It was an average summer day. She was sitting with a glass of iced tea on her back porch, looking into the trees that lined the back of her property. The wind was blowing hard, signaling a summer storm moving through. She debated going inside to avoid the rain, but figured a few drops wouldn't hurt her. She walked around the house to at least close the windows so that things inside wouldn't get wet.

The wind picked up as she rounded back to the deck. It was a warm wind, though, and it brought the first spritz of rain. She reached for her tea, the sound of the wind whipping through the trees growing louder as she settled into her seat.

When she looked up, there was a blue phone booth of some sort in her back yard. The light on the top of it was blinking, and it was shrieking terribly. Keeping her eye on the contraption as it apparently settled into her range of vision, she sidled into the house and grabbed her cell phone and a pistol. She prepped the first with 911, just in case, and held the second loosely at her side. Then she walked warily toward the box.

She prodded it with her foot. It was solid, not really an apparition. She gave it a tap, and it echoed like wood. It was the truest blue she'd ever seen, and there was a row of windows at the top too high for her to see through, but just barely. She walked around it. There was nothing unusual about the exterior. It was a blue police call box, just like the sign on the front said. She tried the door. Locked. She kicked the door for good measure.

"Oy, what do you think you're doing?" A man popped his head out and glared at her. "That's my police box you're kicking." He stepped out of the box, forcing her to take a few steps back. She tightened the grip on her gun. He was a bit bigger than her, in a sweater and leather jacket despite the heat. She didn't trust his look. She didn't like that he and his police box were in her backyard.

"And your police box is on my property. So you'd better start explaining." She lifted the gun high enough that even a stray bullet would likely hit him in the foot, indicating just how serious she was.

"Your property?" He looked around. "Off again. I don't suppose this is anywhere near Chicago?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Near being the same country, sure. Hell, even the same region. But this is Michigan. Chicago's a six hour drive from here, easily."

"Michigan?"

"Michigan." She sighed. "You gonna explain yourself or what? I can call the police in if that makes it easier." It occurred to her that she probably should have said she had already called the police, but it was too late for that.

"Well, we sort of came off course, I guess. I was aiming for Chicago in 1929. I'm guessing I'm pretty far off."

"Like I said, six hours and 84 years off. Keep going."

"We hit a bit of a storm on the way in and ended up here. On your property. Sorry about that. I'll just get going…" He turned to go back inside and she cocked her gun.

"Oh no. Explain how your box ended up here."

"It's a ship."

"It's a box."

"Well, fine. Yes, I am a madman with a box, I suppose, but it's a very special box. It travels from place to place…"

"And time to time." She said this very plainly, without being impressed or incredulous. He frowned. He wanted to be impressive.

"Yes, well, it's actually a TARDIS."

"You're kidding me." She lowered her gun, but only just slightly. "A working TARDIS?"

"You, um, know what that is?"

"Time And Relative Dimension In Space." She tucked her gun away, clicking the safety on and walking one more time around the box. "Malfunctioning chameleon circuit? 1950s style British police box, trespassing, grinning pilot who is dressed entirely wrong and in the entirely wrong place?" She grinned. "Who are you?"

He matched her grin, spreading from ear to ear –which almost balanced the big ears and big nose. The grin looked good on him, she had to admit. "I'm the Doctor."

She resisted the urge to hug him. Even if this was a giant hoax, this was amazing. This was magnificent. Every girl had the urge to hear that phrase uttered directly to her. "Wow," was all she could manage.

His grin was self-sustaining now. She was impressed. Not with his TARDIS or his ability to time travel, but with him. "You know who I am?"

"I've heard of you. You're kind of a big deal." She stretched up onto her tiptoes to see inside, then huffed in frustration. She gripped her fingers against the small ridge along the TARDIS' windows, then pushed against her garage – only a foot or so away – lifting herself high enough to see in. To her surprise and disappointment, it looked just like an empty police box. She dropped to the ground.

He was watching her with amusement. "I am, in fact, a big deal. But you know who I am, now who are you?"

"Miranda Larsen. Can I get you some tea? I think it's about to storm, and I might as well be hospitable about it, even if you did just pop in unannounced." She smiled again, her eyes dancing back and forth between the Doctor and the TARDIS. Sure enough, she no sooner spoke than the thundercloud broke open, dumping a solid sheet of rain on both of them. She shivered slightly as the wind rushed past her, but other than that, she barely indicated that she felt the weather. "Besides, you won't want to get that leather jacket wet. I'll bet good tanned leather's hard to come by in space." She walked a few feet toward the house. "Come on then. I'll get you a towel and some tea. When the storm's done, you can head off to Chicago, 1929. You after the Valentine's Day Massacre or something?"

"Or something." He followed her at a safe distance, but was rather happy she invited him in. He wanted to know how she knew about him. What she knew about him. He closed the door behind him, taking a moment to look at the rain as it fell. He was really in the middle of nowhere, he could tell. Not a town for miles. And she lived out here.

A towel impacted the side of his head, and he caught it before it hit the ground. "Sorry about that. Thought you were listening." She moved up beside him, watching the rain. "It's gorgeous, isn't it? After Dad died, I couldn't bear to sell this. Couldn't keep both though, so I sold my place in Detroit and moved back here." She turned away, fluffing her own towel lightly through her hair, then laying it over the doorknob. "Here, let me take your jacket, get it dried off." She eyed him. "I have a t-shirt you can wear if you want to dry those things."

"I'll be fine. Thanks though."

She shrugged and pointed toward the living room. "Go ahead and make yourself at home. I'll bring in the tea in a second." He did as he was told and watched her move around the kitchen as he sat on the couch, taking a moment to put his towel underneath him before he sat. She pulled down a glass and filled it with ice, then with tea from the refrigerator. She took out her gun and put it on the table, then joined him in the living room. "There you are." She took a sip of her own and watched him drink. "You don't have a companion with you, do you? I mean, they're welcome to come in as well."

"Nah, nobody travelling with me these days. Just me and my TARDIS and the stars. How'd you know about all that, by the way?"

"You know, you just hear things. And the stories told about you are pretty impressive." She frowned. "Doctor… that time storm you hit… is there any chance it could have thrown you through a dimensional wormhole?"

He frowned, the idea occurring to him for the first time as well. "I suppose. It was a bit of a crash landing. If that's the case, though, I need to go." He stood up, then looked back down at her. "Why do you ask?"

"Cause here…" she hesitated. The look on his face prompted her on. "Here you're a fictional character. A TV show."

"A TV show?"

"Yeah. You're the…" her eyes swept over him again. "Ninth incarnation of yourself?"

"Yes…"

"Yeah, nine actors." She thought about asking about Rose. Instead, she bit her tongue.

"Well that's fantastic! I have a TV show. Even in another dimension, I'm on the move!"

She laughed with him, listening as the sudden downpour trickled away. "If you need to go, though, Doctor, you probably should. If the storms energy helped at all, you may want to get going before it's gone."

"Good advice." He finished his tea, setting the drained glass down with a triumph. "Well, I'm off then." She stood to show him out. It was a strange little interlude, but she was sure she wouldn't ever forget it. Not that anyone would believe her. They'd say she was going mad in her little cabin in the middle of nowhere.

"Thanks for dropping in. You're welcome anytime." She picked up the glass and followed him out to the kitchen. She leaned against the sink, waiting for him to leave.

"Unless you want to come with me?"

She swallowed hard, not quite believing her ears. "Come with you?" she squeaked.

"Yeah, sorry, was that a bad idea? I only thought…" He rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

She touched his elbow, practically glowing. "Doctor, I would love to travel with you."

"You've seen what I do? It can be dangerous."

"And interesting and amazing. There are whole worlds out there. Not to mention all the amazing things in here." She tapped his forehead lightly. "Are you sure that you want me to come?"

He grinned, and she couldn't help but mirror him. "More sure every second. Come on." He twined his fingers with hers and she ran into the rain with him. With the Doctor. And then suddenly she was inside the TARDIS.