Chapter 3

"Go where," John asked, equally annoyed and baffled, watching as the detective stood and walked towards the door. The Doctor standing to follow him out.

"Come along John," was his reply, then Sherlock was walking down the stairs.

John didn't give himself time to think about what he was going to do. He simply stood; mumbling to himself angrily as he did so. Then he ran to his room to retrieve his gun and tucked it in the back of his trousers. He also grabbed his mobile and wallet off the side table before bolting down the stairs, throwing on his jacket, and yelling after Sherlock.

"Sherlock, where the hell do you think…," but John was yelling at air. The street was completely empty, not a single person to be seen. The only thing to stand out from a typically normal British street was the old blue police box that he had seen earlier. "Sherlock?"

John approached the box carefully. He walked around it twice mumbling to himself, "What are you?" 'They couldn't have gone far, but why on earth would they be in here?'

John tentatively pushed open the door. "Sherlock?" he asked again. But as soon as John stepped into the box his mouth fell open in surprise. "Sher…"

When John stepped into the box he wasn't just stepping into an old phone booth. The room before him was massive with an extremely high ceiling and the entire building seemed to give off an orange glow. There was a large control panel with ever shifting lights sitting up on a large platform above the ground in the center of the room and Sherlock and The Doctor were currently standing around it as they continued their conversation.

"Honestly Doctor, when are you going to teach me how to fly the TARDIS," Sherlock asked, his hand gliding over a few of the panels, his eyes scanning the various buttons and levers in front of him. Then he took a few steps back to lean against a set of railings, pleased to be riding in the TARDIS once more.

"I'll teach you when you're old enough to drive it," The Doctor answered, looking amused. Almost as if they had had the very same conversation before.

Sherlock was going to offer a witty remark in return, but before he could reply their attention was drawn to the door.

"Sherlock," John called again from the doorway trying to get their attention, he still seemed to be in shock.

"Ah, John, what took you so long," Sherlock asked, looking up from the controls.

"What is this," John asked in awe, walking farther into the TARDIS and going up the stairs to join the two by the panels.

"It's my TARDIS," The Doctor answered, "It's what we were discussing earlier."

"But it's huge," John exclaimed, sounding dumb even to himself, now standing at Sherlock's side, "How is it possible? It's just a box, but it's bigger on the inside?"

"No it's much more than a box; it's a TARDIS. It stands for Time and Relative Dimension in Space. It's basically a space ship and she'll take us anywhere we want to go in the universe," The Doctor recited a form of his speech as he had done countless times throughout the centuries. "It's also a time machine."

"A time machine," John repeated. "Like an actually time machine?"

"Yes."

"Well you do know how that sounds," John asked. Now that he was over his initial shock he was beginning to think rationally once again. "It sounds completely impossible."

"Oh nothing is impossible John. You should know that by now," Sherlock corrected.

"Oh and you believe this do you," John asked Sherlock. "You, mister science mind, of all people?"

"Of course, were you not listening earlier? I've seen it work for myself," Sherlock replied. "Many times in fact."

"Is that so? Ok then, well, let's say that this is a time machine slash spaceship. How does it work and why is it so big," John asked.

"It's Time Lord Technology. You see the TARDIS is infinite. It's full of infinite rooms, all connected so you have everything you could ever possibly need," The Doctor explained, grinning, as he always did when he got a chance to explain his brilliant machine to anyone. "Time Lord Technology, to put it simply, does exactly what you described. It makes things bigger on the inside."

"Right, of course it does. And what exactly is a 'Time Lord'," John asked again, he had been doing a lot of that today. Apparently he was the only person around here that was completely clueless of the current situation at hand.

"It was a race of intelligent beings from the planet Gallifrey. I'm a Time Lord," The Doctor answered, his smile suddenly turning despondent. "I'm the last of my species."

"What, you're an alien, is that it," John asked, cracking a smile.

"In a matter of speaking, yes," The Doctor answered, trying his best to recover. "But from where I'm standing you're the alien."

Sherlock looked over at The Doctor and saw the shift. This was dangerous and emotional territory for him. John didn't need to know everything about The Doctor right away, so Sherlock decided it was time for a change in subject.

Sherlock cleared his throat audibly before quickly deciding on the first thing that came to his head, "John, I think it's time you were properly introduced. This is my old friend, The Doctor," Sherlock stepped to the side and gestured towards the man against the column. "Doctor, this is my friend and flatmate Dr. John Watson."

"Ah yes, we didn't get a chance in the flat, pleasure to finally meet you John. I've heard a lot of good things about you," The Doctor said, holding out his hand and smiling once more.

"John, nice to meet you," John replied politely out of habit, shaking the man's hand. "Well now that I'm all caught up, broadly speaking, would either of you like to tell me why we are here."

"Ah, now we're getting somewhere," Sherlock spoke before turning to walk back to lean against the railing. Then he added, "This is when it gets interesting." The Doctor nodded for John to join Sherlock by the rails.

The Doctor then turned his attention back to the controls in front of him and immediately began to push buttons and flip switches left and right, reaching over a large range of paneling as he did so. The Doctor was ready to show off his machine to his new companion.

"Sorry but, what are you doing," John asked as he moved to stand next to Sherlock as they watched The Doctor work.

The Doctor continued for another moment before looking over his shoulder to the two men with a knowing look and calling, "Hold on."

The TARDIS once again became alive, thrumming with the effort to begin traveling, and began to make the same sound that John had heard inside the flat. A whooshing, squeaking noise as if breaks where being left on a car. It was louder than John remembered, but he figured it was only because he was now inside the machine. After a moment of noise where it seemed nothing happened, The Doctor flipped another switch and the noise died down, almost like the machine was put into park.

"Ok, what did that do Doctor," John asked curiously.

"Why don't you have a look," The Doctor replied as he stepped away from the panels and crossed his arms over his chest, giving a nod towards the door. He looked rather pleased.

John looked to Sherlock for confirmation and when Sherlock nodded John began to move towards the door. After a slight beat Sherlock and The Doctor followed after him.

John pushed open the door a little hesitantly. When John had opened the door he had been looking down. The only thing he saw when he looked down was black. There was no concrete from the street, no ground at all. Just darkness and a few flickering lights here and there, and they seemed to be far off at a distance. John then looked up and jumped back about a foot straight into Sherlock out of freight. Sherlock put his hands on John's shoulders and lead him back to the door to stare out over the earth.

When John looked out on the earth he had never felt so big or so small in his life. When he realized that, yes, they were in space, they had moved and everything The Doctor had said was true, and when he realized he could still breathe, he worked up the nerve to stick his head out of the door. John looked out over the Earth, looked at the stars, and he felt tall standing over them. Then he realized how much space there was around him and how big the Earth was, and he had never felt smaller. But one thing John was certain of, he had never seen anything more beautiful in his life.

"Wow," John whispered after several minutes in silence.

"You've been gawking for five minutes and all you can manage is 'wow'," Sherlock asked.

This brought a laugh from John and he answered with, "Yes, it's amazing." After another pause, John asked, "So, back when we were working on the Gollum case when Moriarty first came after you?"

John didn't have to explain anymore, Sherlock knew what he was asking, he always did. "I know very little about the universe. I don't think anyone will ever truly know everything there is to know about it. But that doesn't mean I can't admire it."

John was slightly leaning out of the TARDIS, his hand holding onto the frame, and Sherlock and The Doctor where behind him looking over his head at the vast open area around them. John stood completely awestruck as he witnessed the universe move around him. He had truly never seen anything more beautiful and he couldn't believe he was getting the opportunity to see it.

The Doctor was looking out the door with a look of utter adoration. The view outside his door is the reason The Doctor never stays still for long. The universe is always changing, nothing remains the same for long, and there is always something new to see. And though The Doctor never gets tired of moving and experiencing new things he loves to come back and look out over the Earth, watching it move through space. He loves to look out at the endless stars in every direction around him, wherever he was. But mostly he loves to be able to share it with people, with his companions. He loves to share the universe with the people he cares for most and this was only a small corner of it. Though Sherlock had been many places with The Doctor already thru the years they had known each other, there was still so much to be seen and this was only the first stop in many that The Doctor hopes to be able to share with both Sherlock and John.

For Sherlock it had been too long since he had been here. Since he had been with The Doctor, since he had been in the TARDIS, since he had traveled...since he had been free. And now that he was back he felt like he could breathe again. Moriarty was gone, in a few weeks' time his network would be dismantled with The Doctor's help, and Sherlock would be able to go back to his normal life and to his work. After a week or two off with The Doctor and John naturally. After all, they would be deserving of a break after all their work was completed and they literally had all the time in the world. The Doctor was full of surprises and he never disappoints. Always a new place to travel, to see, there was never a dull moment. And now that John could travel with them there was no telling where the three would find themselves or what trouble they would get into out in the vast universe after they finished their work.

After a few more minutes of silence John stepped back into the TARDIS and turned to face the men standing behind him. "So why are we really here? It can't be to just to admire the scenery."

As John spoke he pulled out his phone with a tired yawn to check the time before realizing where he was and put it away. Without knowing the exact time he still knew it was late and suddenly remembered that he was exhausted from the long day he had had. The adrenaline from the last hour was dying off.

"Are you alright," Sherlock asked him, knowing John was probably exhausted from all that had happened during the day. John tried in vain to stifle another yawn as he answered.

"Yeah, fine, fine. Just a little tired," John replied as he rubbed his eyes. He was still waiting for an answer.

"Let's wait till the morning. It can all be explained tomorrow," The Doctor said, stepping in. He saw that John was tired and starting to wear down fast from today, The Doctor wanted to be of help. "You can even stay here if you'd like, I have plenty of rooms."

Sherlock had stayed in the TARDIS many times over the years. At one point or another he has had to stay for days at a time. He knew the rooms were big and comfortable, and The Doctor would have breakfast in the morning. Sherlock wondered vaguely if his room was still somewhere in the TARDIS. The TARDIS changes and rearranges itself with every Regeneration The Doctor goes through and yet Sherlock had only ever used one room and it never changed, though it may move. He had used the same room, even after The Doctor changed into his tenth form. Sherlock just always assumed the TARDIS liked him enough to keep it. But Sherlock worried that John may not be comfortable enough around The Doctor and his strange new world to be able to sleep here yet and that he may want to go back to Baker Street for the night.

Sherlock looked over to John with a questioning look on his face. "Don't look at me," John responded, "He's your friend. If you two want to have a sleep over that's fine by me," John was smiling as he looked at Sherlock. "As long you're asleep by midnight."

Sherlock returned John a frown in response which only made John giggle. "Sherlock, I don't care if we stay as long as I can sleep." Sherlock smiled again.

"Excellent. Follow me," The Doctor requested and the three proceeded to walk further into the TARDIS.

They took many turns and walked down seemingly endless hallways. The TARDIS truly was infinite and they seemed to walk on forever until The Doctor finally came to a halt in front of a large chestnut colored door.

"Um, One room or two," The Doctor asked, turning to face Sherlock and John.

"Two," Sherlock answered quickly, not giving John enough time to be offended. Then he took The Doctor's place in front of the heavy woodened door. He turned the familiar doorknob and stepped into the indicated room. Immediately he found the room to be the same he stayed in during each of his visits and smiled; he was doing that a lot today. "It's the same room; it's just how I left it."

"Of course, no one uses it but you," The Doctor replied, knowing that it was in fact Sherlock's room and no one else was allowed to enter it.

"Thank you Doctor," was all Sherlock said aloud, but his eyes said so much more. 'Thank you for coming to help me, thank you for agreeing to help me finish this job, thank you for convincing me to let John come with us, thank you for letting us stay here,' the list went on. The only other thing Sherlock said was, "Goodnight Doctor. Goodnight John," turning to each in turn, politely, then he disappeared into his room for the night.

Sherlock entered his room and let the door close behind him with a quiet click. Sherlock could hear whispered goodnights come from the men outside as they made their way further down the hallway to find another room. He carefully removed his scarf and coat, placing them on their "designated" hooks on his door. It was dark, but he didn't bother to turn on the lights, he knew his way around. It wasn't too special, probably about the same as all the rest of the rooms, except for maybe The Doctor's. But it was his room, none the less. He removed his shoes by the door before continuing to walk across the soft carpet to his dresser. It was far bigger than the one he used at home and he knew it would still be filled with his clothes which he stored in it in case of emergency. He had begun keeping clothes in the TARDIS in case he ever wanted to run away from his boring life when he was young and he still keeps clothes for any long term trips today. Sherlock walked over to the beautiful built, dark painted, wooden dresser and he carefully stripped off his clothes till he was left in only his boxers and folded the clothes away to be cleaned later. Beside the dresser was the entrance to the personal bathroom in which Sherlock stepped inside for a short moment to relieve himself. There was a large TV hanging on the wall above the dresser, but Sherlock rarely used it, and he ignored it for tonight. Instead he walked over to his king sized bed, laying down in clean dark blue sheets and pillows and a soft black blanket on top. Sherlock sunk back into his bed, almost immediately falling into a deep peaceful sleep.

Outside of Sherlock's room John and The Doctor continued down to walk before turning into a dead-end hall. Three doors lined the wall on both side and a single door stood at the end of the passageway.

"Go ahead and pick any room you like John. And the bathroom is down at the end."

John walked towards the first door he came to on the right. He grabbed the handle before turning around to say, "Thank you, Doctor. For everything." This was all John said, but like Sherlock he wanted to say so much more. 'Thank you for helping him, for doing what I couldn't, thank you for letting us stay here, thank you for letting me be a part of this'.

"You're welcome. It was nice to finally meet you John and thank you for deciding to stay. I'm glad to have you with us and know it means a lot to Sherlock, whether he admits to it or not," The Doctor explained, still smiling. It seemed to John to be his most natural look. "I'll have breakfast in the morning, but wait for Sherlock and I to come and fetch you. We wouldn't want you getting lost in here afterall," The Doctor gestured around himself, implying the large ship they were in. "Goodnight John."

"Goodnight Doctor," John replied and the two parted ways, with John entering his room for the night and The Doctor turning and disappearing around the corner.

John walked into the unfamiliar room and slipped off his jacket placing it on the single hook on the back of the door. He then toed off his shoes and stripped down to his boxers, laying his clothes on the dresser for the morning since he had no other clothes to wear. Then he lay down, his phone and gun resting on the side table next to him, thankful to be going to sleep for the evening.