Chapter Six: The Other Side

Everything was hazy to the Doctor as he regained consciousness after the unexpected turn of events that had occurred inside the TARDIS moments earlier. He expected himself to still be inside the blue box when he finally woke up; however, as his vision started to get clearer, he could see that was not the case. Instead of being inside the TARDIS, he was lying on the ground in the middle of a forest with a young woman wearing a red hood. Once his eyes ultimately came into focus, he saw the young woman was Ruby, the flirty waitress from Granny's Diner…only she was not dressed as provocatively as he last saw her…in fact, she was dressed exactly as her storybook persona, Red Riding Hood.

Her approach towards him was even vastly different than before, appearing less flirty and gentler. "Are you all right, stranger?"

The Doctor was taken aback from the young woman, who seemed more appealing in this form than her cursed one. "Yes…Yes, I'm fine." He sat up, not once taking his eyes off of hers. "And you?"

Red chuckled. "I'm certainly fine, stranger. It's you I'm worried about. You took a pretty nasty fall a mere second ago when you fell from the sky. Are you some sort of wizard?"

The Doctor was finally able to look away from the enchanting Red and up towards the blue sky, seeming a little perplexed. It was clear, judging from Red's depiction of his arrival, that he did not come there in the TARDIS. This worried him, considering how the TARDIS was his only way around the universe; and he was not certain what universe he was in that moment.

"Is this still Storybrooke?" The Doctor asked her.

Red raised a confused eyebrow. "Storybrooke? No. This is the land of Happily Ever After."

"Happily Ever…" The Doctor repeated, processing the name of the land. "Right. Fairy Tale Land…got it." He then got to his feet very quickly and reached into his coat pocket, retrieving his sonic screwdriver to scan the forest he landed in. "I'd better keep a record of this place for future analysis…that is, if I'll ever be able to salvage my TARDIS in time."

Listening to the Doctor, Red was puzzled by his speech. "You speak strangely, sir. Where are you from?"

"Gallifrey." The Doctor instinctively answered, although he quickly realized how Red would seem even more confused. Looking back at her, he attempted to explain himself. "Er…that is, the land of Gallifrey is…"

Red smiled and raised her hands to stop the Doctor. "I get it. Gallifrey is a land that exists above the clouds. I used to hear stories of such a land, but I never knew of the name. Gallifrey…such a beautiful name."

The Doctor was impressed from the fantasy aspect of Red's interpretation of Gallifrey, which – even to him – made quite a bit of sense. "Yes…just like Jack and the Beanstalk."

"Jack and the what?" Red remarked in a quizzical tone.

"Oh…I see." The Doctor uttered, nodding. "Jack hasn't quite climbed up that beanstalk yet. Well, he soon will…and he'll have one hell of a story to tell of the land of…Gallifrey." He hesitated on that last word due to the fact that he was changing the story around at that point, combining Time Lord history with folk tale. "Well, I'll be off now. It was a pleasure meeting you, Miss Hood."

The Doctor was just on his way off, until Red called him back with a question. "How did you know my name?"

He felt like slapping his forehead in punishment of his mistake. "Stupid Doctor, of course you know her name…but she doesn't know you know her name," he whispered to himself, before turning to Red and saying enthusiastically, "Gallifreyan mind-reading! I knew who you were the moment I looked into your eyes!" Of course, this was a half-truth from him. Gallifreyans were capable of telepathy, but only with each other.

Red could not tell the difference, which was why she was so fascinated with this fact about the Doctor. "You are truly a wonder, sir. Where are you going now? If it's alright with you, I'd like to come…as a companion?"

Her request brought an amused smile on the Doctor's face. Little Red Riding Hood: Companion to the Doctor…it had a nice ring to it. It also made quite a bit of sense to him, since Red knew more about the land than he would have.

"Of course." The Doctor acknowledged, still smiling.

Red giggled, clearly excited of this opportunity. She gathered her basket full of food, which she carried for her journey through the forest, and rushed up alongside the Doctor, wrapping her arm around his. "Oh, by the way, what's your name?"

"The Doctor."

"Doctor?" Red smiled and said. "Your name is as lovely as the land you come from, Doctor."

It had to be the most flattering comment that he ever received – or at least one of them. Normally when he told someone his name, it would follow with the question he had been running from his entire life: "Doctor Who?" But Red immediately accepted this name, already fascinated with the Doctor and where he came from. It made enough sense to the Doctor, mainly due to the fact that in this strange world, most of everyone's names were merely their professions.

I believe I'll fit in nicely here, the Doctor joyously thought while traveling with his new companion.