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Description
Calm.

That was the only word I could use to describe the world around me. The snow around me was untouched, save for the footprints I'd left trailed behind me. Mountains could be seen off in the distance, rising up in majestic glory. The sky was a crisp bright gray, small flakes falling softly from it. Uninterrupted by the wind, I could stick my tongue out and catch the flakes easily. Such a childish thing it was, but I didn't care.

Yes, it was a perfect winter day.

Skipping through the last of the sparse, bare trees, I grinned as I finally reached my destination. The lake sparkled before me in all its glory, the surface covered in the thick, mid-winter ice. I paused a moment before letting out a loud laugh and barreling down the hill in a very un-lady like manner.

I slid to a stop at the bottom, falling purposefully down on my rear. Ignoring my wet pants, I pulled my skates off of my back. Throwing my boots off onto a snowdrift, I quickly laced the bladed footwear.

I'd been waiting months for the ice to freeze hard enough. And now, I could skate.

Around and around I went for a long while, doing nothing but just speeding around the secluded pond. A laugh broke out from my lungs, echoing around the vast expanse. Silly to think such happiness could come from something so simple.

Now, I had never been the most graceful person, but even I had to admit that I had a few moves to my name. I turned expertly, bringing my left leg up so that I spun around gracefully on my right toe. Pulling my arms in, I went even faster. The world around me was a blur, air rushing past my ears-

But then...

"Oh wow! Brilliant! Could you teach me how to do that?"

I yelped in surprise, losing concentration, arms flailing as I fell hard on my backside. The breath was immediately taken from me.

"Oh dear." I barely heard the man's voice this time, leading me to think he was probably speaking to himself. Then it came again, louder this time. "Hold on just a moment!"

The sound of skates were clearly audible as the unknown person quickly approached. Still gasping for air, I raised my head in the direction of the noise. A tall man was making his way toward me on his own pair of skates, a brown trench coat flying out behind him. He slipped down onto his side and slid, the obvious idea being to slide to a stop beside me. Unfortunately, he didn't seem very apt on his skates and ended up sliding right past me.

"No, no, no, no! Wait!" he cried unhappily as he slid away, causing me to lose my breath just as I got it back due to a fit of laughter. Finally sitting up, I was met with the sight of the man sliding backward toward me on his rear.

Still giggling, I gave the man a questioning look as he slid up next to me. He had light brown hair, bangs styled in a way I'd never quite seen before. His brown eyes crinkled as he gave me one of the most genuine smiles I'd ever seen a person give. Without a doubt, he was a handsome fellow.

"Well, that didn't go exactly as planned. Which is strange because my plans usually go so well..." he slowly gazed off into the distance during the last part, frowning as if he was remembering something. I cocked my head, looking at him expectantly. His British accent was obvious now, but it still has sort of an odd ring to it...

He quickly turned back, smiling again. "Anyways, sorry I scared you. I was just passing by when I saw you skating around and thought I'd join you. I'm pretty brilliant myself. Well, fairly good. Well, sort of good. Well, a little bit clumsy. I can get where I want to go... Seventy percent of the time. Or sixty. Almost the same number..." He spoke quickly, then would slowly fade off in thought before speeding up again. It seemed like a rather exhausting way to talk.

"You were just... passing by?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "We're practically in the middle of nowhere."

"What better place is there to think?" he crooked his own eyebrow and gave a knowing side grin.

I smiled, shaking my head as I studied his face. Normally, a man coming out of thin air would raise a few red flags, but he seemed different. Like I could trust him with my life.

"Well, uh..."

He stuck out his hand. "I'm the Doctor, by the way."

I blinked, taking his hand. "Doctor? Doctor who?"

"Just, the Doctor." he nodded curtly.

"Well Doctor, would you like an ice skating lesson?"

~*~

It grew late quickly, but I didn't notice. I was having too much fun. The Doctor had quickly discarded his trench coat soon after we'd begun skating, revealing a blue suit underneath. I'd chuckled at this, finding the idea of a man in a suit and ice skates rather odd. Especially one as lanky as him.

But in all honesty, everything about the man was odd. His speech, the things he talked about... When he spoke, he seemed to me like he was an age old man rather than a man in his late 30s. But still, he was an entertaining companion.

Not to mention he picked up on things rather quickly. By nightfall, he was almost as good a skater as me.

As the sky grew dark, we both changed out of our skates. Pulling on my boots, I glanced over, immediately bursting into giggles at his footwear.

"How old are you exactly?"

"How old am I?! How old are you?!" he huffed indignantly.

"Eighteen, thanks."

"What? Do you not wear converse at eighteen?"

"Not with a suit."

"You wear a suit?"

"No! But if I did, I wouldn't wear converse with it!"

"Why not?"

"It's not proper!"

A scoff. "Who wants to be proper?"

We grew quiet, and I found myself smiling thoughtfully.

"I'm nine hundred."

My head whipped to face him, pausing with my boot pulled on half-way. "What?"

He turned to me, face blank. No, not blank. Sad.

"I am nine hundred years old."

A pause. A deafening silence.

"How?"

"A strange man that you just met and who you know nothing about tells you he is 900 years old and you're not scared or worried at all?"

Brows furrowing, I thought for a moment, staring at the snow.

"No." I glanced up at him. "Should I be?"

He gazed up at the now cloudless sky. "I'm don't know. I used to think I was good. Now I'm not so sure."

For the first time that day, I saw who the Doctor really was. It was etched deeply into his features. He was sad. Alone. Lost.

The two of us said nothing for a long time, so long that by the time I put my hand on his shoulder, the only light came from the moon and twinkling stars.

"You are Doctor. You are good. Don't doubt yourself."

"How do you know?" he scoffed half-heartedly.

"Because I know a bad person when I meet them. And you're certainly not one of them. Besides, even if you were, I could probably just have you chase me up to the top of the hill and let the wind take care of you. Skinny old man."

He gazed at me, a small smile coming to his lips. "You sound like someone I used to know."

I smiled back. "Come on Doctor. It's late."

As we made our way up the hill, gazed up at the stars. I sighed, forever awestruck by their beauty.

"Would you like to see them?"

My head jerked sideways. "See what?"

"The stars."

"I can see them now."

"Don't be cheeky. I meant up close."

I snorted, smiling as I threw my head back to stare at them again. "Of course! But I think I'd better finish school before I even think about doing anything like that."

He let some air loudly out of his nose, causing me to turn my eyes to him again. He looked... Disappointed.

"I suppose so. But you do want to see them?"

"Yes Doctor, I want to see the stars."

"And other planets?"

"Yes."

"What about aliens... Do you believe in aliens?"

I laughed, giving him my most incredulous look. "Of course. It would be impossible for there not to be, considering the size of the universe. What's with all the questions?"

"Oh, nothing. Just curious." he pressed his lips together, shaking his head.

I gave another baffled laugh as I reached the top of the hill. This one though, was cut short as I spied a strange object resting in the snow not so far from us. It was some sort of...

Blue box?

"What... What is that?"

"Oh, that's mine."

"It's a blue box."

"Well observed."

"Jeez, who's cheeky now?"

"Still you." he muttered thoughtfully, pursing his lips as his eyes turned upward to the twinkling lights.

I shook my head. "Well okay Doctor. I suppose I'd better get going."

He gave another smile, slightly sad again. "I suppose I need to also."

"Goodbye."

"Yes. Goodbye."

As we began to part ways, I heard him stop and run back. "Wait!"

I turned, shooting him a questioning look.

"You never said what your name was."

I told him. He smiled. He nodded. And we both started walking away again.

Then it was my turn to go back.

"Wait!" I yelled, "Doctor!"

He was almost to his box. "What?"

"Will I ever see you again?"

Even though he was fairly far off, I saw that huge grin spread across his face. "Count on it!"

I laughed, waving, then trotted back over the hill. But then there was a noise. A very distinct noise I'd never heard before. I ran back up the hill, the noise echoing all around the desolate expanse. But then, just like that, it faded into silence.

I huffed and puffed my way to the top. When I got there though, I was met with nothing. And that was just it. There was nothing out of the ordinary there.

The blue box. It was gone. And so was the Doctor.

~*~

Calm.

That was the only word I could use to describe how I felt right now. I lay in the dim light of my room, staring blankly at the ceiling. I hadn't realized just how relieved I would be when I finally graduated college. Jeez. Twenty-three already?

Five years since I'd seen the Doctor.

Rolling over, I was met with the sight the note I'd received a few years ago.

Thanks for the skating lessons. They were literally a life saver.

I hadn't actually seen the man, but I knew it the paper couldn't be from anyone but him. Sighing, I closed my eyes, slowly drifting toward dreamland.

And then, the quiet was shattered.

My eyes snapped open. That noise. I knew that noise. I'd only heard that noise once before. I grinned, bigger than I had for a while, pushing myself out of my bed, feet landing squarely on the floor. The noise died down, but I knew whatever had made it was right outside my bedroom door.

Flinging the door open, I was met with the sight of a blue box and a man who had clearly just flung its door open.

I grew confused when I saw him. He was much younger than the man I was expecting, his hair dark, his face square, and his eyes a stunning shade of green. Eyes that lit up when they saw me and a mouth that excitedly called out my name.

I blinked in surprise. "D... Doctor?"

"I did get the right house! Cool." he breathed in a very different speech pattern then I remembered him having. "I love it when I do that."

"What... What are you doing here?"

"Well, I was on Jupiter's moon Europa digging for the lost jewels of the planet Frasseid when I realized that all those years ago, when I asked if you wanted to see the universe, there was something very important that I didn't ask you."

"What?"

He flashed a triumphant smile. "How would you like to travel through time?"

Description
Calm.

That was the only word I could use to describe the world around me. The snow around me was untouched, save for the footprints I'd left trailed behind me. Mountains could be seen off in the distance, rising up in majestic glory. The sky was a crisp bright gray, small flakes falling softly from it. Uninterrupted by the wind, I could stick my tongue out and catch the flakes easily. Such a childish thing it was, but I didn't care.

Yes, it was a perfect winter day.

Skipping through the last of the sparse, bare trees, I grinned as I finally reached my destination. The lake sparkled before me in all its glory, the surface covered in the thick, mid-winter ice. I paused a moment before letting out a loud laugh and barreling down the hill in a very un-lady like manner.

I slid to a stop at the bottom, falling purposefully down on my rear. Ignoring my wet pants, I pulled my skates off of my back. Throwing my boots off onto a snowdrift, I quickly laced the bladed footwear.

I'd been waiting months for the ice to freeze hard enough. And now, I could skate.

Around and around I went for a long while, doing nothing but just speeding around the secluded pond. A laugh broke out from my lungs, echoing around the vast expanse. Silly to think such happiness could come from something so simple.

Now, I had never been the most graceful person, but even I had to admit that I had a few moves to my name. I turned expertly, bringing my left leg up so that I spun around gracefully on my right toe. Pulling my arms in, I went even faster. The world around me was a blur, air rushing past my ears-

But then...

"Oh wow! Brilliant! Could you teach me how to do that?"

I yelped in surprise, losing concentration, arms flailing as I fell hard on my backside. The breath was immediately taken from me.

"Oh dear." I barely heard the man's voice this time, leading me to think he was probably speaking to himself. Then it came again, louder this time. "Hold on just a moment!"

The sound of skates were clearly audible as the unknown person quickly approached. Still gasping for air, I raised my head in the direction of the noise. A tall man was making his way toward me on his own pair of skates, a brown trench coat flying out behind him. He slipped down onto his side and slid, the obvious idea being to slide to a stop beside me. Unfortunately, he didn't seem very apt on his skates and ended up sliding right past me.

"No, no, no, no! Wait!" he cried unhappily as he slid away, causing me to lose my breath just as I got it back due to a fit of laughter. Finally sitting up, I was met with the sight of the man sliding backward toward me on his rear.

Still giggling, I gave the man a questioning look as he slid up next to me. He had light brown hair, bangs styled in a way I'd never quite seen before. His brown eyes crinkled as he gave me one of the most genuine smiles I'd ever seen a person give. Without a doubt, he was a handsome fellow.

"Well, that didn't go exactly as planned. Which is strange because my plans usually go so well..." he slowly gazed off into the distance during the last part, frowning as if he was remembering something. I cocked my head, looking at him expectantly. His British accent was obvious now, but it still has sort of an odd ring to it...

He quickly turned back, smiling again. "Anyways, sorry I scared you. I was just passing by when I saw you skating around and thought I'd join you. I'm pretty brilliant myself. Well, fairly good. Well, sort of good. Well, a little bit clumsy. I can get where I want to go... Seventy percent of the time. Or sixty. Almost the same number..." He spoke quickly, then would slowly fade off in thought before speeding up again. It seemed like a rather exhausting way to talk.

"You were just... passing by?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "We're practically in the middle of nowhere."

"What better place is there to think?" he crooked his own eyebrow and gave a knowing side grin.

I smiled, shaking my head as I studied his face. Normally, a man coming out of thin air would raise a few red flags, but he seemed different. Like I could trust him with my life.

"Well, uh..."

He stuck out his hand. "I'm the Doctor, by the way."

I blinked, taking his hand. "Doctor? Doctor who?"

"Just, the Doctor." he nodded curtly.

"Well Doctor, would you like an ice skating lesson?"

~*~

It grew late quickly, but I didn't notice. I was having too much fun. The Doctor had quickly discarded his trench coat soon after we'd begun skating, revealing a blue suit underneath. I'd chuckled at this, finding the idea of a man in a suit and ice skates rather odd. Especially one as lanky as him.

But in all honesty, everything about the man was odd. His speech, the things he talked about... When he spoke, he seemed to me like he was an age old man rather than a man in his late 30s. But still, he was an entertaining companion.

Not to mention he picked up on things rather quickly. By nightfall, he was almost as good a skater as me.

As the sky grew dark, we both changed out of our skates. Pulling on my boots, I glanced over, immediately bursting into giggles at his footwear.

"How old are you exactly?"

"How old am I?! How old are you?!" he huffed indignantly.

"Eighteen, thanks."

"What? Do you not wear converse at eighteen?"

"Not with a suit."

"You wear a suit?"

"No! But if I did, I wouldn't wear converse with it!"

"Why not?"

"It's not proper!"

A scoff. "Who wants to be proper?"

We grew quiet, and I found myself smiling thoughtfully.

"I'm nine hundred."

My head whipped to face him, pausing with my boot pulled on half-way. "What?"

He turned to me, face blank. No, not blank. Sad.

"I am nine hundred years old."

A pause. A deafening silence.

"How?"

"A strange man that you just met and who you know nothing about tells you he is 900 years old and you're not scared or worried at all?"

Brows furrowing, I thought for a moment, staring at the snow.

"No." I glanced up at him. "Should I be?"

He gazed up at the now cloudless sky. "I'm don't know. I used to think I was good. Now I'm not so sure."

For the first time that day, I saw who the Doctor really was. It was etched deeply into his features. He was sad. Alone. Lost.

The two of us said nothing for a long time, so long that by the time I put my hand on his shoulder, the only light came from the moon and twinkling stars.

"You are Doctor. You are good. Don't doubt yourself."

"How do you know?" he scoffed half-heartedly.

"Because I know a bad person when I meet them. And you're certainly not one of them. Besides, even if you were, I could probably just have you chase me up to the top of the hill and let the wind take care of you. Skinny old man."

He gazed at me, a small smile coming to his lips. "You sound like someone I used to know."

I smiled back. "Come on Doctor. It's late."

As we made our way up the hill, gazed up at the stars. I sighed, forever awestruck by their beauty.

"Would you like to see them?"

My head jerked sideways. "See what?"

"The stars."

"I can see them now."

"Don't be cheeky. I meant up close."

I snorted, smiling as I threw my head back to stare at them again. "Of course! But I think I'd better finish school before I even think about doing anything like that."

He let some air loudly out of his nose, causing me to turn my eyes to him again. He looked... Disappointed.

"I suppose so. But you do want to see them?"

"Yes Doctor, I want to see the stars."

"And other planets?"

"Yes."

"What about aliens... Do you believe in aliens?"

I laughed, giving him my most incredulous look. "Of course. It would be impossible for there not to be, considering the size of the universe. What's with all the questions?"

"Oh, nothing. Just curious." he pressed his lips together, shaking his head.

I gave another baffled laugh as I reached the top of the hill. This one though, was cut short as I spied a strange object resting in the snow not so far from us. It was some sort of...

Blue box?

"What... What is that?"

"Oh, that's mine."

"It's a blue box."

"Well observed."

"Jeez, who's cheeky now?"

"Still you." he muttered thoughtfully, pursing his lips as his eyes turned upward to the twinkling lights.

I shook my head. "Well okay Doctor. I suppose I'd better get going."

He gave another smile, slightly sad again. "I suppose I need to also."

"Goodbye."

"Yes. Goodbye."

As we began to part ways, I heard him stop and run back. "Wait!"

I turned, shooting him a questioning look.

"You never said what your name was."

I told him. He smiled. He nodded. And we both started walking away again.

Then it was my turn to go back.

"Wait!" I yelled, "Doctor!"

He was almost to his box. "What?"

"Will I ever see you again?"

Even though he was fairly far off, I saw that huge grin spread across his face. "Count on it!"

I laughed, waving, then trotted back over the hill. But then there was a noise. A very distinct noise I'd never heard before. I ran back up the hill, the noise echoing all around the desolate expanse. But then, just like that, it faded into silence.

I huffed and puffed my way to the top. When I got there though, I was met with nothing. And that was just it. There was nothing out of the ordinary there.

The blue box. It was gone. And so was the Doctor.

~*~

Calm.

That was the only word I could use to describe how I felt right now. I lay in the dim light of my room, staring blankly at the ceiling. I hadn't realized just how relieved I would be when I finally graduated college. Jeez. Twenty-three already?

Five years since I'd seen the Doctor.

Rolling over, I was met with the sight the note I'd received a few years ago.

Thanks for the skating lessons. They were literally a life saver.

I hadn't actually seen the man, but I knew it the paper couldn't be from anyone but him. Sighing, I closed my eyes, slowly drifting toward dreamland.

And then, the quiet was shattered.

My eyes snapped open. That noise. I knew that noise. I'd only heard that noise once before. I grinned, bigger than I had for a while, pushing myself out of my bed, feet landing squarely on the floor. The noise died down, but I knew whatever had made it was right outside my bedroom door.

Flinging the door open, I was met with the sight of a blue box and a man who had clearly just flung its door open.

I grew confused when I saw him. He was much younger than the man I was expecting, his hair dark, his face square, and his eyes a stunning shade of green. Eyes that lit up when they saw me and a mouth that excitedly called out my name.

I blinked in surprise. "D... Doctor?"

"I did get the right house! Cool." he breathed in a very different speech pattern then I remembered him having. "I love it when I do that."

"What... What are you doing here?"

"Well, I was on Jupiter's moon Europa digging for the lost jewels of the planet Frasseid when I realized that all those years ago, when I asked if you wanted to see the universe, there was something very important that I didn't ask you."

"What?"

He flashed a triumphant smile. "How would you like to travel through time?"