Youngest: The Physician and The Tyrant

by Komizi

"There was no getting around how strange it was to find a nineteenth century relic in one's attic. All the same, I knew my interest was turning into an obsession. I just couldn't escape the feeling that there was more to this Police Box then met the eye."

4. Chapter 4

So the college semester has begun. You can expect my next update during Christmas break (crying into pillow).

I sat on the railing, watching the Doctor run in circles around the console. "Where are we going?"

"The old wild west!"

"Wait, the American wild west?" I asked in excitement.

"No, the Nuranean one."

"Oh!"

"No," he chuckled, "actually the American one. Although the Nuraneans did have a wild west. I was awful. Never go there."

"Noted! I will never go to the Nuranean wild west."

The Doctor continued to lecture on Nuranean history and I just smiled and half-listened.

When I had first left to adventure with the Doctor, I had been reserved around him. It was strange starting a friendship knowing the dark side of the person first. But over the last three months I'd gotten to see his courage and compassion, his kindness and wisdom, his wild love for the universe, and his insane sense of fun. I never forgot who he was, but this Timelord – this crazy old man with the joy of a five-year-old – had become my dearest friend.

"You know," I interrupted the Doctor when he stopped for a breath, "if we're going to the mid-1800s we should really do a costume change."

"Right! I've got just the thing, partner!" he grabbed my hand and we marched through the TARDIS to the wardrobe.

"Do-do-do-doo! Do-do-dooo!" we sang the Indiana Jones theme song loudly as we went. We reached the staircase and slid down the long, spiraling railing.

"Hey! You know what we should do?" I grabbed the Doctor's arm as he slid of the railing behind me. "After this we should go meet John Williams!"

"We should!" the Doctor agreed, as enthusiastic as if I'd suggested we witness the creation of the universe. "He's brilliant; you'll love him. Last time he gave me his baton as a keepsake. After I broke it. But first, the American West!" He threw open a chest of scarves and hats and dug around for a bit.

"I will wear this," the Doctor pulled out a weather-beaten leather cowboy hat and put it on, "and you –" he rummaged a bit more, "can wear this!" he produced a monstrosity in the shape of a cowboy hat: pink and covered in glitter.

"No." I said flatly.

"Come on," he whined, "look, it sparkles!"

"That is a child's hat made of who knows what that you bought at a rodeo. In Maine. Who goes to a rodeo in Maine?"

"Look, I don't spend a lot of time in America."

I grinned mischievously, "Tell you what though –" I snatched the nice cowboy hat off the Doctor's head and put it on my own head.

"Nuh uh!" the Doctor tried to take it back but I dashed out of his reach.

"I think you should wear the pink hat if you like it so much."

"But it's –" the Doctor stopped short.

"It's what?" I prompted evilly.

He opened and closed his mouth a few times before finishing lamely, "…girly."

I shook my head. "You know, I want to call 'sexist', but it's certainly not manly."

The Doctor inspected the hat in question. "It is pretty awful."

"Thank you!"

Now he got a wicked grin on his face. "But I'll wear it."

"Wait, you will?"

"Under one condition: you wear it when we meet John Williams."

"Oof." I debated internally before deciding, "It'll be worth it to see wearing that thing in front of real cowboys." We shook on it.

A horse outside a saloon twitched its tail against flies and blinked dozily in the Texas heat. Suddenly gunshots and yelling from inside the building frightened it and it reared up, screaming and kicking the fence. A tall man and a tiny girl burst from the saloon running full speed. They were pursued by ten men with mustaches and boots.

"Git the feller in the pink hat!" One man hollered.

The girl held her old leather hat against her head with one hand and held the man's hand with the other as they ran for dear life. They put on an extra burst of speed when they came in sight of a blue box, but the man tripped dodging a bullet. The girl tugged him forward, neither of them noticing the pink hat fluttering to the ground.

They reached the box, scaring a lizard that had taken refuge in the box's shade. The man fumbled with the key, unable to get it into the lock.

"Doctor!" the girl yelled as their pursuers closed in. "Hurry upmph!"

The door opened and they both fell inside.

I kicked the door shut as bullets hit the TARDIS. The Doctor and I stared at each other wide-eyed and panting.

"You ok?" I gasped.

"Yeah!" he wheezed. "Never better!"

We sat on the floor looking at each other another moment, then I started to laugh. He stared at me for a second in disbelief.

"What's funny?"

I was choking on my own laughter and couldn't respond.

"Oi! I could have died!" he said indignantly, but a smile tugged at his mouth.

I howled, tears running down my face.

"They were angry!"

"Cause your poker skills stink!" I managed.

"My poker skills? What about yours?" He poked me.

I brushed his hand away, finally getting control of myself. "Nothing compared to the embarrassment of yours."

The Doctor stood and brushed himself off. I held out my hand for him to help me up but he blatantly ignored me.

"Anyway," I stood, "it may not have been the poker at all. The real culprit was probably your silly hat."

"My hat!" the Doctor clapped his head. "It must have fallen off while we were running!"

"Bummer," I tried to sound sympathetic.

"I'm gonna go get it," the Doctor opened the door only to slam it shut again against an array of bullets.

"Well?" I crossed my arms. "John Williams?"

The Doctor tried to scowl at me but gave in with a smile. I grabbed one lever and he grabbed another.

"One, two, three!" he yelled. We pulled the levers and we were off.

That night I lay awake in bed long after telling the Doctor goodnight. The TARDIS had made this room for me as a gift and I loved everything about it. First of all, she had put it next to the library – one of my favorite places to hang out on mine and the Doctor's chill days. But the interior of the room was what made it really special. The room was small, and always felt cozy, but somehow the walls never ran out of space, no matter how many of my pictures I put up. I still drew sometimes – mostly when the Doctor got distracted with one of his pet projects – and I'd decorated my room with illustrations of our adventures together.

All the colors in the room were a shade of blue – a tribute to the TARDIS herself. One could call it vanity on her part, but this room was for me – to reflect what I loved – and I loved the TARDIS.

There a large window in the wall opposite the door and the TARDIS put different scenery in it each day and night. Every morning I woke to a warmth like sunshine on my face. Sometimes, when the TARDIS could tell I was homesick, she'd comfort me with soft rain.

This was one of those nights. I lay on my side and listened to the soothing pattering of rain outside my window.

Traveling with the Doctor was amazing. It was a dream come true and I was getting to see it with my first close friend. But every day I remembered what I'd left behind. The experiences and adventures were amazing, but family had always come first in my life, and now I had left them without a word. It bugged me.

Every time I saw something new, I thought how much one of my family members would have loved to see it and how much more wonderful it would be if I was seeing it with them.

I wasn't ready for my adventure to end. I knew that. But now I realized with certainty that more important than all the excitement in the universe was being with the people who were most important to me.

I sighed and huddled deeper into my cloud-like bed. The Doctor and I had talked about taking a tour through the second and third centuries of the Cheem home world. I'd been looking forward to it, but now all I wanted was to be home.

I couldn't think about anything else, so I got up, wrapping myself in my blanket like a burrito. I asked the TARDIS where the Doctor was and she pointed me to the controls room.

I found him sitting on the floor under the console reading. He looked like such a dork with those glasses on that I had to smile. "Hey."

"Hey!" the Doctor looked up from his book with a smile. "Can't sleep?"

I shrugged and sat down close next to the Doctor. He put one arm around me.

"I was thinking about my family again."

"Yeah?"

Now that I was here, I didn't want to tell him – didn't want to see him sad.

"You know you're my best friend, yeah?"

"And you're mine!" he squeezed my shoulder. "What brought this on?"

I didn't respond and the Doctor's face fell. "You want to go home."

I threw my blanketed arms around him. "You're my best friend, but they're my family."

He sighed and rubbed my shoulder. "Of course you miss them. I'll take you back."

"This doesn't have to be the end." I said.

"You know I forget you're still just a kid? I basically kidnapped you. Your parents won't exactly be jumping to let me run off with you again."

"Um, first off, the TARDIS did the kidnapping – not you. And secondly, my parents are probably just going to be jealous that I went time-traveling without them."

The Doctor shuffled around to look down at my face. "Adalyn. In all seriousness, your parents are not going to be happy."

I sighed. "Yeah, they're not."

"We could always keep running off secretly. Home by day, TARDIS by night."

"No." I said quickly. "I kept the TARDIS in my attic a secret from them. No more secrets."

"Ok." The Doctor agreed. "Tell them everything you need to."

We were both quiet and the TARDIS respected our silence. After a while I ventured, "You could tell them with me."

He didn't respond so I continued.

"You're so important to me, and so are they, so I want you to know each other." I hurried on, "You could stay with us – just for a little bit – and then they would understand and grow to love you …"

"Oh Adalyn," my friend sighed, "I don't really do families."

I'd expected such an answer, but it was still disappointing. "Why not?"

"It's…never gone well in the past. Families are just messy – good messy! Families are good! – but I'm do better on my own."

"Then why did you ask me to come with you?"

He didn't answer.

After a minute I gently said "Look, you don't have to stay, but if you would just meet them, it would mean the world to me. Maybe you have a good reason for not getting involved in families, but I would bet a fortune that my family is different."

He looked deep in thought.

"Just…just meet them."

"Ok." He agreed.

"Wait, really?"

"Just introducing myself. I'm not staying."

"Oh my gosh thank you!" I hugged him fiercely.

"Whoa! Ok." He patted my head.

"It's settled then." I snuggled against him again.

The Doctor rested his head against mine. I quickly grew sleepy and as I was drifting off, I heard him ask,

"One last trip tomorrow?"

I nodded sleepily and smiled. "Anywhere you want."

"We'll let the old girl decide where we go."

"Agreed." I fell asleep and had happy dreams of me and the Doctor in the TARDIS.

I woke to the warm glow of the TARDIS's light. I blinked awake and saw that I was still leaning on the Doctor.

"Good morning." I poked him. He jolted and then smiled down at me.

"Good morning!"

I yawned and sat up. "Good lord you're comfy. Why'd you let me sleep on you all night?" I'd learned long ago that he seldom slept.

"Didn't want to wake you. It's fine. I solved a problem I've been procrastinating on; reread my book a couple times; contemplated breakfast."

"Eggs benedict."

"On the fifth moon of Junpoo?"

"Works for me."

"And then our final trip."

I squeezed his hand. "Our final trip."

Breakfast on the moon turned into a several day affair, but we finally got away for our final trip.

"Ready for one last go?" the Doctor asked, once we were settled back into the TARDIS and in the engine room.

I took a deep breath. "Yes. And no more getting sidetracked. This is it."

"This is it." the Doctor repeated, sounding disappointed.

"Hey," I nudged him, "Maybe things won't have to change entirely." Even as I spoke, I had a gut feeling that my words were wrong. It was the end of an era.

We set the TARDIS to random and came to our final destination.

"Hey look, she took us to earth." I said, checking the meter.

"Hm, 1869 London. Ooo! There's a ball going on!" The Doctor turned

the screen for me to see outside. There was lovely stone building with large windows through which we could see people dancing.

"Always a party in London."

I chuckled.

"What do you say we join them?" he lifted his eyebrows at me, "I think there's a ball gown in the wardrobe."

"Yeah, I don't know how to dance."

"Really?" he looked surprised.

"I mean, it's not like I ever had anyone to dance with.

"Well it's easy. I'll teach you. Here –" he came up and took my hand. "Now you put your other hand on my shoulder just so..." he put my hand in place then slipped his other arm around me.

"Wait, are we really going to do this?" I laughed to cover my awkwardness.

"Everyone should know how do dance," the Doctor insisted. "Come on: last adventure."

"Um, well ok." I took his outheld hand and he moved my other hand to his shoulder before putting his other hand on my waist.

"Oh! Ok."

"Oh get over it," the Doctor laughed and let go of my hand to poke my nose.

I wrinkled my nose and stuck out my tongue.

"So: waltzes are in three."

"Right."

"Now you're just going to mirror my movements. So I step back –" he moved backward and I stumbled forward into him.

"It's really more of a 'step' than a 'fall'." The Doctor teased.

"Haha." I said darkly.

"Now keep mirroring. We'll go slowly."

I copied his steps, keeping my eyes glued to his shoes.

"Hey." The Doctor grabbed my attention and I looked up at him. He was smiling.

"That's better."

"But now I can't see what you're doing," I complained and tried to look down again.

"Nu-uh!" he scolded. "Face. Eyes." He pulled me closer [A1] and made a smoulder. "Romance."

I stepped purposefully on his toes.

"Ow!" he yelped and I giggled.

Just then the TARDIS started playing a slow waltz.

"That's what we needed!" the Doctor exclaimed.

Gradually we fell into a rhythm. I managed to get the steps and the Doctor swept me along so confidently that I actually felt graceful.

The Doctor was too tall for me to keep my eyes on his face for long and I finally settled for leaning my forehead against his chest, listening to the sweet harmony between the music and the TARDIS herself.

"I'm going to miss you," I murmured.

The Doctor didn't answer. It was ok. I knew he didn't like to admit to sadness because he'd had so much. But after a moment he surprised me by admitting,

"I'll miss you too."

I wrapped my arms around his waist and we were reduced to only swaying with the music.

After a long while, he pushed me back gently. "Ready to join the party?"

I grinned, trying to hide my sadness. "You know it."

"Let's get ready then!"

We ran down to the wardrobe room and where we split up to find our outfits. I finally found a ball gown: a pale blue silk with a ruffled hoop skirts, off-the shoulder sleeves and silk roses.

"Is the blue one the right era?" I hollered over my shoulder.

"Yes?" the Doctor's muffled voice came from a closet.

"You fill me with confidence," I mumbled.

"I'm dressed, so I'm going upstairs," he called out.

"Ok!"

I struggled a bit to get into the dress, but finally managed, and when I looked in the mirror my breath caught in my throat. I'd never cared about fashion except as it pertained to history, and I'd been too busy reading to be into princesses. But when I saw myself in the dress, I felt beautiful. I touched one of roses on the bodice and couldn't contain my smile. I twisted my waist length hair into a simple bun and pinned it up. Then I looped the ocean of skirt over my arm and went upstairs.

The Doctor's back was toward me as he played with buttons on the control panel.

"Ready." I said.

He turned around then stopped with an almost startled look. He stared for a moment, then said, "I didn't remember liking the dress so much."

I smiled sweetly, "Perhaps it simply wasn't as flattering on you."

He snorted. "Very funny. What I meant was, you look very pretty."

"Thank you, monsieur," I curtsied, "And you look most dashing in that suit."

"My most sincere thanks," he performed a sweeping bow.

"Is that a cravat?" I asked, dropping the French accent.

"It is! Isn't it great?" he posed.

"Totally. You should really dress like this more."

He smiled. "I think I will!" He offered me his arm and I took it. "Let us join the dance."

We strolled into the building and joined the chaos of music and whirling skirts.

We danced two dances together, then stood by watching the other dancers and talking. After an hour or so, I noticed him watching a pretty girl on the other side of the room.

"Why don't you go meet her?"

"Hm? What'd you say?" the Doctor started.

"Go ask that girl to dance."

He looked at the her, then at me. "You sure?"

"Go!" I laughed, giving him a push toward her.

He went over and spoke to her and they began dancing. I watched, glad to see him enjoying himself. When the dance was over and he'd left his partner, he caught my eye and mouthed something. I frowned, not understanding, and he pointed at a large lady with an enormous feather boa. I covered my mouth and tried not to laugh. He winked at me then approached the woman and spoke to her. A moment later they were waltzing pompously and he was grinning goofily at me. I shook my head and tried to suppress my giggles. I was amusing myself by watching them, when someone behind me spoke.

"Excuse me."

Everything stopped for me when I heard the enchantment and power this voice held. I spun around to look up into the face of the man who had spoken and a shiver ran down my spine. He was strikingly handsome, with intense brown eyes, but my shiver was one that said, "this is wrong". I dropped my eyes, unable to continue looking.

"May I have this dance?" his authoritative voice left no room for refusal.

I couldn't speak. He took my hand and led me out to the dance floor.

Left hand still firmly holding my right, his right arm now wrapped around my waist and pulled my body against his. My breath hitched at being so close. I wanted to break free, but I didn't even have the power to lift my face to his. I could feel his eyes boring a hole in me so I tentatively put my left hand on his shoulder.

The music started – a Strauss waltz – and the mysterious man led me through the dance with unparalleled grace and confidence.

I didn't know why I believed this man was dangerous besides my gut intuition. But until now I had not understood what fear was.

The dance lasted forever. I lost awareness of everyone else in the room; there was only the man holding me. There was only his scrutinizing gaze.

Time resumed when the music stopped. He let me go, turned his back on me, and walked away. I stood alone in the middle of the dance floor, learning to breathe again.

A hand slipped into mine.

"Let's go," the Doctor whispered.

We stepped out into the cool night.

"Hurry." The Doctor was curt, pulling me quickly toward the TARDIS.

"Who was that?" I didn't recognize my own voice for the terror that colored it.

"He didn't tell you his name?" The Doctor stopped short and held my face in his hands. I'd never seen him so desperate. "Anything?"

I shook my head. "Nothing. Doctor, I could feel his power. When he spoke to me –" the Doctor stepped back and ran his hands over his face. "—I … I couldn't do anything."

He was shaking now.

"Doctor?" I put my hand on his arm, my dread increasing as I witnessed his. "Who is he?"

"An old friend." We about-faced simultaneously to see the man I'd danced with standing only thirty feet away. My whole body tingled with fear. *

"Did you miss me?" the man smiled dramatically.

The Doctor opted for silence.
"What, no tears? And it's been so long." He put on an expression of hurt.

The Doctor stayed frozen at my side.

The man surveyed him thoughtfully. "You've changed. And you found a new companion." He looked at me. "She's lovely."

"Stay away from her." The Doctor spoke quietly, but in a tone so commanding it made me shudder.

"No need to be rude." The man spread his arms guilelessly, "I'm just trying to be friendly."

Slowly, he put one foot forward.

"Stay back," the Doctor threatened, stepping protectively in front of me.

"Oh Doctor, Doctor," he deliberately and unhurriedly continued his advance. "As if you could possibly do anything to stand in my way."

His words flowed through my mind like a melody. I closed my eyes and listened, falling into a trance.

"After all this time – after I came so far – is it surprising that I seek the company of another Timelord? Even if is the company of my friend who betrayed and abandoned me?"

The Doctor's hand grabbed mine, breaking the spell. "Run!"

I didn't need to be told twice. Terror gave my feet wings and we sprinted into the TARDIS. As the Doctor slammed the doors closed, I caught a glimpse of the man. He hadn't even tried to follow. His face was calm and confident.

We'd never left a place faster.

"Who is he?" I asked as soon as we were away.

The Doctor's only glared darkly at the control panel.

"I thought you were the only Timelord left."

The Doctor still didn't answer or look at me.

"Doctor, say something!" my voice was tight with panic.

He finally looked at me.

"Who is he?" I whispered my question again.

"An old friend." He said grimly.

"Doctor, who?" I demanded.

"His name is The Master. And I'm so sorry, but you'll never be safe again."

*At this point, please listen to "The Master Vainglorious"