The Daughter of Gallifrey

2: The Mad Doctor

The TARDIS shuddered violently, whirling through the time vortex at maximum speed and throwing the Doctor to the ground. He laughed. But it was a nervous laugh, not his usual carefree, here-we-go-again laugh.   

The TARDIS had picked up an energy signature which had prompted their current voyage through time and space. The signature was easily recognized by the Doctor, but then he realized it was also impossible. That sort of energy could exist only one place in the entire universe, and it's source certainly wasn't in London in the 21st century when the signature was picked up there. The Doctor was a bit anxious to see what the TARDIS had mistaken for that sort of energy, because it certainly couldn't be what the TARDIS said it was.  

The TARDIS shook again, a little less than the previous tremor. The Doctor jumped up and his eyes quickly skimmed all the meters and screens and scanners on the control hub in the center of the TARDIS, where its soul resided. He pulled a lever, held down a blue button, spun a gizmo or two, and held on tight as the TARDIS landed with a great thud on solid ground.   

"Well done, ol' girl! Another brilliant landing!" he yelled, a wide grin across his silly Timelord face. He patted the hub of the TARDIS and hopped down the stairs, feeling for his sonic screwdriver in his pocket. He suppressed his urge to yell "Come along, Ponds!" and instead addressed the TARDIS, or maybe no one in particular at all.   

"Alrighty then. London. 21st century." The Doctor opened the door, licked his finger, and held it out in the slight wind. "May." He stepped out of the TARDIS, mindful to shut the door behind him, and sniffed the air. "Saturday." He scrunched up his face, frowning. "No, no." He sniffed again, much deeper this time, moving around his head, much to the confusion of the people shuffling by. He held up a finger in conclusion. "Tuesday." He grinned. "Always loved Tuesdays. No one expects them to be great. It's just the day after Monday."   

How he wished for them to be there to answer him, for Amy to say something witty, for Rory to complain. Or River to flirt with him. His and River's paths hadn't crossed for a very long time. He had visited at least a dozen places since their last encounter, so he figured she should be turning up any time now tease him about the future and shoot her gun, which he, quite uncharacteristically, had come to appreciate. The last of the Timelords was feeling particularly lonely this Tuesday in London in the 21st century.   

He weaved through the throng of people, bobbing up on his toes every once in a while to get his barings. Soon he was standing at a bench in front of a shop. A woman was there, laden with shopping bags, calling out a girl's name between sobs.   

She collapsed on to the bench and cupped a hand over her mouth. Tears spilled over her cheeks. The Doctor sat next to her, rather uncomfortable. These situations were always easier with another human about. But it was only the Doctor now, so he put a hand on the woman's shoulder, patting her stiffly as she sniffled, trying to hold back her crying.   

"I'm the Doctor," he said, quite awkwardly, not sure what else to say. He had a feeling this whole situation might have something to do with the peculiar energy signature, but he couldn't figure out how.   

"I'm Katie Thomas, and not to be rude, but I'd much rather have a policeman right now, not that I don't appreciate a liscensed physician," the lady mumbled, glancing over at him. If it was any other time, he would have chuckled about the "liscensed physician" bit, but he felt that would be slightly inappropriate, considering the woman's distress.   

"Nice to meet you, Katie Thomas, and not to be rude to the local police force, but I think I'd be more help than them." Katie's expression was skeptical. "Trust me, I'm the Doctor." She seemed convinced, sitting up straighter and wiping her nose with the back of her hand.   

"It's my daughter, Caroline. She's gone. She was waiting here for me while I was in the shop, she doesn't like the shops unless they're bookshops, you see, and I came out and she's simply vanished!"  

The Doctor scanned the crowd.   

"I'm sure she's just wandered off. You lot are always doing that." He turned to Katie. "Even if I tell you not to. Especially when I tell you not to. Oh, no, why listen to the Doctor? I'm only THE Doctor." She simply stared at him.   

"Are you mad?" Katie asked, bewildered, "You seem-"  

"Quite," the Doctor interrupted, but his eyes were on something else, across the street. "Quite mad." He turned back to her. "That's me. The mad Doctor. But tell me, Katie-" He whipped his head around to gaze at a door, the same door the girl had entered,"-what's that?"   Katie squinted at it, shaking her head.   

"I dunno, just a little shop, I guess. But that's funny, I've never-" She stopped herself. He took her by the shoulders, fear of what he knew she was going to say growing in his chest.  

"Never what, Katie? You've never what?"  

"I was only going to say, I've never noticed it there before. And I shop on this street pretty often." Katie stared at the door, as if in a trance. The Doctor quickly snapped his fingers in front of her face, bringing her focus back to him.   

"Never noticed it? Or never seen it before?"   

"What's the difference, really?" she asked. He ignored her question and stood up.   

"You've never SEEN it because it's never been there before." He took a step toward the door, his eyes transfixed. "There's something that doesn't make sense. Let's go poke it with a stick."   

"What do you mean, Doctor? How has it-" But the Doctor was already gone, cars honking loudly as he sprinted through two lanes of traffic. Quite perplexed by now, Katie left her bags on the bench and followed the Doctor across the busy street, nearly being hit by a cab herself. She barely even noticed. They arrived at the door and the Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver, pressing a button and waiting a moment as it scanned the door. Katie didn't bother to ask what the strange contraption with the green light was.   

"Impossible. Impossible! Simply impossible!" He raised his voice with every syllable, throwing his arms into the air, almost flinging away the sonic screwdriver. Several passers-by shot the Doctor and Katie puzzled looks. "It just can't be! What are you, you stupid door?"  

"It says books," Katie pointed out, her index finger bringing attention to the sign above the door. "Do you think Caroline saw the door as well? She does love her books. She might be inside!" Katie pushed past the frustrated Doctor, turned the knob, and stepped inside. After making a unintelligible grunting noise, the Doctor followed. Katie gasped.   

"Why, it's bigger on the-"  

"-Inside," the Doctor finished for her. "Yes, I've heard that before, but not about a bookshop." He dragged a hand of outstretched fingers across a row of book binds, sniffing the air. "It smells odd in here." She ignored him and spun on her heel to soak in her surroundings.   

"Caroline would love this place," Katie said softly. "There's so many books. And floors." She reached the staircase and began climbing up.   

"Katie, don't touch anything. No touching!" the Doctor called, but he wasn't sure she heard him. He was slightly preoccupied with the smell of the place. And the feeling he was getting at the back of his mind, in a part of his mind that he hadn't felt in a very long time.   

"Impossible," he whispered, making his way to the stairs. "Katie?" He added, louder. No answer. "Katie Thomas?"   

A shrill scream pierced the air.   

"KATIE!"