A Glitch in the Moment (Doctor Who)

A Lasting Effect

I can't help but fidget as I stand in the console room with Clara, while we wait for the Doctor to finish his chat with the curator. It's Clara who finally breaks the silence, both in the room and in my frantic mind.

" So first trip, yeah? You just arrived?"

" I... I suppose. Admittedly, I don't exactly understand what's happening."

" Oh." Clara blinked. " Well, from what I've gathered, you fell through a sort of hole in the dimensional walls, and now you travel with the Doctor."

" Right." My chest tightens for a moment. " So, not heat stroke then?" Thank you, anxious humor.

" No, sorry."

" Fantastic." I breathe sarcastically.

" If it's any consolation, the older you, the one I know, she seems very happy. Like there's no place else she would ever want to be." Clara smiles reassuringly.

" Of course." I chuckle dryly. " What's better than living out a childhood dream."

" Are you alright?"

" Yeah. I just... I think the shock is wearing off and reality is setting in. I'll be fine... Eventually."

" Why don't you have a seat and the Doctor can explain better?" She motions to a jump seat.

I'm not sitting long before the Doctor burst in. He immediately begins flapping his hands and babbling about finding Gallifrey and where to go next.

" Doctor." Clara calls for his attention, only to be ignored. " Doctor."

" Hmm?" He half responds, looking up to Clara as she gestures towards me. " Right, yes. You," he points, " said you wanted to sit this adventure out, which means that you knew you would be here. Which in turn means You are not My Amser, but you didn't go with either of the other mes, which means you're not Their Amser. So where am I dropping you off? Where in my past are you?"

" Doctor." Clara tries again.

" And why are you here if your Doctor wasn't?"

This time, Clara stands in front of him. " Doctor, look at her. Really look."

" What? I'm already.... Oh." His entire body seems to follow his head tilting back as if to refocus his vision. " Because your Doctor was there, but you couldn't follow. Not yet. It's too early, for you both. Because this. This is the beginning."

" So where do we take her?" Clara puts us back on track.

" To an old friend. But first, Clara can you give us a moment?"

" Yeah, course." Clara squeezes my arm and heads farther into the Tardis.

The tense silence returns.

" Do you know what happened? What's currently happening?" The Doctor asks softly, kneeling in front of my jump-seat.

" Clara said that I fell through a hole in the dimensional walls. Which, while being the only logical explanation, isn't possible. I would have to have fallen through the Void. Not even just through the Void, through the Void and into the time locked Time War. Onto Gallifrey." I start to shake as I ramble. " That's.. That's not "

The Doctor grabs hold of my upper arms. " Shh. Shh. it's okay." he stops me, brushing the hair from my face. " you did fall through the Void, and we'll talk about that soon, As for now however, I'll explain how it happened. The war was burning small holes in the walls that separate this universe from the others, this shouldn't have left too much damage. Except, The Moment and the Bad Wolf sort of merged and saw the version of my timeline with you in it and widened one of the holes. Just enough to pull you through."