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frenchy_chicksTitle: Journey into the Unknown - Pt. 6
Rating: FRT
Characters: the Doctor (10), Original Character (Cerys Pritchard)
Summary: Traveling with the Doctor can be fun and sometimes scary, but definitely worth it.
Word count: 1930
Disclaimer: Not mine. I wish they were, but they're not.
Author's notes: This is the last part in this series. I may or may not come back to writing with this original character. We'll see!
When Cerys woke the next morning, the space in the bed next to her was empty and there was an incredibly loud noise coming from the living room. She knew there was no possibility of getting any more sleep, so she decided she might as well get up. Getting out of bed, Cerys pulled the sheets back up and headed down the short hallway into the main space, where she found the Doctor, surrounded by boxes – full and empty.
“Well, someone’s been busy,” she commented.
The Doctor looked up at her and nodded. “Well, I figured if we’re going to be here a while we might as well have some actual furniture, like you said. So, early this morning, I couldn’t sleep and I went for a walk. I ran into Ianto and we went shopping. Oh, and Jack dropped off some of your things,” the Doctor said, pointing to the corner with his screwdriver before going back to work on the television.
Cerys walked over to the boxes and peered through the things Jack had brought her. Seemed Jack had packed her just about everything that had been in her wardrobe, which was a little bit unsettling, thinking that Jack had been through her knickers drawer. Shaking her head, Cerys grabbed one of the boxes of clothes and headed back down towards the bedroom. She was in desperate need of a shower and a new change of clothes. “I’m washing up, then we’ll grab a bit to eat?”
“Sure, whatever you’d like,” the Doctor mumbled, frowning at the piece of machinery in his hand, “for an advanced civilization, their technology at this stage breaks incredibly easily.”
***
When Cerys had finished her shower and dressed, she joined the Doctor once more in the living room. It appeared he’d given up working on the television, which was now in more pieces than it had been in when she’d last seen it. He instead had started going through the other boxes and was standing in front of the rest of her things. He didn’t seem to have heard her come in, so she cleared her throat. The Doctor jumped and turned around, slipping his hand into his trouser pocket and giving her a smile.
“Right then, should we eat? Anything you want, my treat. Psychic paper comes in handy when paying for meals,” he said.
“Um, not sure, really. There’s a little shop around the corner that does breakfast.”
“A little shop! I love a little shop. Well, then, allons-y!” the Doctor grinned, grabbing Cerys’ hand and pulling her out the door.
As they walked along the street, Cerys couldn’t help but notice that the Doctor seemed to be doing much better today than he’d been doing last night. It probably had something to do with the fact that he’d been fiddling around with electronics for God only knew how long, and fiddling seemed to calm his nerves almost as well as running did. He certainly was a strange man, but she loved everything about being with him.
“So, what were you attempting to do to the telly?” Cerys asked.
“I wasn’t willing to pay an outrageous amount of money for cable when I could just sonic the telly and get all the stations in the universe,” the Doctor shrugged.
“And did it work?” she smirked.
“Well… no, not yet, but I’ll have it working by tonight, you can count on it.”
Cerys laughed and they walked into the shop, sitting down at a table by the window. Cerys grabbed a menu and started looking through it, even though she knew what it was she wanted – bacon, and lots of it. Peering at the Doctor from over the top of the menu, Cerys watched him with careful eyes. She knew he had the tendency to hide his true emotions, and even though, earlier, she believed he was doing okay, she could tell by looking at him now that he was still worried… wondering if maybe he had done the right thing after all.
“You’re staring again,” he spoke softly.
“Well, with a face like that, how can I not stare?” she teased.
The Doctor frowned at her and then smiled softly. “This regeneration is pretty easy on the eyes. One might even say I look sexy,” he winked.
“You are cheeky, aren’t you? I’m surprised more women, and men, don’t through themselves at you. How many companions have you had?” She asked.
The Doctor laughed and leaned forward on the table. “Well, there’ve been a few, here and there. I’ve travelled on my own quite a bit too, though I’ve learned that it’s maybe not the best decision for me…”
“Well you do like to show off.”
“It’s not just that… I need someone to keep an eye on me, to tell me when to stop, to tell me when I’ve gone too far. Being a Time Lord isn’t as easy as it sounds. It’s a hard job. It pulls you in so many directions. There are billions of people crying out for help and I want to help them all, I really do, but sometimes… sometimes I can’t. Or sometimes I go too far and end up hurting someone else.”
Cerys reached across the table and took the Doctors hand in hers. She could only imagine how incredibly lonely he must be at times. The last of his kind, with nobody else to talk to in his native tongue, nobody to reminisce with about his home. Silently, she vowed to make sure he was never alone. It was the least she could do.
“Well, you’ve got me, Doctor. You’ve always got me.”
The Doctor smiled softly and avoided her gaze. He pulled his hand away from hers and stared at his lap. “I’ve had companions say that to me before. Donna… Rose… and, in the end, I lost them both. Rose to an alternate universe and Donna… well.”
Cerys wanted to comfort him. He looked so sad and guilty and she didn’t think he should be. She was sure he’d done what he had to do, he had faith that he would never intentionally harm anyone he cared about. Sometimes people just got caught… occupational hazard. Before she could say anything, the waitress had come over to their table and asked for their order. The Doctor switched his demeanor to a happy one and Cerys knew that any chance they had of discussing matters further was over. For now.
***
A week later, Jack and the Doctor had gone out to investigate something that had fallen through the rift, and the others, Tosh, Owen and Gwen were collecting some alien that had caused a ruckus in the alleys of downtown Cardiff, leaving Cerys and Ianto alone at the hub. There wasn’t much that she could do – she was manning the front desk of the tourist bureau, just in case, but nobody had popped in for over an hour. She was getting bored and restless.
“Thought you could use some caffeine. I made coffee,” Ianto said, coming through the secret door.
Cerys smiled and took the offered coffee cup, bringing it to her nose. “Smells delicious, thanks.”
Ianto offered her a small smile and say across from her. “How is the Doctor taking normal life?” He asked.
“He pretends he’s doing okay, but, I think he’s worried. It’s been such a long time that’s passed, and I doubt he’s used to doing things in the right order. He’s already assembled and disassembled everything in the flat at least three times, trying to make it more efficient. He broke the microwave,” she laughed, shaking her head.
“They always seem to break something, don’t they? That’s why I don’t let Jack near my coffee machine. He’ll do something to muck it up and it will never work properly after that,” Ianto agreed.
Putting the cup down on the desk, Cerys sighed and rubbed at her forehead. “I hope we did the right thing. I pushed him to do as the other Doctor told him to do. Maybe he was right to be cautious. He’s significantly older than I am, maybe I should have listened to him. What if the TARDIS never comes back? What if I’ve stuck him here for the rest of his long, alien life? How unfair was that?” She worried.
“May I offer a piece of advice? Don’t blame yourself. I learned the hard way what happens if you believe you’re to blame for the outcome of a situation. When you blame yourself, it doesn’t end well, believe me. The Doctor trusts you, and I’m sure, deep down, he knows he made the right decision,” he said.
Cerys smiled, but she wasn’t sure if she believe him. She would feel horrible if the Doctor was stuck on Earth… he lived much longer than anyone else; he’d have to watch everyone he cared about die. Well, except for Jack. At least he’d have one person with him. Cerys took another sip of her coffee and almost ended up breaking the cup when she heard a noise coming from outside. Her heart skipped and beat and her eyes slid across to stare at Ianto, who had also heard the noise. He offered her a small smile and she grinned, getting up from behind the counter and running outside.
She never thought it was possible. She’d hoped – had she ever hoped, but she truly believed that this had been it. But there she was. That beautiful, blue box, standing proudly on the ground before her. She couldn’t stop smiling. It had worked! The door to the TARDIS opened and the Doctor, her Doctor came out, grinning like a loon. She laughed and started running.
“That didn’t take too long, see?” the Doctor smiled happily.
“It’s beautiful!” she exclaimed.
When she reached the Doctor, she wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. He hugged her back and they laughed. It had worked, it had really worked. She sent a silent prayer to the other Doctor, glad that he knew what he was talking about.
“Come on, come in and see it, she’s beautiful!” the Doctor boasted.
Stepping into the TARDIS, Cerys’ smile only got wider. It looked identical to the other TARDIS, only the colors were brighter, the lines cleaner and straighter… and no grated flooring, which she was incredibly grateful for. And there, sitting on the console, was her earring.
“He must have found it and put it in here. The desktop typically changes with each regeneration, and I’m sure he had his TARDIS updated,” the Doctor explained.
Cerys picked up her earring and put it in her pocket. The Doctor was standing on the other side of the console, stroking the edge and staring up at the core, almost as though he was worshipping her.
“You two need some time to get acquainted?” She asked, teasingly.
The Doctor opened his mouth to retaliate, but didn’t end up saying anything, instead shaking his head and smirking. Taking a deep breath, he ran around the console to her side.
“So! All of time and space in my brand new TARDIS! Where would you like to go? Name a time and place! Let’s take this baby for a spin!”
Cerys laughed. “Let’s go to a market. An alien space market!”
The Doctor flashed her a toothy grin and started running around the console, flipping switches and turning knobs. He was back in his element, and they were back together, flying through time and space, gearing up for another journey into the unknown.
~Fin~
Rating: FRT
Characters: the Doctor (10), Original Character (Cerys Pritchard)
Summary: Traveling with the Doctor can be fun and sometimes scary, but definitely worth it.
Word count: 1930
Disclaimer: Not mine. I wish they were, but they're not.
Author's notes: This is the last part in this series. I may or may not come back to writing with this original character. We'll see!
When Cerys woke the next morning, the space in the bed next to her was empty and there was an incredibly loud noise coming from the living room. She knew there was no possibility of getting any more sleep, so she decided she might as well get up. Getting out of bed, Cerys pulled the sheets back up and headed down the short hallway into the main space, where she found the Doctor, surrounded by boxes – full and empty.
“Well, someone’s been busy,” she commented.
The Doctor looked up at her and nodded. “Well, I figured if we’re going to be here a while we might as well have some actual furniture, like you said. So, early this morning, I couldn’t sleep and I went for a walk. I ran into Ianto and we went shopping. Oh, and Jack dropped off some of your things,” the Doctor said, pointing to the corner with his screwdriver before going back to work on the television.
Cerys walked over to the boxes and peered through the things Jack had brought her. Seemed Jack had packed her just about everything that had been in her wardrobe, which was a little bit unsettling, thinking that Jack had been through her knickers drawer. Shaking her head, Cerys grabbed one of the boxes of clothes and headed back down towards the bedroom. She was in desperate need of a shower and a new change of clothes. “I’m washing up, then we’ll grab a bit to eat?”
“Sure, whatever you’d like,” the Doctor mumbled, frowning at the piece of machinery in his hand, “for an advanced civilization, their technology at this stage breaks incredibly easily.”
***
When Cerys had finished her shower and dressed, she joined the Doctor once more in the living room. It appeared he’d given up working on the television, which was now in more pieces than it had been in when she’d last seen it. He instead had started going through the other boxes and was standing in front of the rest of her things. He didn’t seem to have heard her come in, so she cleared her throat. The Doctor jumped and turned around, slipping his hand into his trouser pocket and giving her a smile.
“Right then, should we eat? Anything you want, my treat. Psychic paper comes in handy when paying for meals,” he said.
“Um, not sure, really. There’s a little shop around the corner that does breakfast.”
“A little shop! I love a little shop. Well, then, allons-y!” the Doctor grinned, grabbing Cerys’ hand and pulling her out the door.
As they walked along the street, Cerys couldn’t help but notice that the Doctor seemed to be doing much better today than he’d been doing last night. It probably had something to do with the fact that he’d been fiddling around with electronics for God only knew how long, and fiddling seemed to calm his nerves almost as well as running did. He certainly was a strange man, but she loved everything about being with him.
“So, what were you attempting to do to the telly?” Cerys asked.
“I wasn’t willing to pay an outrageous amount of money for cable when I could just sonic the telly and get all the stations in the universe,” the Doctor shrugged.
“And did it work?” she smirked.
“Well… no, not yet, but I’ll have it working by tonight, you can count on it.”
Cerys laughed and they walked into the shop, sitting down at a table by the window. Cerys grabbed a menu and started looking through it, even though she knew what it was she wanted – bacon, and lots of it. Peering at the Doctor from over the top of the menu, Cerys watched him with careful eyes. She knew he had the tendency to hide his true emotions, and even though, earlier, she believed he was doing okay, she could tell by looking at him now that he was still worried… wondering if maybe he had done the right thing after all.
“You’re staring again,” he spoke softly.
“Well, with a face like that, how can I not stare?” she teased.
The Doctor frowned at her and then smiled softly. “This regeneration is pretty easy on the eyes. One might even say I look sexy,” he winked.
“You are cheeky, aren’t you? I’m surprised more women, and men, don’t through themselves at you. How many companions have you had?” She asked.
The Doctor laughed and leaned forward on the table. “Well, there’ve been a few, here and there. I’ve travelled on my own quite a bit too, though I’ve learned that it’s maybe not the best decision for me…”
“Well you do like to show off.”
“It’s not just that… I need someone to keep an eye on me, to tell me when to stop, to tell me when I’ve gone too far. Being a Time Lord isn’t as easy as it sounds. It’s a hard job. It pulls you in so many directions. There are billions of people crying out for help and I want to help them all, I really do, but sometimes… sometimes I can’t. Or sometimes I go too far and end up hurting someone else.”
Cerys reached across the table and took the Doctors hand in hers. She could only imagine how incredibly lonely he must be at times. The last of his kind, with nobody else to talk to in his native tongue, nobody to reminisce with about his home. Silently, she vowed to make sure he was never alone. It was the least she could do.
“Well, you’ve got me, Doctor. You’ve always got me.”
The Doctor smiled softly and avoided her gaze. He pulled his hand away from hers and stared at his lap. “I’ve had companions say that to me before. Donna… Rose… and, in the end, I lost them both. Rose to an alternate universe and Donna… well.”
Cerys wanted to comfort him. He looked so sad and guilty and she didn’t think he should be. She was sure he’d done what he had to do, he had faith that he would never intentionally harm anyone he cared about. Sometimes people just got caught… occupational hazard. Before she could say anything, the waitress had come over to their table and asked for their order. The Doctor switched his demeanor to a happy one and Cerys knew that any chance they had of discussing matters further was over. For now.
***
A week later, Jack and the Doctor had gone out to investigate something that had fallen through the rift, and the others, Tosh, Owen and Gwen were collecting some alien that had caused a ruckus in the alleys of downtown Cardiff, leaving Cerys and Ianto alone at the hub. There wasn’t much that she could do – she was manning the front desk of the tourist bureau, just in case, but nobody had popped in for over an hour. She was getting bored and restless.
“Thought you could use some caffeine. I made coffee,” Ianto said, coming through the secret door.
Cerys smiled and took the offered coffee cup, bringing it to her nose. “Smells delicious, thanks.”
Ianto offered her a small smile and say across from her. “How is the Doctor taking normal life?” He asked.
“He pretends he’s doing okay, but, I think he’s worried. It’s been such a long time that’s passed, and I doubt he’s used to doing things in the right order. He’s already assembled and disassembled everything in the flat at least three times, trying to make it more efficient. He broke the microwave,” she laughed, shaking her head.
“They always seem to break something, don’t they? That’s why I don’t let Jack near my coffee machine. He’ll do something to muck it up and it will never work properly after that,” Ianto agreed.
Putting the cup down on the desk, Cerys sighed and rubbed at her forehead. “I hope we did the right thing. I pushed him to do as the other Doctor told him to do. Maybe he was right to be cautious. He’s significantly older than I am, maybe I should have listened to him. What if the TARDIS never comes back? What if I’ve stuck him here for the rest of his long, alien life? How unfair was that?” She worried.
“May I offer a piece of advice? Don’t blame yourself. I learned the hard way what happens if you believe you’re to blame for the outcome of a situation. When you blame yourself, it doesn’t end well, believe me. The Doctor trusts you, and I’m sure, deep down, he knows he made the right decision,” he said.
Cerys smiled, but she wasn’t sure if she believe him. She would feel horrible if the Doctor was stuck on Earth… he lived much longer than anyone else; he’d have to watch everyone he cared about die. Well, except for Jack. At least he’d have one person with him. Cerys took another sip of her coffee and almost ended up breaking the cup when she heard a noise coming from outside. Her heart skipped and beat and her eyes slid across to stare at Ianto, who had also heard the noise. He offered her a small smile and she grinned, getting up from behind the counter and running outside.
She never thought it was possible. She’d hoped – had she ever hoped, but she truly believed that this had been it. But there she was. That beautiful, blue box, standing proudly on the ground before her. She couldn’t stop smiling. It had worked! The door to the TARDIS opened and the Doctor, her Doctor came out, grinning like a loon. She laughed and started running.
“That didn’t take too long, see?” the Doctor smiled happily.
“It’s beautiful!” she exclaimed.
When she reached the Doctor, she wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. He hugged her back and they laughed. It had worked, it had really worked. She sent a silent prayer to the other Doctor, glad that he knew what he was talking about.
“Come on, come in and see it, she’s beautiful!” the Doctor boasted.
Stepping into the TARDIS, Cerys’ smile only got wider. It looked identical to the other TARDIS, only the colors were brighter, the lines cleaner and straighter… and no grated flooring, which she was incredibly grateful for. And there, sitting on the console, was her earring.
“He must have found it and put it in here. The desktop typically changes with each regeneration, and I’m sure he had his TARDIS updated,” the Doctor explained.
Cerys picked up her earring and put it in her pocket. The Doctor was standing on the other side of the console, stroking the edge and staring up at the core, almost as though he was worshipping her.
“You two need some time to get acquainted?” She asked, teasingly.
The Doctor opened his mouth to retaliate, but didn’t end up saying anything, instead shaking his head and smirking. Taking a deep breath, he ran around the console to her side.
“So! All of time and space in my brand new TARDIS! Where would you like to go? Name a time and place! Let’s take this baby for a spin!”
Cerys laughed. “Let’s go to a market. An alien space market!”
The Doctor flashed her a toothy grin and started running around the console, flipping switches and turning knobs. He was back in his element, and they were back together, flying through time and space, gearing up for another journey into the unknown.
~Fin~
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