He watched her slowly pace from the door back to the console, her head forcing itself to stay above her shoulders as the scanner reminded them of its existence.
"You hate this place? Does that all mean you've been here before?"
She looked away, staring at the opaque windows, maybe hoping to just see a glimpse of the unknown.
"Yes, Jacob. I've been here before, many times in fact."
"Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why didn't you stop me from going there. Just say 'it's impossible to get there, try somewhere else'."
"Because that would be a lie, and I don't like lying to people. Besides, I keep forgetting why I don't like coming here."
"And why is that?"
The Doctor let herself slump against the console for a moment, just one, before strolling towards her new companion. The scanner still announced its existence.
"I'm what humans would call a wizard, a mystic, a miracle worker. However, the proper name for my profession is a Time Lord. I travel through time and space to help people and explore the universe and its endless bounty…"
She trailed off as she walked back to the beeping console. Not a soul within three thousand light-years.
"How long have you been a Time Lord?"
She turned back to him.
"How long have you been this curious?"
He took aback with her question and immediately responded.
"My father hated my questions so much, he used to tell me that everyone you meet will want to tear their ears off. Frankly, I think it's good for everyone to ask themselves every question about everything. It's like what Alice said: Think of 17 strange things before breakfast. I say, ask 17 questions before breakfast. So, in short, for forever."
She snickered at his memory, the sharp edges rubbed down to soft nubs of confidence.
"My father," she began, "took me to the time of the Big Bang. All I remember was me and my father, nearly blind in our sunglasses, watching the universe begin. He said to me 'my child, when you get your own TARDIS, you must realize that with it, time is in your hands. Never lose time, for what is a Time Lord, when there's no time left'. That phrase always stuck with me; every fight, every scream, every laugh, every look to the stars from a new planet and every decision I've made. Watch over time, until your breath leaves your body."
"Sounds like an intense family business."
She scowled at him.
"I mean it. I've been doing this for years, and every time I come here, I get so shaken up I forget what to do."
"How many years?"
She took a deep breath.
"960."
Jacob tilted his head.
"Nine Hundred- NINE HUNDRED AND SIXTY YEARS?!"
She smiled in flattery.
"Well, when you say it like that, it feels strange. Even more so since I do believe I look around thirty in your world."
She quickly opened a small bag dangling off of the console and looked at herself through a make-up mirror.
"Speaking of which, I like your human make-up. It makes me look so much younger. Truly when you look younger, you feel younger. One of the ladies working the shop said that once. Feels so vain, yet so true."
"But that's impossible! How-"
He instinctively closed his mouth as she motioned it to him.
"Let me have this moment."
She put the mirror away and turned back to the doors.
Don't lose time, her father had said. What would he think now, when time has run out?
"You want to hear something funny, Jacob?"
He didn't answer.
"I'm the last Time Lord. Funny isn't it. There's no one else in the Universe with this thing."
She tapped the wall, with its spinning gears and slow-blinking lights.
"So out there is where my destiny should be, instead of putting myself in harms way. I should be somewhere else, fighting for those who haven't yet the power to do so. To soothe the crying children, to feed the poor, to stop oppression and hate across the entire universe and bring peace to every realm. So out of all of the places and times, anyplace at all,what brings me back to you, old nightmare?"
She found herself speaking out loud, the doors standing still, as if beckoning her to open them.
Jacob watched as she put her hand on the handle.
"Why do we cross our paths yet again?"
He sat in silence as she gripped the handle.
"I've been terrified of your existence. The fact that you do exist, out there in the aether, scares me to no end. When the nightmare ends every night, it always ends with you. Always there, always waiting.
"This time, I want to see your face."
"Doctor…"
He stood up quickly.
"What are you doing?"
She continued.
"I want to see your face, demon. I want to see what I've been afraid of for so long."
She gripped the handle tighter.
"Doctor, stop! The vacuum!"
"The only reason you've been around so long is because I've allowed it. I'm the master of you! No one knows that you exist but me! I am in control here! This one moment exists is because I've let it go on for too long!"
The door shook as she held it tighter.
"You're the one thing I fear, yet I keep you alive to hide from. I want to see what you are! SHOW ME!"
As soon as she opened the door, all sounds abruptly stopped.