Wanderer of Time (doctor who)

Chapter 7: Carnival fun

When Wanda woke up from her rest, the first thing she saw were her father's butterfly carvings hanging over her bed. She closed her eyes once more, sighing lightly. Home. She was home. It had really been nothing more than a dream. A very strange dream. A very nice dream. She rolled over on her side, curling up and cuddling into a pillow. It had been such a wonderful dream. She hoped she might have it again someday. For a while during the dream, she had even been happy at the thought it might be real.

"Wanda, time to get up."

Wanda's eyes snapped open when she heard that voice. A voice she knew all too well from the show. She looked to see River Song, lying on the bed next to her, grinning wildly.

"Hello, sweetie," River said with a cheeky grin.

"Ah!" Wanda threw herself back, almost falling out of the bed. She sat up, startled greatly by River's presence. River laughed loudly, clutching her stomach while rolling on the bed.

"I never get tired of that," she managed to say through the laughter. She sat herself up, jumping off the bed. "So, what have we been up to last?" She opened up her TARDIS blue journal, flipping through the pages. River glanced to Wanda for a second before going back to the journal. "This is First you so . . . have we done the Blue Glaciers yet?" At Wanda's blank stare, she turned back to the journal. "Ok . . . oh, have we partied with Caesar yet? Or gone to the Crystalmere Clouds? Or . . ."

River continued on naming for events, each time looking to Wanda to see her reaction. Wanda felt guilty, not having the heart to tell River this was their first time meeting. She knew how upset and hurt River had been when meeting the Doctor for the first time. His first time and . . . her last. Wanda quickly shook her head, not wishing to dwell on that thought.

"Um . . . River," Wanda finally decided to speak up. River stopped looking in her journal, lowering it to her side and giving Wanda a sad expression.

"We haven't met yet, have we?" River asked her quietly. Wanda shook her sadly.

"But that's okay. This just means you never again have to run into a me that doesn't know you yet. And starting today we can have whatever adventure you want," Wanda told her quickly, not wishing for River to be upset in any way. River chuckled and smiled at her.

"It's all right, sweetie. At least you actually know who I am and everything else about me," River said lightly, seeming to push the sadness away. "You just don't know me personally yet. But starting now, we are going to change that." She gave Wanda a sly wink. "Come on out when you're ready. I think the Doctor is starting to get impatient." She walked out of the room, leaving Wanda in a daze.

So, it had not been a dream after all. Everything that had happened . . . had truly occured. She felt . . . relieved and happy that it was not simply a dream. She smiled, knowing that the Doctor and all the wonderful companions were still there waiting for her. She could not wait to meet them all. She just hoped that they would all like her, and that she would not cause too much trouble for any of them.

Her eyes began to drift around the room, taking in her surroundings. Nothing had changed much. Possibly, a little messier than before. A few different items were scattered around the room. She spotted a few of Eleven's bow-ties lying around, one worn-out tweed jacket thrown across the sofa, and a fez rested on top of a lamp. Maybe it was normal for the Doctor's things to end up in different rooms. It was his TARDIS after all.

Shaking her head, she jumped from the bed and reached down for her trainers, only to find them gone. Confused for a second, she suddenly realized what River and the new items meant. She had transported to another time with the Doctor. Her trainers had been left behind in the past. She wondered if it was a normal occurrence for her to jump to another time in her sleep. Sighing heavily, she walked out of the room, her toes freezing on the cold metal floor. She really wished she had not taken anything off now. Those had been her favorite trainers.