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Gallifrey.
Lost.
Gone.
Frozen.
What am I supposed to do with my life? Just, pick myself up, pretend that nothing bad ever happened and live where exactly? On the TARDIS, a space-time ship, for the rest of my life?
I sigh, and rub my eyes. I feel so lost, so alone. And there's no one that can help. What's the point?
Then a thought hits me.
What would my family want me to do?
They wouldn't want me sulking here, mourning over their deaths while I shrivel away and barely eat and barely sleep and basically do nothing at all! They'd want me to live my life to the fullest extent.
"You can do anything, anything at all, as long as you put your mind to it," I hear my grandmother's voice echo in the back of my mind.A tear pricks at my left eye and I let it drop. My life is in ruins. My heart is in pieces. But I could never, ever¸ let my grandmother down.
"Don't worry gran," I whisper. "I'll make you proud."
With that, I stroll out of the bedroom to find the doctor.
"Doctor? Doctor, where are you?" I call.
I know the TARDIS is bigger on the inside, but it literally seems like a whole neighbourhood is crammed inside! I pass the library (gosh that man must love to read), the gymnasium, the ice skating rink, three kitchens and an aquarium. I shake my head, bewildered. How can the Doctor navigate his way around here? It's like a maze.
I walk through the corridors of the ship, stopping at every door and peering in to look for the mysterious stranger who bought me here.
That's when I see the most unexpected room of all...
"There's a SWIMMING POOL?" I exclaim, shocked and amused all at once.
And a swimming pool there was. A giant room, which was so big it was more like a stadium, stood before me. The walls were painted white and covered in blue murals. The designs covered every square inch of the place. The floor was made of wood, the type which had floorboards that would squeak every time you put too much weight on them. In the centre was a giant water fountain that was spurting out water in every direction. And there was the swimming pool. A huge, round circle in the middle of the room.
"Doctor?" I call. Hearing a yelp, I frown and walk forward.
"Hellooooo?"
I see a head sneak up from the swimming pool.
"What are you doing here?" The doctor asks, looking genuinely frightened.
"Er, I just came looking for you. I'm hungry and I just passed three kitchens and none of them have any food in them."
"RIGHT! Sorry – I'll be out in a tick."
I roll my eyes and walk out the door, hungry and in need of a good meal.
IT's been ten minutes. TEN. whole. AWFUL. minutes.
"DOCTOR!" I yell for the eleventh time.
"I'm coming!"
You said that five minutes ago," I groan.
"Did I? i thought it was six!"
"And if it gets to seven I'll cut your arm off!"
The doctor appears in an instant.
"R...ready..." he puffs, breathless.
I laugh silently to myself. If I am going to to be stuck here forever, at least I'm stuck with someone funny. I look at what the doctor is dressed in. He is wearing...
"What the hell are you wearing?" I exclaim.
"What?" He pouts. "Bowties are cool."
"Were cool," I correct him. "Like, ten centuries ago!"
"Oi!" The Doctor seemed genuinely offended. I just smirk and headed to the kitchen, an annoyed Doctor trailing behind me, leaving little drops of water on the floor from his wet (and rather shaggy) hair.
Breakfast is the best I've had in ages. I have five thick pancakes, that are cooked just enough and are shaped perfectly. On top, I have a generous scoop of vanilla bean ice-cream and a drizzle of oozing maple syrup.
"So, Doctor, where in the universe did you learn to cook?" I inquire, my mouth full with pancakes.
The Doctor swallows. "I was in the Intergalactic Bake-off of 3022! Surely you've heard of it!"
"Doctor, I'm from 2054."
"Oh...right..."
Trying to restrike the conversation, I ask him, "So how did you go?"
"Huh?"
"In the cooking contest – what did you place?" I roll my eyes.
"Oh!" The Doctor's eyes shift around the room; he looks a bit embarrassed. "Came second last."
My eyes widen. "You're kidding! But these...these are amazing! Why didn't you come like, first?"
"Turns out the dish had to have been one from your homeland...pancakes are from Earth, not Gallifrey." The Doctor pauses. "BUT, I decided to test my luck and competed the year after, winning third place with a 'Doctor's Special.' Want to try some?"
The doctor grins.
"Why not?" I laugh.
After some mixing and boiling and frying and flipping, some strange aromas begin to drift throughout the room.
"Doctor...why can I smell fish and sugar? What the hell are you making?"
"Nothing!" The Doctor yelps. "Nothing, nothing...it's fine. Almost done!"
I sigh. This Doctor, whoever he is, is magnificent. He has saved me and looked after me for almost three weeks now, and he's funny and clever and...he reminds me of my brother.
On Gallifrey, I lived with my older brother. My mother had died at a young age when she was sent on a secret mission by the High Council. They ordered her to sneak into Skaro, the planet of the Daleks, to retrieve a secret Time Lord weapon that she wasn't even allowed to tell me about! She was on her way back when the Daleks found her. The imprisoned her and exterminated her repetitively, until all her regenerations were used up. It was an awful way to go. Seeing as she died when I was only a Time-Tot, I don't remember her very much. But my brother, Evzen, was there for me. He taught me how to use telepathy. At night, when we were supposed to be in bed, we'd talk to each other through our minds and provide each other with comfort and reassurance. He taught me how to fight. Every morning, just as the day was beginning, Ezven took me down to the caves beneath our house. He would teach me how to throw a knife, how to shoot an arrow, how to fight with swords. He gave me love. My father was a member of the High Council and worked ridiculous hours. He was a man of status and wealth and cared nothing for my brother and I. In a way, my brother was the only family I had...
"Oh my gosh!" The Doctor's words snap me out of my thoughts.
"What?" I blink.
"I just realised...I don't know your name!"
"Would you like to know my name at the Academy, or my other name?"
"Your Academy name." The Doctor nods.
"Flora."
The Doctor's smile widens. "That's such a beautiful name!"
I blush. "Um, thank you..."
No one has ever complimented me about my name before, and I'm unsure about how to react. I brush a stray hair behind my ear and star at the floor.
"AND NOW!" The Doctor bellows, startling me. "PREPARE TO BE AMAZED...HERE'S MY CREATION...OF...FISH FINGERS AND CUSTARD!"
I gasp. "I'm sorry?"
"FISH FINGERS AND CUSTARD!"
I wince. "Yeah, yeah, yeah I know. But seriously? Isn't that a bit gross?"
"No!" The Doctor stares at me in horror. "How could you say... oh just try it!"
"Um, alright."
I slowly brandish one fish finger and twirl it in the custard, uncertain.
"Go on!" The Doctor urges as he sits on the edge of his seat.
I lift it to my mouth and take a bite.
"OH MY GOSH! THAT IS AMAZING!" My eyes widen as the sweetness of the custard and the crispiness of the fish fingers warm my body.
"I know," The Doctor just smiles. "I know..."