the present: a doctor who fanfiction (11th doctor)

stumped

Paeonia, 2736

His lanky arms released her from the hug, "I'm going to go before Amy and Rory get too worried, but take all the time you need."

She looked up at his solemn face that awaited her answer, "Yeah, of course. I'll be right out."

The Doctor did as he promised and left her alone. As much as he wanted to pry, he knew it would only make her more upset. With that being said, he still paced around the outside of the Tardis questioning what to do, but he knew it best to leave her alone. He wanted to knock on the door to check on her, but something changed his mind at the last second. The entire walk back he only thought of her and whoever Gus was.

Once he returned to their spot, Amy and Rory made their way into the crystal clear waters. It was truly far too beautiful to resist. Facing the tempting waters, he sat and waited on the blanket for his Laurie to return. - A mournful feeling sat with him as he watched Amy and Rory mess with each other, but his mind reassured him that Lauren would be back soon.

Back inside the Tardis, Lauren prepared herself to leave. Her face cooled down from the earlier tears returning to its lightly flushed state. Someone else ran through her mind instead of Gus. Maybe that's what she needed, the perfect distraction. Knowing her time inside the Tardis was running out, she decided. Enjoy the time she had left. Before the rest of her life became everything she hated, she wanted to enjoy her time with the Doctor. No thinking about the goodbyes or farewells. Live in the present.

Lauren plopped down beside the Doctor on the blanket. A wide grin grew on his face the moment she sat down, he could feel the complete change of her energy. The sadness from earlier didn't feel so overwhelming now. He waited a moment before asking, "Are you alright? Like definitely, totally, and completely alright?"

A small chuckle fell from her lips, "Yes, I'm completely, totally, and definitely alright."

For once, he could tell that she wasn't lying. There was no need for reassurance, he could tell that she actually meant it. The smile on her face came naturally. Those sapphire eyes were lit up once again. A part of him hoped he brought her back. Oh, his beautiful and clever Laurie.

It took a decent amount of effort, but she found a way to push off the thought of leaving. There were things she never noticed about the Doctor until then. Things that she wanted to keep for herself like the way he looked at her. No one had ever looked so deep into her eyes like he did. She became almost positive he saw through her.

Amy noticed the return of her best friends and waved them over. Lauren stood up to go join them, "Are you coming?"

The Doctor dug Twilight out from the picnic basket, "Think I'm just going to stay here."

"Are you sure you want to sit here all alone?"

"Go have fun with Amy and Rory. I'll get in later."

"You know what?"

"What?"

"I think I'm going to stay here. I can enjoy the water another day," she said, sitting beside him on the blanket. The waters reminded her a lot of France, so who could blame her for wanting to avoid them.

It remained true that she was far too stubborn to listen to him, but whoever said she only stayed to be stubborn?

With his reading glasses placed on the tip of his nose, he continued to read Twilight. He found it absolutely horrid, but her tabs made it worth it. Lauren's head slumped down onto his shoulder, "Could you read it aloud? I don't feel like walking back to the Tardis again."

"Of course," he said. Before reading, he stole a glance at her. Funny enough, she had already made the same choice. Precious moments like these are frozen in time. After going through so much in mere hours, they found themselves lost in each other's eyes. He found he could see through her for once. In those sapphire eyes, he saw she had found some sort of peace. A peace that he thought would ne impossible to conjure up after her nightmare. Their staring contest only lasted a few seconds before they both turned away. The moment seemed to last much longer, the remains of it could still be felt as they read together.

Lauren laughed as the Doctor mocked her tabs, trying to read them in her voice. Neither of them cared to notice how many pages had been turned or how many minutes passed. They were nearing the end of the story, but it didn't feel that way. There was so much more left to say and left to read. Amy and Rory didn't notice the time either. With no imminent danger or scary aliens, everyone found it easy to relax and let the time pass.

Even though they started in the last third of the book, they finished relatively quickly. The Paeonian sun sat on the horizon, casting over the turquoise lake. The sun contained a magical ability to cast a pink hue onto everything, creating an even more beautiful scene. Lauren dozed off on top of the Doctor's bony shoulder. The chill breeze began to pick up as the sun set, but nothing could wake her. She managed to crash a while ago during the Doctor's ramble about something of not much importance. Amy and Rory were coming out of the water to meet their best friends.

Amy immediately noticed the sleeping Lauren, "How long has she been out?"

The Doctor shushed her before whispering, "Not too long. Ten minutes maybe?"

"Time to go then?" Rory asked.

The Doctor looked down at Lauren. He brought her here with the intention of fixing her, and it worked. By some miracle, he finally got Lauren to rest. "Yeah. I think so," he said.

Lauren slipped into an even deeper sleep as her friends talked. It had been a while since she got any proper sleep without dreaming. The Doctor knew that she never slept well, so he tried his very best to pick her up without waking her. Keeping with his miraculous ways, he got her in his arms without even a flutter of her eyelids. Amy and Rory packed up the blanket and everything else. The four of them headed off to the Tardis, saying goodbye to Paeonia.

Inside the Tardis, the Doctor went straight to Lauren's room. (I don't think there are words to describe how carefully he laid her down onto the bed.) He tucked her in and placed a small kiss on the top of her head. "Sleep well, Teddy." In the most shocking turn of events, Freddie rubbed against the Doctor's leg before jumping onto the bed with Laurie. The cat stared at the floppy-haired man before curling up beside his owner.

The Doctor tested his luck by giving Freddie a gentle pat before whispering to him, "See, I promised you I would take care of her."

a/n: i'm back from the dead. it's been about eight months since i've posted and it killed me. i'm so sorry. i don't know if anyone cares but i hope they do. i'm not in love with this chapter but it's short and sweet. i'm so fucking happy that the paeonia chapter is over. i loathed it. hope you enjoyed and i'm hoping to have another chapter up very shortly. definitely will not be longer than month. much love xx