Mind Over Matter

Chapter Three

"It's bigger on the inside."

A grin lit up the Doctor's face. "I love it when they say that!"

I turned around slowly, trying to take everything in. The room I was standing in was huge, and brightly lit with warm light. At the center of the room, on a raised platform accessed by stairs, sat a console, pulsing with blue light. The whole place had a strange feel to it, like it was somehow alive, although I didn't think there was any way that could be possible.

Was there?

"What is this place?" I asked. I followed the Doctor as he walked up the stairs leading to the console in the center of the room.

"This is the TARDIS. Stands for Time And Relative Dimension In Space. She can go any place, any time, anywhere in the universe. So what do you say? Want to take her for a spin?"

My eyes widened. "Are you serious?"

He nodded, a grin taking up his face.

"We could just leave? And no one would know?"

"Yep!"

I raised an eyebrow. As incredible as that sounded, I barely knew this guy. He did have a time machine, but for all I knew, he could be some kind of space criminal. I shoved my hands in my pockets and looked up at him.

"Maybe. First things first. I want to know how you got this machine."

"My home planet," he said, turning around to face the console at the center of the room.

"Which is..."

"Gallifrey."

"Can we go there?"

"No." He said shortly.

I cocked my head. "Why not?"

He tugged at his bow tie before turning around to face me again. "Why are you so suspicious of me anyway? You have a chance to time travel, why don't you take it?"

I shifted in place. He was right, in a way. I mean, when would I ever have the chance to do this again? Besides, I could use a bit of adventure.

"Fine, fine," I said. "I'll go. Just one more question. Why me?"

He rocked back on his heels, considering what to say. "Why you? Because you're different, Julie. You're special, even if you don't believe it. It's not everybody who can send messages across the universe." He winked at me. "And I'm thinking maybe, just maybe, if we work together, we can figure out exactly what it means that you can."

My lips curved into a smile.

"Well then," I said. "What are we waiting for?"

The Doctor broke into a grin. "Absolutely nothing."

He grabbed my hand and pulled me to the console, flipping switches and pressing buttons. My smile grew wider as I watched him.

I was going to travel the universe. It was exciting, of course, but it scared me too. Who knew what was out there? I slipped a hand into my pocket until my fingers met cool metal. I ran my fingers comfortingly over the surface of my pocket watch. I had had it since I was born, but I had no idea where it had come from. The only clue I had was the circular pattern on the front of the watch. Sometimes I thought it almost looked like writing...

•••

I updated! Took me long enough, I know. I'm not sure how long I'll end up making this, but I want to start working on it more. If I get lazy, throw orange peels and empty soda cans at me. Thanks for reading!