The Doctor (12) (twelfth_doctor) wrote in thedisplaced, @ 2018-05-17 17:30:00 |
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Entry tags: | !log/thread, clarke griffin, doctor (12) |
Who: Clarke Griffin, The Doctor (12)
What: TARDIS tour and talking
When: Saturday, May 12th
Where: Starbucks / inside the TARDIS
Warnings: Good clean fun
Status: Complete in gdocs
Clarke sat in a Starbucks-- one of many smattered all over Tumbleweed. It was after school, and instead of going home to Lexa, she decided to stop into the cafe and get some tea. She had a sketchbook with her, and secretly watched people sip their coffees. She had drawn two women and three men by the time her tea went cold. The people had come and gone, but they still lived in Clarke’s notebook.
She took a drink of her cold tea and tapped her pencil against the binding of her book. Clarke thought maybe about going home and checking on her pet, Jackie, and making sure Lexa’s pet, Gona, hadn’t stolen Jackie’s stone again. That lead her to thinking about what kind of job Lexa should get, wondering if there was anything in this town for a former Commander.
The door to the Starbucks opened abruptly and Clarke recognized the frazzled hair. She quickly began to sketch. When the Doctor came over to her, she murmured, “Hold still for a moment.”
---
The Doctor was marching along the sidewalk when he just so happened to catch sight of Clarke through a window. Without hesitation, he switched direction, completely forgetting where he was heading before, and for what reason. That didn’t matter anymore, his mind was now latched upon a totally new directive. He didn’t even notice what sort of place he was entering until the strong scent of coffee invaded his nostrils made him suddenly want a Tall Triple Mocha Frappuccino.
Usually, when somebody told him to hold still, there was a danger afoot. So, when Clarke spoke those words, the Doctor literally froze the way a person might if they’d just been informed that they’d stepped inside a mine field. Remaining perfectly still in a way that might be described as comical, his eyes quickly darted back and forth to try and determine what the danger might be.
“What’s going on?” he took a chance to ask.
---
Clarke snickered as she made broad strokes on her thick, yellowed paper. “Okay, you can move. I was just trying to get a pose out of you real quick.” She turned the notebook around and showed a crude outline of a human body, stuck in a comical alert pose. “I’m drawing. It helps me relax after being with the kids all day. The younger ones are a bit much, I haven’t had to deal with someone that young since Madi was smaller…”
She closed the cover of her notebook. “Were you getting coffee?” Clarke held up her travel cup, a little tag from the tea bag hanging out. “I could use another. Let me pay, I don’t want you cheating anyone out of money with your physic paper.”
---
“Oh, is that all?” The Doctor relaxed, but was irritated by how he’d been tricked into readiness for no good reason. His irritation dissipated when he sauntered over to look over Clarke’s shoulder at the speedy sketch. “Hey! That’s not half bad,” he commented in all honesty. “You even got my good side. I saw the drawing you made of the lady and the baby you posted. Was it somebody you knew?”
Taking the seat opposite her at the table, the Doctor announced, “Actually, I came in to get you, but a cup of coffee would be nice.” He took one look at her tea bag tag and quirked a small smile. “Pft. You know how much money this company makes? Gobs! These baristas toss out a perfectly good cup if the order is wrong or nobody picks it up, without batting an eye. But go ahead, be honest.” He waved his hand, dismissively. “Triple Mocha Frappuccino. Tall.”
---
“Yes, that’s all,” she said with a smug little smirk on her face. When he complimented her work, she smiled lopsided, one side of her lips tugging upwards. Clarke gently tugged the paper out of the notebook and handed it over to him. “I’ll do a better one some other time, keep that one.” When asked about the woman and baby, Clarke looked a little guilty. “No, I didn’t know them. They were in line behind me. I only had a second to look at them but they were burned into my brain. Good looking humans.”
He waved his hand at her and she frowned. Well… he was eccentric. Clarke stood and went to go get the coffee, returning several minutes later with a cup that had a little cardboard skirt around it. “You like chocolate a lot? During Easter, I thought I was going to go into a coma.”
---
The paper was accepted and looked at with keen interest. The Doctor was still looking at it when Clarke gave her response (so he didn’t catch her facial expressions), and was still looking at it when he asked, “You did that with just one look? Impressive. Not many humans have that ability.” That’s when he finally glanced up and narrowed his eyes at her with the brief suspicion that there was more to her than her human genealogy.
Starbucks specialty drinks were great because they were already filled with sugar, and the Doctor didn’t need to add more to adjust to his taste. He took a sip from the cup Clarke brought him, then nodded with satisfaction. “I don’t like coffee,” he replied. “Too bitter,” he added, sticking out his tongue to show his distaste. “But I appreciate the caffeine, so I like to add sweetener, the more the better. You’re not doing anything important, are you? Of course not. You’re coming with me. It’s about time I gave you a tour of the TARDIS.”
---
“It’s not a very good drawing, just a quick outline…” she replied quietly. There was a soft shrug on her shoulders. People seemed to like her art but she thought she could probably do better. His narrowed eyes gave her pause, wondering what that was about.
“I love coffee, it’s amazing. And it feels amazing when you’ve drank a lot,” she said with a laugh. When asked if she was doing anything, Clarke shook her head. “Just passing time--” but he cut her off. She looked surprised but grabbed up her notebook. “A tour? There wasn’t much to it, Doctor.”
---
While Clarke was getting his order, the Doctor carefully rolled up the drawing and tucked it carefully into his coat pocket, which was, like the TARDIS, bigger on the inside and could accommodate the paper’s size without creasing it. He’d decided to hang it up on the fridge in the TARDIS’s kitchen, like any proud parent would, for yes… he’d pretty much adopted Clarke in his mind. She was now one of his Companions, and as such, was as close as any family bond.
The Doctor took a long sip of his drink and smacked his lips to show his approval, but also to try to make Clarke laugh. She was the type that needed to laugh more. He stood up and put his hand upon her shoulder to get her to move toward the door, quicker, but not quite giving her a shove. “Don’t let her hear you say that,” he warned. “It’ll hurt her feelings. She’s parked outside, not far from here.”
__
His lip smacking did elicit a grin from Clarke. She never met anyone like the Doctor, therefore he didn’t remind her of anyone else. He was entirely new to her. She stood when he did, but frowned ever so slightly when he touched her. She’d been manhandled quite a bit in her life, guards and warriors and bounty hunters.
“Is she sentient? Did you tell me that already?” Clarke looked behind her as she walked out, tucking her notebook under her arm. “Or is it like how people call cars and ships ‘she?’”
---
The Doctor was a genius with an amazing memory, far above that of an ordinary human being… that is, when he could be bothered. A lot of the time, he was just plain lazy. So when Clarke asked him if he’d told her about the TARDIS already, his automatic answer was, “I don’t know, but I’m telling you now. Yes, she is sentient. But more than that.” He led her out the door and into the bright sunlight where the Doctor donned his sunglasses before taking a left turn down the road, expecting Clarke to keep up. “She’s an actual living being, breathing, growing. On my planet, TARDISes are not built, they’re born. What you see is definitely not what you get.
In the distance, getting closer with each step, the TARDIS waited on the corner, conspicuously inconspicuous. He’d been in such a hurry, that the Doctor barely registered Clarke’s uncomfortable reaction to his touch in the shop. It didn’t even occur to him that he might’ve done something wrong.
---
Clarke just wasn’t used to someone touching her. It had come up at the school too, with the smaller students grasping for her with paint-covered hands. Before being here, she was with Madi all the time. She made sure she gave the young girl hugs and played with her hair. Things her own mother did for her.
She did a double take at the sunglasses. She thought they were a little odd. She had seen people around the town and on television using them. She just… never saw them where she was from, no need for them. “Born? How?”
---
“Okay, not so much born as they are grown,” the Doctor corrected himself with a shrug of his shoulders. Either from a seed or a cutting…”
He found the key in his pockets and had inserted it into the lock when he glanced over at Clarke just in time to see her doubletake. “What was that for? That look?” He sounded a little self conscious, and wondered if there was something wrong.
---
Clarke’s expression softened quickly, “Oh, no! It’s okay! Sunglasses are just something you forget after awhile.” She put her hands up in the air defensively. “They look pretty cool on you, they frame your face well. Maybe I’ll take a picture and draw them on you.” Clarke fiddled with the phone and opened the camera app. By the time she was finished doing all that, the Doctor had the door opened.
---
“Huh.” The Doctor was so used to sunglasses that it never crossed his mind that Clarke wouldn’t be accustomed to seeing them. Of course he looked cool, which was the primary reason why he wore them, but he slipped them off his face to twist them in his hands and consider before saying, “I’ll get you a pair. Not these ones, though. These are special, you’ll need your own. I’ll let you choose, I have many different styles.” The wardrobe room had a whole drawer full.
Inside the TARDIS, the Doctor went straight to the console to lean against it, where he spoke more to himself than directly to Clarke. “Should we go there first? Wardrobe? Or someplace else? Oh!” He snapped his fingers and pointed at her when he remembered, “You like nature! I know just the room. Follow me! Come on, come on!” he wagged his hand to get her to follow, and then trotted through the door that lead out of the console room and into a hallway, passing several other doors along the way.
When they got to the right place, the Doctor paused with his hand upon the knob and flashed Clarke a mischievous smile. “Time Lord technology,” he told her, then opened the door for her to enter. Inside, a lush meadow stretched for as far as the eye could see, with a line of trees in the distance. The blanket of thick grass was studded with various flowers of bright yellow, periwinkle blue, lavender, and red. The sky was a perfect shade of blue, with just enough clouds to make the scene picturesque. But the most delightful thing was the amount of butterflies fluttering from flower to flower, all different types and sizes. The Doctor closed the door behind them: the wall still existed to prove they were indeed inside a room, but both the wall and door seemed to blend in with the rest of the scenery, so that you had to focus to see that that it was still there.
“This is my favorite place to go to have a think,” he said, strolling forward, his head tilted toward the ceiling and the artificially generated sunlight. A perfect breeze of fresh air blew, rustling the grass, flowers, and the Doctor’s poofy, grey hair. He moved toward a single adirondack chair with a table beside it. In the time that it took for Clarke to blink her eyes, a second one materialized, inviting them to have a seat.
--
Clarke nodded at the idea of her own sunglasses. They would be helpful in this Texas sun. “Why are they special? Or can you tell me?” She gave him a wry smile, knowing that sometimes things couldn’t be explained here. Science and magic intertwined.
She followed the Doctor, putting her notepad on the control console-- not on any buttons, but in a safe spot above all the flips and twists. Clarke followed him through the TARDIS, still amazed at how big it was.
Upon opening the door, Clarke’s breath was taken away. She wanted to show Madi and Lexa. She wanted to drag Bellamy here. “It’s … beautiful.” The chairs came into view and she sleep-walked over to one next to the Doctor. “Does this room have a name? This is a room? How far does it go?” She was excitedly asking the questions.
---
“The butterfly room,” he announced, spreading his arms wide open in symbolic welcome. “In my past incarnations, it was more like a conservatory, but I decided to switch it up a bit to give it a natural look.” He thrust his hands into the pockets of his jacket, decidedly pleased with himself, then pulled one out to point out into the distance. “That line of trees marks the end of the room, but the TARDIS has projected a holograph to make it look like it goes on forever. But the soil? Is real. So are the flowers and butterflies. But if you dig down deep enough, you’ll find the floor. This room is a perfect butterfly ecosystem.” The Doctor was quite proud of himself, and rolled up and down on the balls of his feet with excited energy. “When you observed the TARDIS was bigger on the inside, you had no idea.”
--
Clarke leaned forward and dug her hand into the ground, fingers breaking through the grass. She didn’t even stop to think that messing with the Doctor’s nice lawn would upset him. She just did it. “That’s amazing. It looks like the area I was living in back on the other Earth. There was a wave of radiation, and the death wave just … left this whole spot alone. There were flowers I don’t even know the names of…”
She then glanced at the Doctor, “Can I see those glasses?”
--
The Doctor had practically invited Clarke to dig when he told her there was a floor beneath the layer of topsoil, so he wasn’t the least bit disturbed: the TARDIS would automatically remedy any disturbance she made. Nor was he phased by being told how her version of Earth had been messed up, given all the messed up planets he’d visited. Hers was an alternative universe, one where he wasn’t present to help save Earth’s condition, but that didn’t prevent him from feeling a twinge of guilt.
He was gazing out at the landscape, but turned his head sharply when she made her request. The Doctor paused, thoughtfully, then slowly removed his sunglasses to hold them just out of Clarke’s reach. “See?” he teased, turning them for her inspection, but then reached out to actually give them to her. “Don’t look at my browser history,” he warned.
It wasn’t as if he needed sonic sunglasses, considering he had his screwdriver, but he liked having them around for convenience.
---
Clarke slipped the glasses over her eyes and peered around the room, and up at the fake sky. “Your browser history?” She let out a chuckle and the glasses felt huge on her face. She glanced at the Doctor, “How do I look?”
She pulled the glasses off her face and handed them back over to the Doctor. “I want to thank you, for this, Doctor. You’re being nice to me all based on the fact that I talked to Martha a few times…” She smiled, a genuine, happy smile. She leaned over and patted his shoulder.
---
When Clarke put on the glasses, a series of green lines lit across the lenses in a way that somewhat mimicked a screen on a computer, complete with tabs. In the corner, there were readouts that were a complex series of circles and lines, which spun and changed their patterns. “Oh yeah,” the Doctor said in a voice dripping with sarcasm. “Like I’m going to tell you, just after I’ve asked you not to!”
He accepted his sunglasses back, and tucked them inside the inner breast pocket of his jacket, and his mood became serious. “You were Martha’s friend, and I’ve always known her to be an excellent judge of character.” He paused to look her over. “I don’t pick my companions lightly.” Then taking a full turn, he smiled and asked, “Do you want to stay here, or would you like to explore more of the TARDIS? Your choice?”
--
Clarke blinked a few times, trying to get the strange shape formations out of her eyeballs. They hurt a little bit. When the Doctor mentioned her being a companion, she didn't know what that entailed. She just thought he meant it in the literal sense. Not that she would be traveling places with him in the future, maybe.
She stood up from her chair and grinned. Her cheeks still held a little plumpness from when she was a teenager, giving her a soft smile. “Let’s keep going! I’m sure you can wow me.”
---
“It’s my pleasure to wow you!” Because really, it was. The Doctor liked the way Clarke reacted to his surprises, because through her eyes he could see wonders that he’d taken for granted. Not unlike experiencing Christmas through a child. It was the reason he continued to pick up strays to take them on adventures with him back in his own universe, despite how heartbreaking it was when they inevitably had to part - that and because they often served as his moral compass when he got off track. It wasn’t quite the same in this universe, but one had to make do.
“You get to choose between door number one, door number two, and door number three!” he announced like a television game show host, as they exited the Butterfly room.