The Time Ring

"Welcome to the TARDIS, Mousy Cavingon" He was expecting the same 'it's bigger on the inside' line yet he got something completely different.

"This place doesn't have any sense. It's amazing" The Doctor smiled seeing how excited she was. Maybe taking her in a few adventures wouldn't make such a big deal. She walked deeper into it and looked around. "It's brilliant…" She mumbled. Her eyes were movibg quickly from the control machine in the middle of the TARDIS to the walls. The Doctor couldn't stop smiling at her. He walked next to her right when she wanted to touch something. He slapped her hand and she grabbed it back, like a child who got caught doing something stupid.

"No touchy" He scolded her. She scoffed and narrowed her eyes at the man. Her pouting face changed when she realized something.

"Do you travel alone?" She asked seeing as it was so much silence. The Doctor didn't interrupt whatever he was doing to the machine but responded.

"Sometimes I take friends" Mousy raised an eyebrow.

"Assistants?" He nodded but wasn't fully attentive.

"Yeah. You can put it like that too" Mousy watched the Doctor running around.

"What happened to them?" The Doctor stopped. Now this was a touchy subject. "Well…?" Mousy wanted some answers and she was going to get them one way or another.

"There were a few friends that helped me save the world" Mousy walked closer to him and leaned on the machine.

"Save the world?" The Doctor chuckled and nodded. "I've seen it. When the Earth has been attacked, I mean"

"Have you?" She raised her left hand and stuck it into the Doctor's face.

"That's how I knew you are an alien and that's how I found the van" The Doctor took her hand and looked closer at the ring. He touched it and it actually electrocuted him! Mousy could feel it too.

"I've never seen something like this" He trailed while putting his glasses on. It was a weird sight for Mousy. She bit her lip and tried not to laugh at the sight.

"It's called a Time Ring. It goes ding when it founds alien stuff" She used the Doctor's words. It made him smile. "It starts beeping when there's an abruptly change in time. Sometimes it goes crazy on its own like today with your screwdriver. It hadn't done that before" The Doctor nodded and let go of her hand.

"Alright. Now that we settled that"He got his glasses off and put them into his pocket. He turned to her with that happy face. "Where do you want to go, Mousy?" She looked deeply into his brown eyes. There was one place and one time she could never forget. The Doctor was waiting calmly yet he was curious what was she thinking about.

"I want to go back in time on the day of 13th June 1995, somewhere near Cardiff" The Doctor was very curious but he didn't say anything. He pushed some buttons and the TARDIS moved.

"Hold onto something! It might get rough!" Mousy widened her eyes; however, she was already on the floor.

"Thanks for telling me that now!" She yelled annoyed. The Doctor shrugged it off. The flight hasn't been too bright for Mousy as she was tossed around for a minute or two. When the TARDIS stopped, Mousy was gripping one side of the machine tightly. "Wow. That's what they call one hell of a ride" She mumbled getting off the machine. The Doctor did the same and ran to the door.

"Get ready to be surprised" She rolled her eyes but couldn't help but smile at his excitement.

"I might know what's on the other side, Doctor. I told you the date. You should get ready for a surprise, not me" She stated while walking to the door, joining him. She took a deep breath and opened the door.

The Doctor was quite surprised to see nothing unusual. She wanted to get back in time on a specific date. The question was why? What happened then? Mousy was quiet. She couldn't say a word; instead, she walked towards a mansion.

"Wow. That's one nice mansion" He stated, staring at the house. It was indeed very big, in a Victorian style. He glanced at Mousy to see her touching it. She had a sorrowful expression on her face. She walked towards the front where she found a small girl with brown hair running around, playing with her dog. If the Doctor thought the earlier expression was sad, he was wrong. Her level of sadness only increased. It was a painful sight. The Doctor, however, was very curious where they actually were and if it was the right time. Everything seemed too cheerful and perfect. He went to that small child, leaving Mousy staring into space.

"Hello" He said happily, making the girl turn and face him. His eyes widened a little when he saw two familiar deep green eyes.

"Mommy told me not to talk to strangers" The Doctor's smile softened and he chuckled. She was very cute. Behind him came another pair of deep green eyes.

"I'm the Doctor and this is my friend, Mousy. See? We're not stranger anymore" The child started to laugh at him. Their smiles only widened.

"I like your name!" She said pointing at Mousy. She chuckled softly. "If you are a doctor then where is your gown?" She asked innocently looking back to those brown eyes. He chuckled and leaned closer to her.

"I'm a different type of Doctor" He whispered. The child giggled.

"Good. Because I hate normal doctors" The Doctor got up and looked at Mousy who bent to the child's level.

"What's your name?" She wanted to be sure that that small girl was who she thought she was.

"I'm Mandy!" Mousy smiled and nodded.

"And where is your mommy, Mandy?" The girl's face changed quickly.

"She's always busy in the basement. She doesn't come to play with me, never" Mousy's eyes saddened again, making the Doctor even more curious.

"Amanda, is your daddy here?" The child shook her head.

"No. He's at work. But he promised he will return tomorrow" Mousy's eyes widened. She raised and turned her head so no one could see the tears. The Doctor walked behind Mousy and placed a hand on her back.

"Are you alright?" Mousy nodded and wiped the few tears off.

"I'm fine" She said and turned to face the Doctor. Mandy was oblivious. She smiled down at the child assuring her that she was alright.

"Amanda!" The three turned towards the front door in time to see a woman with the same beautiful green eyes as the child.

"Mommy! I made new friends!" The mother didn't seem to care at first but she smiled at them.

"Why don't you invite them inside, darling?" Mandy smiled happily and took Mousy's and the Doctor's hands and pulled them in.

"Wow" The Doctor hadn't seen in his whole long life such a house. It was even bigger on the inside and there were so many artifacts and paintings from all over the world. Mousy smirked when she saw the glint in his eyes. Mandy took them both in the living room, where her mother was just taking a seat.

"It's really nice to meet you. I'm Amanda's mother, Patricia. I'm really glad Mandy made new friends. She's usually playing alone. The neighbors are quite old for her" Mousy nodded her head.

"It's our pleasure. She's such a nice child. I'm Mousy and this is the Doctor" Patricia glanced at him.

"Doctor Who?" He half smiled.

"Just the Doctor" Patricia nodded slowly, thinking he was a little weird. "This house is gorgeous! How did you get those rare artifacts?" The older woman smiled softly. Mousy stared intently at her. She knew who that woman was and wanted to know what she was hiding in the basement.

"My husband brought them. He's an archeologist. He likes adventures" She chuckled at the end. Mousy narrowed her eyes at her. She glanced at the clock for a second. When she saw the time, she got up and smiled sadly at them. "I'm sorry but I have to go…" She wanted them to leave, it was getting awkward.

"Can they stay over, mommy?" The woman looked between them and her daughter and nodded.

"Sure. You can show them their room later, sweetie." Mandy jumped happily and hugged her guests. "Come on" She took the Doctor's hand and dragged him to his supposed to be room. Mandy stopped in front of a wood door and opened it. "I'm sorry but this is the only guest room. You'll have to share" She said looking sadly at them. The Doctor shrugged.

"There's no problem with that, is there Mousy?" The girl shook her head. She didn't really care. Mandy smiled happily

"I have to go to piano class, now. See you later!"

Inside the room, the Doctor jumped on the very fluffy and comfortable bed while Mousy went to the window and stared outside.

"This bed is heaven" He said pointing to it. Mousy rolled her eyes. "What's gotten into you?" He asked annoyed. She wanted to come to that particular place but she was all sad and sorrow.

"We're not on June 13th 1995. We're on March 20th 1990. Two days before Victor Cavington died in a plane crash" The Doctor got off the bed and walked to her.

"What?"

"I know that because Victor is my father. And Patricia is my mother" The Doctor could finally figure the situation out.

"I knew I've seen those eyes before! Why did you want to come to your past?" Mousy turned to the Doctor and sighed. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and leaned against the window frame.

"On the night of 13th June 1995 there was a fire. It spread all around the house. I was ten and my brother, Jeremy was five. Mom died in that fire and the mansion collapsed. No one knows why. There hasn't been found anything to show how did the fire start. I wanted to see if I can find something" The Doctor understood.

"You're mother seems a little…" Mousy chuckled and raised an eyebrow.

"Off?" The Doctor chuckled too.

"Well not really. She seems like a nice lady" Mousy scoffed.

"Remember when I told you she experimented on me?" The Doctor nodded and finally realized.

"That's why she's always ignoring you!"

"Exactly. That's also why there's just one guest room in the house. The second floor is actually part of her lab. After my father's death, mom told me she was pregnant" The Doctor nodded, taking everything in.

"But what about the ring? You don't have it yet" Mousy nodded.

"No. Dad gave it to me before he left. From today in a week, mom's guinea pig will die from a heart attack and she will continue her tests on me. A five years old lonely girl" She sighed and turned towards the window. "I'll be alone for the rest of my life. Kind of like you. My brother will go to a boarding school and my grandparents will continue to blame me for my parents' marriage" The Doctor's eyes softened.

"I'm sorry" She rolled her eyes.

"It's alright. I didn't end up too bad, huh?" The Doctor smiled. They were looking at each other when they heard something exploding downstairs. The Doctor got up fast but Mousy grabbed his hand. "It's from the lab. You get used to it after a few years"