Through Space and Time
i
Brooke had never liked working late, she hated walking home along the dimly lit backstreets and yet she still ended up doing it. She had been walking for nearly fifteen minutes, when an oddly comforting tune filled her ears and she froze.
The familiarity of the melody confused her, since she couldn't remember having ever heard it before and with one final glance around the deserted street; she carried on walking. As soon as she stepped foot in the house, she made her way upstairs and got changed; climbing tiredly into bed. For a while, Brooke balanced on the verge of sleep, her mind swirling with bad memories until darkness took over and her head seemed to clear.
'Looking around, Brooke found herself in a park and knew immediately that she was dreaming. It was autumn, the leaves falling from the trees as she made her way along a pathway and explored the surrounding area.
The sound of children giggling excitedly drew her attention and she stepped off the path on to the leaf strewn grass, making her way towards the laughter. As she walked further across the grass area in front of her, a small playground came into view and Brooke smiled as she recognized the place from her childhood.
A small smile graced her lips as she spotted a small, brown haired girl climbing the steps of the slide and giggling as she flew to the bottom; her arms outstretched as if she were flying. In the distance, she heard the same tune as before and headed off to find it. The music grew louder as Brooke wandered, but quickly fell silent as she rounded a corner and almost collided with a blue box.
Frowning, Brooke circled it; observing the exterior and hesitantly running her fingers over the old fashioned panel work. As her fingertips glided over the woodwork, something thrummed beneath her fingers and the music she had been following played faintly in the background. Taking a deep breath, Brooke pushed open the door and stepped through into... London.
Glancing back to where she expected the blue box to still be standing, Brooke was surprised to find that it was gone and had been replaced by a modern day red telephone box. Sudden movement to her right caught her attention and she turned to see someone she hadn't seen in years, but just as she approached him everything faded back to black.'
Waking up the following morning, Brooke headed downstairs for breakfast and then decided to go out for a walk. It was only when she reached Big Ben, that images from her dream flashed through her mind and she realized that she was in the exact same spot.
On a telephone box not far from where she stood, Brooke noticed a large number of missing people posters and went over to get a closer look. As she got nearer, Brooke was surprised to find more attached to a tree and that the date of the disappearances were all the same.
"Bit of a coincidence that they all vanished on the same day, don't you think?" A voice said from behind her, causing her to spin round and stare at the man standing there.
"I don't believe in coincidences," Brooke replied, finding her voice and staring into the man's eyes as if held in a trance. She had seen those eyes before, when she was younger and looking into them now filled her with the same wonderment as they had all those years ago, "It can't be... Doctor?"
"Hello Brooke."
"How..." Brooke started, realizing she didn't know what to ask first and falling silent.
Noticing something blue out the corner of her eye, Brooke turned to look at it and gasped. Sat on the corner across the street, stood the blue box from her dream and without hesitation she approached it.
"Have you seen this before?" The Doctor asked, leaning against the box and watching Brooke curiously.
"In a dream I had last night," Brooke told him, "There was this tune and I followed it to see where it was coming from, but all I found was this box."
"She must have been calling to you," The Doctor stated, retrieving a key from his pocket and heading inside, "Come on."
Hesitantly, Brooke followed him and stared around in awe at what she saw. The interior of the box was huge, filled with strange looking machinery and what she guessed was the engine positioned in the center.
"What the..." Brooke whispered.
"Welcome to the TARDIS?"
"TARDIS?"
"Yeah, it stands for time and relative dimension in space."
"It's a time machine," Brooke mumbled, earning a nod from the Doctor, "How is that possible?"
"The same way it's possible for me to change my face," The Doctor responded as if that answered the question.
Brooke knew that she wasn't going to get a proper answer, at least not at the moment and so she moved the conversation on.
"I didn't think I'd ever see you again after you left."
"If I'm honest, I didn't mean to be gone so long," The Doctor admitted, "Travelling in the TARDIS is... time just works differently."
"Nan used to ask me, all the time, whether I had seen you," Brooke said as tears welled up in her eyes, "When I was scared, she would tell me stories about you and promise that you were looking down on me from the stars."
"You said used to?"
"She passed away last year," Brooke told him, taking a shuddery deep breath and wiping her eyes.
"I'm really sorry Brooke, I know how much she meant to you."
Silence fell between them and the Doctor pulled Brooke into a hug, kissing her head as she allowed the tears to fall.
"So, do you travel in this thing alone?" Brooke inquired, pulling back and looking up at him.
"Actually, I've had company the last year," the Doctor replied, letting her go and stepping back a little, "Her names Rose... I think you'll like her."
"I can't wait to meet her."
The familiarity of the melody confused her, since she couldn't remember having ever heard it before and with one final glance around the deserted street; she carried on walking. As soon as she stepped foot in the house, she made her way upstairs and got changed; climbing tiredly into bed. For a while, Brooke balanced on the verge of sleep, her mind swirling with bad memories until darkness took over and her head seemed to clear.
'Looking around, Brooke found herself in a park and knew immediately that she was dreaming. It was autumn, the leaves falling from the trees as she made her way along a pathway and explored the surrounding area.
The sound of children giggling excitedly drew her attention and she stepped off the path on to the leaf strewn grass, making her way towards the laughter. As she walked further across the grass area in front of her, a small playground came into view and Brooke smiled as she recognized the place from her childhood.
A small smile graced her lips as she spotted a small, brown haired girl climbing the steps of the slide and giggling as she flew to the bottom; her arms outstretched as if she were flying. In the distance, she heard the same tune as before and headed off to find it. The music grew louder as Brooke wandered, but quickly fell silent as she rounded a corner and almost collided with a blue box.
Frowning, Brooke circled it; observing the exterior and hesitantly running her fingers over the old fashioned panel work. As her fingertips glided over the woodwork, something thrummed beneath her fingers and the music she had been following played faintly in the background. Taking a deep breath, Brooke pushed open the door and stepped through into... London.
Glancing back to where she expected the blue box to still be standing, Brooke was surprised to find that it was gone and had been replaced by a modern day red telephone box. Sudden movement to her right caught her attention and she turned to see someone she hadn't seen in years, but just as she approached him everything faded back to black.'
Waking up the following morning, Brooke headed downstairs for breakfast and then decided to go out for a walk. It was only when she reached Big Ben, that images from her dream flashed through her mind and she realized that she was in the exact same spot.
On a telephone box not far from where she stood, Brooke noticed a large number of missing people posters and went over to get a closer look. As she got nearer, Brooke was surprised to find more attached to a tree and that the date of the disappearances were all the same.
"Bit of a coincidence that they all vanished on the same day, don't you think?" A voice said from behind her, causing her to spin round and stare at the man standing there.
"I don't believe in coincidences," Brooke replied, finding her voice and staring into the man's eyes as if held in a trance. She had seen those eyes before, when she was younger and looking into them now filled her with the same wonderment as they had all those years ago, "It can't be... Doctor?"
"Hello Brooke."
"How..." Brooke started, realizing she didn't know what to ask first and falling silent.
Noticing something blue out the corner of her eye, Brooke turned to look at it and gasped. Sat on the corner across the street, stood the blue box from her dream and without hesitation she approached it.
"Have you seen this before?" The Doctor asked, leaning against the box and watching Brooke curiously.
"In a dream I had last night," Brooke told him, "There was this tune and I followed it to see where it was coming from, but all I found was this box."
"She must have been calling to you," The Doctor stated, retrieving a key from his pocket and heading inside, "Come on."
Hesitantly, Brooke followed him and stared around in awe at what she saw. The interior of the box was huge, filled with strange looking machinery and what she guessed was the engine positioned in the center.
"What the..." Brooke whispered.
"Welcome to the TARDIS?"
"TARDIS?"
"Yeah, it stands for time and relative dimension in space."
"It's a time machine," Brooke mumbled, earning a nod from the Doctor, "How is that possible?"
"The same way it's possible for me to change my face," The Doctor responded as if that answered the question.
Brooke knew that she wasn't going to get a proper answer, at least not at the moment and so she moved the conversation on.
"I didn't think I'd ever see you again after you left."
"If I'm honest, I didn't mean to be gone so long," The Doctor admitted, "Travelling in the TARDIS is... time just works differently."
"Nan used to ask me, all the time, whether I had seen you," Brooke said as tears welled up in her eyes, "When I was scared, she would tell me stories about you and promise that you were looking down on me from the stars."
"You said used to?"
"She passed away last year," Brooke told him, taking a shuddery deep breath and wiping her eyes.
"I'm really sorry Brooke, I know how much she meant to you."
Silence fell between them and the Doctor pulled Brooke into a hug, kissing her head as she allowed the tears to fall.
"So, do you travel in this thing alone?" Brooke inquired, pulling back and looking up at him.
"Actually, I've had company the last year," the Doctor replied, letting her go and stepping back a little, "Her names Rose... I think you'll like her."
"I can't wait to meet her."