to a blue Police Box on the tallest hill of the graveyard, "Home sweet home."
Serena paused for a moment, her left brow lifting in amusement, "A Police Box?" she questioned as she turned to stare at the Doctor. She thought they almost didn't exist anymore, not since the last one was demolished in the 80's.
The Doctor stared at her amused expression with half-hearted glee; humming slightly he stepped forward to stroke a bit of dust from the blue wood delicately.
"These aren't made anymore, let alone exist. The last one was demolished in 1981." The amusements on Serena's face shifted to confusion as she listened to the senseless man continue humming his tune. Her expression was soon taken aback however, as it suddenly crossed her mind that the Doctor had called the Police Box his home.
"It's not just any Police Box." The Doctor muttered as he continued to stroke the side oblivious to Serena's movements behind him. Her assumptions grew worse as she feared that this man might actually be as insane as she thought.
Her escape route grew to a complete stop however, when the Doctor pushed one of the wooden doors so that it creaked open slightly. Serena became entranced as she stared at the golden light that filtered through the slight crack. She could feel the delight radiating off the Doctor as her feet moved of their own accord, towards the Police Box.
When she had moved close enough to touch it, she found it difficult to tear her eyes away from the light. As she became more curious to the mystery of what was in it Serena soon found the feeling to be overwhelming as her arms began pushing the door open further on its partially rusted hinges.
The Doctor had transfixed his stare on her face in that moment, only to be surprised that there was not the bewilderment gracing her face – something that he had become accustomed to with new guests – but a look of immense curiosity as she stared at the impossibly large space before her cloudy blue eyes.
Serena's eyes widened slightly in curiosity as they gazed at the gold like colour of the interior walls; she was entranced by the masses of perfectly placed circular holes placed into them. The inside of the TARDIS was mostly one big platform with what Serena thought was a weird sort of table in the middle. The table was covered in what seemed like random junk from a rubbish tip. There seemed to be a drop off from what she could see over the railing, between the platform on which she stood and the floor of the room. Serena made a mental note to check out what was under there later. As she looked just past the trash table in the middle of the room she found a staircase that seemed to lead to an upper floor. Serena tugged on the ends of her auburn hands in wonder as her eyes took in the subtle beauty of it all, and she wondered just how big the interior of this TARDIS was.
"What kind of magic is this?" Serena exclaimed, entering the Police Box with timid steps.
The Doctor stepped in after her, a light chuckle passing his lips, "It's the TARDIS."
Turning, Serena once again faced the Doctor with an amused look, "It's the what?"
"The TARDIS."
"I'm guessing that's either from another language or it's an acronym." Serena guessed as she began to circle a round table of odd bits and bobs in the centre of the room.
The Doctor leaned on the table with ease as he gazed after the young lady in curiosity, "Time And Relative Dimensions In Space" he declared, absentmindedly toying with a joystick on the panel.
Serena hummed in response to his statement, "So an acronym then."
The Doctor smiled slightly at her resolution.
"So what is this place?" Serena asked, now rapidly circling the panels whilst laughing with glee. When she finally came to a stop she turned to the Doctor with a curious expression and asked, "What does it do?"
At this the Doctor perked up immediately, with a wide grin and bright eyes he skipped to Serena ecstatically.
"It's a time machine!" He exclaimed grasping the control panel to steady his slide until he was just out of the young girls reach, "Anywhere in time and space just right outside those doors."
Serena stared entrancedly at the Doctor; she knew time travel was possible but that you needed a machine to do it, she didn't know.
"You need a machine for time travel?" She questioned, staring at the Doctors grinning face.
The Doctor returned her questioning stare with furrowed eyebrows; "Of course! There really can't be any other way, scientifically I mean."
Serena gave a small laugh at his expense, before turning and viewing the room around her, "It's awfully big to be in a box so small." She replied cheekily, grinning at the surroundings she saw.
"Yes, well isn't there a better way to say that?" The Doctor cheekily replied, acting as if he was toying with the bits and bobs on what Serena now guessed to be as the console of the machine as he subtly dropped the hint.
"Yes but something tells me that's what you want to hear."
"What's wrong with that? It's one of my favourite parts!" He pouted, pleading with Serena through his blue green eyes.
Serena sighed as she picked up an old styled and yellowed telephone from the console, holding it up to her ear as she spoke resignedly, "It's bigger on the inside."
She watched as the Doctor giggled with glee at his triumph and began racing around the console, fiddling with the bits and bobs as he went. The TARDIS began to shake and Serena quickly backed up to cling to one of the rails around the room with fear.
"What are you doing?!" She exclaimed, gripping the cool metal harder in her fingers.
The Doctor paused at a large flip switch as he stared at Serena and stated with a wide grin, "Travelling."
He then pulled the switch down and the TARDIS began to shake so roughly that Serena found it difficult to keep her grip on the hard metal pole.
"So let me get this straight," Serena sighed tiredly as she glared at the Doctor with exhausted eyes, "the TARDIS is… redecorating?" she asked with disbelief.
"Yes!" The Doctor cried, shutting the blue TARDIS door loudly to stop the smoke from coming out, he then continued to use his voice in a whiny fashion as he added on, "If that's how you want to put it."
"Why? The interior looked nice just the way it was!" Serena answered indignantly, glaring at the blue Police Box with distaste and swearing she could hear it laughing back at her.
"Well you see," said the Doctor as he leaned against the side of the TARDIS wall casually, "It's just something she likes to do every now and then." He paused for a minute before adding a childish glint to his bluish green eyes and slicking his chocolate hair back with his hand whilst adding a cheeky, "For fun."
This earned a look of complete and utter disbelief from Serena as she analysed his last little statement in her mind and quickly snapped back, "So it's idea of fun," Serena emphasized with a glare, "is to gas us out of the goddamn room into who knows where?!"
"Oi! We aren't completely lost!" The Doctor reasoned loudly, glancing at the lush forest that was appearing around them through the TARDIS's smog.
"Then where are we Doctor?" Serena shot back with a glare, her white jumper creasing as her arms folded together in an angered manner.
The Doctor stared at the area around him for a few moments before sniffing the air slightly, gaining a roll of the eyes from the woman in front of him.
"Doesn't the air smell a little too fresh to you?" He muttered towards the red-head, grasping at the soft white material of Serena's jumper and pulling her into the lush forest.
"I don't know? I can still smell the smog from the TARDIS." She muttered back bitterly, trudging after the Doctor in her dark jean shorts with resignation before asking, "Is this what you normally do?" she accused, stumbling slightly over a green, mossy rock and steadying herself, "Bring home strays, decide 'Oh hey, I'm going to take them on a journey though time', and then get them completely lost?!"
The Doctor chuckled slightly, brushing off her accusation and stating, "This is definitely Earth, it has to be." Still tugging at Serena's jumper as he took turns examining each of the lush flora around them as if to confirm his thoughts.
For the first time Serena was able to sniff the air around her, letting the fresh sent of pine needles and moss fill her senses.
"It must be very early for Earth if the air is this fresh," The Doctor thoughtfully added, copying Serena's act with the air around him, "I can hardly detect any sense of pollution. What about you?"
Serena began to stare warily at the earth around her, now taking cautious steps as she spoke, "It's definitely some of the easiest air I've even been able to breathe." She muttered, now gripping the Doctor's tawny sleeve in return for some stability as she almost toppled on top of him.
"Right, right." The Doctor muttered absentmindedly; staring entrancedly at something in the distance.
Quickly catching on Serena moved to stand next to the now standstill Doctor, soon realising why exactly he had stopped moving ahead. Her clutch on the Doctor's brown, tawny sleeve began to tighten as she remembered what exactly the object was.
In the distance, placed in a magnificent setting about halfway down the closest mountain, a beautiful white castle had been built.