Falling Through Time and Space

The containment arena wasn't really a containment but a huge room with no cages or bars. The whole ceiling was covered in LED lights that gave off fake light and heat. Ramps were created to resemble spiderwebs and between the ramps were plants and grasses with borrows or caves to be homes to reptiles. As we walked down the ramps, I looked for a hole where the mother could break into but I couldn't find any. I voiced my findings to the Doctor as the baby alien in my arms struggled to be free.

“To generate electricity, these alien body’s cell literally shake. The could go through walls because their cells agitate so fast, that they can move through objects. When you see the mother, sprouts of lightning will surround her and in the spots of lightning, her body will appear transparent because how fast her cells are working.” He explained and I nodded, glad that such a place wasn't destroyed.

We continued to walk aimlessly around when the Doctor halted. He cupped his ear and put his finger on his lips. “Ssh, you hear that?” He whispered. I focused on my hearing, trying to find what he found. There! A crackling noise and a buzz over to our left.

“What is that?”

“Zahra, that's the noise of electricity.” He said, smiling. “And it's affecting the baby, too.” As we had continued walking, it was hard for me to hold on to the baby.

“The mother is nearby! Let's go.” I said, excited. Doctor hesitated, a nervous look on his face. “What?”

“I have to stay behind, me being a man and all. You will be the one handing the child off.” He said, rubbing the back of his neck.

“But you would be there, yes? What if she thinks I am trying to take the child away and attacks me?” I asked, panicked.

“They are smart enough to know that a girl with their baby is moving towards them doesn't mean them harm. You just got to handle the baby respectfully and you are good to go. You can tell her that I am your friend that I mean no harm.” Doctor said, rubbing my upper arm. “You also need to ask them about their ship.”

I hesitated for a minute. Even if the Doctor said that I was pretty safe from the Mom, I was still scared. I am all about trying to find new things in life but I wasn't expecting it appear so fast. I felt like I was walking on a very thin bridge that was over a raging river on the words of a man I met barely an hour ago. Everything he was saying was the truth, the evidence of the truth is being quite heavy in my arms, it was a lot to take in. Doctor sensed my doubt and unease.

“You will be alright, Zahra.” Doctor soothed, patting my shoulder in a comforting matter. “She will not harm you.”

Knowing that I was stalling and creating more stress for the baby alien, I smiled at him. “I am ready.” I said, rolling my shoulders. “Be at the safe distance. Not to want to spook the Mom, huh?”

The Doctor didn't say anything but smiled at me, encouragingly. I started to walk towards the sounds of electricity, holding the baby closer to me. I rounded the corner to see a bony structure surrounded by lightning sitting in the middle of the rattlesnake enclosure. As I watched the lightning flash, the part of bony body that it flashed over became translucent. The meatier part of the structure expanded as she took a deep breath in then slowly collapsed as she exhaled. I couldn't see the mother’s face but it didn't matter. Right at that very moment, the baby alien gave out a happy trill.

The bony mass tensed then it stood up on four legs. It was the height of a bison but had the skin texture of leather that was under the sun for too long. She swung her head toward me, looking for the trill. Her head was a mixture of wolf and a horse, or that's how I see her. Her eyes were the bulging just like her baby’s eyes. It was blue, just like her baby's. From her mouth, lightning erupted about, as if she had a storm cloud in her mouth. The baby in my hands trilled again and the mother’s dark eyes trained on it.

It was filled with worry and concern---the universal mother’s love swimming in her eyes. The mother lifted her head at me, waiting. Deciding it was the time, I walked slowly towards her, having the mom’s eye on me all the time. Once close enough, I settled the baby alien on the ground delicately. At once, the baby ran towards her Mom, her arms outstretched. With her head, the Mom pulled her baby close and started nuzzle her with her snout, a soft purr resonating deep within her chest. At the display of maternal affection, tears welled up in my eyes from joy. God it is such a beautiful display of love and family as I continued to watch them.

The mother nuzzled a bit more before lifting her head up towards me. I smiled at her, finding her beautiful. “There you go, your baby is back with you.” I said, giggling. The mother took couple of steps towards me until she was within touching range. Her breath was cold on my skin as she sniffed my hand. I stood still, not longer afraid, as she inspected me. With a huff from her nose, she started to nuzzle my face with her snout, making me laugh. I raised my hand to touch her face, soft despite the leather-like qualities.

After nuzzling me, she gazed behind me. I looked back to see it was the Doctor. “Don't worry. He is with me. He will do you no harm, I promise.” I said, pointing towards the Doctor then placed my hand to my chest. The mother nodded her head as if she acknowledged me. “Where is your ship, sweetie?”

She made a soft growl then nodded her behind her. She turned around and walked few feet ahead. She stopped and swung her head back towards me. I looked back at the Doctor and said, “She wants us to follow her. Come on.” I took a step towards the mother and she began to walk, her baby clinging to her chest.

We came upon the far end wall of the atrium. “What do we do now? We can't vibrate through walls like she can.” I cried out as the mom paused to look at us. I pointed to the wall and shook my head.

“We will have to meet up with her on the other side.” Doctor said, looking around. He saw something bit further away from us. “There!” He pointed at ladder that was little bit above the ground. It lead to to ramp that was attached to walls. There was like a trap door that led to the outside and it made me wonder why it was there in the first place. Planet of the Apes maybe?, I thought to myself. I turned to the mother to see she was staring at the trap door, too. She glanced back at me, understanding going through her eyes.

I watched as she vibrated so fast that I could see through her. She began to merge against the wall, slipping through the matter of the wall. “Let's go.” The Doctor said and I nodded. We hurried to towards the ladder, the Doctor climbing first then I followed after.

Climbing the ladder in full bridal lehenga was a work out. The mass amount of beads sewn into the dress weighed it down but I didn't let it stop me. I glanced where the mother was to see that she was halfway through. We got up the trap door, finding it to be locked. The Doctor played around with his sonic screwdriver and it unlatched with a hiss. Climbing out, I closed the trap door behind me. Another set of ladder was found and I descended down first. Not waiting for the Doctor, I ran towards the mother who was just getting out.

Once she was free, she nuzzled my hand then went toward the bushes. I walked along side her, fearing that people could see us. However, it was not the fact. The mother chose a path through the trees and bushes making us hidden within its foliage. I looked over my shoulder to see the Doctor walking few feet behind us, a small smile on his face. He looked carefree, as if he was enjoying this walk.

We went deeper into the man made forest. Nevada was a desert through and through. Nature made forest could be found on Mt. Charleston. However, the citizens of Las Vegas voted to have a man-made forest with real trees erected, thus creating a home place for animals like squirrels or wild dogs and cats. It is a beautiful place to walk through, even during the night.

Another five minutes of walking, we came upon a clearing. No, not a clearing but a crash site. Right in the middle of the crash site, deep into the bed of the forest, was a huge, egg shaped ship. It was a color of matte gray, as if someone covered a steel with a blurring spray. It was huge was two trucks piled on top of each other. I walked closer to the ship, not believing my eyes that an alien ship stood before me. I felt the ship out layer and it was cool to the touch.

I turned around to face the Doctor, a huge smile on my face. He smiled back at my enthusiasm. I watched the mother press her snout at the ship, and a door appeared, disrupting the smooth finish of the ship. I looked inside to see a round shaped chair on the floor, resembling a huge dog bed. As the mother climbed in and settled on the chair, the interior lit up, showing off screens and a console. However, in a strange language, it was blinking red. With a frown on my face, I slowly walked around the ship to see any sign of damage.

“Doctor! There is a huge dent on the ship!” I cried out, touching the damaged hull. Something crumbled onto my finger and I brought it close to my face. “Porous type of stone…” The Doctor came up behind me to inspect the damage. “A meteor?”

“A huge meteor would have the power to knock a ship off its tracks. That is the reasonable enough explanation for this type of damage.” The Doctor agreed with me, placing a hand on his chin. “Fixable, though.”

“How?” I asked, walking back to the opening. He removed his sonic screwdriver with a smirk pulling on his lips. I just shook my head at him and walked with him to the mouth of the ship.

“I have to be under the console to make it work. I have to get in there. The Doctor said, looking at me expectantly. I gave him a smirk in return and the Doctor snorted, amusement running through his eyes. I turned to meet the inquisitive eyes of the mother, smiling sweetly at her.

“We are going to fix your ship.” I began, taking a deep breath. “However, I can't fix it.” I pointed to the Doctor. “He can. In order to do that, he has to come inside and go under the console. Is he allowed, too?”

The mother’s eyes flickered to the Doctor. “He is the only person who can help you. Don't you want to go home?” I continued on, placing a hand on the Doctor’s bicep to make it seem that he was trustworthy. What I hadn't expected was the muscle underneath the tweed jacket. Well, well, well. It seems that Rose likes the Doctor for other reasons as well. Focus, Zahra. my inner self scolded.

The mother nodded her head and shuffled deeper into the ship, creating space for the Doctor to climb in. The Doctor settled on his back, under the console, then began to flick both thick and thin wires around, applying his sonic screwdriver here and there. I watched him bite his lower lip in concentration, his down eyes reflecting the ice blue lights of the console moving quickly.

It was ten minutes into repair when the ship suddenly become to hum. I was sitting with my back leaning against the hull of the ship, watching the sky, when I felt the faint thrum of power running through the ship. I looked into the ship to see that consoles were no longer red but ice blue. Strange letters fretted through the screen as the Doctor crawled out of the ship. The mother lifted her hand towards the console and began to press buttons with her talons.

“Not overly fixed but I did enough to send her home safe and sound.” The Doctor explained, wiping his butt from the dust he picked up. The baby Electrifican walked closer to me and hugged my shins. I cooed at her, rubbed her head one last time. I nudged her towards her mom who nuzzled the baby to her chest. “Back away now.”

I hurried away from the ship, waving at the mother and the baby who was facing us. The door to the ship lifted up then fused shut with hull. The ground rumbled as the ship flared red at the bottom. I laughed as the ship lifted from the ground slowly, hovering over the ground. A burst of hot air buffeted us. I grabbed the Doctor's arm as the ship flew towards the space.

This whole ordeal took only in few minutes. The ship was fast because how small it was. We watched till it disappeared from the space. “Oh my god. I have reunited a lost ALIEN baby to her ALIEN mother and helped you fix the ship. Well, I just stood there but nonetheless!”

The Doctor smiled as he watched me squeal and dance. “And you do this everyday?” I asked him, facing him.

“Yeah I do.” He said as if it was like a hobby or it was normal! Yeah it's normal for him but I couldn't wrap my head around it.

“Does it ever get normal? Like ‘ another alien set free’ and let's go find next?”

“It never gets normal, Zahra. The joy I get when the aliens are happy and doing what they want is the most addictive things ever.” He explained, then he lost his smile. “Well, not all aliens are safe and joyous like these. There are few that likes to destroy planets and the life on them. And it's my duty to try to save as much as Alien life I can.”

Doctor’s POV

I watched her get worried and confused. I was talking about the Daleks and Cybermen but she didn't need to know that. It's not like she will be traveling with me but oh, how I wanted her to. She was the only one I knew who had the semblance of knowledge about space and time. Martha was more medical science whereas Zahra was both medical and space science.

“Well, there is always good ones and bad ones it seems no matter where you go.” She said, probably sensing I didn't want to talk about it. She turned to look at the burn circle of leaves and branches where the ship used to be. Her wedding jewelry around her face brought out her hazel eyes and the moonlight gave her skin a silvery glow on her brown skin. The beads on her wedding gown shown under the moonlight which made her almost glow.

I would be lying if I hadn't thought of her as beautiful. I didn't want our time to end but she was needed somewhere else, even if she wasn't looking forward to it. I sighed out a long exhale, catching her attention. “Let's get you back to your wedding.”

Her mouth dropped open as if she forgot about her own wedding. “My wedding! It must be already started! They must be looking for me!” She cried out, panicking. I grabbed her henna covered hands and started to run back to the ship. “We have to go all the way back to the ship!” Her cry was filled with dismay. Even though she didn't want to get married, she was afraid of ruining her family’s reputation.

A bitter taste found itself in my mouth. “Don't worry,” I said, unintended gruff lacing my words, “the TARDIS knows where we are and it will appear towards the end of the forest.” She didn't reply but she squeezed my hand. I have always thought that humanity will always will take few steps ahead but in Zahra’s case, they had taken a wide step back. To be forced into a corner with a threat of family reputation hanging over her head, she is getting married against her will. No matter how nice her husband would be, it still wasn't in her own consent to get married.

And she is doing this all to keep their families happy. Why, in this word, that females get the short end of the stick? I will never understand. Zahra was like any other girls, wanting to experience life the way she wants to but at the end of the day, her life was already determined by her parents and would-be-husband. She wasn't the type of girl to be married off. She is the type of girl who would pave her own road and I don't think she will let her husband decide what she do with her life.

The forest ended to reveal the TARDIS waiting for them at the edge. I grab my keys and unlocked the door. We hurried in, the door closing behind us automatically. Rose was sitting on one of the chairs but she stood up when she heard us coming. I hurried to the console and started to get ready to time travel.

“How was it?” Rose asked from behind me but I could feel her eyes on me. I would look at her but I was pressed on time for Zahra.

“It was amazing, Rose! The mother was so beautiful and to see those two finally reunited made me almost cry.” Zahra responded with a gusto. “I saw her go through walls and little lightening storms were all over her. I will always remember this. I don't think I will ever see another alien ever again but I wish I do. Hopefully not the bad ones because I wouldn't know what to do.”

“But why in such a hurry?” Rose asked, standing next to me.

“Her marriage already started. Don't want to be late for the wedding.” I said, grumbling. I felt her hand on my shoulder which made me glance at her. Her eyebrows were furrowed and concern laced in her eyes.

“Are you okay?” She asked, rubbing my shoulders. I thought about it. Why was I so sad and angry about this whole situation? That's how life was and I can't do anything to change it. Why would I want to change it either? I don't know Zahra that well and it shouldn't affect me so much but it did. It did affect me so much and I have no explanation for it.

“I am fine.” I said, curtly. “I am just fine.” I pushed a handle and I felt the TARDIS’s telltale sign of traveling with the familiar and soothing whooshing noise. I turned around to see Zahra sitting on one of the chairs, her gaze at her hands. She was playing with her ring on her left hand, twirling it around. As if feeling my gaze on her, she lifted her head to catch my eyes. She stood up and walked towards us.

“I wish I could invite you to the wedding but I don't think it would be fair to Rose if only you went, Doctor.” she said, smiling apologetically at Rose. Rose just gave her a soft smile in return. Zahra glanced back at me. “I want to thank you for letting me part of this adventure. Even though you were the one who didn't invite me, it was the amazing half hour I ever had.”

Letting my anger go as she beamed at me, I just smiled at her back. “Don't worry. This is not the last time you have seen of me.” I said, holding my arms out. She wrapped her arms around my waist as I wrapped mine around her shoulder and both of us squeezed each other. She was the one who dropped her arms first then I let go. She went to Rose and hugged her as well.

“I hope whatever the problem that is holding you back is solved.” Zahra said, pulling back from the hug. Rose just gave her a smile and fixed an askew jewelry on her head. The TARDIS landed with an abrupt halt, almost causing the bride to almost fall over. “Honestly, Doctor, you need to check the braking system on your ship.”

Rose laughed in response. “You think I haven't been telling him that?” She joked, rolling her eyes at me with a fond smile on her face.

“It gives TARDIS her personality, okay?” I defended my girl with my hand on the console as if I was soothing the TARDIS. Zahra laughed at my petulant face then turned to face the door. I sobered up, walking closer to her. “It's around the same time I first time I saw you. You won't be late to your own wedding.”

“How embarrassing would that be, huh?” She asked awkwardly. It was quiet for a while, the air uncomfortable. She shook her head and brightened up. “Well, this is my stop. I will see you when I see you.”

With a wave and squaring of shoulders, she left the TARDIS.