A/N: Thanks very much to the kind review from the guest in chapter two! *throws cookie-confetti on guest* Sorry I keep forgetting to thank you all for your wonderfulness, but I really do appreciate it.
Chapter 4
Soon the whooshing noise pounded through the air, and the TARDIS began to move slightly. The Doctor continued to bob and weave his way around the control panels, while Sherlock and John grabbed onto the handrails to keep from falling over.
"I've set it to random, so even I have no idea where we'll end up!" the Doctor shouted over the noise.
"What the hell kind of time machine has a 'random' setting?!" John yelled.
"I have no idea!" Sherlock replied, gripping the handrail tighter as a peculiarly violent jolt sent the whole floor shifting 5 degrees slantwise. The Doctor nearly fell over, but grabbed a lever and held on for dear life, laughing.
Sherlock watched the Doctor weave around the console, trying to figure out which lever or knob did what, but he couldn't understand the complicated dance, no matter how hard he tried. It seemed to him that the Doctor was just kind of… winging it.
"Ooh!" The Doctor paused for a moment, looking at one of the computer monitors. He grinned to himself, and said "Let's stop here for a second!"
He twisted some more levers, then slowly pulled a knob down, and the sound of engines faded to a dull hum. Sherlock brushed off his coat, and John stood up, groaning.
"Turbulence?" He asked, only partly joking.
"Well, we're going through the Time Vortex, one of the most intense forms of energy to ever exist! It permeates the very fabric of reality, it's literally the fuel for the universe, of course it's going to be a bit bumpy!" The Doctor said, walking towards the door. "But, I saw that we were going by the Calpernium Nebula. You two really have to see this." He grinned and gestured to the door.
"Nebula? You mean we're in space?" John asked. Sherlock started towards the Doctor, who casually replied "Well of course!" The Doctor reached for the door, and Sherlock grabbed his arm.
"Are you insane? If you open that door, the pressure difference will suck us out into space, and we'll all die!" Sherlock said, but the Doctor pulled his arm away and groaned slightly.
"Wow, they never said you were such a drama queen in the books. Of course we won't die, the TARDIS will protect us! Look!" and he pulled open the door with a flourish.
Sherlock was about to ask what the Doctor meant by 'books' but the thought was shoved from his head completely as he saw what was on the other side of the blue doors, staring in amazement at a sight he had never hoped to see in his wildest dreams.
"John..." He murmured distractedly. "You should really see this..." The Doctor grinned widely, sticking his hands in his pockets and watching Sherlock.
John picked himself up, and rushed to the open door. What he saw there took his breath away.
The two men (and alien) stood, staring out into the blackest space either had ever seen, dotted with stars that shone so much brighter, and cleaner than at home. But that wasn't all. No, the most interesting thing, by a landslide, was the giant swirling mass of rainbow gasses. Sherlock could find no words for it, it was so grand, so absolutely massive, he was stunned into submission by the sheer size of the thing, and nearly brought to tears by its beauty. And it was no easy thing, to bring Sherlock Holmes to tears.
Some stars twinkled bravely through thinner sections of the cloud-like celestial body, which was a swimming array of colors, all blending together and shifting slightly, the way wispy clouds do on a windy day, moving slowly but surely. Sherlock and John had never seen anything like it, and knew they probably never would again, and so they stared for minutes, before Sherlock finally said "It's beautiful."
"Yeah." the Doctor smiled. Not a crazy happy smile but a content one, more amused than anything. "That's mostly why I travel you know. Stuff like this, it just takes your breath away." Sherlock nodded distractedly, and John chuckled to himself. He could hardly believe that less than five minutes ago, he had been sitting in his old chair, reading a book, the most of his worries a bored sociopath.
After a few more minutes, the Doctor turned around, and started walking back to the controls. "Well, c'mon, we've got places to be!" He called cheerfully. "Shut the door, please?" he asked, and Sherlock reluctantly pulled the door closed. Then he realized something.
"Wait a second, Doctor, the sign on the outside of the door says 'pull to open'." Sherlock looked at the Doctor questioningly. The Doctor groaned.
"Yes, yes, I know." And then the conversation was ended by the resuming of the screeches and whooshes and bangs coming from the TARDIS as it started up again, whizzing through space.
A/N: Sorry, not a whole lot of action in this chapter- the story picks up in the next one, I promise! It'll most likely be pretty long too. Please review, they bring joy to all, and cookies to you!