A Love for the Timeless Man

Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Healing

I rushed towards The Doctor. He was face-down on one of the grates. He groaned and pushed himself into a sitting position with effort.

"Ribs are bruised. Need to rest. You go home." He muttered.

"What?!" I asked, standing up strait. He looked up at me with a befuddled expression.

"I said that you should go home. It's too dangerous around me, and I'm very tired." He replied, getting up. He hung his trench coat on one of the rails and started to walk off.

"I'm staying." I said firmly. He turned.

"What?" He asked.

"I've been through so much today for you. Give me a little appreciation." I stated. He cracked another cheesy smile.

"Funny, humans are. Stubborn, like cats." He grinned, "You can stay the night if you like. Your room is up the stairs, down the hall, second door on the left. I'll park the TARDIS."

The Doctor proceeded to explain what the TARDIS does, parked it in some galaxy, then limped down a lower hall and out of sight. I went up the stairs, down the hall, and found my room. It was a beautiful thing; A four-poster bed, complete with pink privacy curtains and a canopy, a marble mantle alight with flames; washing the room in it's warm glow, a beautiful rug covering most of the finished Oak floor, decorated with intricate stars and galaxies that seemed to shine brightly in the mantle's light.

A second door opened into a bathroom with a marble tub and shower. The counters were white granite, with Dark-Oak cabinets underneath. I walk back into the main room, and noticed a large closet. I immediately started thinking of thinks to fill it with.

I yawned and plopped into the bed, pulling the covers up around me. I fell into a deep, restful sleep.

. . .

I woke up to pitch black later that night. I was just starting to freak out and wonder where the lights were, when a small candle by my bed lit itself. I wasn't so much scared of it as I was curious. I got up slowly, and picked up the candle. A small, pleasant hum danced about my brain.

"Hello?" I whispered to the hum.

"Hello..." It replied. I was so shocked that it could talk back to me.

"And who are you?" I asked.

"I'm the TARDIS." It said.

"Oh. Alright," I said, "do you know where The Doctor is?"

"Yes. I do. He's too lonely." The TARDIS replied helpfully. Off I popped, listening to the TARDIS' instructions on how to find The Doctor's room. I snuck down to the lower hall, through a lot of turns, past big ballrooms and tiny cupboards, libraries and gardens, and finally, after about 15 minutes, I arrived at a set of big, wooden doors, intricately carved with shapes I didn't know at the time. I pushed it open a bit, and slipped inside, putting out the candle.

I immediately noticed that it is a bit larger than my room, but most of the decor is the same, aside from more intricate carvings above the mantle and a large skylight that shows the beautiful stars and galaxies outside. The lights in his room were off, but the bathroom door was slightly open, spilling it's light into the rest of the room.

I heard The Doctor rummaging around inside, mumbling to himself. His voice was getting closer to the bathroom door, so I darted inside of his closet. Various grabs were hanging on the hooks and hangars, including a long, multi-colored scarf, a very old black jacket, a shirt with a ruffled collar, an umbrella with a question mark for it's handle, a cream jacket with a wilted stalk of celery pinned onto it, and a black leather jacket.

I kept the closet door open a crack so I could peek out. The Doctor walked into the room, wearing faded striped pajamas. His shirt was unbuttoned, revealing the cotton bandages that covered his bruised ribs. He propped himself up using a few pillows, leaned back on the headboard, and looked at the top of his bed's canopy. His expression slowly turned into one of anguish and pain.

He was crying.

. . .

I watched in amazement for a bit as The Doctor sobbed, holding his face in his hands. After a bit he got up slowly and went back into the bathroom. I quickly walked over to the bed, and looked at the top of the canopy. There were pictures taped to the top. A few in black-and-white, most in color. Old ones and new ones. The newest one was of a woman, smiling. She had blonde hair and brown eyes. In the bottom-right corner of the picture were three words.

"With love, Rose"

I heard The Doctor coming out of the bathroom and scrambled back to the closet just as he came in. He propped himself back up on the pillows and closed his eyes. I waited in the closet for a bit, trying to make sure he was asleep, before I snuck towards the door. Once I finally reached it, I barely started to slide it open to slip through before I heard his voice coming from the bed behind me.

"Seen all you like?" The Doctor said in a monotone. I hung my head and exited the room without a word.