Walk The Earth: Doctor Who/Studio C [Book 2]

All The Strange, Strange Creatures

All The Strange, Strange Creatures

But of all the strange, strange creatures / In the air, at sea, on land / Oh my girl, my girl, my precious girl / I love you, you understand. -Murray Gold, 'Love Don't Roam' (sung by Neil Hannon)

On top of a hill, where cobalt blue grass met a cotton candy pink sky, three figures could be seen against the horizon, bolting toward a blue box. Behind them was the cause of their reckless sprint-a mob of lizard-like aliens tore after them, bearing torches and yelling for them to stop.

They reached the box and the leader of the three, a tall man in along brown coat and blue pinstriped suit, fumbled with the lock.

"Any day now, Doctor!" the woman cried breathlessly, resting a hand against the warm blue wood of the box and panting.

"Seriously, Doctor, now would be good," the second man said, watching the mob grow closer.

"Working on it!" the one known as the Doctor shot back, finally getting the key to turn. The blue doors flung open and the three scrambled inside, slamming them shut again just before the mob could reach them.

"Come out! Come out thisssss insssstant!" the leader of the mob called, pounding on the door with clawed hands.

But the crowd could only watch as the blue box made a whooshing, heaving sound, before the light on the top flared. A moment later, the box grew translucent, and, finally, disappeared. A very angry and confused mob was left in its wake.

Inside the box, the three exchanged glances and hysterical laughter, unfazed by the massive, cathedral-like room that was somehow jammed inside such a small exterior. The Doctor spun around the console in the center of the room, guiding the box away from danger and into a place known as the Time Vortex. The box was more than met the eye, of course-for what little its simple exterior might lead one to expect, it was, in fact, a time machine called the TARDIS, standing for Time And Relative Dimension In Space.

Laughter continued to ring off the walls of the console room. "Mal, I can't believe you did that!" the man started, before breaking off and bending nearly double with mirth. "The look on his face."

The woman wiped at the tears that were streaming from her eyes, still in a fit of glee herself. "You're... the one that told him... that his son looked like a pineapple."

"Well he did! And you were thinking it, too, don't deny it!"

"But I wasn't the one who said it out loud, Matt."

"No, you're just the one who got us arrested for taking my hand in public."

"Would you have it any other way?" she asked, with a knowing raise of her brow.

He gave her a cross look that said he absolutely wouldn't. She laughed again, closed the distance between them, and pressed her lips to his.

The Doctor watched from the console, amused. Nearly eight months Matt and Mallory had traveled with him, now, and most of them had been spent with the two in complete and utter denial about everything between them that was stupidly obvious to just about everyone else. The Time Lord had been more than glad to see them finally start sorting everything out in the past few weeks.

Still. "Would you two mind taking your snog somewhere else?" he asked mildly.

The two parted, matching blushes coming to their faces. "Sorry," Mallory offered sheepishly.

The Doctor raised a brow, but couldn't quite hide the slight smile on his face. "Just remember whose ship you're on."

"Yeah, yeah," Matt returned teasingly, wrapping an arm around Mallory's shoulders and starting down the hallway toward the rest of the ship.