Fixed in Time (Doctor Who Fanfiction)

Seeing It All

I know that this is probably what any companion of the Doctor would say, but the next few months were the best of my life.

Together the Doctor and I traveled, seeing all sorts of wonders, from spaceships like the Santieb IV, exotic alien worlds such as the beach planet Calorahaha, museums where the Doctor and I would spend hours discussing history and laughing at all the mistakes historians made, the Galactic Science University of Sto and so many more places. It was fantastic, it was amazing and for once I really felt like a time lord, even if I was only Gallifreyan. The Doctor and I were an unstoppable duo. He had his experience and tremendous knowledge which allowed us to solve practically any problem that the universe threw our way, and I had my own understanding and human intuition to aid him. We faced many alien foes who thought they had the right to invade planets and hurt people, and we always beat them. Every single time. It was as if the Doctor was a computer program and I was an antivirus installment. He worked things out and I pointed out anything he missed or mistakes he made. This allowed us to become a force to be reckoned with. There were tense moments there were happy moments and, sure, there were moments of death and sadness but we always moved on, determined not to wallow in grief for things we couldn't fix. I couldn't imagine anything better than this life. I was seeing the most amazing events, meeting amazing people, and doing amazing things. Life was perfect.

One time, after an adventure in which a Dailarian had damaged the console and drained some of the TARDIS' energy, the Doctor took us to the space station known as Beta, which doubled as a pit stop for passing ships. Landing there, the Doctor told me he needed five minutes to set up the TARDIS for repairs and then we'd head out and see the sights.

I stood in my bedroom in the TARDIS, smiling at my reflection in the mirror as I picked up small mechanisms, mere trifles I'd invented, off my table and wondered if I'd need any of them. Living on the TARDIS was probably the best part of this life; she was an infinite spaceship which could do anything and I adored exploring her. I loved the library especially and had spent many a day in there just reading. The laboratories and workshops in the TARDIS were great too and I utilized them often, afterwards sometimes going for a swim in the TARDIS pool to cool down. My favourite room in the TARDIS, though, was a sort of secret one that I didn't even think the Doctor knew about. I'd found it during a late stroll and when I entered I felt like it had been a place made especially for me.

The room was a glass dome and when you entered it somehow it changed the refraction index of every room around it so that they were transparent and all you could see were the surroundings of the TARDIS. It was wonderful to sit in there comfortable while we were traveling through space and just stare at the stars. It had a control panel in the centre of the floor as well which allowed the user to change the focus of the area of space around us, acting like a telescope to see the far reaches of galaxies and details of stars and planets. Seriously, I would have spent days in there if I could, it was that great an experience.

Anyway, on that day I tied my bright red hair up in a bun and headed out to where the Doctor was just extracting himself from underneath the console.

"Susan," he greeted me amiably. "I've just set the TARDIS up to absorb the energy here so she can repair herself. Ready to see Beta?"

I nodded. "How could I not be?"

The Doctor offered me his arm, looking very handsome in his usual velvet jacket, and we headed out the TARDIS doors.

The space station was not clean and was rather clearly worn for wear, but that didn't matter. It was a pit stop, not a palace.

We smiled in greeting at the employees and visitors we passed as we traversed to the edge of the base, seeing all manner of aliens and human pilots.

"Space stations are the best place to really see the universe." the Doctor informed me in a low voice as we walked. "All sorts of ships dock here and the real grit of the galaxies come, not that pompous kind that try and convince you the universe is all about high-class parties and shiny spacecraft. No, this is where the true, real members of the galaxies go. That includes us, of course."

"Of course." I said with a laugh, still clutching the Doctor's arm.

He looked down at me, a fond smile on his face. "You really look beautiful today Susan." He told me.

Ah, the embarrassment. Redness flushed my cheeks and I ducked my head. "Thank you Doctor." I decided to quickly change the subject. "So, the TARDIS is a really advanced ship from Gallifrey itself, and we are at an ordinary space station to refuel. What could they possibly have here that the TARDIS could use to fix itself? The old girl doesn't just run on your usual oxide batteries, you know."

"Of course I know!" He said defensively. "You'll see in a minute what the TARDIS is gonna use."

I exhaled impatiently. "If you say so."

The Doctor stopped in front of an automatic door and gave me a knowing look. "You'll see." He repeated and then we walked through.

I have to say, what I saw then was one of the most breathtaking sights I would see in my long life. The observation deck we appeared in had a thick glass ceiling that showed the vacuum outside the space station, and, even better, the source of energy the Doctor had been talking about; a beautiful, stunning, gigantic nebula, creator of stars and culmination of matter and pressure.

It was captivating and I moved forward and sank down into a booth to just watch the brilliant star-maker with its alluring colours. The Doctor watched me smugly and then moved off, sweeping past the other alien visitors in the room to get to the canteen, I assumed to get us something to eat.

He came back a minute later with a box of something that looked and smelled like hot chips. I grabbed one and tentatively bit into it; they tasted like chips too! Together the Doctor and I dug into our meal for the day, in the intervals staring at the nebula and talking.

"So the TARDIS can recharge from nebulae?" I asked curiously.

"Yes, any power source of massive density will do." the Doctor turned and gave me a wide grin. "Only the best for my rackety old time machine though."

I hit him lightly on the arm. "Don't talk about her like that Doctor, you'll hurt her feelings."

"Very funny." the Doctor retorted, rubbing his arm where I'd hit him.

"I wasn't kidding you know."

Silence lapsed for a couple of minutes as we both watched, enthralled, as the nebula seemed to move ever closer.

"I love this, you know." I finally broke the quiet, locking eyes with my best friend. "Traveling with you, best choice I ever made."

"I'm glad you think so." the Doctor replied, but he looked more than glad. "I quite like it too."

Eventually the TARDIS was ready to leave and so we had to depart from the beautiful nebula, but I'd always have he memory etched into my mind, there forevermore.

As I stood leaning against the TARDIS console, while the Doctor regulated our flight, I thought of an idea that had been bothering me a lot lately. It had occurred to me a few days after I'd first come on board the TARDIS, but I'd dismissed it because I knew it would be too dangerous. Ever since the thought had been nagging me though, and I was close to giving in.

"So," the Doctor asked as he turned a knob on his section of the console and a light flashed on my section. "Where to next? We could visit the Ten Thousand Steps of San Yaritiwon or attend the founding conference for the Alliance, or even see the Arc of Infinity. All quite marvelous places, if I do say so myself."

After thinking for a moment, I knew I had no choice except one. If I ignored the nagging, it would drive me insane. So I gave in.

"Doctor," I began firmly, determined not to sound weak or like a child. "I'd like to go see my father."