The Orphan in the TARDIS

Chapter Forty-One

The next day, Sophie walks back into her University, and nearly runs directly into the Doctor. "Hey," he greets, a smile on his face, "How was your weekend?"

"Busy. I got hit by a crashing spaceship and found myself in Wales."

"Hm," he nods, "And how's Jack doing?"

She smiles, "He's great." She glances down to check her watch, "Gotta run, don't wanna be late for class. Maybe I'll stop by your office later, gotta say hello to the Old Girl, don't I."

"I'm sure she'd love that."

*Later that day*

After finishing her classes, the woman quickly makes her way the Doctor's office. She doesn't even bother knocking, swinging the door open. A large clattering is heard, and Sophie rushes in, looking around. She finds the Time Lord on the floor, his chair flipped over. "Uh, whatcha doing on the floor, Doc? Don't you have chairs?"

He rolls his eyes, standing up to brush his trousers off, picking up his chair, he flowers at her, "Haven't you ever heard of knocking?"

"What, like you knock?"

"Touche." He stands from his chair, brushing his trousers off. With one hand, he grabs his chair, swinging it back into his desk.

"Your office is a mess," Sophie states, walking toward the desk.

"Did you really come here just to insult me?"

"No, that's just an added bonus," she smirks, "I actually came here to see the TARDIS. But, what are up to?"

"Grading papers. I am a professor, remember."

"Yeah. Anyway, I'm gonna go hang out with the old girl now."

"Glad to know you care about me."

She meanders around the desk, sitting on the edge, "Look, Doc, you know I care about you, so much. But, you'll always be second best, y'know, unless you suddenly become a dimensionally transcendental ship, that can take me anywhere and anywhen, and have infinite rooms, and an infinite wardrobe. The TARDIS is just better than you."

He shrugs, "Fair enough."

She hops off the desk, making a dash for the Police Box. Stepping into the box feels like home. The humming of the TARDIS surrounds her like a hug, and the woman walks out of the console room into the corridor. She runs her hand along on of the walls, "Hello beautiful," Sophie says, and the lights seem to brighten for a moment.

When Sophie is out in the University she feels overwhelmed, and finds it difficult to make friends. But inside the TARDIS, all worries and fears melt away, and a feeling of immense calm rushes over her. The ship prompts her to move forward, by turning the lights off behind her. Continuing forward, the doors to the library appear in front of her.

The woman pats the TARDIS wall, while approaching the doors. Swinging them open, a large cavernous space meets her eyes. Lining every wall, filling every space, all the way to the very high ceilings, sits books. The room is a complete mess, books stacked in piles on desks, and others on the floor. "Do you want me to reorganize it?" she asks the ship, and the lights grow brighter, chuckling, she says, "I'll take that as a yes."

She sets off into the room, loads and loads of books surrounding her. She begins to separate them by different types of books. She doesn't know how much time passes as she stacks books into different piles. A while into the reorganization, a Scotsman enters the room, "Lynny?" he calls, entering the library.

"Back here!" she calls. The Gallifreyan begins to pick his way through the library, finding his friend sitting on the floor, surrounded by stacks of books.

"Are you okay? You've been in here for hours."

"Really? Man, time flies when you're sorting books."

The Time Lord crosses his arms, "What's wrong? You only clean like this when you're worried or nervous."

Sophie refuses to meet the Doctor's eyes, instead setting another book on the biography stack. She continues to look through the books, and the Time Lord picks his way through the stacks, sitting on the floor next to his friend. "Can I help you?" she asks.

"What's bothering you, Lynny? I'm worried about you."

She puts down the copy of Les Misérables she was holding, instead turning to launch herself into the Doctor's arms. She can't stop the tears that begin to prick the corners of her eyes. "I just, I don't know if I can do it, Doctor," she pulls back. "This is, it's more difficult than I thought. Not the classes, those are fine. It's the people. I thought I could do it, but. Everytime I find myself in a large crowd, I freeze up. The TARDIS, she's comforting, she feels safe, she feels like home."

He smiles at her, grabbing her hand, "I understand, the TARDIS is safe, she will keep you protected, but you can't avoid all of the other humans on this planet. You need to make friends. I won't force you too, though. Take your time, as long as you don't mind some company." Sophie smiles at the Time Lord, going back to the stacks of books around her.

Throughout the week, Sophie spends her days going through her classes, and her afternoons and evenings organizing the TARDIS library. By the time the weekend rolls around, the library is about a third of the way completed, and the woman doesn't feel much better. Friday night she finally goes back to her flat, to find her roommate laying on the couch. "Hey, Mo," she greets with a smile.

The other woman sits up like a rocket, "Soph, oh my gosh, you're alive."

Sophie rubs the back of her head, "Sorry, I got a bit distracted this week. How've you been?"

"Oh, I've been great, except, y'know, worried about my friend!"

"I said I'm sorry!" she jokingly shouts.

Before the two can continue, a light erupts from the kitchen. Both women glance at each other, before moving to the other room. Entering the kitchen, Sophie sees a large sphere hovering in the center of the room. It's spinning rapidly, scanning the area. When it's beam runs across the two women, it starts to make a high pitched noise. They glance at each other, and Morgan looks a bit guilty.

"Do you know what's going on? Is that thing going to hurt us?"

"Yes. And no," Morgan responds.

Sophie opens her mouth to ask more questions, when a wheezing, groaning noise emanates from the living area. Instead of questions, the woman shouts, "Oh, bl**day h*ll! Not now!"

"Do you know what that is?"

Sophie groans, rolling her eyes, "Yes, unfortunately."