Lost Time

RUNNING AWAY WITH A MADMAN

Space. I was looking at space. The stars were only metres away from my face and the Doctor watched me as I stared up at the stars, the biggest grin on my face. 

"This is wonderful," I awed, looking at him. 

He smiled. "It is, isn't it? Sometimes I forget to just take a moment to sit and look at the stars."

"You should do it more often, they're so beautiful," I said, looking back at the stars. 

"Yes they are," he muttered. 

He suddenly moved towards the console and began to play with levers and I took that as a sign to close the doors and join him near the console. 

"Time to go get Miss Amelia Pond. We can't keep all the fun to ourselves," he rambled as he walked around the console in an organised chaos. 

I smiled at him. The TARDIS began to rumble as we started our journey, making its whooshing noise as we landed. The Doctor grabbed my hand and dragged me towards the door, opening it with a flourish and we came face to face with Amy, who was wearing her nightgown and seemed to be mad at the two of us.

The Doctor smiled at her, not noticing the angry mood that Amy was sending our way. "Sorry about running off earlier. Brand new Tardis. Bit exciting. Just had a quick hop to the moon and back to run her in. She's ready for the big stuff now."

"It's you. You came back," Amy said, shock lacing her words.

"Course I came back. I always come back. Something wrong with that?"  He questioned. 

Amy looked him up and down. "And you kept the clothes."

"Well, I just saved the world. The whole planet, for about the millionth time, no charge. Yeah, shoot me. I kept the clothes," Doctor said sarcastically.

"Including the bow tie," she judged.

"Yeah, it's cool," he said defensively.

I nodded in agreement. "Bow ties are cool."

The Doctor smiled at me while Amy just gave me a quick glance.

"Are you from another planet?" She questioned him.

"Yeah."

"Okay."

"So what do you think?" I asked

"Of what?" She asked, finally making eye contact with me, and all I saw was hurt in her eyes when she looked at me.

"Other planets. Want to check some out?" The Doctor clarified my question.

"What does that mean?"

"It means. Well, it means come with us."

"Where?"

"Wherever you like."

"All that stuff that happened. The hospital, the spaceships, Prisoner Zero."

"Oh, don't worry, that's just the beginning. There's loads more," the Doctor gave her a smirk.

"Yeah, but those things, those amazing things, all that stuff. That was two years ago," She stated.

I felt all of the colour drain from my face and a tear fell from my eye.

"Oh.! Oops," he muttered.

"Yeah."

"So that's"

"Fourteen years!"

"Fourteen years since fish custard. Amy Pond, the girl who waited, you've waited long enough."

"When I was a kid, you said there was a swimming pool and a library, and the swimming pool was in the library."

"Yeah. Not sure where it's got to now. It'll turn up. So, coming?"

"No."

"You wanted to come fourteen years ago."

"I grew up."

"Don't worry. I'll soon fix that."

The Doctor opened the door of the TARDIS and after a moment of hesitation, Amy walked in. Before we followed her in, he turned to me, guilt in his eyes when he saw that I was upset that I had missed two years of my best friend's life. I gave him a reassuring smile that I knew that he didn't mean to make that mistake and he returned with a small smile. He did something unexpected by placing a small kiss on my forehead before following the ginger girl into the TARDIS. The action was so quick that I wasn't even sure if it had happened. 

I stood outside of the doors for a moment longer, looking at the house that I used to call my home. My eyes widened as I remembered that I left something very important in my old bedroom and poked my head into the TARDIS.

"I'll be right back," I informed them, "I just need to grab something from my room."

The Doctor smiled at me and nodded while I wasn't even sure if Amy had heard me as she looked around in wonder. I quickly ran into the house and up the stairs to my old bedroom. I opened the door and realised that everything in there was covered in dust. It had looked like no one had come in here after I had left. Amy had probably avoided it, believing that I had abandoned her to go with the Doctor.

I gave a long sigh and walked over to the bedside table, opening the top drawer. I looked at the silver locket that my father said I had with me when he and my mother adopted me. He told me that the agency had assumed that it must have been a family heirloom that my biological parents had wanted me to have. I quickly picked it up and clasped it around my neck, allowing it to fall underneath my dress.

I looked around the bedroom one more time. I had a feeling that this would probably be the last time that I would be in this room. I had never truly felt at home in this town, but even though I had spent such a short amount of time with the Doctor, I felt at home with him. Like as if I was meant to be going on adventures with him.

I walked out of the bedroom, closing the door softly behind me. I walked back down the stairs and out into the garden where the Doctor was waiting for me, leaning against the side of the TARDIS.

"Is she mad at me?" I asked softly as I reached him. 

He shook his head. "Nah, she just missed you, Cassie. Just give her time and she'll be okay."

I smiled. "Thank you, Doctor."

He looked confused. "For what?"

"For helping me find a place where I feel that I belong. I'm not sure why, but I never felt like I was at home here, but as soon as I walked into the TARDIS, it was as if something had clicked inside my brain. I feel at home with you," I rambled a bit.

He gave me a big smile and stopped leaning against the TARDIS, he opened the doors and held out his hand for me to take which I did. 

"Let's go home then," he said.

Then we were off.