Inside The Tardis

The Doctor would start straight away - if she stopped to think about this, she might end up doing the sensible thing and decide not to do it...and where would that leave poor Tricky? Comatose for ever? That wouldn't do.

The Doctor flicked the "shield" switch, setting them to maximum. There was a whirring sound all around her as the shields were engaged at maximum power. A flurry of sparks jettisoned from the console as that happened, but the Doctor ignored them. No time to stop and think. No time at all.

She walked around the console and worked on the gears. She stole a quick glance at Tricky, who lay as peaceful and silent as ever. The Doctor grinned. "Not for long," she mumbled, finishing with the gears.

The inside of the Tardis began to glow a bright white. The central column lit up with a delicate humming noise. The Tardis felt a little different now...it usually felt sluggish and awkward, the power increasing and reducing unpredictably...not the case today - it was building up consistently, going from that low hum, to a buzzing whir as it became sufficiently powered for flight. The Doctor didn't hear the noises, but she felt the engines vibrating beneath the floor. There was power building up in this knackered old ship, the likes of which it hadn't produced for many a long century. Maybe it, being a living being, understood how very important it was today that it perform well...or perhaps, as the Doctor believed, it had sensed the change in it's owner and oldest friend? Because the Thirtieth Doctor had changed. Not a regeneration. Simply a new outlook, a better one. But one she hoped would make all the difference in the universe.

That's what meeting all those wonderful people again had done for her.

The Doctor ran over to the fault locator, and saw no faults registered at all. She didn't know whether to smile or whimper about that - it meant that there was no reason not to take off...

She walked slowly back to the console. She stood a moment next to Tricky, stroking his face gently. He wasn't too handsome, she thought. The first Tricky had been a pretty young woman, but this new incarnation wasn't so fortunate. He was slightly ratty, in fact. Small, skinny, with a little face, and two little eyes. Hmm...shame. But looks weren't important. That, the Doctor knew better than anyone in the universe. Sometimes, the ugliest of monsters were good at heart. Sometimes it was the good-looking aliens that were ruthless. A little like her.

She sighed. Enough.

She moved towards the main lever of the console, her hearts hammering...this would work! It would bring Tricky back.

Taking a deep breath and shutting her eyes, the Doctor yanked the lever.

The engines kicked in at once. The central column rose and fell, and that ancient, metallic noise filled the room, unheard by the Doctor...she set off through the time vortex at a gentle pace. On the sofa, she thought she might have seen Tricky move a fraction of an inch.

Holding her breath and biting her lower lip, the Doctor increased speed a little...the Tardis began to moan a little, but it didn't stop. It didn't slow down. It felt more chipper and powerful than it had in a long time.

Like it's owner.

Faster...faster...faster! The Doctor flicked on the scanner switch and saw the time vortex rushing past. What speed were they at? In terms humans would understand, perhaps a thousand miles an hour?

She looked again at Tricky. One of his hands was twitching.

The Doctor laughed. Not fast enough! She increased speed again...two-thousand miles per hour! Three thousand! Four! Five! The Cloister Bell thundered through the Tardis, and smoke rose from the console. The Doctor crossed her fingers and increased speed some more.

"Come on, old girl!" She exclaimed, "On! On! On!"

The Tardis did just that - faster, faster and faster still! Tricky's new eyes flickered open briefly, and he raised a hand to his face.

There was a small fire on the other side of the console now. The Doctor pulled a cloth from her pocket and suffocated it. "You can do it!" She shouted, her bones rattling as the Tardis shook and rattled as it zoomed faster still down the time vortex. "On, on on!"

Faster! Twenty-thousand miles per hour! Forty-thousand! More? More! The Doctor opened the engines to full throttle. The Tardis screamed in protest, but it complied nonetheless.

The years were trickling up at lightening speed...fortieth century...fiftieth...sixtieth...how far could she go? How long would it take? Not long at this speed! One hundred thousand miles per hour! And gaining still!

Adrenaline pumped through the Doctor's bloodstream, and she laughed hysterically. The whole ship could fall apart any moment!

Tricky's eyes were fully open. And full of sheer terror. What was happening? She'd been in the Panoptican...but then what? And why did she feel so very different?

Doctor, your gonna kill us both! Tricky transmitted, standing up and staggering to the console, which he clung onto for dear life. He noticed how very hairy his bare arms now were...

You think? The Doctor sent back, pumping more power down into the engines. She was still laughing.

I know it! Tricky replied.

Want me to stop, then?

Tricky started laughing to. Definetley not!

"Come on old girl!" Tricky bellowed, his deep voice shocking him. "On! Hurry, hurry, hurry! Come on! Show us what ya made of!" He slapped the console as if it were a horse on which he rode.

"On! You can do it!" The Doctor screamed hysterically, tears of laughter rolling down her cheeks. She checked the console. Four hundred thousand miles an hour! The year 200,000 flashed past...300,000...400,000...

Then, with an almighty crunch that only Tricky heard, the Tardis finally called it a day. It stopped with a whiplash inducing jolt, putting down in some random area of space, the nearest safe place to stop that it found...the force of the brakes threw the Doctor and Tricky to the floor. They lay there together, laughing like a pair of lunatics, every bone in their body throbbing like crazy. Acrid smoke filled the console room.

Tricky was first to rise, his new body healing quickly. He pulled the Doctor to her feet. Aside from the odd bruise, she was fine. The pain was subsiding already. They collapsed into each other's arms, laughing until they could hardly breathe.

Finally, Tricky calmed down. Is it over then? He asked. Is the Other dead?

The Doctor nodded. I've messaged the Time Lords. They'll collect her and destroy the Panoptican.

Tricky smiled a sad smile. She got me, then? I'm somebody else now.

The Doctor looked Tricky up and down. Maybe she'd been wrong earlier...get this ratty young man out of those silly, too-small dungarees and into a smart suit or some such, he'd look dashing in a strange sort of way...maybe he could wear black too? I've seen worse. The Doctor transmitted finally, grinning her crooked grin.

Tricky smiled. The Doctor, suddenly remembering her promise, took a second to send a message to Clara's Tardis - "he's up". That's what she sent. In reply, she got a "YAY" and a smiley face emoji on the scanner. Letting them know your fine, she told Tricky.

Tricky nodded, and stared at the Doctor in silence for a moment.Are you back out of retirement, Doctor? He asked eventually.

The Doctor also took a moment to reply. Finally, she grinned and replied verbally. "Yes."

Tricky grinned too. For ever?

The Doctor nodded. For ever.

And right now, there was a huge jungle planet outside the Tardis. That's what the Doctor saw on the scanner. She had no idea what part of the universe this was. Nor what that planet was called. She didn't know whether or not it was lived on. She had no idea of it's history. No idea if it was safe. And no idea where she was going after they'd finished exploring that jungle planet...

Oh, she'd missed this!

And she was as good as her word - her and Tricky went everywhere. Sure, trouble cropped up on a regular basis. It wouldn't be much fun if it didn't right? But they muddled through. They had the time of their lives. Because although evil existed, there was one thing that the Doctor finally understood about life - there is more good than bad in this weird and wonderful universe in which she wandered. Most people are just kind, if you give them a chance.

This is what the Doctor thinks, on those very rare occasions where she pauses for a rest, and finds herself looking back on her adventures in space and time, and the friends with whom she shared them.

Note: Thank you very much for reading folks. If anyone's got anything to say about the story as a whole, positive or critical, your feedback would be very welcome. :) Thanks again!