Companion #42

Doctor & Dalek

I swung my head to the right.

"You're the Doctor?"

"That's what I said, that's what I meant. But to answer that, yes, I am the Doctor," said a odd man with dark hair.

"Doctor who?"

The strange man winked. "Ah, that's the question now, ain't it? And a wonderful question at that."

"You didn't answer."

"I did answer. It just wasn't the answer you expected it to be."

"You're impossible." I said, rolling my eyes.

"No, Oswald's impossible," he corrected me as he began scanning the sleeping tube with a silver metal cylinder.

"Will you please just explain what you're talking about?"

"Well she is the impossible girl," he said as if it was common knowledge.

"Since he's clearly not going to be of any use," I whispered to Aida. "Can you tell me just what he's blabbing about?"

"No idea. But if you ask me, he's raving mad."

"No one asked you. But that's me, the madman with a box!" the Doctor interjected.

"Oh great! Now he's got a box too! Does it fly?" Aida snapped.

"Actually, it does. It travels through time and space. Care to join me?"

"Sure, why not?" I said, playing along.

"Fantastic!" he smiled. "I like you, Tessa." He turned to face Aida. "But her? Not so much."

"Shut up, you blithering idiot!" Aida said. "Those creepy ex-term-oholics will come back if we're not careful."

His face suddenly grew serious. "What? The Daleks are here?"

"If by 'Daleks' you mean 'space vacuum cleaners with whisks and plungers for arms', then yes." I said.

"Not good, not good!" he muttered. "Not good at all."

"What's so bad about vacuum cleaners? Vacuum cleaners are helpful," I tried to be optimistic.

"Not these ones," he said, continuing to scan things in the room. "Ever been murdered by a vacuum cleaner?"

"Not that I remember."

"Well... I know plenty of people who have."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

He swiveled around. "Don't apologize for something that you could not have prevented."

"I'm sorry anyway."

"Dear god! Would you two stop your bickering and do something useful for once?" Aida interrupted.

The Doctor ran across the large, oval room to the hallway. He turned back towards us, as expecting us to come with him.  I, of course, did so.

Aida did not.

"No one gets left behind," the Doctor said. "You're coming. And that's final."

Aida walked over slowly, grumbling as she did so. "Great. Out of everyone in the universe, I get stuck with these two: the madman and his companion."

"Hey! What did I  do?" I proclaimed.

"You're friends with him," she replied. "That's bad enough."

"I wouldn't say we're necessarily friends...."

"Really? It seems like you've known him for ages."

"But I've only just met him today.... I've only just met myself today."

"So why are you so sure you've never met him?"

We walked, following the Doctor in silence. I never did answer her question.