III
Doctor What

21st Century
Planet Earth
England
London

April's cries echo around the house the following afternoon as she sits on the floor of the hallway, her back up against the wall and her knees close to her chest. She sobs uncontrollable tears, the tears she has been holding beck as she waited for Bruce to leave the house for work. However remembering that the neighbours can hear her through the thin walls, she manages to control herself. Somehow the memory of the day she found out about her parent's death comes to mind.

It was five years ago on her thirteenth birthday. They were celebrating her birthday together in the house. As it struck noon, there was a phone call and her father's mood had changed drastically. Her mother, Suzette was aware of Declan's change in mood but did everything she could to keep April preoccupied. April had also noticed it but pretended she didn't as Declan took her mother into the kitchen to have a quiet word. April tried to listen in to their conversation through the door but heard nothing else other than some mention about a unit and the repeated mention of a doctor. The tail end of the conversation was about a battle, a battle of something but the work sounded inhuman to April she no longer remembers it. Her mother came back into the room to tell her that they had been called into a quick check up with her father's business and that they wouldn't be longer than half an hour. April pretended that she was okay with them leaving but even then she had sensed that something was wrong and something bad was bound to happen. Declan ran his own business to try and sell off his own inventions to other companies. But his business was not that successful and everyone had little interest in what Declan had created. But to stop her parents from worrying about her, she pretended that she didn't suspect anything as she examined the telescope they had given her as a gift. Although the family had very little money, she was shocked to receive such a gift. Her father kissed her on the forehead and promised her that they would return in no time at all, yet the look in his eyes said otherwise. April watched them out the lounge window as they climbed into the car and drove away in a hurry. Once the sound of the car was out of ear shot, April rushed into her parent's room and searched all of their drawers in hope to find something that would at least make it clearer as to why her parents had suddenly acted all strange and where they would have driven off to. But she found nothing other than her mother's payslips from her full-time job at the local supermarket and paperwork her father had written out about his inventions, and a file about some science company called United Nations Intelligence Taskforce. There was a lot that her parents never told her. Declan's work was always top secret and he never spoke about his friends or colleagues. The only friends he ever spoke about were Bruce Fey who was the best man to their wedding, and Harry Summerland, a childhood friend who unfortunately died of illness a few years back.

April really started to panic when her parents had gone for over an hour. But as soon as there was a knock at the door, almost two hours later, April rushed back downstairs feeling somewhat relieved to hear the door but then hesitated once she got to the bottom of the stairs, knowing that something was very wrong. If it was her parents back home, why were they knocking on the door? She knew it was someone else. When she opened the door, she wasn't surprised to see two officers standing there. They were not police officers nor were they from the army, navy or the RAF. They wore black military suits that were rather worn down for wear as if they had just been in a fight. They both wore an identical silver badge over their hearts. It was a circular metal badge with their surname at the top and underneath stating U.N.I.T. The officer's eyes were glassy with tears and panic was evidently shown across their faces, but their voices were very sincere as they delivered the news that her parents were killed in a terrible car accident. April didn't believe it. Knowing the way her parents had acted before they left, she knew that she was being lied to, but both the officers insisted that the car accident was the cause of their death. April screamed out and started to hit the officers, tears spluttering out her eyes as she demanded them to tell her the truth.

She slept in a children's hospital the following nights until Bruce was eligible to take care of her. Being Declan's best man at his wedding, he was given permission to take care of April from then on. However the moment they returned home, the beating started, and Bruce used to beat up April as if it was her fault that her parents were dead. Before her thirteenth birthday, Bruce was a family friend. Years later April fears him.

April's thirteenth birthday seemed like a change reaction to different things in her life. It was the start of Bruce's attacks. It was also the time her nightmares began. The night of her thirteenth birthday and night after night after that, she would have the same dream with the same setting and the same pain when she woke up. Now nearly at the age of eighteen, April is still not sure why she is still alive. No attempts after her first ever killed her. It feels like there is something that is holding her back.

The memory of the day her parents death is still clear in April's mind and she wishes to forget it. But how can she forget it when she doesn't know the truth? Her parents spoke about some sort of battle. Why did they die?

Days pass by slowly and nights seem to pass even slower as April continues to see that beach every time she falls asleep. She sometimes finds herself almost drifting off to sleep at midday but jolts awake in terror once the image of the Black Lighthouse flashes in her vision. As the hours pass, she starts to plan different ways in which she can kill herself. She wants her death to look like a murder so Bruce would get punishment from it. But once she reads through her astronomy books, it keeps her mind off suicidal thoughts for the time being, just as her therapist said.

Soon enough it is April's eighteenth birthday and she feels almost a little proud of herself for reaching her birthday still alive. She tries to remove all thoughts of suicide from her mind to enjoy the day. Early in the morning she lights a few candles and makes a wish that she will go out to see the stars for real. She repeats the wish in her mind three times before blowing the candles out.

April spends the rest of the day sitting on her bed as she reads through her astronomy books. She takes down any notes that may be of use for when she next sneaks out to the observatory. She draws out star charts, mapping out all the stars that can be seen in the northern and southern hemispheres. She then makes a plan to visit the observatory again that night.

As night falls and Bruce is sound asleep in his room, April gets herself ready to leave. She packs a bag as usual, climbs out the windows and runs to Clapham Junction to take the tube to the observatory. All the astronomers there greets her with smiles and a birthday cake which April does not eat. They spend a couple of hours working on the new planet they discovered and run more tests. By four in the morning, April makes her way back home.

As she passes through the cul-de-sac, panic suddenly strikes her when the short high pitched sound comes and goes again. April stops dead in her tracks and turns around sharply. But the man with the long coat is nowhere in sight. April's breath starts to become shallow as she scans the cul-de-sac, expecting something to happen for Bruce to wake up and attack her, just like he did twice before.

However what happens next is something she is not expecting. There is a voice she does not recognise. A low male's voice that seems to be carried around by the cold air. The voice calls out a few times and it can be heard all the way from her house. But the voice does not belong to Bruce.

April remains routed to the spot in the road as the listens to the voice that seems to be getting closer and closer to her. The voice is calling her name.

She seems to be completely alone in the cul-de-sac. But as she turns back to her house she finds the front door wide open. April knows that she mustn't follow the sound but something is telling her that she is safe and that Bruce will not get to her.

Letting curiosity get the better of her, April starts to follow the voice. She finds herself entering the dark house and closing the door behind her. She then walks over to the kitchen. Looking through the window, she sees what looks like a small blue hologram of a man at the end of the garden, standing on the recently mowed lawn, watching her.

April stares at him for a long time, wondering if she is actually seeing what she is seeing, or if she has gone delirious. Surely its a reflection from the moon off her neighbour's television. However the problem is that it is four in the morning and the sky is completely clouded over.

Knowing full well that she is delirious, if not completely losing her mind, April picks up the back door key and walks out into the garden. She stares at the hologram as she closes the door behind her. It feels like by closing the door she is creating a barrier between them and Bruce inside.

The hologram of the man is about twelve inches high. He wears a long coat and a suit and tie. He has white sneakers on his feet. His hair looks full and spiky. He stands there with his feet apart and his hands in his trouser pockets.

Yeah. This is some sort of weird trick.

April glances around the garden only to find that there is nothing around her to reflect this small man.

The hologram and April stare at each other for a long while, both standing at either end of the garden.

"Who are you?" She asks as she eventually takes a slow, shy step forward, although she feels like an idiot talking to something she is probably imagining.

But the man smiles broadly as if he has listened to her.

"I'm the Doctor. Hello." He replies and waves at her. "Sorry to interfere, I'm not exactly sure what time it is but it looks like we're at night. What's your name?" The man's voice is so cheerful April finds herself recoiling in on herself.

What is going on? Has she become so lonely that she's envisioned an imaginary friend?

April slowly walks across the garden, her scowl deepening as she examines the man who names himself as a doctor. Doctor of what she doesn't know. He certainly doesn't look like any doctor she has met before. She kneels down in the grass once she is close to him. The man's face looks quite expectant, almost as if he is expecting her to reply to his question, but the frown on April's face surprises him.

"You should know. You were calling my name." She mutters before touching the hologram, making him fuzz.

So this is definitely real.

"Hey stop that!" He snaps as he turns to the side and starts pressing something she can't see. "You'll interfere with my ship! I just need to talk to you! Just tell me I've got it right."

"April Hollerford." April says in a low voice. Despite the fact that her voice is almost inaudible, this doctor still understands her.

At the sound of her name, the man grins broadly and his posture suddenly relaxes. "Well, hello April Hollerford. It's good to finally meet you!"

"Who are you? And why are you a hologram in my fucking garden?"

"Okay we'll have none of that language," the man warns. "I was a good friend of your parents. Declan and Suzette. I've just come to check up on you and see how you are."

April pauses for a long moment as she scowls down at the man. "They never knew a doctor."

"Well I don't suppose you would have understood at the time."

"There was a lot my parents rarely told me. United Nations Intelligence Taskforce for one. Why they are dead in the first place. I know the story I'm told about the car accident is bullshit."

"That is how they died."

"You should know the truth since you claim to know them so well." April snaps and then there is a long silence, the man looking rather pitiful. "What sort of doctor are you?" She asks as she examines the hologram of this man.

The man looks at her and smiles. "Just call me the Doctor."

"Doctor of what?"

"Just the Doctor."

"Doctor what?!"

"Doctor who."

"Huh?"

The man's smile quickly vanishes. "Sorry," He mutters. "Doctor what is a new one," The man hesitates as he watches April, almost as if he is examining her and trying to make a judgement out of her constant scowl. "Sorry for the inconvenience but what's the date? And the time would be great too."

April pauses a moment. "It's mid April. And it's about four in the morning. Why?"

"Mid April...have you had your birthday yet?"

April hesitates. "It was yesterday."

"Well happy birthday for yesterday! You're eighteen now so that means you have the freedom to live your life away from here," The man smiles once again. "So if I told you to go and pack your bags and runaway with me in five days would you? As a birthday treat."

April opens her mouth momentarily but closes it again as she sits down on the grass and crosses her legs. "What runaway with a hologram?"

"I'm not just a hologram. I'm a hologram of me. I'm in my ship at the moment."

"You're in your ship?"

"Yeah."

"What sitting on the Thames or something?" April mocks.

The Doctor looks thoughtful for a moment. "Of a sort. Maybe."

"What makes you think that I would run away with some man I don't even know who goes by the title of a doctor in his ship?"

"Hey don't mock me!"

"It's all a little bizarre though, isn't it?"

"Look I'm here for your parents. I'm making sure you're okay."

"And I'm fine."

"You're scowling at me, so you're not. And you've got a yellow bruise on your cheek."

"Who are you, Doctor?" April's voice becomes quite impatient as she starts to panic.

The Doctor smiles. "Glad you're calling me Doctor."

"Whatever. Am I supposed to know you because you knew my parents?" April grunts when he doesn't reply. "Why were you running away from here?" She asks. The Doctor looks a little quizzical. "Twice I heard a sound. It only lasted for a second or so but as soon as it was gone, I saw you running away. I called after you but you never got back to me."

"Well I'm always running, April. Everywhere I go. Every city, every planet. I'm running to people, I'm running away from people."

April snorts. "Every planet? This is ridiculous."

"April, would you believe me if I told you my ship is a time machine?"

"Try me."

"Well it is. It disappears one time and place and reappears somewhere else. All across time and space."

April watches him for a moment. "And you expect me to believe that this meeting is accidental and that because you knew my parents, you think that you'll just check up on me and ask me to run away with you just because you have a time machine?" April purses her lips. "It sounds like a story my father would tell me at bedtime," She mutters to herself. "This would be a miracle if I'm dreaming right now."

"I'm only just passing through. Got a little time tracked as I tried to chase something. I'm a bit lost but I guess you could call it fate that I ended up here."

April raises an eyebrow. "If I was stupid I'd think you're a conman."

"Well I can tell you're intelligent enough. You have your parent's bravery and their curiosity. I haven't met many people who are as curious as you are," He then smiles again. "So what do you say, April Hollerford? Will you pack your bags and run away with me in five days?"

April looks down at the grass which she starts to pick. "No," she replies. "Doctor or not, family friend or not, I can't trust you. I believe that you're not meant to be here and I can see that you're lonely and think that some random girl would run away with you. Fat chance, Doctor What!" April then flinches at the sound of Bruce storming down the stairs from inside the house. She curses under her breath as she rushes to her feet, but before she can reach the kitchen, Bruce bursts open the back door and lets out an almighty roar, accusing her for talking to someone.

April, feeling a little more confident after meeting the strange hologram, is strong and tells Bruce that she wasn't talking to anyone and that he was only imagining it. As Bruce raises his fist to hit her, April closes her eyes, waiting for the blow, but then nothing happens. Bruce releases his grip and then goes back into the house without another word. April stands on the spot, speechless, wondering why Bruce didn't hit her.

April turns around to see the Doctor still there, looking rather confused and horrified before he vanishes. She runs to the spot, bends over, pats the grass and softly calls for him but he never returns. April stands up and looks at her surroundings and the clouds above her. It then hits her that her parents had never mentioned to her about this man.

Right now, April has never felt so far away from the life her parents lived.