The Orphan in the TARDIS

Chapter Thirty-One

The first lecture of the Doctor's was surprisingly informative, but Sophie had left the classroom at her first chance. It's not that she doesn't love the Time Lord, she just really doesn't need the embarrassment he'll cause. What she didn't expect was to see him hours later, in the canteen.

He places his plate on the table directly beside her, where she sits in the corner of the room, alone. Sitting down beside her, he greets, "Is this seat taken?"

"Apparently it is now."

He steeples his fingers on the table in front of him, "What's got you so down?"

Turning to look at him, "Why didn't you tell me you were a lecturer here?"

"I promised you I'd come and visit you."

"Visit, not become a lecturer. Why are you here? There's not an alien invasion imminent, right?"

"No, not that I'm aware. Although, there is an alien in the basement."

"What?"

"Missy. She's in a vault. In the basement."

"Why? I mean, I get locking her up, and a vault on earth is probably a lot better than Stormcage, but why choose a University. The University you know I was planning on attending."

"It was easiest to integrate as a professor. I let Nardole choose the location. How was I to know he'd choose St. Luke's."

"Right," Sophie smiles, rolling her eyes.

The Time Lord, who had been about to take a bite looks at her, "It's true, " he protests, punctuating his statement by stabbing the fork into the air.

"Uh huh," she tries to hold in her laugh. "I am glad you're here, Doc. Try not to embarrass me, eh?"

Grinning in return, he says, "Do, or do not. There is no try."

"Oi, quoting movies is my job."

"Alright, alright. I'll try not to embarrass you all that much, Lynny."

"That's all I ask."

He smiles at her, "Couldn't help notice you sitting all alone in the corner, you want to talk about it?"

"I like to be alone. It's nice, soothing even."

"Then why do you look sad?"

"Don't worry about it. How's your life been? Must be a bit boring working as a Professor, stuck in one place perpetually."

"Hmm," he leans back in his chair, "It's a drab life, but Nardole keeps telling me it's necessary. Don't think I didn't notice your clever subject change."

"It wasn't that clever."

"I know." Silence descends upon the table, save the sounds of chewing. After about ten minutes, the Doctor says, "I want you to know, you're welcome in my office at any time, even if I'm not there."

"You think I'd want to hang out in your office alone?"

"You wouldn't be alone. Sexy and Nardole are there."

"Well, if the TARDIS is there, then I'm there. Thanks Doc."

"Anything for my best friend."

***

After the long first week, the weekend finally arrives. She decides that after the stress of the week she can spoil herself with a nice tea from her favourite shop. Sophie walks out onto the street, debating between taking the bus or walking.

Finally she decides on walking, and begins to make her way toward the shop. Getting about halfway there, she notices a large crowd of people all gazing up at the sky. She follows their gaze, finding lots of different clouds. "What's so interesting about the sky? I mean, sure that cloud looks like a bunny rabbit, but unless these people are cloud spotters, it's gotta be something else," she mutters to herself. She rolls her eyes, realizing what she just said, "Oh, bl**dy h*ll! I'm starting to sound like the Doctor."

She moves toward the group, trying to follow their line of sight. As she leans around a taller man, she spies it. A small object is sailing down toward the streets. Cocking an eyebrow, Sophie elbows her way to the front, tracking the UFO on its way down. As it gets closer to the ground, she notices the flames glowing out of the back of the ship. The ship's speed seems to increase the closer it gets to the ground, earth's gravitational pull making it move faster and faster. As she realizes its trajectory, time has run out. The ship crashes into the ground, the wing of the ship smashing into her.

For a moment she feels the most excruciating pain that she has ever felt, then the next thing she knows, the world has gone black.

***

Sophie slowly blinks her eyes open, glancing around. She doesn't recognize her surroundings, and quickly tries to sit up. The harsh fluorescent lights brighten the room, the glass doors showing a large reception desk. Beeping machines surround her head, and she glances around, realizing she is in a hospital.

"Wha-" she slurs, as the doors slide open, a man in green scrubs walking in.

"Hey, hey, you need to try not to move to much."

"Wha' happened?" she asks, as the doctor helps her lay back down.

"You were in an accident, do you remember it?"

The woman racks her brain, remembering a movement from above, pain, and then nothing. "Uh, yeah. Kinda, ish."

"Good, that's good. Now, we really need your name. We couldn't find any sort of ID on you."

She groans, looking down at her body. There are bandages around her torso, and burns on her arms. There also seems to be some piping sticking through her leg. "Sophie. My name is Sophia McCoy."

"Okay, Sophie. There was a lot of damage. You have a couple broken ribs, light burns on most of your arms and legs. And a piece if reber has gotten impaled in your leg. I need your consent in order to remove it. Before that, though, some agents need to talk to you. Is that alright?"

"Yeah, uh, sure."

The doctor nods, turning back out of the room. A few moments later a group of people come into the room. The group are all talking to each other, and not paying attention to Sophie. She almost immediately recognizes them, the World War II great coat practically giving it away.

Sophie smiles, "Heya, Jack."

The captain's head whips around, his eyes immediately meeting hers. "Sophie? What the f*ck? Why are you here?"

She grunts, propping herself up on her elbows, "Oh, I don't know. Maybe you could hazard a guess?"

"It's clear you weren't hurt too bad. Care to tell me what happened?"

"What he means," Ianto says, stepping around the Captain, "Is that we're very glad to know you're alive."

"Yeah, look, I would really like to get this rebar out of my leg. You think you can wait until it's out? It's kinda starting to hurt."

"Oh, of course we can wait," Gwen says, seeing the large piece of metal jutting out of the girl's leg.

"If you want I can remove it for you," Owen shrugs. "Torchwood has got better drugs than any hospital."

Sophie glances over at Jack, and he can see the pain in her eyes. "Owen, grab your kit, we're taking her to the Hub. I trust you more than any of these doctor's anyway."

Owen nods, and leaves the room. Sophie fades in and out of consciousness waiting for his return.