A Second Chance (Peterick AU)

Chapter 3

"I'm sorry...about your friend..." The Doctor said lowly.

We were sitting outside the apartment building. He had disappeared for a short time before coming back and rushing me down the stairs and out the building.

"He was more than that..." I said quietly.

"Oh...Peter I'm so so sorry..." The Doctor looked down. We were both silent for a moment.

"What do I do now?" I thought out loud. "My whole life was in that building..."

The Doctor looked at me, then back at the ground. "I've lost people that meant that much...I lost my way for awhile..." He was silent for a moment. "...I would like to help if I can."

I looked at him. help? How could he help?

"I travel...through time."
I laughed. Wasn't it enough that I lost Patrick? Now I had some bowtied man I had barely met mocking me.

"Impossible as it seems, it's true!" The Doctor insisted, "come with me, I can show you!"

He stood and waited for me to stand as well. I sighed and followed his lead. I just wanted to be left alone. I just wanted Patrick. He led me across the street and around the corner to a blue call box.

"This is her." The Doctor patted the side of the box.

I couldn't believe this guy. "Do you really think this is funny?" I asked, "You have NO IDEA what I just lost!" I felt tears of anger weld in my eyes.

He stuck a key in the door of the box and pushed it open. "Please, just trust me." He said sincerely. He ushered for me to walk inside. I stood defiantly outside. He gave me a pleading look and I sighed. If he'd leave me alone...

I walked into the box and nearly fell back out.

"Bigger on the inside." He peaked his head in with a grin.

**

I fell to the floor with a thud. The tardis had crash landed.

"Doctor!" I called out with a groan. I pulled myself up with the railing I had been thrown against earlier. "Doctor?"

"You alright Pete?" The Doctor called out.

"Yea I-wait a minute." I started laughing. That was the first time the doctor had used my shortened name.

"Oh don't you go holding that against me!" The Doctor appeared seemingly out of nowhere. "I'll go right back to calling you Peter!"

"I didn't say anything!" I laughed. "So, where are we?"

The Doctor hurried back up to the control panel of the tardis and looked at his maps and charts that I didn't fully understand.
"Oh!" He looked closely at one, getting excited, "Well, this is a surprise! Tardis must of been sucked in a dimensional rift!"

"Doctor!" I tried to get his attention. After awhile of traveling with this bowtie loving time lord, I knew how easily he could be distracted. He spun around, stomping his foot to stop where he was facing me. "Where are we?" I asked again, a laughing smile on my face.

"I don't know!" He grinned excitedly. I gave him a confused look and he continued, "You see, we were on track to go see midevil earth, but something bumped us off course! We were coming back from what, the 31st century? Somewhere in the future, and on our way to the past, we hit a snag. You know, it's all a bit complicated and hey we're not dead so there's something to write home about!" He hurried over to the tardis door and peaked his head out. He stuck it back in seconds later.
"It's Earth." He said before I could ask, "Another dimension's Earth at least."

"Another dimension?" I questioned, "I thought the tardis couldn't jump dimensions?"

"She can't!" The Doctor hollered, running back up to the control panel, "Like I said, complicated... But it seems like during the distance from the future to the past, we hit a rip in the dimensions... Possibly a rip in time..."

I looked over at the tardis door. "What time period of Earth is it?" I asked.

"21st century! You're time period actually, that's a bit odd..."

I looked back at the doctor. 21st century... My time period. For awhile, it was Patrick's too...
We tended to stay out of my time period after the Doctor said I couldn't alter my past or cross my own timeline to see Patrick. It hurt knowing that he was either there or he wasn't... So we went where the Doctor could tell me he wasn't there and I could believe him.

"Can we go out and look around?" I asked. There were aspects of my time period I missed, but none more than Patrick.

The Doctor looked up from his charts. A grin spread across his face. "Brilliant idea!" He jumped down the stairs that lead to the door and ushered me over. "Let's see what this new dimension has to offer!"