A Girl Named Willow *The Adventures of the Tenth Doctor/COMPLETE*

Chapter Three

The two reached the local ice cream parlor a few minutes later.

"You're paying, you know," Willow said to the Doctor. He looked a bit flabbergasted before he smiled at the ground.

They received their ice cream, and Willow made her way to the outdoor seating. They were those round tables that have benches instead of chairs, and in the middle was a large red and white striped umbrella.

"I remember going here as a kid. I would sneak out with my dad when mom was working, and I'd share a rootbeer float with him," Willow said as she took a seat. She smiled at the bittersweet moment before looking down at the rootbeer float in front of her. "Every time we went out, it was the same order. A rootbeer float with two straws and two spoons. My dad would say that's the only way to have one."

Willow concentrated on the root beer float in which there was two straws and spoons arranged the way her dad would have liked it. Willow looked solemnly at the roads. The Doctor stared at Willow for a while, as if he'd already figured what had happened to her dad, making Willow snap out of her trance.

"Anyway," she said, sighing. "What's your deal?"

"My deal?"

"Yeah, like what you do. I get that you're a doctor, but who?"

"I'm the Doctor," he said innocently. "Just Doctor."

Willow smiled before taking a sip of root beer. It was just as smooth and refreshing as it was all those years ago.

"Parents really think it's okay to name their kids anything, don't you think?"

In hopes that he wouldn't answer that, Willow continued to talk.

"So where are you from?"

The Doctor looked up at the sky as if the answer was there.

"I'm from somewhere far, far away."

"For someone from England, that's a little bit on the dramatic side," Willow said, smiling. "Although, I'd much rather be there then hang around this place at the moment."

The Doctor sniffed and tilted his head as if he knew more than he was letting on.

"Why were you crying earlier?" The Doctor said softly, leaning onto the table.

It reminded Willow of a therapist. AKA something her mom tried on her when the arguments first began. Willow hated every second she had spent in that office. She wouldn't say a word to any therapist just to piss off her mom. Eventually, the visits ended and the arguments only grew more and more fierce.

"Why does anyone cry, Doc?" Willow said, not wanting to seem vulnerable.

The look the Doctor gave was one that made her stop the game. It was time to get serious. Willow balled up her fists one at a time while she spoke.

"I've been having problems at home. My mom, she...I..." Willow put her hands on her head, frustrated that the words weren't coming out like she had hoped they would. "Things have been hard, okay? I don't have a place for the night and I just need time to figure stuff out..."

Willow managed a glance into the Doctor's deep brown eyes. They seemed all knowing and much older than his other features. It was like he had seen and heard things that no other could fathom. It made Willow even more curious about the man than she had ever been. He seemed different. More different than any person she had ever met.

"Who are you?" She said softly to him.

The Doctor sat back, stopping the therapist vibe he was giving earlier. "I told you already. I'm the Doctor."