When I Began To Run

Introductions

It had begun as any Saturday for me began. I rose from bed at 10:30, made breakfast, and trudged back upstairs to the Movie Room. All of this was accomplished without interruption because my mother, father, and sister had gone to the mall to get a laptop repaired. I sat on the couch, tucked a stray strand of fiery red hair behind my ear and turned on the TV to BBC America. Doctor Who was on to my pleasant surprise. Well, of course it would still be on! The 50th Anniversary was just last week! The episode in question was a personal favorite of mine; 'The Eleventh Hour'. I don't know why, but Matt Smith has always been my favorite Doctor. Maybe it was because of how quirky he was, or how subtly dark he would get at times that set him apart from the rest for me, but best just to enjoy the episode for now.

In the episode, or what remained of it, the Doctor had just run up to the redecorated exterior of the TARDIS. He was about to say, "What have you got for me this time?" when the screen of my TV went black. I groaned at the inconvenience of the matter and started to exit the room, but the sound of cracking glass stopped me in my tracks. I turned around slowly and almost screamed at the sight before me.

A crack in the universe had sprouted on my TV, and it was seeping time energy.

Now, the logical thing to do would be to run away from it screaming at the top of my lungs, but no. I was a fangirl who had read one to many fanfictions, so I did the illogical. I actually crept closer to the crack until I was facing it head on.

It was the exact shape as the crack in Amy's bedroom wall, but on a smaller scale. It only reached to the edges of the glass, not harming the plastic siding of the TV monitor in any way. And the time energy oozing from out of the jagged hole the crack sent goosebumps up my body.

If the appearance of a fictional crack didn't give me the willies, then a strand of time energy wrapping around my leg did. I screamed for someone to help me, but it was in vain. No one would hear me. Also, apparently my screaming was not appreciated by the crack as the next strand of time energy twisted its way around my mouth, effectively gagging me.

Its pull was strong, and it had already succeeded in taking my legs, but my upper body would not submit without a fight. Reaching for the wooden table under the TV, I found a grip and fought to pull myself back. The crack knew I was fighting and its pull on me intensified. One hand had already slipped from the table, and my grip was failing. Knowing the end was near, I let go and the time energy pulled me in.

Bright white light made it near impossible to see for a few minutes, then it subsided. I was somewhat confused to find myself lying on a glass floor, so I slowly rose to my feet while also taking a look at my surroundings. This time, I did scream at what I saw.

I was inside the Eleventh Doctor's TARDIS, right next to the console if I might add. Why did the crack drop me off here? No idea. But it's safe to say that I wasn't disappointed in my location. I was disappointed; however, in the time of my arrival. Just as I was about to flip a switch on the console, the doors opened, revealing the Doctor himself, complete with a bow tie and tweed jacket. Thinking of nothing better to do, I hid behind the Time Rotor and hoped he wouldn't see me.

"Look at you," he said to the TARDIS, "Oh, you sexy thing. Look at you!" He then ran up to the console and began flipping switches and pressing buttons, sending us into flight. He was walking over to the section of machinery I was hiding under when he tripped over my foot. Falling over in a most spectacular fashion, he managed to catch a glimpse of me. A look of slight annoyance came into his green eyes as he pulled me to my feet.

Now, I kid you not when I say I was terrified. Most Whovians would positively freak out upon meeting a legend such as the Doctor, but I was shaking like a leaf in front of him.

"Who are you and how did you get in my TARDIS?" he asked firmly. I tried to answer, but I found myself absolutely speechless, only able to work up an occasional stutter. I also found myself slowly backing up towards a staircase on the left side of the control deck, and the Doctor also kept walking towards me at an equal pace.

Finally, after a good five minutes of nothing but stuttering, I turned on my heels and sprinted up the staircase and down a series of corridors. The Doctor was right behind me as I could hear his footsteps coming up fast. No matter how many turns and room changes I made, he was always at least five feet behind me. Outrunning the Doctor; that's definitely a new one for me.

By now, I had been running for an fifteen minutes without footsteps behind me, so I took this opportunity to rest in a stray room. What are the odds that said room contains the swimming pool. Now, this swimming pool wasn't just a swimming pool. That would be far too boring. Think of Great Wolf Lodge's indoor water park, only with a spacey wacey theme instead of a log cabin theme.

"That's just showing off," I whispered.

"You think that's showing off, you should check out the library," the Doctor said from behind me. His sudden appearance would have sent me falling to the ground, but he caught me before I lost my footing.

"Careful. It's a bit slippery in here," I joked.

"Really? I hadn't noticed," he joked back, making me less nervous, "Anyways. Back to my question. Who are you and how did you get here?"

I had to stall for a moment in order to come up with a convincing lie to tell him.

"I think it would be rude for me to tell you without introducing myself. My name is Ginny Parks," I said, holding out a hand to shake. He took it a bit reluctantly.

"Pleasure to meet you, Ginny. I'm the Doctor. And now could you answer my other question?" he asked. I looked down at my now wet TARDIS slippers and then back to the Doctor.

"I fell through a crack in my television screen and ended up here. Simple as that," I said, "Well, actually it isn't. You could say I fell through the Void and into your universe from my universe where you and all of your adventures are a television show, but that would be too complicated. Sorry, I'm rambling again. My friends usually stop me when I'm rambling about things I like." He was frowning now. I hated when he frowned on television, and I hate it when he frowns in real life.

"You came from a parallel universe?" he asked. I nodded.

"That's impossible. The universes were sealed off in Canary Wharf," he said.

"Well, they've cracked. Like something else you've seen already, I'm sure," I said as he began looking at me strangely, "Don't look at me like that! I've seen all the episodes at least twice. I pick things up!" He continued on with his looking at me in a very awkward silence until the TARDIS bumped to a landing.

"Ah. We've landed," he mused, "I suppose since you're a fan of mine, there wouldn't be any trouble if you traveled with me. Right?"

My jaw nearly hit the floor. The Doctor just asked me to travel with him, and he barely even knew me. I could've been a psycho alien monster for all he knew, but he still asked me.

"Are you serious?" I asked, "We just met! I literally just popped up in your TARDIS an fifteen minutes ago, ran away from you, and now you're asking me to travel the whole of time and space with you?"

"Yes," he said plainly.

"Why?" I asked.

"You seem like a person who wants an adventure. And you seem like a nice person, not a murderous alien monster," he answered.

"Well then Doctor, it appears you've got a second companion," I said. He grinned, took my hand, and began running to the control room.

We didn't even stop to look at where we landed; we just ran through the doors right onto... the moon. No really. I was standing on the moon without a spacesuit, and it was kind of freaking me out.

"Shouldn't I be suffocating?" I asked.

"I extended the air shield. You're fine," the Doctor said. I sighed in relief, gazing at the barren gray landscape and the black expanse of space.

"We're on the dark side of the moon. Aren't we?" I guessed.

"How did you know?" he asked.

"I don't see the earth in the sky," I said simply. He grinned and ruffled my hair.

"You're a right clever one, Ginny," he complimented, making me smile, "Ready to leave?"

"Yeah. Back to the Pond!" I exclaimed, running back up to the console. He laughed and danced around the controls madly. We landed with a thud, which sent me flying into a jump seat, pulled to my feet and dragged out the front doors into Amy's front garden. She was standing at her doorstep in her nightie looking at the pair of us in wonder.

"Sorry about running off earlier. Brand new TARDIS. Bit exciting!" the Doctor explained, "Just a quick hop to the moon and back to run her in. She's ready for the big stuff now."

"It's you. You came back," Amy muttered, running up to the pair of us, all this time looking at me.

"Course I came back. I always come back. Something wrong with that?" he asked, then looked from Amy to me, "Oh right! You two haven't met, have you? Amy, meet Ginny. She fell through a crack and ended up on my TARDIS."

"Hello," I said shyly.

"Hi," she replied, then turned back to the Doctor, "And you kept the clothes."

"Well, I just saved the world. The whole planet, for about the millionth time, no charge. Yeah, shoot me. I kept the clothes," he replied.

"Including the bow tie," Amy said.

"Yeah, it's cool. Bow ties are cool," the Doctor and I said at the same time, causing him to look at me again. I just smiled sheepishly and rocked back and forth on my heels.

"I think I'll just wait in here until you two are finished," I said, walking back into the TARDIS.

Shuffling up the stairs, I plopped down in a jump seat and looked down at my shoes, running the events of today through my head.

I was in Doctor Who. I, Ginny Parks, fell through a crack between universes and ended up in the world of my favorite TV show. This kind of stuff happened only in really weird fanfictions, not reality! I didn't know whether to be scared, excited, fainting, or doing a small dance around the controls. My thoughts were ceased for awhile when the door opened and Amy stepped in, the Doctor behind her. She stood there for a moment.

"Well, anything you want to say? Any passing remarks?" the Doctor asked her, "I've heard them all." He ran up the stairs and pulled me out of the seat.

"I'm in my nightie," Amy finally stammered.

"Welcome to the club, Pond," I said, gesturing to my flannel pajama pants and "Bow Ties Are Cool" T-Shirt, "I guess we're going on our first adventure in our jim-jams."

"Maybe not, as it would seem. There's plenty of clothes in the wardrobe," the Doctor piped in.

"Not to mention the possibility of a swimming pool, too," I added. He looked at me annoyingly again.

"Stop that!" he whined, which cause me to shake my head and grin.

"I'll just give you two a moment while I go change clothes," I said, excusing myself from the control room and up the stairs.

Upon reaching the wardrobe, which was extravagant to say the least, I found a suitable outfit for Starship UK and went to changing clothes.

As I folded my pajama pants over; however, something made of metal fell out. I looked to the floor to find my Trans Temporal Sonic Screwdriver replica on the floor. Picking it up, I noticed it was heavier than before. It was made of actual metal for the most part, but the part which was representing Future London was made of a substance I can only describe as a combination of metal and plastic. The crystals and emitter had a glassy texture, and upon pressing the button, the wooden door to my dressing room flew open. Okay, so now I have a replica sonic screwdriver that isn't a replica anymore. Cool! I placed it carefully on the table and shut the door again, getting back to changing clothes.

Once I emerged from the wardrobe, I wore jeans, black Chuck Taylors, a maroon and white striped long-sleeve, black leather jacket, and the Doctor Who necklace I got online awhile ago. It was made of pieces of a watch, with a TARDIS on a clear part and "DOCTOR" in all caps on a small rectangular piece of metal too. I had a particular fondness for it.

I skipped merrily back to the control room to find the Doctor and Amy standing in front of the console.

"Amy Pond, you've barely started," the Doctor said, then pointed to me, "And that goes double for you, Parks," he pulled a lever and ran back to the door, "Cause do you know what I keep in here?"

"Yes," I said.

"Well I know you know," he said.

"What?" Amy asked, running down the stairs with me following her. The Doctor turned from the doors to face us.

"Absolutely everything," he answered, opening the doors to a wide expanse of space and starlight, "Anything take your fancy? Either of you?"

While I was smirking and leaning against the doorframe, Amy just stood there, mouth agape in wonder. She turned back to the Doctor.

"We're in space," she said.

"Yep. That's space," he replied.

"But it's... special effects," she assumed, turning from the space back to the Doctor.

"What?" he asked.

"She thinks it's not real," I explained. He looked to Amy again.

"Get out," he said.

"What?" Amy asked again.

"No, seriously. Get out!" he said, then not only shoved Amy out the door, but me as well, which earned a squeal on my part. This was going to be the greatest adventure of my life.

This is yet another possible story idea for the future. I'm going to let you, the readers, decide which one out of this and TWIK should be continued. Think of these snippits as demos for full things yet to come. If you like one more than the other, I'll write more on that one. Happy Deciding! -The Raggedy Time Traveller