Doctor Who fic: The Boy Who Waited (49/49)
Title: The Boy Who Waited (49/49)
Rating: PG
Characters: Rory, with appearances from Barbara
Timeline: set between "The Pandorica Opens" and "The Big Bang"
Summary: London, 1996. Barbara Wright prepares the Pandorica for exhibit at the National Museum. As the work unfolds, she recounts the lengthy history of the stone box and its loyal protector, the Lone Centurion.
Disclaimer: Doctor Who belongs to the BBC. Everything else is me taking liberties with history.
A/N: A huge thank you to my beta punch_kicker15. This story would still be sitting on my hard drive if it weren't for you. And it's finally done! Thanks for reading!
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49
Part Eight: The Home Stretch
Leadworth, 1995 A.D.
For decades Rory had toyed with the idea of visiting Leadworth, but he had never found the time. Work kept him busy and he also didn’t have access to a car. It was just a thought that he kept on the mental back burner; something to revisit once every few years.
But then he had noticed the date the other day and it was a notion he couldn’t put off any longer.
The car was Jack’s, driven over from Cardiff. It had been strange driving the sports car. He still knew how to drive, but he was out of practice. He had lost the subtly to control the gas and brake pedals and he had sped up and slowed down at random intervals during the two hour drive. It seemed that driving a car was nothing like riding a bicycle. The skills didn’t just come back to you.
But the haphazard journey had given Rory some time to think. He wanted to do this. As long as he was careful, nothing wrong was going to happen.
He left the car in the town square and walked the rest of the way. It wasn’t far and he enjoyed seeing the familiar sights from his childhood. The sweets shop by the post office, the old bookstore across the road, the Traveller’s Rest pub and inn. He felt like he was in a dream; it was all too surreal.
When he reached the right street and he found the right house, he stopped. Everything was exactly as he remembered.
The moving lorry took up most of the road, but there was hardly anyone around to complain. Burly men unloaded box after box from the rear of the hold. Some boxes were immediately moved into the house while others got to sit on the front lawn. A woman of medium height with bright ginger hair and a stout man with thinning brown hair directed the action the best they could, to the point that they were ignoring everything else.
Rory stared at the two adults for a second. They were vaguely familiar, but like a blurred photograph their faces refused to come into focus. He had known them, once upon a time. Hadn’t he?
Pushing aside the thought for another time, he turned his attention to the one thing that everyone had forgotten. She sat on one of the swings that hung from the red swing set out front, but she remained still, as if in protest. A red wagon sat in front of her and in it was a small cardboard box. On the side, written in black marker, were the words, “Amelia’s toys.”
Amelia Pond. Six years old.
The first time around, Rory had seen the moving lorry from his house and he had gone over to take a look. That was the first time he saw Amelia, a sullen little girl looking like she wanted to be somewhere else. In that moment, he would have done anything to make her smile. But being the shy boy that he was, he hadn’t gone over and the first time Amelia saw him was at school, when she had thrown a wad of toffee across the playground and it had gotten stuck in his hair.
Rory had passed his parents’ house on the walk over, but there had been no evidence that a young boy lived there. No toys in the yard, no chalk drawings on the pavement, no colourful curtains in the top window.
No friend for Amelia.
It broke his heart to know that little girl would be alone. Her parents, the unfamiliar man and woman on the lawn, would be gone all too soon, taken away by circumstance. Even the well-meaning aunt would leave, too.
One of the movers suddenly dropped one of the boxes and there came the unmistakably sound of breaking glass. The woman rushed over, shouting loudly, her Scottish accent audible to everyone in the neighbourhood. The man trailed after her, trying to calm her down.
Rory was across the street before he even realized that he had moved. His legs carried him over to the fence that separated the lawn from the pavement and before his brain could comprehend what was going on, he spoke.
“Hi.”
Amelia glanced up, quickly noted his existence, and then she looked away again. The woman was in a shouting match with one of the movers now and everyone else stood around awkwardly.
He had no idea what he was doing. When he first got into the car this morning he had no intention of talking with Amelia. And yet, here he was. He had a brief notion that he could take a genetic sample now, but that seemed too strange. What would he say anyway? Could I have a lock of your hair? Or a vial of your blood? It was far too creepy.
“Leadworth’s not so bad,” he said instead. “We have a duck pond.”
Amelia continued to look elsewhere, but he definitely saw just a hint of a smile from her. It struck Rory that this was what he had always meant to say to Amelia the first time he saw her. An opening line about ducks wasn’t the most profound statement in the universe, but he had cheered her up, even if it was only for a split second.
He turned to go, but he was unable to bring himself to say good-bye. It wasn’t time for good-byes. Every day since the year of Amelia’s birth he had kept an eye out for the Doctor.
“See you around.” Rory’s voice caught in his throat and he walked off before he could see Amelia’s reaction. Things weren’t ending.
They were just beginning.
* * *
Barbara had never seen the museum so crowded before. She stood off to one side of the foyer, watching the sea of people as they flowed in and out of the building. She wanted to believe that they were all here to see something else, but the general direction of the crowd was towards the main hall, where the Anomalies exhibit began.
They were all here to see her exhibit.
It had been a sprint to the end, but everything had ended up where it needed to be. It was now up to the museum to keep things going. She could finally relax.
Somewhere in the mass of people was Ian. He had arrived with half of the student body from Coalhill School it seemed. Barbara had tried to flag him down, but he had been swept away before they even made eye contact. She had been looking forward to catching up with him, but it looked like it would have to wait for now.
There did seem to be more children in the museum than usual. School field trips, she supposed. She hoped none of the teachers wanted to speak with her. She was too exhausted to offer anything insightful. A good, long sleep was in order, but she wouldn’t have missed opening day for the world.
Feeling a little over stimulated, Barbara decided to retreat to her office. She would be seeing her staff tonight at a celebratory get-together, so no one was going to mind if she disappeared for a bit. Donna, who had a knack for finding people, could come get her if there were any issues.
She was near the turn-off to the administrative wing when she saw the security guard. Her security guard. She spotted him just outside the main hall, looking around at the crowds as they entered the exhibit. He wasn’t wearing his security guard uniform and Barbara realized that this was the first time she had seen him during the day. Her recent shortcoming, that she didn’t know his name, came back to her. Now seemed like an excellent time to remedy that fault.
It took her a few moments longer to reach him than expected but when she was close enough to him she noticed the clothes he wore, specifically the tweed jacket with leather elbow patches. Barbara stopped just short of him, finding this slightly amusing, but she was even more amused when he turned in her direction. The security guard wore a bow tie, too. The overall look made him seem older than he was. It was vaguely professor-ish, and yet at the same time, he was a young, lanky man in need of a haircut.
He spotted her and his face lit up. So he was an eccentric dresser. Barbara didn’t mind. She had lived through the 1980s; she had seen worse. She crossed the last few steps to reach him, returning his smile.
“Ms. Wright. Congratulations! This is quite a turnout.”
“Yes, it’s better than I expected.”
“History can’t be ignored. And you have dinosaurs. I love a good dinosaur.”
Barbara found the security guard’s enthusiasm to be infectious. “I didn’t think I would see you here. Do you have the day off?”
The security guard awkwardly wrung his hands together. He seemed mildly… embarrassed? “What if I told you that I don’t actually work here?”
“I’m not sure I understand. I’ve seen you here after-hours with a torch and wearing a guard’s jacket.”
“I borrowed them. Well, when I say borrow, I mean stole, but I did just return them, so technically that is still borrowing. Long term lending?”
Barbara frowned. She had been certain the young man was a security guard, but now she saw it was just a trick. Was he a thief? She tried to glance around without turning her head. There had to be a real security guard around here somewhere. “Why are you telling me this?”
He grabbed her by the arm and steered her towards the administrative wing. There were too many people around and they hedged Barbara in, making it hard to escape. It would have been wise to break free, but she got the feeling that he wasn’t going to hurt her. She decided to see where this was headed. If the security guard tried anything, she would run off and find help.
The crowd thinned and then it disappeared completely. They stopped just outside the hallway that led to staff room and her office. Free of an audience, the young man became more animated. He began pacing back and forth in front of Barbara. “Yes, I lied, but I needed information. I needed to know if the Lone Centurion was still alive.”
She followed him with her eyes as he stalked back and forth. He wasn’t a thief. He was insane. “The Lone Centurion is a myth.”
“Then who was the ninth Knights Templar? Or the Heavenly Warrior in Kublai Khan’s court? Who was Sir John A.’s confidant? The Lone Centurion is real.” The young man paused and looked at Barbara with a smile. “I should know; he’s a friend of mine.”
She played along. It seemed like a good way to keep him talking. “If he’s your friend why did you need information? Shouldn’t you know whether he’s alive or not?”
“Barbara Wright. You always have to be so logical.” The comment seemed to amuse the young man. It was the way he spoke her name that Barbara noticed. He spoke not just as a friend but as someone who really knew her. Was it part of his delusion?
“I’m a historian. What else would I be?”
“Exactly.” He cocked a pointed finger at her. “You’re a historian. The perfect source.” He stopped rambling long enough to really look at her and Barbara made no effort to hide her confusion or her wariness. He continued to stare at her and some of his enthusiasm faded.
It was the perfect moment to make a break for it, but Barbara didn’t. She couldn’t say why.
“I didn’t expect to find you here. I was just looking for information, but then I saw your door and I couldn’t help myself. You always helped me to find the right answers.”
“You keep saying that,” Barbara said softly. “Always.”
“In another timeline we’re friends. You travelled with me for two years. You and Ian.”
Barbara’s heart leapt into her mouth. The young man had no right to bring Ian into this. “Stop this. You’re not making sense.” But still she didn’t leave. Inexplicably, this young man was her friend. Despite all of the strange things he said, a deeper instinct told her to trust him.
“You feel it, don’t you? A connection.” He started to walk around her, taking lengthy strides on his long legs. “It must be the Pandorica, drawing you all in.” The comment seemed more for himself. “You, Donna, Ace, Mel. Sarah Jane’s out in that crowd, and Ian, too. Rose and Martha as young girls. You all know that something’s wrong.” The young man stopped and looked up at Barbara and she was finally back in the conversation.
“There’s nothing wrong,” she insisted. Aside from the usual strife in the world, everything seemed absolutely fine to Barbara. The sun rose, the sun set, the Earth turned, the days passed. It was all normal.
“Everything’s wrong. Your exhibit tells the story. Just think about it, Barbara. The stars. How can something so countless just vanish?”
She thought of all the theories she had read over the years. There were never any stars, it was just a metaphor, atmospheric conditions, mass hallucinations, and so on. None of them had seemed plausible to her. Ever. Did this manic young man have a point?
Something in her expression must have revealed what she was thinking. The young man stepped forward, leaning in close. He was taller than her, forcing her to look up into his face. Her gaze was drawn to his eyes. She thought she had imagined it before, when her mind had still been hazy with sleep, but it was real. His eyes were so old.
“I can make it right, put history back on track.” The young man smiled. “Save the universe.”
“Who are you?”
The smile grew bigger. “I’m the Doctor.”
“Doctor… who?”
He gave no answer. Instead, he stepped back, pushing up his jacket sleeve to reveal a leather cuff around his right wrist. A series of metallic buttons were embedded on top and he began to push them in sequence, like he was entering a phone number.
This man was impossible, in more ways than one. “If we are friends,” began Barbara, “then you can give me an honest answer.” The Doctor paused and he looked up at her. “History is wrong. That’s what you said.” She didn’t want to believe him, but how could she deny it when there was a hall full of things that couldn’t be explained. “How can you fix that?”
“With ingenuity. And a few friends. And the Pandorica. You and the others are proof that it has some connection to the old timeline.”
“That’s not much of a plan.”
“It’s a list. Call it a prelude to a plan.”
Barbara was far from inspired, but what did she know? Her biggest achievement in recent memory was getting the Anomalies exhibit off the ground. That could hardly compare to saving the universe. “I shouldn’t keep you then.”
“Enjoy the day, Barbara Wright. All of those people out there are here because of you.” The Doctor pushed a few more buttons on the leather cuff. “And if you see a young man with messy hair and a big nose hanging about the museum, tell him the Doctor’s looking for him. He had better stayed out of-”
The Doctor disappeared in a flash of light.
Barbara stumbled back a step as her heart skipped a beat. For a moment all she could do was stare at the spot where the Doctor had stood. Of all the things she had expected to see today, large crowds in the museum and a man disappearing before her eyes had not been among them.
She took a few breaths to calm her racing heart but the shock was already starting to pass. She had been immersed in a world of the unbelievable for weeks now. The Doctor was just concrete proof that these oddities occurred for a reason.
Enjoy the day, he had said. There was sense in his advice. Better to dwell on the positives than on the negatives. Barbara didn’t need to ponder why the universe needed saving. If the Doctor was working on it, then she had the feeling that everything would be all right.
Instead of heading towards her office, she headed back to the main hall. She couldn’t pull her thoughts away from something the Doctor had said, though. In another timeline she had travelled with the Doctor. Her and Ian. She melded into the crowd and was carried into the hall where the Pandorica sat. A group ten people deep surrounded the stone box and some clamoured to get a better look at it.
Was that what the Pandorica held within it? A door to a different realm? It was hard to imagine her life being anything else but what it was right now.
“Barbara!”
She glanced up and saw Ian making his way through the throng towards her. The density of the crowd slowed his progress but it didn’t hamper his eagerness. She broke out into a smile.
If her life was different, so be it. From the sound of things, she still had everything she needed.
Barbara silently wished the Doctor good luck.
Rating: PG
Characters: Rory, with appearances from Barbara
Timeline: set between "The Pandorica Opens" and "The Big Bang"
Summary: London, 1996. Barbara Wright prepares the Pandorica for exhibit at the National Museum. As the work unfolds, she recounts the lengthy history of the stone box and its loyal protector, the Lone Centurion.
Disclaimer: Doctor Who belongs to the BBC. Everything else is me taking liberties with history.
A/N: A huge thank you to my beta punch_kicker15. This story would still be sitting on my hard drive if it weren't for you. And it's finally done! Thanks for reading!
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49
Part Eight: The Home Stretch
Leadworth, 1995 A.D.
For decades Rory had toyed with the idea of visiting Leadworth, but he had never found the time. Work kept him busy and he also didn’t have access to a car. It was just a thought that he kept on the mental back burner; something to revisit once every few years.
But then he had noticed the date the other day and it was a notion he couldn’t put off any longer.
The car was Jack’s, driven over from Cardiff. It had been strange driving the sports car. He still knew how to drive, but he was out of practice. He had lost the subtly to control the gas and brake pedals and he had sped up and slowed down at random intervals during the two hour drive. It seemed that driving a car was nothing like riding a bicycle. The skills didn’t just come back to you.
But the haphazard journey had given Rory some time to think. He wanted to do this. As long as he was careful, nothing wrong was going to happen.
He left the car in the town square and walked the rest of the way. It wasn’t far and he enjoyed seeing the familiar sights from his childhood. The sweets shop by the post office, the old bookstore across the road, the Traveller’s Rest pub and inn. He felt like he was in a dream; it was all too surreal.
When he reached the right street and he found the right house, he stopped. Everything was exactly as he remembered.
The moving lorry took up most of the road, but there was hardly anyone around to complain. Burly men unloaded box after box from the rear of the hold. Some boxes were immediately moved into the house while others got to sit on the front lawn. A woman of medium height with bright ginger hair and a stout man with thinning brown hair directed the action the best they could, to the point that they were ignoring everything else.
Rory stared at the two adults for a second. They were vaguely familiar, but like a blurred photograph their faces refused to come into focus. He had known them, once upon a time. Hadn’t he?
Pushing aside the thought for another time, he turned his attention to the one thing that everyone had forgotten. She sat on one of the swings that hung from the red swing set out front, but she remained still, as if in protest. A red wagon sat in front of her and in it was a small cardboard box. On the side, written in black marker, were the words, “Amelia’s toys.”
Amelia Pond. Six years old.
The first time around, Rory had seen the moving lorry from his house and he had gone over to take a look. That was the first time he saw Amelia, a sullen little girl looking like she wanted to be somewhere else. In that moment, he would have done anything to make her smile. But being the shy boy that he was, he hadn’t gone over and the first time Amelia saw him was at school, when she had thrown a wad of toffee across the playground and it had gotten stuck in his hair.
Rory had passed his parents’ house on the walk over, but there had been no evidence that a young boy lived there. No toys in the yard, no chalk drawings on the pavement, no colourful curtains in the top window.
No friend for Amelia.
It broke his heart to know that little girl would be alone. Her parents, the unfamiliar man and woman on the lawn, would be gone all too soon, taken away by circumstance. Even the well-meaning aunt would leave, too.
One of the movers suddenly dropped one of the boxes and there came the unmistakably sound of breaking glass. The woman rushed over, shouting loudly, her Scottish accent audible to everyone in the neighbourhood. The man trailed after her, trying to calm her down.
Rory was across the street before he even realized that he had moved. His legs carried him over to the fence that separated the lawn from the pavement and before his brain could comprehend what was going on, he spoke.
“Hi.”
Amelia glanced up, quickly noted his existence, and then she looked away again. The woman was in a shouting match with one of the movers now and everyone else stood around awkwardly.
He had no idea what he was doing. When he first got into the car this morning he had no intention of talking with Amelia. And yet, here he was. He had a brief notion that he could take a genetic sample now, but that seemed too strange. What would he say anyway? Could I have a lock of your hair? Or a vial of your blood? It was far too creepy.
“Leadworth’s not so bad,” he said instead. “We have a duck pond.”
Amelia continued to look elsewhere, but he definitely saw just a hint of a smile from her. It struck Rory that this was what he had always meant to say to Amelia the first time he saw her. An opening line about ducks wasn’t the most profound statement in the universe, but he had cheered her up, even if it was only for a split second.
He turned to go, but he was unable to bring himself to say good-bye. It wasn’t time for good-byes. Every day since the year of Amelia’s birth he had kept an eye out for the Doctor.
“See you around.” Rory’s voice caught in his throat and he walked off before he could see Amelia’s reaction. Things weren’t ending.
They were just beginning.
* * *
Barbara had never seen the museum so crowded before. She stood off to one side of the foyer, watching the sea of people as they flowed in and out of the building. She wanted to believe that they were all here to see something else, but the general direction of the crowd was towards the main hall, where the Anomalies exhibit began.
They were all here to see her exhibit.
It had been a sprint to the end, but everything had ended up where it needed to be. It was now up to the museum to keep things going. She could finally relax.
Somewhere in the mass of people was Ian. He had arrived with half of the student body from Coalhill School it seemed. Barbara had tried to flag him down, but he had been swept away before they even made eye contact. She had been looking forward to catching up with him, but it looked like it would have to wait for now.
There did seem to be more children in the museum than usual. School field trips, she supposed. She hoped none of the teachers wanted to speak with her. She was too exhausted to offer anything insightful. A good, long sleep was in order, but she wouldn’t have missed opening day for the world.
Feeling a little over stimulated, Barbara decided to retreat to her office. She would be seeing her staff tonight at a celebratory get-together, so no one was going to mind if she disappeared for a bit. Donna, who had a knack for finding people, could come get her if there were any issues.
She was near the turn-off to the administrative wing when she saw the security guard. Her security guard. She spotted him just outside the main hall, looking around at the crowds as they entered the exhibit. He wasn’t wearing his security guard uniform and Barbara realized that this was the first time she had seen him during the day. Her recent shortcoming, that she didn’t know his name, came back to her. Now seemed like an excellent time to remedy that fault.
It took her a few moments longer to reach him than expected but when she was close enough to him she noticed the clothes he wore, specifically the tweed jacket with leather elbow patches. Barbara stopped just short of him, finding this slightly amusing, but she was even more amused when he turned in her direction. The security guard wore a bow tie, too. The overall look made him seem older than he was. It was vaguely professor-ish, and yet at the same time, he was a young, lanky man in need of a haircut.
He spotted her and his face lit up. So he was an eccentric dresser. Barbara didn’t mind. She had lived through the 1980s; she had seen worse. She crossed the last few steps to reach him, returning his smile.
“Ms. Wright. Congratulations! This is quite a turnout.”
“Yes, it’s better than I expected.”
“History can’t be ignored. And you have dinosaurs. I love a good dinosaur.”
Barbara found the security guard’s enthusiasm to be infectious. “I didn’t think I would see you here. Do you have the day off?”
The security guard awkwardly wrung his hands together. He seemed mildly… embarrassed? “What if I told you that I don’t actually work here?”
“I’m not sure I understand. I’ve seen you here after-hours with a torch and wearing a guard’s jacket.”
“I borrowed them. Well, when I say borrow, I mean stole, but I did just return them, so technically that is still borrowing. Long term lending?”
Barbara frowned. She had been certain the young man was a security guard, but now she saw it was just a trick. Was he a thief? She tried to glance around without turning her head. There had to be a real security guard around here somewhere. “Why are you telling me this?”
He grabbed her by the arm and steered her towards the administrative wing. There were too many people around and they hedged Barbara in, making it hard to escape. It would have been wise to break free, but she got the feeling that he wasn’t going to hurt her. She decided to see where this was headed. If the security guard tried anything, she would run off and find help.
The crowd thinned and then it disappeared completely. They stopped just outside the hallway that led to staff room and her office. Free of an audience, the young man became more animated. He began pacing back and forth in front of Barbara. “Yes, I lied, but I needed information. I needed to know if the Lone Centurion was still alive.”
She followed him with her eyes as he stalked back and forth. He wasn’t a thief. He was insane. “The Lone Centurion is a myth.”
“Then who was the ninth Knights Templar? Or the Heavenly Warrior in Kublai Khan’s court? Who was Sir John A.’s confidant? The Lone Centurion is real.” The young man paused and looked at Barbara with a smile. “I should know; he’s a friend of mine.”
She played along. It seemed like a good way to keep him talking. “If he’s your friend why did you need information? Shouldn’t you know whether he’s alive or not?”
“Barbara Wright. You always have to be so logical.” The comment seemed to amuse the young man. It was the way he spoke her name that Barbara noticed. He spoke not just as a friend but as someone who really knew her. Was it part of his delusion?
“I’m a historian. What else would I be?”
“Exactly.” He cocked a pointed finger at her. “You’re a historian. The perfect source.” He stopped rambling long enough to really look at her and Barbara made no effort to hide her confusion or her wariness. He continued to stare at her and some of his enthusiasm faded.
It was the perfect moment to make a break for it, but Barbara didn’t. She couldn’t say why.
“I didn’t expect to find you here. I was just looking for information, but then I saw your door and I couldn’t help myself. You always helped me to find the right answers.”
“You keep saying that,” Barbara said softly. “Always.”
“In another timeline we’re friends. You travelled with me for two years. You and Ian.”
Barbara’s heart leapt into her mouth. The young man had no right to bring Ian into this. “Stop this. You’re not making sense.” But still she didn’t leave. Inexplicably, this young man was her friend. Despite all of the strange things he said, a deeper instinct told her to trust him.
“You feel it, don’t you? A connection.” He started to walk around her, taking lengthy strides on his long legs. “It must be the Pandorica, drawing you all in.” The comment seemed more for himself. “You, Donna, Ace, Mel. Sarah Jane’s out in that crowd, and Ian, too. Rose and Martha as young girls. You all know that something’s wrong.” The young man stopped and looked up at Barbara and she was finally back in the conversation.
“There’s nothing wrong,” she insisted. Aside from the usual strife in the world, everything seemed absolutely fine to Barbara. The sun rose, the sun set, the Earth turned, the days passed. It was all normal.
“Everything’s wrong. Your exhibit tells the story. Just think about it, Barbara. The stars. How can something so countless just vanish?”
She thought of all the theories she had read over the years. There were never any stars, it was just a metaphor, atmospheric conditions, mass hallucinations, and so on. None of them had seemed plausible to her. Ever. Did this manic young man have a point?
Something in her expression must have revealed what she was thinking. The young man stepped forward, leaning in close. He was taller than her, forcing her to look up into his face. Her gaze was drawn to his eyes. She thought she had imagined it before, when her mind had still been hazy with sleep, but it was real. His eyes were so old.
“I can make it right, put history back on track.” The young man smiled. “Save the universe.”
“Who are you?”
The smile grew bigger. “I’m the Doctor.”
“Doctor… who?”
He gave no answer. Instead, he stepped back, pushing up his jacket sleeve to reveal a leather cuff around his right wrist. A series of metallic buttons were embedded on top and he began to push them in sequence, like he was entering a phone number.
This man was impossible, in more ways than one. “If we are friends,” began Barbara, “then you can give me an honest answer.” The Doctor paused and he looked up at her. “History is wrong. That’s what you said.” She didn’t want to believe him, but how could she deny it when there was a hall full of things that couldn’t be explained. “How can you fix that?”
“With ingenuity. And a few friends. And the Pandorica. You and the others are proof that it has some connection to the old timeline.”
“That’s not much of a plan.”
“It’s a list. Call it a prelude to a plan.”
Barbara was far from inspired, but what did she know? Her biggest achievement in recent memory was getting the Anomalies exhibit off the ground. That could hardly compare to saving the universe. “I shouldn’t keep you then.”
“Enjoy the day, Barbara Wright. All of those people out there are here because of you.” The Doctor pushed a few more buttons on the leather cuff. “And if you see a young man with messy hair and a big nose hanging about the museum, tell him the Doctor’s looking for him. He had better stayed out of-”
The Doctor disappeared in a flash of light.
Barbara stumbled back a step as her heart skipped a beat. For a moment all she could do was stare at the spot where the Doctor had stood. Of all the things she had expected to see today, large crowds in the museum and a man disappearing before her eyes had not been among them.
She took a few breaths to calm her racing heart but the shock was already starting to pass. She had been immersed in a world of the unbelievable for weeks now. The Doctor was just concrete proof that these oddities occurred for a reason.
Enjoy the day, he had said. There was sense in his advice. Better to dwell on the positives than on the negatives. Barbara didn’t need to ponder why the universe needed saving. If the Doctor was working on it, then she had the feeling that everything would be all right.
Instead of heading towards her office, she headed back to the main hall. She couldn’t pull her thoughts away from something the Doctor had said, though. In another timeline she had travelled with the Doctor. Her and Ian. She melded into the crowd and was carried into the hall where the Pandorica sat. A group ten people deep surrounded the stone box and some clamoured to get a better look at it.
Was that what the Pandorica held within it? A door to a different realm? It was hard to imagine her life being anything else but what it was right now.
“Barbara!”
She glanced up and saw Ian making his way through the throng towards her. The density of the crowd slowed his progress but it didn’t hamper his eagerness. She broke out into a smile.
If her life was different, so be it. From the sound of things, she still had everything she needed.
Barbara silently wished the Doctor good luck.