Timeless [Doctor Who/11th Doctor]

22. (Old) New York

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

The sun filtered through those old dusty windows, the tiny flecks floating above piles of paper. In the corner, an old orchid wilted towards its light. They're supposed to be simple flowers to care for, but this one shrivelled the second I laid eyes upon it, remnants of pink petals long forgotten by the decaying stem upon the soil.

I had been working in the bookshop for the past few weeks, mostly due to the overwhelming guilt of almost getting my co-worker killed. Mr Granger was glad for the help, too, despite the lack of customers in the autumn months.

The Doctor told me he was fine with my break from our adventures; he would fly away for his own most of the time, and at ridiculous-o'clock, the TARDIS would whoosh around the curtains in my bedroom and awake me from deep slumber. He'd stumble out from the doors with a huge grin, and dirt, on his face, his hair dishevelled and bow-tie wonky. And I would grumble, half-asleep, that he really needed to stop landing her there at four in the morning.
Like the child he was, he'd ignore this criticism and a couple of days later - just enough time for me to begin to think he might have taken it on board - he'd appear again with a million stories from other planets.

It had been well over a week now since I'd heard one of those tales, or the sound of the TARDIS erupting through my dreams. A month or so previous, I might have thought he had gone for good - but one evening not so long ago changed that.

The blue box had come crashing into my apartment and he swung out the doors with the usual lopsided grin. I was starting to think he enjoyed his independent adventures more than ours, so I spent that night sitting on metal stairs whilst he fiddled with wires underneath the console room. Insecurity getting the best of me, I turned to him and said "I hope you're not having too much fun without me."
And he had laughed, a noise I missed so dearly, and told me "Likewise."

Granted, with my time back on Earth I'd been making the most of opportunities far more than I had before. Noah and I had got the train up to Edinburgh and partied until dawn for his birthday one weekend, and I'd even regularly invite him and his boyfriend around for drinks at my place.

"I just don't want you to forget about me," I had muttered. It was one of those things you don't really mean, but say anyway just to provoke some kind of affirmation that you want to hear from someone.
"I could never," he had replied, taking off the goggles and placing down all his equipment. He sat beside me, his gaze so intense I was afraid to look up. "I'll always come back for you, Charlotte."
It was the very thing I had wanted to hear from him. That he wouldn't just leave me behind, like that lady had said.
"Always."

As I stacked books up onto the shelves in alphabetical order, I smiled at the memory of that conversation. He had this subtle way of making everything feel okay, even when it truly wasn't. Sometimes, I thought he was psychic with the way he knew exactly what to say, and when. And exactly when to turn up.
That night, at 3:24 a.m. this time, I jumped up from my bed as the curtains began to sweep up from the walls and that glorious sound awoke me. Like he knew I was missing him so much it ached.

However, this time the doors didn't swing open to reveal his beaming face. Instead, they creaked slowly, and he stepped out with defeat. His hair was dishevelled as ever, but they hung over big sad eyes. Usually, I would roll my eyes as he greeted me, ignoring the fact that the ragged look was insanely attractive.
Now, his "hello" came out far too soft, and his lips turned inwards as he tried too hard to force a smile.
With a worrisome look, I approached him carefully - step by step, as though walking too fast might break him. When I did reach him, he wrapped his arms around me without a word. The embrace was comforting, my head buried into his shoulders - I couldn't remember the last time we had hugged - but it was impossible to fully relax into when he looked as battered as he did.

"Are you okay?" I pulled out from his grasp, gently raising a hand to his face.
"I'm always okay," he replied in a broken voice; I was beginning to trust that phrase less the more I heard it.
"What happened?"
He just shook his head, placing his hand over where mine rested against his cheek. "Want to come on an adventure?"
Obviously, I did. All of time and space at our fingertips, ready to be explored - who would say no? It just didn't seem like the best idea when he appeared so torn up.
"Why don't we just go somewhere nice for once? Remember, we were gonna go somewhere fun?" I tried to prompt a smile in him, and it surprisingly worked a little.
"No danger, no monsters, no death," he echoed what we had said to eachother before landing in this dreary village.
"Exactly," I beamed at him, glad for a small spark of light returning in his eyes.

It was only after the doors of the police box shut behind me that I realised I was stood there in my fleece pyjamas, my hair a state of knots and sleep still in my eyes. By then, it was far too late as the TARDIS went spinning into the time vortex.
"I give you... the big apple! October 31st, 1973! The very first Village Halloween Parade. I give you costumes, dancing and music!"

The Doctor offered his hand out to me once we landed, ready to explore the city streets.
"I'm still in my pj's!" I protested.
All darkness dissipated from his features, he burst out laughing. "There are people wearing much worse outside!"
I laughed too, still shaking my head. "Be right back."

Excitedly, I rushed to the walk-in wardrobe I had explored once before. That was home to the wackiest clothes your mind could ever imagine, after all.
My first step was to brush through the mess atop my head, sorting it into a simple plait that ran over my shoulder. As though she knew just what I needed, I found a box of makeup in one of the drawers of the TARDIS's room, gladly applying a flick of eyeliner over my lids.
I soon decided upon a gorgeous pair of leather trousers, once I managed to squeeze them on, and a black corset-like top decorated in mauve lacing. Over the top of my perfectly curated ensemble, I threw a long midnight coat that I had found over my shoulders for the cold autumn breeze.
It wasn't particularly 'Halloween-y', but it was all black so I let it slide with myself. Plus, I looked good.

"Are you done in there?" the Doctor's voice called impatiently from outside.
In response, I waltzed down the steps with a grin, back into the control room where he was stood.
His irritated look soon faded into something I couldn't place - his eyes were wide, looking the outfit up and down as I grinned, placing my hand in his. "Let's go then, shall we?"
Clearing his throat, he just nodded, letting me be the one to drag him out of the TARDIS for once.

Beyond the blue doors, red bricks buildings glowed in the light of the sunset behind us. The streets looked just like New York in the movies with the lampposts and the trees that shadowed over metal fire escapes. I gawked at the scenery in amazement.

I hadn't realised the Doctor's fingers were still interlocked with mine until he almost pulled my arm off, skipping over to the other side of the police box. This was where we saw the hubbub of people, leaving their apartments and joining the crowds of costumed celebrators. The party was just getting started.

"Hang on a minute," I turned to the Doctor once he had stopped tugging me along with him, and let me walk beside him like a normal person. "You said no monsters, why would you bring me to Halloween?"
"You know, that's a common misconception," he began to lecture. "There's rarely ever any monsters on Halloween. You humans take the fun out of all the scaring."