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[robobunnydoglvr]

Who: The Doctor and Jenrya
What: Jenrya had been looking for a safe, open space to practice Tai Chi. So, when the Doctor suggests the TARDIS, it seems like the perfect solution. Jenrya stops by the Doctor's room to check it out.
When: Here and now.
Where: the Doctor's room
Rating: PG

It was a few days later before Jenrya was finally able to find the

Comments

[findmeaning]

Having spent the best part of twelve hours straight working but having no success, The Doctor had, well, called it a day and kicked back. He was sat on the chair nearest the console, his pair of sneakers loitering over the edge of the control centre, just managing not to hit anything. His eyes were closed and his head was lolled back, asleep, or feigning it almost perfectly - but as he heard a distant knocking sound, he warily opened one eye, stifling a yawn. Who? he thought slowly. Ray? Probably not (he hadn't done anything... weird... yet). Naomi? Nah, probably not her either... it took him a couple of seconds to recall inviting Jenrya.

Jenrya! Of course!

As he did, he shot upright, wiping his eyes again to blink out the sleep that had been coming on, flying straight across the room, opening the TARDIS door, and scooting straight across the well- lesser space of the room (given the TARDIS took up pretty much all of it), and opened the door, about 99.5% sure it was Jenrya. Beaming as he gussed correctly, he stifled back another

[robobunnydoglvr]

Feeling a little sheepish about the fact that he had disturbed the older man from some undoubtedly need beauty sleep, Jenrya had been about to offer that he could come back later when the strange contents of the room had caught his eye. A big, blue police box. Putting pleasantries and manners aside for just a moment, he stared with interest.

This was the TARDIS? He stepped through the doorway, lost for words, but managed a small "thanks" and a basic, yet warm greeting. A smile began to spread across his face. It really made no sense at all. The inside was so much bigger than the outside.

"Doctor... you weren’t kidding. This thing is amazing!"

Placing his hand up to his chin, as he always did when in deep thought, Jenrya leaned in for a closer look at the console, mindful not to touch anything. Imagine it, traveling through time and space in a police box! Technology had certainly come a long way. “What does this thing in the center here do?”

[findmeaning]

The Doctor waited for the telltale line that everyone always seemed pressured to say when they entered, but when it didn't come, he meerly shrugged before bounding back inside the TARDIS and closing the door behind him, the inner workings making the odd noises they always did.

"Of course!" he said brightly, pleased that Jenrya was interested. Not all young minds fully were... well, some were. "This is the console," he said fondly, patting the edge of it, as if it were a person rather than an object. "It controls just about everything that goes on here- the time, the place you're going, all of it!" he nodded to himself. He blinked once, before mentally hitting himself. "Oh, how rude of me," he looked up, and then looked down, before announcing in a louder voice than was really necessary, "This is Jenrya!" - the TARDIS seemed to give a slight whir in response, as if acknowledging the fact. He smiled cheerfully down at Jenrya. "Formalities and all that."

[robobunnydoglvr]

Formalities? Jenrya raised his eyes from their detailed study of the counsel. Was he talking to the TARDIS? Jenrya supposed that is wasn’t that strange - well, it was, but that was beside the point.

“Of course,” he nodded his head as if he understood. “…is it alive?” The question had sounded silly before it had even left his mouth, but he’d seen a lot of silly things in his lifetime. After all, Guilmon and Takato had talked to Grani, and it had turned out to be alive. Granted, Grani was a digital life form, and couldn’t travel through time. It was also a lot less spacious to boot.

[findmeaning]

"Hmmmm," The Doctor briefly rubbed the bottom of his stubble-less chin in thought for a moment. "That's a good question. No. Yes. Yes and no," he walked around the console as he spoke, before stopping to where he pointed under the grates on the floor, where there seemed to be a dim light. "See that? That's the heart of the TARDIS. So I suppose you could say she is alive."

[robobunnydoglvr]

“Amazing,” he repeated thoughtfully. Evidently, the TARDIS wasn’t just a high-tech piece of machinery, but most likely an expensive one at that. The power source alone must be worth a hefty sum. How had the Doctor come across such an amazing thing?

Jenrya began to shift ever so slightly from one foot to the other, uncomfortable with the idea of something of that power and magnitude resting underneath his feet. He really hoped that these grates didn't give out. Mysterious energy sources were pretty to look at, but Jenrya wasn't to keen on the idea of finding out what happened to someone who got too close to one.

[findmeaning]

Seemingly able to sense Jenrya's unease, The Doctor held back a slight laugh, but he smiled cheerfully. "It's more so nearer the console. In it. Under it - to be honest, I'm not quite sure," he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Strong as a bull, those grates! Ro-" he broke off. Don't mention Rose's name, he thought hurriedly. Mentioning Rose, bringing her name back to the front of his mind, reminded him of all he had lost, that would make his two hearts break- and made his existance be questioned, as all he wanted to do was sit in a corner for however long and let the sadness sweep over him. Correcting himself, he continued, "-my friend, I once sent her back home when we were in danger, and being the stubborn thing she is, had to hire a removal van to get it open," he said with a grin, his facade clearly up and running again

[robobunnydoglvr]

With the reassurance of the Doctor, Jenrya was quick to relax. His eyes continued to focus hazily on the glow of the heart below them. He didn’t need to ask to know that this friend of the Doctor’s must have been important to him. He remained awkwardly silent through the Doctor’s words, as well as for a time after that. It wasn’t his place to intrude.

For a moment his thoughts were pulled oddly to Terriermon, of all things; his smile, his laugh, the last words that had been said between them - even the dog-rabbit’s awful jokes - and he wasn’t sure why. Now, Terriermon was trapped in one world and he in another. Jenrya thumbed the D-Ark in his pocket absentmindedly until his thoughts were broken by the Doctor’s duly needed change of subject.

“Ah- it wasn’t like I was practicing on top of a grave or anything,” he laughed at his own embarrassment. “I didn’t want to practice indoors where I might hit someone or something, and with the way that the wind was blowing that day, there was too much mist in the front of the bar.”

[findmeaning]

The Doctor shrugged his shoulders nonchalently at Jenrya's words, a weird sort of smile on his face. "Fair point, I suppose- though I'm sure Ray wouldn't like it if you hurt one of her hands," he said with a slight laugh. He doubted any corpse would like being martial art-ed (even though that wasn't a word). "I would say the roof would have been your best bet, but it seems to be worse for wear after that fight the other day. Still! You're here now," he nodded to himself, his hands going straight in his pockets as he walked back round to stand next to Jenrya. "Want a fully guided tour? Cliff notes version, of course."

[robobunnydoglvr]

So cliff notes were needed, huh? Just how big was this place? Jenryra tried not to think about it. There was surely a reasonably scientific explanation as to how this entire place fit inside of a police box, but it would no doubt make his head hurt.

“Sounds great,” Jenrya said happily. Lebenfied was as nice a place as any, but after being confined to the quaint little bar for over a month, with nothing more than a couple of parties, that rooftop brawl that everyone seemed to be talking about, and a game of hide and seek for entertainment, the change of scenery that the TARDIS provided was refreshing. With one last look at the console, Jenrya was ready to go. “Lead the way!”

[findmeaning]

The Doctor saluted briefly, fairly pleased that he had someone new to 'show off' his TARDIS too. Really, he was just like a little kid in a nine hundred and three year old alien's body - far too excited for his own good

[robobunnydoglvr]

`...I’ll have to remember to steer clear of the attic.`

Jenrya turned to look up at that Doctor. Yes, actually, he had been wondering that. “Hm…” he thought about it for a moment. "Is the TARDIS some sort of time pocket? A rift in dimensions? Maybe it's some sort of way to break down particles once they have passed a certain point - in this case, the entrance of the TARDIS - and instantly rearrange and expand them?" he was starting to ramble, he realized. "Okay, I give up. How does it all fit?” A look of pure intrigue found its way to Jenrya’s face.

[findmeaning]

The Doctor shook his head. "No- but I do like that last one. Very insightful. I'll keep that one in mind," he broke off again, smiling cheerfully at Jenrya. A sharp young mind- he liked that.

"Well," he tilted his head slightly, musing, seemingly knowing he was building up the tension. "It's all just Time Lord science!"

[robobunnydoglvr]

Whether he had knowingly done it or not, the tactic had worked; the tension had built up. In fact, if Jenrya had been sitting, he’d have been on the edge of his seat. But needless to say, after the initial build up, the all anticipated answer had left him with more questions than it had answers. “I see,” he laughed lightly, “it’s all that simple, is it?”

“I’m sorry to say this, Doctor, but I don't think I've ever seen books on introduction level Time Lord science at my local book store.”

[findmeaning]

For a moment, he was silent, until he laughed. "I'd bet not," he winked. "Well, it's not really a police box," he touched the nearest wall of the TARDIS that they were standing near. "See, it has a chameleon circuit. So it fits in with the surroundings. That, and it also has a perception filter, so you just ignore it if it's there. You know it's there, but you don't think about it, your perception just," he lifted up his hands as he spoke, moving them abruptly to one side. "Moves onto something else."

He broke off for a second to allow Jenrya to intake this, before continuing, "Anyway. The chamelon circuit is... well, bust. Broken. Ka-put," his lips made an 'o' shape as he said 'put'. "So it's stuck as a police box. That's where the perception comes in handy. True, if I'm in 21st Century Britain, and someone does see the TARDIS, they'll just think an old police box was saved," he laughed again. "So, really, it's probably a lot bigger in reality. Time Lord science, or one of the rules, is bigger on the inside. It just is," he shrugged

[robobunnydoglvr]

“Bigger on the inside… hm…” he had to think about this for a second. It all sounded reasonable enough (well, reasonable enough to someone whose seen a talking rabbit-dog come out of their computer screen, at least), but he still couldn’t rap his mind around it. There was still a lot for him to learn, he supposed.

“So, even you don’t know how big it really is? Was the TARDIS originally built to hold an army, or something? It seems like an awful lot of extra space for just one person.”