Chapter 9: "At That Moment"

Jack and Poppy were in the library, presumably Snogging, therefore the Doctor was yet again, alone. He walked the halls of the TARDIS trying to get his mind off of Old Poppy.

He looked at all the closed doors, The Kitchen, The Pool, The Wardrobe, and then Poppy's room.

Something compelled The Doctor to reach for the doorknob, but it was locked. He took out his sonic screwdriver and unlocked the door. He quietly pushed open the door, as not to alert Poppy on the off chance that the two were just sitting quietly reading books.

He wasn't exactly sure what he was expecting, but what he saw surprised him. Her room was extremely tidy, spotless. Her wardrobe was shut tightly, and the only thing not inside it's proper drawer was her Melody Malone book, which sat on her bedside table. He walked over to the book and saw a small piece of crumpled paper folded between some of the pages towards the end. He pulled out the page and unfolded it. There was much writing on the page, some old, some fairly new. Some in pencil, some in ink. He sat on her bed and began to read.

"Dear Katherine Poppy-" the first paragraph read. "This is the story of the Doctor, your best friend. He's a sad man, so take good care of him, and love him well." The rest of the page was filled with all the things he had told her, with empty spots left for things she didn't understand. Something's she wrote made him laugh. "For some reason, he has this odd little hat, he called it a fez. You tease him to no end about this hat, but you really love it." It was odd how she wrote this all as if it was a letter to herself. By the time he got to the last paragraph, he was stunned at how much of herself there was in this.

"You're a very lucky girl Katherine Poppy. You don't deserve his trust. He is a kind man, and you are quite the opposite. But Katherine Poppy, he trusts you. Don't abuse this, or I will make sure you suffer the consequences. He has been hurt, but you can fix this, only if you fix yourself first. So Katherine Poppy I am writing this letter to you to tell you that through him, you will find your true self. Sincerely, Katherine Poppy"

"What are you doing!" A voice hissed.

"Oh, I, um," The Doctor stammered, attempting to hide her letter.

"Give me that." She insisted, storming over to him and snatching away the page. "Why are you in here."

"I, was, um.."

"Snooping?" Poppy accused.

"I... Yes." He admitted.

She glanced over to the door, went to shut it, came back and sat next to him.

"How much did you read?" She asked kindly.

"Um, all of it." He answered. "Sorry."

"No, it's fine." She said quietly.

"Okay." He said awkwardly.. "It's beautiful."

"I didn't write it, I mean, I'm guessing I did, but I haven't yet." She blurted.

"So that's why it's a letter. Future you wrote it to your past self."

"I see. I found it when you first brought me here. It was on my bedside table. I... I don't understand it."

"What don't you understand? He asked her.

"I don't think I could ever fix myself." She whispered, as a tear fell from her eye.

The Doctor reached up and wiped the tear away with his thumb, and at that moment he realized how broken Katherine Poppy was inside, and how she needed him as much as he needed her.

"What troubles you, Katherine Poppy?" He asked. "What is causing such a heavy burden on your soul?"

She wrapped her arms around his neck, rested her head on his shoulder and cried.

"I have done an awful thing." She murmured. "I do not deserve to be here."

"Of course you do Katherine Poppy, you deserve to be here more than I do." He said, gently stroking her back,

"No." She whispered. "If I told you, you would never forgive me, you would drop me off at home and never think of me again."

"I don't think I would ever be able to never think of you again." He whispered, kissing the top of her head.

And it was at that moment that everything made sense, and Poppy knew, she had fallen in love with The Doctor.

A/N: ...

I just...

-Kitty

Oh! And btw, I'm writing a little one shot series that goes with this fic called "The Katherine Poppy Series" and so far there are four I have planned. Two set during this story: "Dear Katherine Poppy" Which is basically just the full version of the letter she wrote herself Which should be up around now and "Fixing Katherine Poppy" which is set after this chapter and should be up soon. Plus there are two or three more which Will be set after the story but I won't tell you the titles because "Spoilers!" ;)

plus: THANK YOU FOR REVIEWING YOUR REVIEWS MAKE ME FEEL LIKE A PURPOSEFUL HUMAN BEING