The Librarians...meet the Doctor

4

Time was frozen. As soon as the woman touched him, the Time Lord felt a connection so strong that it was almost overwhelming. He turned to look at the girl. She was smiling now, yet there was sadness in her eyes.

"I'm sorry," she said and he was instantly charmed by her voice.

"Don't be. You're perfect."

She seemed a bit surprised by his words and she went on:

"No, you don't understand. I'm really sorry. I don't think you realise what just happened to you. Why you appeared here, in this place, with us."

The Doctor shrugged:

"It's pretty clear to me. The Library called for me so I would meet someone – you – who speaks perfectly. This is quite enjoyable."

"Are you always like this?" Ariel couldn't help but ask.

"He is even worse usually," intervened Jenkins who was wondering what had caused his assistant to get involved.

"Thank you, Judson."

"The name is Jenkins, Doctor."

The Gallifreyan rose an eyebrow: "Oh, sorry, I thought that you were someone else. Did we meet before? Or is it my first encounter with you but you already met my future self in your past which would explain why you recognised me."

The Caretaker sighed. Some things never changed.

"Everything doesn't always revolve around you Time Lord. Sometimes, your – bad – reputation precedes you. Judson did warn me about you. He didn't speak too highly about you..."

"Tut tut tut. This is in the past, let's talk about the present or the future, shall we?"

The fairy took this opportunity to speak again:

"It's the bracelet you're wearing. It's the reason why you're here."

The Doctor smiled: "Oh, this."

He let go of Ariel's hand and tried vainly to remove the jewel.

"That's odd..."

"No, it's not."

Ariel's tone was so gloomy that the Time Lord stared at her with concern.

"How so?"

Jenkins was starting to understand. As soon as the girl had mentioned the bracelet, he involuntarily checked her wrist. She was wearing a similar item.

"The bracelet is bonding us together." The fairy explained while showing hers to the Doctor. "That's why you can't remove it. And that's why you were sent here, our bracelets are attracted to each other."

The Caretaker wondered if the magic involved would affect their mind as well. Somehow he couldn't picture the Doctor being attracted to Ariel. In fact, he hoped it wouldn't happen. It was shocking enough to see how the fairy behaved with him. If only she knew him as well as he did...

"So, you're my new companion then," said the Gallifreyan rather matter of factly. "Not exactly how I planned it all, but oh well. I hope that you don't mind time and space travel?"