The TimeLord Who Changed

13

After the Doctor freshens up, he comes out into the hallway; he shouts: "Hello, companions!"

I put the book I was reading down, as does Bryan. We come out of my bedroom after nearly thirty minutes of waiting. I examine the Doctor. I immediately notice something. "Doctor, did you trim your beard? It's not as bushy. It actually looks...neat," I point out.

Smiling, the Doctor rubs his chin. "Why thank you, Miss Oswald!"

"Don't call me Miss Oswald."

"Okay, Miss Clara."

"No, not that either."

The Doctor pouts. "You're no fun. Bryan, what about you, what do you think?" he asks.

Bryan smiles. "You look good. Neat, like Clara said," he inputs.

The Doctor bows. "Thank you as well, Mr. Pond. Okay! Now that I'm clean and ready for action, what should we do? Where should we go? When do we travel to?"

Whilst waiting, Bryan and I talked about places we've never been to and decided on the one place we really wanted to go. That place is "Paris, France. 2016," we say together.

"Paris, France 2016 it is!" the Doctor exclaims. We run to the console room. One push of button, three pulls of some levers and one whooshy noise later, the TARDIS lands. Together, Bryan I push the doors to find ourselves not just in Paris, but on the actual, physical, Eiffel Tower.

We stare at the city below for nearly thirty seconds before the Doctor slaps us on the back. "Paris! One of my favorites. I went to the Louvre with Amy once a few years ago. We met Vincent van Gogh, actually. Very strange fellow. So! Where in Paris would you like to go?" the Doctor asks us.

"I'm off to the Louvre!" I announce.

"I'm going to buy some baguettes!" Bryan shares.

"Well, then I'm going to buy a beret! Berets are cool now," the Doctor says. We all run down the stairs of the Eiffel Tower and break off to go to our desired places.

I snatch a map of Paris from a Tour guide about to take a group up. I examine it for a minute, then find the famous art museum's star. After nearly an hour of navigation, I finally arrive at the Louvre. I open the doors, and hesitate before stepping inside. I'm about to enter the real museum. In real Paris, in real France. And I'm about to see the real Mona Lisa. Everything's so...real.

I carefully step inside. I walk up to a museum brochure. In the left side, a picture of Leonardo da Vinci's most famous painting is shown. Under it lies a footnote. Mona Lisa wait for me on the second floor.

I run up the stairs, eager to find the portrait I've wanted to see my life...well, lives. As I'm climbing though, something happens. Two people rush down the stairs. A dark-haired man and an orange-haired girl. The dark-haired man looks like..."Doctor?"

The man stops at the bottom of the staircase and turns around. I gasp. It's not just the Doctor. It's my Doctor. My first Doctor. "Yes, what is it?" the Doctor asks.

I blink. "Doctor, what year is it?" I inquire.

"It's 2010. Why, do you not own a calendar?" his red-haired companion answers for him.

Something hits me. "Um...what's your name?" I ask the girl.

"Amy. Amy Pond. Why do you want to know?"

The Doctor taps Amy's shoulder. "Amelia, we need to go, now. Vincent could be in trouble," he presses. The ginger continues to run out the door. The Doctor nods at me. "Nice to meet you,..."

"C-C-Clara. Clara Oswald," I introduce.

"Nice to meet you, Clara Oswald. Have a nice day!" the Doctor finishes. He sprints after his companion, and the door closes after him.

I blink again. I just came face-to-face with who I'm pretty sure was Bryan's grandmother. But how? Bryan's grandmother is dead, died years ago he told me. In 2012...No, hold on. Bryan said Amy and Rory were sent to the past by Weeping Angels, to 1932. And it's only 2010. Before the Ponds died. Before all three of them died. Amy, Rory, Eleven, all dead now. All gone.

Another thought occurs to me. Two Doctor and two Ponds, in the same place and the same year. Which means paradoxes. Future Pond, Past Pond, Future Doctor, Past Doctor. If either of the past and future pairs meet, one of them, the future one, will cease to exist. A time before they existed. Amelia hasn't adopted Bryan's dad yet and the Doctor hasn't regenerated. I'm only safe because there's no other way I can be here.

I hear someone's heels coming down the stairs. She starts to talk on the phone. "No, Bob, your car keys are not in your jacket, I took your car to get it repaired last night, remember. Bob, I--I'll drive to the car place later! Goodbye!" she says. I almost faint.

The woman is me. Me before I changed.

I run down the stairs and dive behind the brochure-holder. Clara 1.0 strolls past me and out the door. I step back out into the open. How the hell can I be here? This is my first time being here! The stranger thing is, this has all happened before. Last month. I was sent to the past by Angels and met the Fourth Doctor. While eating at a restaurant, I discovered another me working at the restaurant.

Wait. I know how she's here. 2013, the Doctor and I on Trenzalore. I hopped into his time stream, coming across every Doctor that's ever existed from One to Eleven. Well, the Doctor I just met was Eleven, which means that that Clara is a result of my entrance into the time stream. Great; so now there are past and future Doctors, Claras, and Ponds in the same place.

I get my phone out of my pocket and dial the Doctor's number. "Hello, Clara, dear!" he greets me.

"Doctor, listen to me, and listen to me closely. Bryan's grandmother is here; your Eleventh self is here; another Clara is here. Stay away from the Louvre, and find Bryan and get to the TARDIS now. If any one of us meet our past selves, we're done. Find Bryan and get to the TARDIS without any encounters!" I demand, whispering.

"Got it. See you back at the time machine." He hangs up, leaving me on my own. I pocket my phone. I then proceed to fast-walk out of the museum. Almost immediately following my exit, I hear the TARDIS engines. That was fast.

When the TARDISS lands, three people exit. The Doctor, Amy, and...Oh my god. Vincent van Gogh. Vincent looks around in awe. Amy takes his hand and the trio briskly walks past me. Panic surges through me. Now that they're back, that puts Bryan and Thirteen in a bigger risk. I bolt back to the Eiffel Tower. Skipping five steps at a time, I run up to the top.

I'm about ready to collapse by the time I reach the TARDIS. I drag myself to the door and knock. Bryan opens the door. Gripping my hands, he pulls me in.

The Doctor looks at me. "You look like you just climbed up 1,700 steps," he exclaims.

Gasping, I snap, "That's because I did, you idiot!"

"Well then you should grab a quick glass of water, because I just received a house call!"