nightmares ~ doctor who

Ch 16 - Museums and Visions

"So like a date?" I ask and I feel him tense up.

"Maybe…?" He stutters and I look up at him. "I mean, if you want it to be. If you think it is. It doesn't have to be, I mean-"

"No, I like it," I say and he grins. "I mean, you already brought me on a date before."

"I have?"

"You will," I tell him. "But don't worry, I'll count this as a first date."

"First date," he mutters and grins like an idiot. We pay for our tickets and walk up a set of stairs.

"You have to take me to the Louvre next," I order as I look at a statue near the stairs.

"One museum at a time."

"But the Mona Lisa!" I point out.

"I can take you to the exact place and moment Leonardo Da Vinci painted it. Actually…" He pauses and looks at my face. "You actually resemble the Mona Lisa quite a bit."

My breathe catches in my throat. "Don't play with me like that," I tell him. He laughs as we walk into the exhibit. I gasp at all the paintings around me. A tour guide is talking about Wheatfield with Crows and I hover over to him.

"This is one of the last paintings Van Gogh ever painted. Those final months of his life were probably the most astonishing artistic outpouring in history. It was like Shakespeare knocking off Othello, Mac Beth and King Lear over the summer hols. And especially astonishing because Van Gogh did it with no hope or reward…" I grin at the Doctor when he reaches me.

"Shakespeare," I say and he raises his brow. "Another thing you have to promise to show me."

"Nah, already saw him," he mutters and looks around at the other paintings.

"Well I haven't," I swat his arm. A painting catches my eyes and I squeal as I hop over to it. The Doctor follows me calmly.

"Chaumes de Cordeville à Auvers-sur-Oise," he says perfectly and I nod.

"Thatched Cottages at Cordeville, Auvers-sur-Oise," I translate. "One of my favorites. I can't believe it's right here in front of me!"

"I can't believe how excited you're getting over this," he laughs and I sigh.

"Vincent Van Gogh is my favorite artist in the whole world. We learned about him briefly in 1st grade art, but I got more in depth. He's my inspiration," I tell him and look over my shoulder. "Self portraits!" The Doctor laughs as I walk over to them with wide eyes.

"Who's that?"

"It's the doctor."

I turn around quickly and so does the Doctor, but it's just two schoolboys talking about Doctor Gachet's portrait.

"Oh my god!" I grin at it. "I used to have that one hanging on my closet door before I realized how creepy it was to have him staring at me."

"It is quite nice," the Doctor muses. I stare at him suspiciously.

"Why are you being so nice to me?"

"I haven't the faintest clue what you mean," he says unconvincingly.

"You're being nice. And I don't mean nice, because you're always nice to me. I mean super nice. Why are you super nice?" I ask him.

He looks at me for a while. "You need to calm down. You could still be sick," he finally says and I groan.

"I may feel like I have to barf, but I believe that's mostly because I'm really excited," I roll my eyes at him. I gasp as I notice my all time favorite painting. "Imperial Fritillaries in a Copper Vase!" I squeak out. "It's right here in front of me I just-"