Beauty and the Doctor

Belle was a sharp one-- perceptive and quick-thinking, and her father was a genius! He was far ahead of his time, and the old man barely even blinked when the Doctor let him inside the TARDIS.

"Bigger on the inside," Maurice mused, clumsily maneuvering himself into the swing used to work below the console.

"Right, well, the problem is here somewhere, a blown fuse or something of the sort. Normally, I'd fix it myself, but--"

"Yes, yes, it's fine. I'll do what I can, Doctor," the man said, waving the Timelord off.

The brunette looked at the inventor with raised eyebrows, then turned to climb back up to ground level. He trusted Maurice, had no doubt in his mind that he'd be able to find and fix the problem with his beautiful TARDIS, even if he wasn't familiar with the technology.

"Oh, and Doctor--" The alien ducked his head back under the metal flooring to see Maurice looking at him from behind a pair of fantastic spectacles. "Could you maybe spend some time with my daughter while I'm working down here? Sh-she's a lovely girl, but she doesn't have anyone to talk to but me, and I think she'd like the company."

The Doctor showed a small smile and nodded, "Of course, Maurice," then made his way out of the big blue box.

Belle was moving about the kitchen when the Doctor stepped inside. Her lips turned upward at his arrival, and she picked up a basket from the table.

"I was just going into town. Would you like to come, Doctor?"

"Uh, yes! I would. It's not every day that you land in Provence, France, now is it?"

She let out a short laugh, shrugging her shoulders. "If I'm not mistaken, you could land in Provence, France every day."

The Doctor grinned, opening the door for her, and followed the young lady out and down a small grassy hill.

"So, were you on your way to another place or time when you crash landed here?" Belle asked when they came upon a dirt road. There was a small town ahead of them, small buildings lining both sides of the street, and there were already dozens of people bustling about despite the fact that it was still early morning.

"I was on my way to something called the Dagmar Cluster. I received a distress signal coming from one of its planets, so I was on my way to investigate and help, if I could."

"Have you ever been before?"

"A couple of times, yeah. Really beautiful place, so long as you don't land on one of the gaseous planets." The Doctor made a face, and Belle just smiled and shook her head.

She was taking it all rather well, much calmer than others he had talked to about his travels. The fact that she even believed any of it was surprising on its own.

"Have you met many fantastic people?"

"Oh, yes," he grinned. "I mean, I've met more than just people, but they're all great."

Belle picked up a loaf of bread, thanking the baker, who stared at her in a funny way. They passed a sort of salon, and a lady who was getting fitted for a wig also looked after her with a sneer, and as the Doctor glanced around, he realized that the baker and the woman weren't the only ones staring at Belle.

The ladies of the village seemed to frown at her as she passed, and the men, well, they watched her very carefully when she walked away from them. It took the Doctor a while to figure it out, but as he looked at her talking to a fruit vendor, he came to a conclusion.

Belle was beautiful. There was something about her that set her apart from the other women of the town. Of course, the Doctor didn't much care for appearances, but he could recognize beauty when it was placed right in front of him (though, it usually took him a long time).

So, the females were jealous, and the males were only interested in her looks. No wonder she didn't have anyone to talk to.

"Alright, Doctor, can I trust you?" Belle asked as she skipped back over to him.

"Um, yes, I believe so."

"Okay," she smiled. "Then I'm going to take you to my favorite place in the entire world!"

With raised eyebrows, she let Belle grip his wrist and lead him through the large crowd of townspeople to a tiny shop that looked vacant.

"Is it open?"

Belle nodded. "It just doesn't get very many visitors."

A bell rang when they opened the door and walked inside. Not soon after, a small, stooped man hobbled out of the back room. His whole face brightened when he saw Belle. "Back already?"

She just reached into her basket and pulled out a worn book. "I read it all last night."

The old book keeper chuckled, and the Doctor began to better understand why she was alienated. A girl during this time period wasn't supposed to be reading books, or really thinking for herself in general, not that he minded one bit, but the people of France during the 1700s did mind. They minded a lot.

"Very impressive, Madamemoiselle. Now, who is your friend?"

"Oh, pardon me! This is the Doctor."

"The Doctor?"

The younger man held out his hand, shaking firmly. "Yes, just the Doctor. Nothing more. Pleasure to meet you."

He nodded, eyes a little wide behind thick glasses, but he cleared his throat and carried on. "Belle, would you like for me to recommend another book, or would you prefer to pick one for yourself?"

"I think I'll pick today," she told him kindly.

The Doctor walked around the small shop with her, holding the rolling ladder whenever she insisted on climbing up to see the top row of books.

It was a dusty place, and the lighting was awful, but the Timelord couldn't help but smile because Belle-- young Belle who wasn't even supposed to know how to read-- was climbing all over the book cases in search of the perfect story.

"Oh, this is a good one," he called up to her, holding out a cloth-bound, hardback book.

The brunette climbed down and took it from his hands. "Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift."

"He's brilliant, ol' Johnny. Very moody and sarcastic. I think you'll like him."

She stared at the cover for a while longer before looking back up at the Doctor who was quite a bit taller than her. A lovely smile spread across her face, and she nodded, clutching the book tightly to her chest. "I'll take it then. Monsieur, I'll be borrowing Gulliver's Travels."

The shop keeper nodded, also grinning, and the two left the shop together.

"Did you like it?" Belle asked, and the Doctor nodded his head.

Of course, he had seen much grander libraries, but sometimes, the small ones were much better. "It's brilliant."

It seemed that their visit into town was over, but as they made their way back toward the house, two figures stepped in front of them. One was very tall and muscled while the other was short and plump.

"Good morning, Belle!" The large one greeted in a deep, sly voice. He didn't look twice at the Doctor, who just watched him warily.

"Good morning, Gaston." Belle sounded less than pleased to see him.

"Have you thought about my offer?"

"Your offer?"

"Yes, my offer, Belle! Join me at the pub. I can tell you about all of my awards. We can have a few drinks, and maybe--"

"Well, that doesn't sound like a good time to me. Going to a pub and drinking?" She made a face, and next to her, the Doctor smirked.

The man known as Gaston frowned. "That doesn't sound like a good time? How can you say that when you spend your days reading like some kind of town loony?"

Belle inhaled deeply, eyebrows knitting together as she continued to hold her book tightly. "What I do in my free time is none of your business, Gaston."

"Oh, but it is! Every girl in town would love to be you, to be courted by me." He smiled, and the Doctor would be damned if one of his teeth didn't actually sparkle in the sun.

"Well, I'm not every girl."

"Obviously," the little man beside Gaston finally spoke up, causing both of them to laugh.

Belle just glared at them before pushing past, muttering an irritated, "Goodbye, Gaston."

The large man reached out and grabbed her arm, though, preventing her from getting away, and that's when the Doctor figured it was time to step in.

"I think you'd better let go right now."

Gaston just laughed. "Who do you think you are?"

"I'm the Doctor, and I think you'd better let go."

He didn't actually have anything to use against the barge of a man. He wasn't an alien or a robot or an Autuon. He was just a rude, obnoxious, human male. What was he supposed to do in a case like this?

Belle grimaced in Gaston's grasp. He was holding her tight enough to bruise. "And, if I don't?" He challenged the Doctor in a haughty voice.

The man in the suit took a step forward, shrugging his shoulders. "Well, then, I guess I'll just have to do something like this."

Before anyone really knew what was happening, the Doctor pulled back his arm and threw his fist straight into Gaston's jaw, sending him staggering back several steps. Then, he grabbed Belle with one hand, shaking out the other.

"Right, now we've got to go because I'm not gonna be able to win in a fight against him," he told her, taking her hand and sprinting away from the now bruised Gaston.

"My goodness! You really didn't have to do that!"

"No, I- I really did. It's not like I could just sonic his hand off your arm."

"Sonic-- what?"

"Nevermind. Wow, that really hurt!" He stopped running once they reached the top of the hill, shaking his hand out again and massaging his knuckles.

Belle stared at him in worry, then took him by the wrist with a laugh. "Come on. We'll get that taken care of."

Inside, Belle sat the Doctor down and retrieved a rag. She wet it, then pulled some ice out of a strange little box that the Timelord could easily assume was made by Maurice. She handed the rag to him, letting him rest it on his sore hand, then sat down across from him.

"Honestly, Doctor, you didn't have to do that."

"Now, what kind of man would I be, if I just let him treat you that way?"

"But, you're not a man," Belle smirked. "Not exactly, are you?"

He stared at her for a while. He usually had to actually tell people that he was an alien since he looked completely human.

She is good.

"Um, n- no. No, I'm not."

"I didn't think so," she said in a satisfied tone, sitting back and crossing one leg over the other.

"So, tell me, Doctor. Where all have you been?"

He grinned widely and leaned forward, knowing well that she already knew too much about him. Why not tell her some of his best stories?

For a good portion of the day, the Doctor recalled some of his many adventures to Belle. Of course, he couldn't cover all of them, but he talked about the mummies with Sarah-Jane and meeting Shakespeare with Martha. He told her about New New York and fighting with Cassandra while traveling with Rose and facing Pompeii with one of his best friends, Donna. Belle listened carefully, watching him with huge eyes.

"Goodness, it's even better than some of my books!"

"Well, I wouldn't say that, but it can be fun sometimes. Dangerous, but fun."

Maurice walked in just as the afternoon ended and evening set it. He was sweaty with his hair sticking up in every direction.

"I think I've got it, Doctor. You should be able to fly."

"Oh, thank you, Maurice!" The Doctor stood up and hugged the round man. "You're a lifesaver, really. Now, I should be going."

"Wait!" Belle called. She took her basket from earlier that day and quickly moved around the kitchen, packing various fruits, vegetables, and bread. She also filled a glass jar with tea, capping it and placing it gently in the basket. "Take this with you, just in case you're hungry."

The Doctor grinned at her thoughtfulness. He didn't find it necessary to tell her that if he got hungry, he could just raid the many TARDIS kitchens or land anywhere in any universe and nip out for a meal.

"Thank you, Belle. You've been fantastic."

They all walked back outside and over to the sideways Police Box. "I really don't know how to thank you, both of you. If you ever need anything, I'll be listening for a distress call."

Belle laughed and swallowed hard, feeling a lump rise in her throat. The Doctor was so wonderful, so wise and understanding, and now, she was supposed to say goodbye after just a few hours.

"We were happy to help," she told him, forcing a smile. "You be safe, Doctor."

He nodded, opening the door to the box and climbing inside. It was a little difficult getting to the center console while sideways, but he managed, smiling the entire time as he flipped switches and pumped thingies and twirled doo-hickies.

He could hear the engine roar to life and wished he could see Belle and Maurice's faces. The whirring continued, and he could tell that the box was disappearing from where it was in the field on its side.

After pressing a few buttons, he chuckled to himself, feeling the pull of space and time only for a few seconds before it all stopped and the TARDIS stilled.

The Doctor ran back to the door, throwing them open to find Belle and Maurice still standing in the field, mouths open. The TARDIS was now right-side-up, restored to her former glory.

"Right, well, Maurice, you did a wonderful job repairing her," he said, and the old man just nodded blankly. "Belle," he held out a hand. "Would you like to join me on an adventure?"

The french girl's face lit up. Her eyes grew wide, and her grin was so big, the Doctor thought it might rip her face in two.

"Oh, I-- Papa, may I? May I please go with him?"

"I'll have her back before you know it. Promise."

Maurice stared at him for a few more moments before nodding. "Y-yes, of course! Go with him, dear! Just be safe!"

With a happy sigh of relief, Belle leaned down and kissed her father chastely on the cheek. "Thank you, Papa!"

The Doctor smiled at the exchange, vowing to himself that he would get her back safe and sound. Belle took one last look at her father, then took the outstretched hand and walked into the TARDIS.