Little Girl Lost

Doctor who fan fiction.Based on information in the SJA episode Death to the Doctor in which a former companion of the good Doctor by the name of Dorothy is said to be running a charity named A Charitable Earth. Doctor Who is of course copy right BBC and not to be reproduced.

                The office was quiet and still. The last of the volunteers had left for the evening, and Dorothy had been left to lock up. Not that she minded this though; she actually looked forward to it. While she found the work she was doing very rewarding, it was literally worlds away from the world she once led. She cherished these few hours in the evening because they gave her the opportunity to relax and get in touch with the person she had once been.

            Dorothy glanced out the window and with a chill saw that the battered old police box she’d noticed earlier that day was still there. She gave a wry smile. It was just like him to drop in now she’d officially left that life behind. It was true she had often thought of him, attempting to imagine what mischief he was getting up to without her. A quiet voice from behind her suddenly disturbed the silence, as if diving into a pond of recently awakened memories.

  “Hello Ace.”

  “Professor.” She replied and turned to face her visitor. He was literally a different man than the time lord she had spent all those years travelling with, but there was no doubting this was the Doctor. He was sitting in the chair she herself usually occupied, looking a good deal younger than when she had last seen him. He was wearing a long brown coat, brown trousers and trainers on his feet. He had thin spiky hair and, incredibly, his eyes were made him appear older and wiser which of course contrasted with his youthful appearance.

  “It’s been a long time Ace.”

  “Almost a lifetime in fact.” She agreed

  “You haven’t any cans of nitro nine hidden around here by any chance?”

            She chuckled at the reference. “No, you can relax. I gave that up a long time ago.”

  “I’m glad to hear it.” Her expression hardened for a moment.

  “Why are you here professor?”

  “You could say I’m getting my reward.”

  “Your reward?”

  “It’s complicated. A lot has happened since we last saw each other.”

  “For both of us.”

  “I’ve been meaning to come and see you for some time but, well you know how it is. I’ll be honest though finding you running a charity is the last thing I expected to find you doing.”

  “I suppose it would have been more in character with the Ace of old to blow it up rather than to run it, I don’t know somehow this seemed right for me.” She paused, gathering her thoughts before proceeding.

  “For a while I attempted to carry on doing what we always had, you know travelling around saving planets, overthrowing dictatorships, but I felt I was just trying to re-create your life when you’re more than capable of living it yourself. I still wanted to make a difference, but I wanted to do it on my own terms. When this opportunity suddenly presented itself I grabbed it with both hands.”

  “You’ve done well, from what I understand. I like the name by the way, A Charitable Earth. Rather appropriate.” She grinned.

  “Yeah, ironic isn’t it.”

            For a moment the Doctor made no reply. Dorothy braced herself. She knew the Doctor had a reason for coming to see her, but wasn’t quite sure if she was ready to hear what he had to say.

  “I never had a chance to apologize for everything I put you through while we were together. At the time I thought I was doing the right thing but now I realize it wasn’t fair on you, and well I’m sorry.”

            Dorothy turned away, confused by the emotion that suddenly overwhelmed her. In the past whenever she had been confronted by conflicting emotions she would attempt to cover it with bluster and aggression. It was a character trait she was yet to out grow.

  “Like I told you a long time ago I’m not a little girl anymore and I can take care of myself.” Her voice softened. “But thank you.”

            She smiled and turned back, but the Doctor was gone.

            The girl who once referred to herself as Ace sat down and silently thanked the Doctor for his timely visit. While the path she had chosen for herself could be seen to be an unusual choice, but she was certain it was the right path for her. She smiled and sat back and waited for her future to claim her. Tomorrow was indeed a new day.

END

Book Review: The Time Traveler's Wife By Audrey Niffenegger

   I have decided to review one of my favourite novels which somehow manages to blend two separate genres that don't usually go together; that of time travel and science fiction. Since being published back in 2004 there have been many nods to this story in various forms of media, the most obvious being in recent episodes of Doctor Who. The Girl in the fireplace, An episode first broadcast in 2006, is a virtual rewrite of the novel and the concept  is again revisited with the introduction of Amy Pond in 2010 series opener The Eleventh Hour. Homages of this nature are the greatest compliment a writer can get and is ultimately a testament to the novels success.

   The novel is an extraordinary love story of Clare and Henry who first meet when Clare is just six years old and he thirty six. They are married when Clare is twenty two and Henry thirty. "Hang on a minute, that can't be right" I hear you cry, and to be honest you're confusion is justified but it just so happens that Henry suffers from a rare condition where his genetic clock re-sets itself and any given moment he will find himself flung into his past or indeed his future. This unique concept actually works in the novel's favour, and while it has the potential to be confusing strangely this is never the case. The story is told from the point of view of both Clare and Henry and it is refreshing to see the stories events from two different perspectives; The girl who has no choice but to wait and the man who is constantly time travelling. Normally when I read anything that involves time travel I find myself debating the science behind the concept, but in this case I ignored the science and simply accepted the fact that a person can be born with a condition that enables them to travel through their own life at any given moment. This book has also inspired a feature film adaption of the same name, but my advice would be to read the novel and then see the film and not the other war round as it makes more sense that way. It's one of those rare books that rewards you on multiple reads and the experience is never a dull on. Well worth checking out if you're a hopeless romantic or simply someone who longs to travel through time. Well worth the time (Sorry couldn't resist).