Lydia's Demons - Doctor Who Fan Fiction

One

"Make a wish!"

They always say it when you blow out your birthday candles. Being honest, I gave up on wishes a long time ago. The sooner people realize that, the better, for their own sake. No matter what age you are, you make wishes whether it be for a puppy or for a proposal. My wish never came true, no matter how hard I tried for all those years. I tried everything, dandelions, birthday candles, wishing wells and shooting stars. None of them came true. Not ever.

*

The painfully dull news came to an end. I sighed and switched off the T.V. Nothing interesting was on, Wednesday nights were boring and drawn out. It was sheer coincidence that it was also my twentieth birthday.

My phone buzzed from the various texts from people I could hardly remember. The cake on the table sagged under the weight of the thick icing oozing down the sides. A friend's daughter had made it for me, apparently.

It was my birthday and I was sat on my sofa in my pyjamas, overloading on ice cream. The one person I wanted couldn't text me. He couldn't bake me a cake. He couldn't pop round and wish me a happy birthday. Of course not. He was probably busy, doing whatever people like him do.

"Happy birthday to me." I muttered as I cut myself a slice of cake.

I nibbled my way through the whole cake before my favourite late night chat show hopped on screen. Even tonight, the show seemed dull and uninteresting, the guests barely stirring up a laugh from the audience. Maybe my birthdays were always doomed. It dawned on me that I hadn't blown out my candles. I was still superstitious, even though my wish never came true.

My fingers scrabbled through the drawer in the kitchen until I brought out a long, thin candle in a pale cream shade. I flicked on the lighter and set the wick burning.

"I wish he'd come back." I whispered. As a puff of air escaped my lips, the flame snuffled out.

BANG!

"What the hell?"

I ran into the hallway. A blue Police Box was posed in front of the door. The door was opened, revealing a man. His hair was dark and perfectly styled, his eyes a dark coffee brown. He wore a tweed suit and a vermilion bow-tie.

"Who are you?"

"You know who I am. You've changed!" He added.

"So have you." I retorted.

The Doctor I knew had spiked hair, the same brown eyes and wore a completely different outfit.

"What do you mean?" He questioned.

"Your face. Your everything. Except your eyes."

"Oh, I forgot I regenerated."

"You what?"

"I regenerated."

"OK then. Why are you here?"

"You don't sound very happy to see me. Maybe I should just jump back in-"

"No!" I interrupted.

"No?"

"No. Just, why did you come back? Why after all this time?"

"I did promise."

"Yeah. When I was twelve."

"A promise is a promise, Lydia. Do you want to come or not? I'm a busy man."

He held out an arm. Part of me argued against it. He had left me for eight years, after all. But he was back and wanted to take me to all the places he promised he would. I took his arm and we both entered the TARDIS.

"So, what have you been doing for these eight years?" I asked.

"Stuff." He answered vaguely, fiddling with the console.

"Oh really?"

"Yes. What about you?"

"Wishing you'd come back, suffering parties and having boring birthdays."

"Sounds like fun."

"You're not listening are you?"

"Lovely."

"Doctor!" I snapped.

 "What?"

"You're not listening to me, are you?"

"I'm trying to get us somewhere!"

"Where?" I was eager.

"I don't know. Where do you want to go?"

"I don't know." I shrugged.

The Doctor rolled his chocolate brown eyes and sighed. The engine of the TARDIS churned and whirred as it flew past various locations in space and time.

"Doctor?"

"Hmm?"

"Why did you leave?" The words were barely a whisper.

"Everybody leaves, Lydia. Just at different times."

"Why did you wait so long to come back?"

"I had things to do. People to see and planets to save."

"So you couldn't have just come for a quick visit every year?"

"No. I'm a very busy man."

I sighed and leaned against the railing.

"You look a lot different now. It's like you've regenerated." The Doctor laughed.

"Well, people change as they grow up. You should know that by now."

"I thought you had blonde hair."

"Hair dye exists."

"You were a lot shorter."

"People grow."

"You were a bit tubby as a kid, too."

"That's just downright rude." I scowled at him.

The Doctor stuck his tongue out at me and we had a furious tongue waggling battle.

"I just found out where we're going."

"Really?"

"The Roman era!"

"Super."

There was a loud splash as the TARDIS landed in a large lake.

"Super."I repeated as the Doctor sighed.