Elena slowly joined Caroline by the center console, her mouth agape as she stared around the enormous room she found herself in. Caroline couldn't help but smile at her reaction, for a short time forgetting why they were in the TARDIS.
*CRASH*
They both quickly turned their heads toward the sound coming from one of the hallways. Caroline and Elena shared a short glance at each other before they ran toward the sound. The lights in the hallway flickered as they walked further away from the console room. Caroline had been down these halls before, but seeing them in the dark and not knowing what the sound was put her on edge. Every muscle in her body was ready, for what, she didn't know.
"Hey, what's that?" Elena said as she pointed to something on the floor ahead of them. Caroline quickened her step to get to it faster. It was one of the Doctor's shoes.
Caroline furrowed her brows, "Why would this be here?" She held onto the shoe as they made their way further into the TARDIS. The lights were now an eerie red, reflecting off the metal walls, making them seem to be covered in blood.
*BANG*
"Come on, that one was close!" Caroline bolted down the hallway until she made it to a huge door bolted shut. She placed her hands on the handle and pulled as hard as she could. Nothing.
"Uugh! We're so close!" Caroline growled as she banged her fists on the door. Elena put her hand on Caroline's shoulder, an attempt to ground her. Caroline immediately relaxed and leaned into the touch. She leaned up against the door and slid down it until she was sitting with her legs sprawled out in front of her. Elena paused before joining her. She made sure their shoulders were touching, thinking that would help to calm Caroline down.
"We'll find him, Caroline," Elena whispered as she placed her hand on her thigh. Caroline only nodded before leaning against Elena's shoulder.
They sat together like that for a while, Caroline wasn't entirely sure. Time could be wonky in the TARDIS. Elena looked to be nodding off, and Caroline wasn't far behind, until she suddenly got an idea.
Caroline shot her eyes open and pulled her legs up to sit with them crossed before her. She straightened her back and placed her hands on her knees. She put as much focus as she could to mentally calling him. If he could get in people's heads, maybe he would hear a call as well.
Elena was jolted awake with the sudden movement. "Caroline, what's going on?"
Without moving she answered, "He has telepathic abilities. I'm going to try and reach him."
"Okay? But you don't have telepathic abilities, so how is that going to work?"
"I'm hoping if I focus enough he will be able to pick up on the fact I need him."
Elena said nothing to that, just put a serious face on before joining Caroline in the seated position. If two people were calling, it might make it even more visible for him.
The Doctor wandered the halls of the TARDIS, blood dripping from his mouth and chin. A blood pack firmly gripped in his left hand and a trail of empty ones behind him. Somewhere in the panic he had lost his shoe, the metal floor of the TARDIS was cold on his bare foot, but he made no move to fix that. His eyes stared forward unfocused and unbothered to the world around him.
Moving forward with no destination in mind he vaguely heard someone calling his name. No. No one would want to talk to him. He was a monster. He brought the blood pack up to his mouth, ripping the plug off with his teeth, he tipped it back and drank it all in just a few seconds. He squeezed it tightly to make sure nothing was wasted and then threw the empty pack on the ground behind him. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and then licked that clean of blood as well. His eyes finally changed back to their natural brown and his fangs disappeared. Without watching where he was going he tripped over a cart full of random things in the hallway. Why was that there? Laying on the floor, he had no motivation to get back up, but was pretty uncomfortable with some sharp object pushing into his left shoulder.
The Doctor grunted as he slowly got to his feet and thought it best just to continue walking. He walked for a while before he made it to a giant door. It was originally installed to keep the Daleks in, but they've been gone for years. Nothing would be able to get him in there. He pressed his hand on the door and it opened with a loud squeal. He slipped inside and it shut with a loud bang.
Inside was a bare room, nothing inside except for the white walls. He shuffled forward and chose the farthest corner from the door to sit in. He put his back to the wall and wrapped his hands around his legs as he stared at the door. No one would sneak up on him.
As time went on he didn't dare move. Leaving this place would make him hurt someone again. Again and again. He was so tempted to feed off of Liz. All he would have had to do was give in. Giving in was not an option. Give in. Giving in would make him a monster. You already are a monster. Giving in would hurt his friends. What friends? Feed. Feed and you'll feel better.
The Doctor brought his hands up to his ears, a desperate attempt to quiet his thoughts. D..ct… He squeezed tighter and pushed himself further into the wall. Doc..t..
"Shut up! I won't do it!"
Doctor.
He quickly looked up, expecting to see someone standing in front of him, but no one was there. It would be impossible for someone to get in here without him wanting them too.
Doctor.
The Doctor quickly jumped up onto his feet pushing off the wall, eyes wide and searching for the person calling him. The voice sounded familiar.
"Hello?" No answer. "Who's calling me?"
He walked out further into the room. DOCTOR.
"Hello?" He tried using telepathy.
"Doctor! You're okay!"
"Who is this?"
"It's Caroline. Mom said you ran off."
Caroline. That name was familiar. She sounded really worried. Caroline… Caroline!
"I'm so sorry, Caroline. I had to get away from your mom before I did something I'd regret." He made his way to the door and placed his hands on it. It made a loud *clank* before slowing opening.
As soon as it was possible Caroline slid through the door and launched onto the Doctor, pulling him in for a massive hug.
"I'm so glad you're okay. When I found your shoe…" she spoke into his neck as they hugged.
"My shoe?" he looked down at his bare foot. "Oh, yeah. I don't know how that happened."
Caroline released him from the hug but kept hold of his shoulders to get a good look at him. He was physically fine, but it didn't take a psychologist to see how much inner turmoil he was going through. He wouldn't look her in the eye and held his shoulders low. She pulled him in for another quick hug. She kissed him on the cheek before pulling him out of the room into the hallway. Elena was waiting with her hands folded in front of herself. The Doctor noticed her and quickly looked her over. Another vampire. He then glanced at Caroline who just smiled at him.
Seeing the awkward situation, Elena came forward with her arm out for a handshake.
"Hi, my name's Elena." The Doctor reluctantly took her hand in his own.
"The Doctor."
"Caroline has told me a bit about you." She glared at Caroline. "Not as much as she should have," she looked back at the Doctor and smiled. "It's nice to finally have a face to the name."
The Doctor only nodded in response. He looked away from both of them down the hallway they had come from. It was a different one than when he came down to get here. The TARDIS must have changed it to help hide the blood bags. He looked at the ceiling, 'thanks old girl.'
Putting a bright face on, "How about we get out of here ladies!" Without waiting for a response he began to stride down the hallway back to the console room. Elena and Caroline shared a look before following after him. The walk back was way quicker than the original walk down the hallway. Timey wimey.
The Doctor immediately started fiddling away with the console, running around it like a man crazed. Caroline laughed as he grabbed a mallet and began slamming it down on some buttons.
"Are we going somewhere?" Caroline excitedly asked.
Shooting her a look, "Depends. Do you want to go somewhere?"
Her smile could not get any bigger, "Hello yeah!" The Doctor smiled back and ran around to the other side of the console and slammed the lever down. The TARDIS began to shake and Caroline and the Doctor braced to the railing laughing like there was no tomorrow. Elena stumbled forward, joining them.
"What's happening?" she screamed.
"This is normal. We're going somewhere new!" Caroline screamed back.
Elena widened her eyes and looked to the Doctor for more of an answer.
"She did tell you it was a spaceship?" he asked over the loud whirring sound.
"Yeah, but why's it shaking so much?" she slightly lost her grip, but quickly grabbed with her other hand so she didn't go flying.
"Where's the fun in that!" he leaned his head back and let out such a joyous laugh, Elena couldn't help but laugh with him. All three fell from the railing when the TARDIS dipped to the side suddenly. Elena was worried, but seeing the Doctor and Caroline still having a good time she put her worries to the side.
They were thrown to the other side of the room once more before they came to an abrupt stop. The Doctor quickly shot up and ran to the door. Caroline and Elena took a little bit longer, but they soon joined him. Before Elena even had a chance to ask where they were, the Doctor was flinging the door open. Waiting outside for them was pure darkness. Which is saying something, because all of them have enhanced vision. The Doctor didn't seem the least bit deterred. He grabbed a light from his jacket and strode outside to explore. Caroline and Elena shared a worried glance before closely following him, as to not get lost.
"Where are we?" Caroline asked as she grabbed Elena's hand to not lose her.
Without looking their way, "I'm not sure," the Doctor replied.
Slowly they ventured further away from the TARDIS. The only light coming from the small flashlight and the TARDIS itself. It seemed like they made no ground as they walked. No matter how far they went, the TARDIS was still close. A constant reminder of the anomaly.
"Doctor, this place gives me the creeps," Elena stated as she grabbed at her arms in an attempt to soothe herself.
"I know what you mean."
Caroline widened her eyes, "You feel creeped out?"
The Doctor raised an eyebrow in response.
"If you're feeling it too, we should leave. There's nothing here. Not that we can see anyway." Elena nodded in agreement.
"Exactly! We just can't see what's here." He pulled his sonic screwdriver out and began to wave it around them. "There's life here. It's all around us actually. The sonic is detecting all sorts of life! We're basically standing in the middle of a jungle. A hotspot for life of all types! How exciting is that?" He was practically vibrating as he spoke, waving his arms around as he explained.
"Okay, but why can't we see anything? Maybe we shouldn't be here," Elena added.
"There must be some sort of perception filter being used. The readings didn't give off that life was on any sort of other light spectrum. We should be seeing things," he paused. "Hmm, come on!" He dashed back toward the TARDIS.
When Caroline and Elena made it inside after him, he was already disappearing down one of the hallways off the center console. Before they had a chance to catch up he was gone. Frowning Caroline plopped down in a seat, and Elena joined her.
"What do you think he's doing?" Elena asked.
"Who knows," Caroline laughed.
"He sure is an interesting one. I understand why you like him so much."
"Yeah, he is something else. Even in those stressful situations he finds something fun in it." Her smile lessened slightly as she thought about everything he;s been through recently.
"He just can't be alone. You should have seen him the other day. He's handling the vampire thing well, but he's got such a history being so old. I'm sure he thinks awful about himself. It doesn't help that he left Donna."
"Who's Donna?"
"Oh! Sorry, she's his friend. She was with him the last time he was here… Well, Mystic Falls," she chortled.
Elena looked deep into Caroline's eyes. "You really like him."
Caroline smiled in response. "Who wouldn't? Try and tell me you don't feel it too."
Elena leaned back against the seat, resting her head against the back. "He is fascinating. To think he's some ancient being, and now a vampire! He just looks so normal. It's honestly kinda weird."
"Don't tell him he's an ancient being!" Caroline laughed, "He'd never let that go."
"Have you traveled with him before?"
"Just once, it was pretty scary. We got through it though."
"Where did you go?"
"Some planet. I don't know what it was called. It was beautiful! I've never seen such a pretty place, but it's gone now. I know it may seem crazy, but the planet basically exploded when we left. We actually used the explosion to get the TARDIS away in time."
"You know that sounds insane, right?" Elena deadpanned.
"I guess, but it's true," Caroline shrugged.
Without saying a thing, the Doctor ran back through the console room and out the door.
"AHA!" He came back inside and beelined it to Caroline and Elena.
"What in the world is that?" Caroline asked while pointing to the thing around the Doctor's neck. It was a bright red collar. It had flashing lights all over it and made a beeping noise every few seconds.
He looked down and poked it a couple times. "Oh, this? It's just a handy little thing we can use to explore. If we wear these we'll be able to bypass the perception filters here and see. Just checked. It works here too!" He pulled two more out of his coat and handed them to Caroline and Elena. Elena grabbed the blue one and Caroline grabbed the pink. Hesitantly they both clasped them around their necks.
"Don't worry, there shouldn't be any side effects. As long as we don't wear them too long we'll be fine."
"How long is too long?" Elena asked.
"Oh, we'd have to wear them for a few days straight," he said dismissively.
The Doctor, without waiting, headed back outside the TARDIS. Caroline immediately followed, but Elena hesitated. She poked at the collar a bit before slowly going outside as well.
This time they were met with a bustling street! The sides of the road were lined with buildings that went so high they touched the clouds. The buildings were covered in brightly colored signs, showing pictures of different looking people or writing. The people on the street paid them no mind, they just went about their own business. Some people carried baskets full of food or were buying jewelry or were sitting at a table enjoying a meal. The people all looked different as well. Some looked human, but others were green or had tails and other extra appendages. One person in particular caught Elena's eye. He had bright pink hair and the blackest skin she had ever seen. He had no clothes on except for a small cloth over his… ya know.
"Don't stare. It's rude," the Doctor scolded.
Elena quickly looked at the ground. "Sorry."
Caroline leaned over into Elena's ear, "I was staring too, so don't feel bad." This made both of them laugh.
"Humans," the Doctor said, rolling his eyes. "I'm assuming we felt like we weren't going anywhere earlier because the perception filter didn't want us in all of this," he gestured around them.
"What is this place?" Caroline asked.
"I'm not sure. Seems to be some type of market. Come on! Let's look around!" They hurried off and stopped at any stand they found interesting. Caroline got some strange blue fruit thing. It was the sweetest thing she had ever had. Elena found herself looking through some colorful dresses, while the Doctor was talking to some people at a restaurant. Everything just felt right.
Caroline made her way to another shop, this one was a small room that had chimes hanging all around it and the man in the back was smoking a small pipe. He was wearing white baggy pants and a scarf, no shirt.
"Hello, young lady, welcome! Would you like to have your fortune read?" His voice had that natural calming effect.
"Sure, why not?" She sat down on a pillow in front of the man and folded her hands in front of her. The man laid down his pipe and joined her on the floor. He reached out his hand and Caroline slowly gave him her hand. As soon as they touched he shut his eyes and leaned his head back. His eyes could be seen darting back and forth under his eyelids. After a few seconds he started to tighten his hold on Caroline's hand. If she wasn't a vampire it would have hurt, but she didn't have to worry about those sorts of things anymore. As soon as the reading started it ended. The man released her hands with a loud gasp. His eyes shot open, now a deep red color instead of their original blue.
"You are in grave danger, young lady! I suggest you leave the wandering box alone. If you stay as you are, it'll only drag you down with it." After he was done with the reading his eyes faded back to blue.
Caroline was at a loss for words. It was obvious that the wandering box was the TARDIS, but how could it possibly be bad for her to be with the Doctor. Yeah, he was having some problems with being a new vampire, but for the most part, he had it under control.
"How could you possibly know about that?"
"You came to me, madam. I just follow the teachings of the 'wise one.' She knows all and tells all to those who follow her." He leaned back against a chair and reached for his pipe.
Caroline nodded her head, not really understanding what he was talking about, but would talk to the Doctor about it. She got up and made her way to the exit, thanking the man for his time.
"Please, take head on what I say. Nothing good will come of you staying the same. Change needs to happen, and soon." Caroline paused, but decided not to hang around any longer. The man was starting to give her the creeps.
Once back outside, she saw Elena and the Doctor sitting at a table drinking something foamy.
"Caroline! Where were you?" the Doctor asked as he held up a third cup for her. She gladly took it.
"I had my fortune told." The drink was surprisingly good. It tasted similar to strawberries.
"Your fortune? So, who are you going to marry?" Elena barbed before taking a sip of her own drink.
Caroline rolled her eyes, "he didn't say anything about my love life. Just some nonsense about change. Don't worry about it." Elena just rolled her eyes with a smile in response. The Doctor didn't seem to think it was as funny. He narrowed his eyes toward Caroline, almost as if he was trying to read her mind.
"He did say something a little weird. He talked about this 'wise one.' Seemed like it was a deity of some sort."
"Hmm, that does sound familiar," the Doctor said, rubbing his chin. "Oh well. I'm sure it's not that important. Anyway, Elena. How does it feel being on a new planet?"
"It's a lot more normal than what I always imagined. I grew up thinking about little green men in flying saucers, but I guess that's what is taught back home."
"Ugh, humans. As you can see there are lots of different types of people. Not a little green man in sight. Not to say there aren't people like that, but not here it seems."
Elena giggled before finishing off her drink. The Doctor also went ahead and finished his drink before getting up and stretching.
"Do you two want to see anything else? Or should we call it. I think this was a nice calm time for a first trip, eh?" He smiled at Elena and rested his hand on her shoulder.
"I've seen enough. Seems like Care got more than she bargained for," a smile growing on her face.
"Me too. One weird encounter for a day is enough for me," Caroline added.
The Doctor clapped his hands together, "Alright! Back to Mystic Falls. Allons-y!"
As they made their way back to the TARDIS through the ever busy street, Caroline couldn't help but think about the fortune. Was the Doctor going to lose it again? Or was she thinking too much into it? The more she thought about it, the more it ruined her mood and the Doctor seemed to pick up on her worsening mood. He didn't say anything, but it was easy for Caroline to feel his eyes on the back of her head. He knew something was up.
Back in the TARDIS the Doctor worked away at the console, while Elena and Caroline watched in fascination. The collars were stacked up on the floor near the door, completely forgotten.
Once they landed in Mystic Falls, Elena hugged the Doctor in thanks for the trip before heading on her way again. Caroline also hugged the Doctor, but a little tighter and a little longer. The fortune still heavy on her mind. The Doctor gladly reciprocated the hug.
"Please, tell me you're going to go get Donna after this."
"I don't know, Caroline. When I'm with you I don't have to worry about hurting you, but with her. I won't have a place to go and be alone. To get away from her smell. It will be a constant craving."
"We were just on a planet filled with people. I didn't see you react at all!"
"Well, even then I knew I would be able to leave as soon as I thought about it."
Caroline sighed, "You need to start trusting yourself. I trust you."
He let go of her first. "What did that fortune teller really tell you? You've been off ever since." He looked right into her eyes, ready for an answer, but it never came.
He sighed, "Fine, but know that you can't hide things forever. I'm the most in tune to that recently."
Caroline backed up and was about to leave for home herself.
"HEY! How about you come with me? I could always use another companion. You, me, and Donna."
A huge smile spread across Caroline's face, "You know I would go with you anywhere, but I don't think it's a good idea for me to leave right now. School is about to start."
"You forget. It's also a time machine. I can get you back whenever. And you never age, so we could be gone for years and no one would know except us."
"But I would, Doctor." He looked like a puppy who just got told no.
"Okay, fiiiine. Just one more trip," she said, holding up her pointer finger.
"Fantastic! One more!" He shut the door and ran back up to the console. "Let's go get Donna. It's been long enough."