The Doctor (because he had the dexterity to make even the most mundane tasks exciting) flounced off the floor with a surprising grace that one would normally find in a ballerina and bolted to the door; every trace of sadness that had been there the first several minutes Melody and him were together had disappeared completely. All that was left was his usual childish excitement that filled Melody with a kind of happiness which she had never felt before. An indescribable feeling that, while joyful, was also pensive: she had never felt this amazing, free feeling which the Doctor gave her. Would she ever feel it again?
"Well come on, then! Don't you want to come see what disaster I've taken us to?" He yelled back in Melody's direction, who was still sitting in shock on the ground. She slowly got up off the floor and patted her hair to make sure her bun was still in place; she was a bit embarrassed about having the Doctor see her looking so disheveled.
The Doctor smiled when he saw her finally standing and made Melody's stomach flutter in an abrupt jolt of exhilaration; in one sweeping motion, he opened the thin, travel-worn, blue door and stepped outside: "Oh, this is fantastic!" he shouted as he disappeared into the unknown world.
And Melody heard no more. A sudden jab of fear ran through her after being left alone in the TARDIS.
"Doctor, wait!" she called, running to the door. She was outside faster than she had expected and her head spun, trying to soak in all the new scenery. Without looking behind her, she closed the door, now frantically looking all around to see where he might be. Melody had expected him to be right outside the door: his iconic bowtie and cheeky smile that made his eyes twinkle like the stars, to be there- waiting for her and only her. And while she envisioned it so easily, so crystal clear and perfectly, her expectations were not reached when she looked back and forth for him. An unspeakable dread ran through her veins.
"Thought that might speed you up," he finally said from behind her, making Melody start with panic-stricken surprise.
"DOCTOR! holy shit I thought you were dead or some creature came out and attacked you or something why would you do that its not even funny! JESUS CHRIST!" she screamed, hitting his arms, legitimately angry at him and close to tears.
"Hey! Watch the arms! I'm very fragile," he said, with a child-like hurt creeping into his voice.
Melody ignored his pleas and kept yelling at him: "I thought you had left me! I thought… I thought I was stuck here…"
"Well I didn't. And I never would. I'm sorry, Melody…" he looked into her eyes, and she saw that he wasn't lying. Although she knew rule #1 (the Doctor always lies), she also knew he had a rule that was never spoken: he wasn't lying when he said sorry.
She looked into his eyes and gave him a melancholy smile as he took her hands in his. When they were apart, they looked similar in age: steady and tender. But together, the differences were noticeable: hers were still youthful fleshy, and undersized, incapable of strenuous work; but she could see that his were aged, worn, and of considerable size. While the Melody knew the rest of him changed, she wondered if his hands and eyes ever did.
"Okay," she said, now showing her real, full and happy smile. He laughed, happy for her being accepting, and she joined in.
"Melody," he said, not looking at her but at the green ocean of grass that surrounded them, "I welcome you to the planet of New Earth! The year is 5 billion and we are just outside the city of New Paris in the New Countryside of New France! That sure is a lot of new, isn't it?" He added at the end, mumbling more to himself than to Melody.
"New Paris?" Melody asked, looking around. All she saw was a pasture of poppies and other flowers and weeds. "Well… where is it?"
"I'll explain that later," he said passively. "So, Melody, since we are here on new earth in this new city, I have my psychic paper," he held up a small brown leather notebook, "and we literally have all the time in the universe, what would you like to do first?"
"How should I know? The farthest I've ever been from home is New York City!"
"New York…. really? Where do you live?" The Doctor said surprised.
"Just some crappy little town in Maryland," she said passively, preoccupied with raking in all the new scents and sights and feelings.
"Seriously?" the Doctor said surprisingly.
"Yeah! Is there a problem with that?" Melody said defensively. She was surprised when she realized she actually missed it a little bit.
"Well, no I love- Maryland, was it? Great… great place… But I suppose we better make the most of it! How 'bout we go and see the queen of New France? D'you think that beats New York?" he said cheekily.
"Well of course it does, but dressed like this? Doctor, are you insane or just an idiot?" she said sarcastically.
"Well-"
Melody giggled at his attempt to answer her sarcastic, rhetorical question. "I meant that I need proper clothing!"
"Oh! Right, of course! Course you did- right- okay, Melody, listen up. Go into the TARDIS, go down the hall, turn left, up the stairs, down the corridor turn right at the first door on your left and then straight down there is a door that says: Wardrobe."
"Awesome- be out in a sec!" Melody smiled and ran inside.
When Melody returned, she was wearing a flowing white dress, complimenting her dark skin. On her feet were a pair of plain yet pretty pumps, a surprising choice according to her personality. Her hair was in the same style but redone to be neater and a pink-colored ribbon was tied around it. The Doctor was wearing the same thing as he was before, but with one eccentric added accessory.
"Doctor, do you really need to wear the fez?" Melody said with a pained expression on her face.
"Yes! Fezzes are cool! And I happen to know that they are the official hat of New France," he boasted.
"I don't care if they are or not, but you look ridiculous! The bow tie and the fez? It's like a cry for help or something!" She pleaded.
"I keep the fez or I exchange it for a Stetson instead."
"Touché," she said unhappy with her loss.
The Doctor held out his elbow for Melody to take. The two started walking through the grass laughing and gazing at the scenic countryside.
"While we are on the subject of clothing," The Doctor said (despite the fact they had been off the subject for quite some time now), "could I ask why you chose such a…" The Doctor trailed off.
"A what, Doctor?" Melody said trying to coax the question out of him.
"Um- err, such a formal dress? It seems- um, a little out of character…"
"Well it could have something to do with the fact I'm going to meet a queen, Doctor. And... I just simply liked it… There's no other reason, really." She looked up at him. She didn't understand why it was such a big deal for him- it was just a white dress.
"Okay… I was just wondering," He said as if nothing had happened. Melody was still perplexed at the odd question.
The pair continued on their walk over the New France country side, now swallowed up in an uncomfortable silence. Melody thought of ways to change the subject. Without thinking, she looked down at her feet sniffing.
"Doctor… that smell is that- is that apple grass?"
"Yes!" he said, bending down to pull a tuft of the rough grass from the dirt. "Genetically engineered grass formed from a small sample taken from earth mixed with the DNA of an apple to give it its scent!" but suddenly his mood changed, and his face contorted as if the scent had suddenly turned sour. He looked down his nose at Melody. "But, how do you know what that is? You said the farthest you have ever been from your home is New York City. And we are here- millions-billions, even- of years in the future standing on a planet trillions of light-years away- and you know what apple grass is."
Melody suddenly realized she had made a huge mistake- her television show would stay a secret- if he found out he knew about apple grass from watching a series all about him, she knew the outcome would be a disaster. She had to fix her fault somehow. "That's correct," she said shortly, looking forward and not slowing her pace.
"But how do you know what that is?" he asked, seemingly growing impatient. Stepping in front of her, hindering her path. She stopped shortly and continued avoiding looking into his ancient, all-knowing eyes.
"Doctor," she finally said, "I will promise you something: I will tell you soon enough. I'll tell you anything you want to know. But for now… let's just say they're spoilers." She knew it was a mistake, quoting her favorite character. But it was the only thing that came to her mind.
The Doctor cleared his throat. They entered yet another period of painfully awkward silence. The Doctor didn't take Melody's arm again. Instead, he walked at a quick pace, forcing Melody to walk at top speed to keep up.
He almost seemed mad at what she had just said. So far, their trip was going terribly. He must be PMSing, she thought, laughing to herself.
Finally the skyline of the city rose into existence just half a mile away from them.
The Doctor stopped his quickened pace and finally looked back at Melody, who he realized looked a bit unhappy. "I'm sorry… again…"
"It's alright," Melody lamented forgivingly. He smiled.
"And there it is! The city of New Paris!" The Doctor said with a silly grin on his face.
"Oh my god…" Melody sighed.
"What?" The Doctor asked suddenly scared by the tone of Melody's voice.
"It's so beautiful…" The Doctor laughed at Melody's astonishment and took her hand as she stared, awe struck at the glistening city. "Wait… Doctor, we have been walking on flat land this entire time with clear skies! How did the city just come into view now?"
"Well, if you thought about it, which you adorable little humans never do-no offense-"
Melody cut in: "None taken-"
Then he continued: "-then you would have realized that in the year 5 billion, there would be so much more fantastic, advanced, brilliant, awesome-"
"Okay, I get it," she cut in, annoyed at his insults.
" Sorry, I just got carried away. And this ingenious technology would include something known as Chameleon walls for disguising cities & them safe."
"Safe from what, Doctor?" Melody questioned him, surprising him at her curiosity; but she wasn't asking out of an intense desire to know: she was panicked that something would come out and attack her at any moment.
"That I don't know yet." He said, now striding toward the city. "But I guarantee you, Melody Pond, we are going to find out today."