Lost in Thought : Snippets of an Alternate POV

Goodbye Forever

She didn't have blocked memories, or an injury, or anything like that.

When she looked at him she wasn't seeing him, only an impersonal collection of facts.

She truly had no idea who he was.

Everything they'd done together, everything they meant to each other - she didn't know any of it.

She shifted, golden glow finally fading from her eyes to reveal the same beautiful brown he'd always known, though without the golden flecks that occasionally seemed to swirl within. But they also lacked the warmth and mischievous spark they so often held, showing only pain and fear in her eyes. He shoved his own pain down without a thought at the sight of it, knowing she needed him right now, and slowly, so as to not scare her further, moved to sit down by Rory.

"Lyssa," he said softly, hearts aching at what he was about to tell her. "What I'm about to tell you is going to be very hard to hear, and believe me, I am so, so sorry about this. But I'm the Doctor, this is Rory Williams, and his wife, Amelia Pond, is upstairs. You're in my TARDIS, and everything you know about me is real."

She raised an eyebrow, a glimmer of her irrepressible snark showing through. "Right. I just survived a plane crash and hit my head - and somehow I magically ended up in your TARDIS? I might be hallucinating, but I'm not crazy."

He couldn't help a sigh, for all that he'd expected such an answer. "You did warn me," he muttered to himself before rallying. "All right, then. Would you believe you were in the TARDIS if I proved it to you?" he offered.

She studied him for a long moment, and he fought back the hurt, knowing she wasn't trying to be cruel with her hesitation. "All right, then, Doctor," she lifted her chin in challenge. "Show me this TARDIS of yours. Let's see how big it really is in here."

He couldn't help another sigh, but held out a hand to her in lieu of an answer, knowing what she would see would help her believe more than anything he could possibly say. She eyed him warily for a minute before slowly trusting him with her uninjured hand.

Warmth flowed into his hand at the contact, stronger than he'd felt for years, and he had to close his eyes for a moment, knowing that it was inspired by her fear rather than any positive emotion. She didn't say anything when he opened them again before carefully helping her to her feet, and he knew she hadn't even noticed his pause.

He felt another pang at the realization. He was so used to her calling him out that it felt odd when she didn't. Another loss, almost, like the absence of their bond.

He shoved the thought aside as he helped Lyssa up the stairs, Rory following close behind with a worried look on his face. Lyssa needed him right now, his own feelings could wait. And, he resolved with growing determination, if this was her first day in this universe, in the TARDIS, then was going to make it one of her best.

"No way," she breathed in awe, eyes going wide as they reached the main floor and she could really take in the wonder of his ship.

He smiled proudly, feeling the TARDIS preen in their bond. "Lyssa Devons, welcome to the TARDIS!" he declared, throwing his arms open wide. "I'm fairly sure you know this already, but it never hurts to be certain, so this is the console room! Well, the current console room, I've had several by this point, and I'm fairly certain she's got a few more hidden around here somewhere, I just haven't found them yet."

She stepped closer to the console as he rambled, and he watched carefully out of the corner of his eye as she reached hesitantly towards the time rotor, only for her hand to start glowing a faint gold, the glow spreading to the rotor and illuminating it as well, the stream of time running through her body still fresh and overflowing. He could feel a brief pang of hurt from the TARDIS as Lyssa jerked her hand away from the rotor, glow fading at the distance and eyes swimming with distrust.