Paradise

The next morning after the alarms rang, with the sun barely rising, the Doctor inspected all the half-tired workers and frowned.

“Something da matta?” The luna asked with a slightly terrified expression.

“You're missing one of your workers. Do you take attendance?”

“Who is missing!?” The luna demanded, squinting amongst the sea of diversities.

The workers, all stayed silent, looked at each other with confused expressions, before finally shrugging in reply.

“You lot probably have no idea that Mizuko Shumiya is missing, do you?” They all continued to stay silent. “Remember her? The cute Japanese woman who can't speak pidgin as well as you all can?” The Doctor turned to Maydea. “Do you know where your wife is?”

Maydea looked a bit nervous for a split second before regaining his composure. “At home. She sick. Cannot come out of bed.”

“Really?” The Doctor forced a smile. “Did you send for a doctor?”

“They no get one doctor.” The luna answered for Maydea.

“Why not? Don't you care about the health of your workers? They're the ones who are making the profit after all! As a plantation inspector, I'm not pleased the slightest.” The luna scowled in reply as the Doctor continued, “And you Mr. Mayeda! Aren't you supposed to be at home caring for your sick wife? That's what a husband does, doesn't he?”

“I cannot stay home. I gotta come fo' work.”

“I know that, but if you really loved your wife, wouldn't you sacrifice a bit of your work, just so she can get better? Take some advice, because you're obviously not fit to be a husband.”

The Doctor gave a sarcastic bow to him and dashed away to Mizuko's house. At first he kept a fast walking pace, but that eventually blossomed into a run, getting quicker to her house than he had planned. At the sight of a new found, out-of-place silver lock, the Doctor pulled out the probe-like-object from his pocket and pointed at it. With the click of a button, a metallic noise filled the air and the green end glowed. With a snap, the lock came undone and fell helplessly to the ground. He kicked open the door and anxiously looked around the house, bellowing her name.

“Doctor, is that you?” A feeble voice called from the futon on the floor in the way corner of the house.

“I hope you were expecting a real doctor.”

“No. I was hoping fo' you. Da only doctor I know.”

“I'll tell you a secret. I'm not a real doctor. Promise not to tell anyone, will ya?”

“Then why you call yo'self dat?”

“Well everyone calls me the Doctor; I don't know why. I call me the Doctor, too. I still don't know why.” He squatted next to Mizuko, who looked completely weak, snuggled in a blue blanket. “Never mind me, are you alright?”

“Sore.”

“Sore? With your fever?”

“I don't got one fever.” She pulled away the blanket, revealing a piece of floral cloth wrapped around her ankle. “I got one cracked ankle.”

“....How did this happen?”

“I fall in one ditch in the field.”

“Really? Then why would your husband lie and tell me that you had a fever?” The Doctor's face began to grow red in frustration, as he began to discover the horrible truth.

“Doctor...”

“Give me a Dalek anyway!” He clamored, slamming his fist against the table beside him. “Not this!”

“Doctor...I...”

“Why didn't you yell like I told you to?” His voice was raised to the highest, promoted to a yell. Mizuko felt a chill ran down his spine at this once-concealed anger. “Why!?”

“I didn't want you worried!”

“Worried? What about now? You think I'm just simply, 'worried!?”.

“Doctor, please, you scaring me.”

The Doctor grew quiet and sat down. “Ah....sorry.” He looked up at her, his face full of anguish. “Usually I deal with big, scary aliens, not abusive husbands.”

“I'm sorry.”

“No. Don't say that. Don't even think about saying that ever. It's not your fault.”

“Mizuko!” She suddenly grew pale at the sound of this infamous voice. “They onto us! Pack your bags!”

Maydea came into sight, panting, but froze at the sight of the Doctor.

“Planning to go somewhere?” The Doctor stood up and stared at him with an enraged expression.

“How you get in?”

“With this.” The Doctor pulled out the probe-like object. “A sonic screwdriver with oh so many functions! Doesn't kill, doesn't wound, doesn't maim; but it is very good at opening doors.”

“That's breaking and entering!”

“No! It's sonicing and entering! Two completely different things!”

“I can have you arrested!”

“Sure you can, but what about you? Last time I checked, physical abuse is against Earth law.”

“You no get proof!”

“Your wife's ankle and bruises are the only proof I need. And you were just planning to run away too, just like that. Did you really think your wife would agree to come with you?”

Maydea glared and reached inside his overall's pockets, then finally pulling out a butterfly knife. He swung it open and threateningly pointed it towards the Doctor.

“What? Do you think that little thing is going to kill me?” The Doctor walked up to Maydea, finally stopping at just a few inches away from his face. “I've battled creatures from the deapts of the universe, scarier and stronger than you. Big, scary, creatures that would make any human afraid. The boogeymen is nothing compared to what's really out there. I've faced death many times and trust me, I've died. So you and your little scrap of metal doesn't scare me at all.”

The Doctor's intimidation caused Maydea to shake. “You one crazy haole! I'mma cut you!”

“Do all you humans resort to fighting? It's going to get you nowhere. My kind got into a fight, got mixed up in a war. Now there's no one left.”

The Doctor pointed his sonic screwdriver toward the knife and activated it with a click. Instantly, it flew out of his hand and onto the ground, as if it got knocked away by a force from the screwdriver itself.

“Now, what are you going to do to me?”

Maydea, with no weapon, instantly clenched his fist, feeling angrier and angrier with his pride on the ine. Without warning, his charged towards the Doctor with such animosity.

“Oh, I hate this part...” The Doctor murmured,reaching inside his pocket.

But before Maydea got lay a fist on the Doctor, Mizuko got to him first. Her fist slammed against his cheek and he slumped to the ground.

“Mizuko?” The Doctor turned and saw that Mizuko was breathing heavily on her pained expression, standing with the support of the table. “What are you...?”

“I always like do dat for one long time!”

“I think he's knocked unconscious.”

“Good!” She sat down and heaved a heavy sigh of relief.

“Wow. That was um....completely unexpected. Seriously! You remind me of someone I once traveled with. Donna Noble! You both share that feisty charm that I love so much! Oops, forgot to ask, are you alright?”

“Yeah.” She rubbed her fist. “Not even hurt. My ankle mo' sore.”

“Here, why don't we go to a place with a more comfortable aura?” The Doctor bent down and allowed Mizuko to climb on his back. He stood up, with his arms just tucked under her thighs and let out a grunt. “Ow. Never done this before.”

“Ahhh! You saying I'm fat or what?”

“Nonsense!” The two laughed as he piggybacked her all the way to the sugarcane fields, where his great machine stood.

Mizuko, who has never saw the TARDIS in tact, gasped at the sight of it. It looked nothing like a spaceship or a time machine, but a 1960's blue police box.

“You one police da whole time den!”

“Long story. TARDIS can blend in any time stream. Got stuck on this one and I've had it for so long, I don’t think about changing it.”

The Doctor snapped his fingers and the doors opened. Mizuko's eyes grew even wider at the interior. A background with glassy looking red windows and giant console right in the middle of it all, decorated with all sorts of switches and levers.

“Le me guess, you're thinking, “It's bigger on the inside!”

“What? You one mind reader too?”

“No. Just a typical response.” He set her down on the chair and pointed the screwdriver, toward her ankle, activating it. “It can't heal wounds and injuries, but the most it can do for you is hopefully fix that cracked bone, along with connecting tendons. Ah! Is it starting to feel better?”

Mizuko managed to stand up on both two feet. She moved her ankle in a complete circle and inhaled. “Ho! I no feel it anymore!”

“The pain is gone, but one wrong step could have it twisted again. So, be careful.” He put the screwdriver back into his pocket. “So...where to?”

“What?”

“Come with me.”

“Where?”

“Wherever you like.”

“You tink, I go come with you, just li' dat?”

“Yeah. No point in staying here. Maydea's probably gonan be sent to jail and working....it's just so boring! How do you humans do it?”

“To make one living! We're not one alien like you, gifted with one spaceship, sonic screwdriver and physic paper.”

“Good point. Well to make a long story short, I like you Mizuko and I feel like you'll be a great companion to me.”

“I was not da only one was I?”

“Nope.”

“What happened to them?”

“They leave. Because they should or because they found someone else. And some of them....forget me.”

“Who would forget about you?”

“The Doctor's eyes lit up, followed by a sudden smile. “Does that mean you're coming?”

“Yeah.”

He smiled, even bigger, the biggest she's ever seen. With the heel of his dress shoe, he swung over the console of the TARDIS, gliding on the clear, glass floor.

“Doctor, you said that your kind all gone?”

The Doctor wore a pained expression with a far away look in his green eyes, before replying, “All of them. My planet too.”

“I'm....I'm sorry.”

“For what? It's all in the past, but you Mizuko Shumiya, have so much to live for! Anywhere in time and space! Everything ever happened or ever will...where do you wanna start?”

“What's that one planet, you said dat was paradise?”

“Calboron 41?”

“Yes. I like go there, go see real paradise.”

“Hawaii is paradise! You just haven't been around long enough to see the scenery.”

“We go one nother' time. I sick of dis place a'ready.”

“Calboron 41! You'll love it! Everything you love and ever dreamed of will be there! This in fact caused by an illusory vortex that - “

“Doctor...you mentioned sometin about one Dalek?”

“Something far more scarier than Maydea. I absolutely hope we don't run into one.”

“What about battling aliens, you said?”

“Oh...right! Our time together will get dangerous on occasions.”

“Will it always be that dangerous?”

“Yeah.” He thought for a second. “I don't ever remember a time where it wasn't.”

“Oh.”

“But don't worry, I promise you, I'll keep you safe. I'll make it so you never get hurt again.” He said this such honesty and much sincerity, enough to make her cheeks grow pink.

“Imagine me, running away with one alien!”

“Just think of it as a permanent vacation.” He flipped a switch. “Are you certain you don't want to stay on the plantation? I can get you back five minutes ago, if you wish.”

“Nah!” She grinned. “No need!”

“There's a lot of things you need to get across in this universe. Warp drive, wormhole refractors...You know the thing you need most of all? You need a hand to hold.” The Doctor held out his hand and Mizuko took it, squeezing his fingers with comfort.

“Ho Doctor, how long you like me stay with you?”

“As long as you like.” Gripping her hand tightly, he smiled and puller a lever. Immediately, the ship rocked but Mizuko managed to keep balance, with the doctors grip, along with the help of a silver railing. “Sorry! A little bumpy! Be sure to hold on tight! Next stop, paradise!”

The TARDIS shot up into the sky, with a blast of smoke raining down on the sugarcane below. Anyone who was watching would have seen the last of the blue box disappear to a gold speck in the sky, along with hearing the Doctor's voice call out,

“Geronimo!”