Beware the Calm

Bigger on the Inside

The Doctor had loved the thrill of the joy ride, just as Aeryn had suspected he would, and was in considerably high spirits when they finally came to the clearing where the TARDIS was waiting for them.

Sliding to a rather graceful halt beside the time machine, Aeryn killed the engine, unbuckled her seat belt, then lent over and popped open a secret compartment in the dash. "Sorry, do you mind if I bring this?" She asked, pulling out a first aid kit.

The Doctor wasn't listening, he was already out and snapping his fingers, to which the TARDIS door obediently sprung open for him. So Aeryn brought the first aid kit with her anyway, and hesitantly walked towards the open doorway.

And then she stepped inside and gasped. "Doctor, it's.....it's..."

"Bigger on the inside," he finished knowingly, without ever breaking a stride as he walked up the ramp to the central console and began to work frantically at levers and dials. And then he paused and turned back to her, snapping his fingers again so that the door closed behind her.

"Hold on, you've seen inside my head, and this STILL surprises you?"

"I...thought you were exaggerating," Aeryn admitted sheepishly as she stepped further in, looking around in amazement.

The Doctor rolled his eyes, then turned back to the monitor to study some readings, effectively leaving Aeryn to get on and do her own thing. So after wandering around for a bit in awe, taking it all in and listening to the gentle humming of the ancient machinery, she finally went to the upper level and did a complete lap of it, scanning the books on the bookshelves and the various notes the Doctor had scribbled on his multitude of blackboards, stopping to study the sculpture of Beethoven for a moment and then looking out over the entire room, still not sure she quite believed what she was seeing.

She picked up the electric guitar that was leaning to one side, and curiously plucked a few strings. The entire room echoed with the sound, and the Doctor spun round sharply, pointing an accusing finger at her. "Don't touch anything!" He warned, as she quickly set the guitar back down again.

"Okay?!"

"Okay," she agreed, feeling like a naughty child who'd just been caught doing something she shouldn't.

"Okay?!" He asked again, his eyebrows narrowed as he glared at her.

"Okay," she repeated, holding her hands up to show they were empty and prove that she was doing as she was told.

Finally satisfied, the Doctor went back to whatever it was that he was doing, and she completed the lap of the upper level, arriving back at the top of the stairs where she'd first started, taking the first aid kit from where she'd left it on the swivel armchair and then sitting herself down in the chair. He hadn't told her she couldn't sit down, after all. Just not touch any of his strange and random objects and artefacts that were dotted around the room.

The chair was surprisingly a lot more plush and comfortable than it had first looked with it's high back and narrow arms, and she only now realised just how long she'd been on her feet for. Exhaustion allowed her to sag into the chair, and now that she was comfortable, she began to sort out her hand.

Popping the lid open, she was glad to see the small vial inside which contained some of the 'miracle' water that she often used to heal herself. Taking out some gauze padding, she soaked it in a little water from the vial, then held it over her hand for a bit, making sure to cover as much of the bruising down the side as possible. After a while, the pain turned into a dull throb instead and she took out a roll of bandage, rather awkwardly attempting to wrap it round the gauze to hold it in place.