Chapter Text
"Will you stop?"
I snapped my head up and looked towards my mom. She was sitting in a plastic chair off in the corner of the small room and was glaring at me, her phone forgotten in her lap.
"Stop what?" I asked. Without even thinking about it, I cracked my knuckles. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop.
"That! Stop that!" She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Look, I get it. You're nervous. But you've been coming here for years going through god only knows how many tests. One would think you'd be used to it by now."
I rolled my eyes in exasperation.
"You know I don't like hospitals and that I don't trust doctors! They're all sweet and calm and then suddenly a nurse is stabbing your arm with a needle. And then there's the smell. That god-awful smell of bleach and various other cleaning products. Who knows what they're hiding with that stuff. Plus, you've seen Kill Bill! There are ass-hats out there that rape coma patients! I don't understand how you can allow these doctors to be in a room with your only daughter, while she's unconscious, and have things probe her to look inside!"
My mom sighed, having heard this argument before.
"You, missy, have been watching way too much tv. Carli, sweetheart, if I believed for a second that the doctors would cause you any problems, I would never let you in there. Besides! It is a quick procedure and you'll be awake and going home in no time! So just calm down," She said, going back to her phone.
"Easy for you to say when you don't have a needle sticking out of and taped to your arm as blood slowly trickles down the tube attached to it," I grumbled under my breath. But, she was right. By now I should be used to it. I had been suffering from lactose intolerance and Crohn's Disease since the 5th grade. We only recently discovered it after finally trying a colonoscopy on top of various other invasive tests. Today, after about 2 years of taking 6 pills a day on top of the lactose supplements I take with practically everything I eat, I was here to see how the problem areas are doing, thus subjecting me to this torture again.
A minute or so later, the nurse came in.
"Hiya sweetie! So, the doctors are ready for you now. If you'll just follow me to the operating room," She said in a toothache worthy sugary sweet voice. I looked to my mom for help, but she only smiled and waved goodbye to me.
'Traitor.'
When we reached the operating room, the doors opened and I did a quick glance around. It was the usual sterile white with machines crammed against the walls. In the center of the room was the examination table surrounded by about 5 doctors and nurses. I noticed immediately that a couple of them were males. I shifted uncomfortably, suddenly very conscious of the fact that I was only wearing a pitiful excuse for a gown and a pair of hospital issued blue socks. Looking at the ground, I followed the nurse and sat down on the table.
"Alright, sweetie. Now, I'm going to need you to lie back on the table. Good! Good! Now, I'm going to hook up your tube to this machine and it's gonna pump you with this fluid that will make you have a nice nap. Doesn't that sound fun?" My eye twitched. This lady was getting on my nerves. For god's sake! I'm not 5!
Almost a second later, I felt the tell-tale chill ender my veins as the machine injected the stuff into me. However, there was something else. Something that shouldn't be there. The feeling of pins and needles flowed from where they put in the needle all the way to my fingertips. The feeling soon began to burn. Before I could voice the problem, my vision went black and I was gone from the world.
As I slowly came back into awareness, my ears picked up on the sound of shouting.
"You think I... this?! I didn't...wasn't me!"
"This...exactly you. All...it..."
Confused as to what was happening, I opened my eyes to a surprisingly dim room for a hospital. Usually, the fluorescent light bulbs would be blinding me by now. Blurry figures moved in front of me, probably a couple of yards ahead. It was then I noticed that I was standing on rather wobbly legs. Ok, red flag. Normally I'd be on a recovery bed.
"Carli! Doctor! It's Carli!" That's weird. That sounds like Rory from Doctor Who. Do hospitals even get BBC America? And since when was there an episode during the Pond era where there's a character with my name? Suddenly my eyes came into focus only for me to have a heart attack.
'This...this is no hospital...' I thought looking around in panic. It was a futuristic-looking version of a warehouse. There were crates strewn about and what looked like abandoned guns lying here and there. In a large opening in the middle of the surrounding wooden boxes were a group of people. People I only know from tv. Except for the one with the space hair and the one in the roman get up, as I had met them at a Con earlier this summer. Off to the side, was a big blue box titled Police Public Call Box.
'What...the...fuck...' It was then that I became aware of the bow-tie wearing man storming towards me, a look of absolute fury in his eyes. I stumbled backward as he came closer. He stopped when he was about 3 inches from my face.
"You. Where the bloody hell have you been?" He seethed. I was so confused.
"W-what?" I stammered trying to lean back without toppling over from my still unstable legs.
"What good is having knowledge of the future when you don't use it?!" He spat in my face.
"I-I don't know what you mean, I-" His hands suddenly latched onto my arms, gripping them tight enough that I could feel bruises forming.
"Don't. Don't think for a minute that you can fool me. You knew! Where the hell were you?! We needed you and you weren't here! Now Melody is gone and it's your fault!" He shook me twice before a shout came from behind him.
"Doctor!" It was the woman with the space hair. "Doctor! Look at her! Really look at her!"
His eyes went from glaring intensely into mine to looking me up and down. He took in the gown I was wearing and the needle still embedded into my arm and immediately let go, his face paling and taking on a look of absolute horror. I collapsed on the ground, as my legs had given up holding me.
"No. No no no no no. This? This was your first time ever meeting me?!" He rubbed his hand over his face in complete shock and horror. "I never even considered...and you never said... why didn't you say?" he said looking heartbroken at the purple and shaped bruises forming on my arms. His eyes then snapped to my neck, as if he was looking for something there as well. I wasn't all that surprised about the bruises as I was slightly anemic. However, I still couldn't grasp what was going on around me and I could feel my breaths becoming shorter and shorter. Heat flushed through my body and I could hear my heart pounding in my ears. My hands shook and tears flooded my eyes as I grasped at my hair.
"Oh no. RORY!" The man yelled. The man dressed as a roman ran over, followed by the ginger woman wearing white.
"Alright, Doctor, you need to back up. She is not reacting well to your presence" The man stepped back out of my sight immediately. "Carli? I need you to focus on me ok? Take deep breaths with me. In. And out. In. And out. I'm going to ask you some questions and I want you to do your best to answer them, ok?" I nodded, gasping sobs erupting from my throat. "Right. What are five things you can see? Take your time and if you can't say them out loud, just point"
Chest heaving, I looked about the immediate area. I shakily pointed at Arthur, the ginger woman, space hair, a green figure standing to the side, and a…baked potato? Arthur nodded.
"Ok, that's good. You're seeing me, Amy, River, Vastra, and Strax. Now, what are four things you can touch? Again, you can just touch them if you can't form any words."
I shakily touched my hair, the fabric of my hospital gown, the hospital socks, and the tape holding the needle in place. Though still shaky, I was starting to breathe easier. He nodded encouragingly.
"Great, now three things you can hear?" I gulped and tried to speak this time.
"My-my breathing, you, and-and, humming?" I gasped out. He nodded again, smiling.
"That's the TARDIS. What are two things you can smell?" I inhaled a few times, the breaths slightly stuttered.
"My sweat and… and iron?" Arthur looked uncomfortable at the second smell. I looked around slightly and my breath hitched at a red puddle coming out from behind a crate. He quickly snapped his fingers in front of my face, drawing my attention back to him.
"Hey, hey, focus on me, alright? We're almost done. One more question. What is one thing you can taste?" I smacked my lips together, uncertain.
"Spit?" He shrugged.
"That works! Now that that is out of the way, tell me what you're feeling right now."
"I-I'm…confused, a-and scared, and I, I want my mom," I whispered, my lower lip wobbling. He grimaced.
"It's ok to be scared and confused. I can't do much to help with that, but what I can do is take that needle out. I know these don't help your nerves much." At my nod, he pulled out the stupid thing and then turned back to me. "Now, do you know who I am?"
"You're...you're Arthur Darvill...from Doctor Who...but why...?" I trailed off as he shook his head.
"My name isn't Arthur. It's Rory. Rory Pon-Williams. Rory Williams. And this is Amy," He pointed to the ginger woman, "and this is the Doctor," He said pointing to the bow-tie man who came back into view.
"But...but that's...not possible! You're...you're a British tv show!" I exclaimed as panic rose again, trying to get a grip on reality. It suddenly dawned on me. "Oh. I get it. The doctors must have found something wrong with my brain and admitted me into the psychiatric ward. That's great, just great. I've finally lost it!" The panic continued to grow, but the man, the Doctor, quickly sat down beside me and maneuvered my body so I was lying down and then pulled my head into his lap, running his fingers through my hair. It was a lot like how my mom did it to try to calm me down when I was close to tears or in agonizing pain from a flare-up. I sniffled, nose running.
"Shh. You are not crazy. If anything, you're the sanest out of all of us in this Jetson-esque family." He chuckled at that. "So that's where that came from," He muttered to himself. Just then, the tingly feeling in my arm started up again. I looked down in confusion.
"What...?" I muttered looking down at it. I saw nothing out of the ordinary except a bit of blood from where the needle came out. The man followed my gaze and a look of understanding dawned upon his face.
"It looks like you're off on a new adventure," He said, smiling in remembrance.
"Adventure?" I said, confused out of my mind.
"Yeah, and it was a great one too. Just remember, everything we told you is the truth, ok? Oh! Here!" He shoved a hand into his pocket, going about elbow deep. This startled me. There is no way he should have fit that much of his arm into that tiny thing. He pulled out his hand, bringing with it what looked like my old Polaroid camera from when I was 4. I used to go around the house with it taking pictures of the most random of things. I looked at him in confusion.
"You told me that your first time meeting me was coming soon and that I gave you this. Use it well," He said, winking at the Harry Potter reference. There was a look on his face that shined with remembrance of something. I groaned a bit when the tingly sensation became a burning one.
"See you soon," He whispered. He then blurred out of sight.
When my eyes came into focus again, I could tell I was back in the hospital. Sighing in relief, I wiped my face of tears and snot and began to look around for my mom. Other than a couple of beds and a few people milling around, there was no sign of her anywhere. I went to stand up, but something in my hands stopped me. Suddenly noticing the weight, I looked down and saw, to my absolute horror, that it was the Polaroid. Panicked, I immediately ran to a woman in a doctor's frock.
"Excuse me?! Can you please tell me where my mom is? Her name is Lydia Steinberg. She was supposed to be here when I woke up." The woman looked at me in confusion for a moment, eying the polaroid, before looking at her clipboard.
"There is no one listed as a visitor on here with that name. And who are you? I've been monitoring this room all day and I've never seen you around here before." Her eyes narrowed at me in suspicion.
"What do you mean? I'm Carli Steinberg. I was here because of my Crohn's. My mom signed me in and everything. I remember being in the operating room and then...then I must have been dreaming... But I woke up here! Please! You have to help me," I exclaimed in a rush, tearing up in frustration.
She opened her mouth to say something but a sudden quake in the earth that threw us off balance cut her off. The back of my head slammed against the floor, stunning me for a moment. For a good 10 seconds, the shaking continued, equipment falling everywhere. Finally, it stopped. I laid on the ground in shock, trying to get rid of the ringing in my ears. Soon, the room filled with horrified cries of terror. I could see people running about around me. I pulled myself to my feet and slowly made it to the window, where a crowd had formed. I shoved my way to the front, only to fall back in shock at what I had seen.
We were on the moon.