Two Minutes to Midnight

For 11th Doctor and meh(;


I sit with my back against the apple tree, one of the ruby red fruits in my palm. The outline of a blue box sits in the distance, as it has been for an hour now. Though I have yet to see the Doctor. "You were invited, shut up." I grumble to myself, craning my neck to see around the thick tree and into the forest. The wind rustles the leaves- No, wind? I climb to my feet, biting into the apple before dropping it onto the ground. "Hello?" I call out. Why am I calling that out? No one is there to hear. I feel like a person roaming around a seemingly empty house, calling out as if the intruder would yell back. The wind picks up, but it does not move my curled hair, nearly black on my shoulders. I dig my fingers into the pocket of my denim green short shorts, slowly pulling out the bent blue envelope. "Date, time, place... All here. So is your damn TARDIS." I snap, shoving it back into my pocket as I continue to move, my brown boots scraping over the rocks under foot. "I don't feel the wind, you know." I say aloud, hoping it would help my thought process.  I look at my watch, heaving a sigh as I run a hand over my forehead. "Two minutes to midnight." I sidestep a larger rock, leaping over a path of ants and dropping heavily beside a tree stump. And the wind still does not touch me.

"Two minutes and thirty-seven seconds to midnight, actually." The Doctor whispered, directly into Loren's ear as he grinned. "Learn how to read a watch." He added as an after thought, straightening up as he looked around the forest. "Don't feel the wind, do you, litterer?" He slipped around her, roaming in a small circle to look at everything as quickly as he could. "Because apples are littering too, you know. Throwing it on the ground. I saw that!" He stopped moving, staring at Loren expectantly. There was history lingering between them, and the Doctor let his eyes stay on her for more than necessary. "The wind, Loren, why can't we feel the wind?" He asked softly, his eyebrows lifting as he looked around again. Pulling the sonic from his pocket, he pointed it around in random directions, letting it buzz loudly.

I jump at the sound of the Doctor's sudden voice. "Crap," I yell, slapping his shoulder sharply. "Can't you just say 'hello' like a normal person? No, no of course you can't." I run a hand down my arm, then lock my hands together. "Just jump right into it, don't you?" I grumble, then suck in a sharp breath. I wander in a circle, eyeing him curiously. It doesn't look like the Doctor I know, but I know for a fact that it is him. Silly outfit, too many questions. Cute hair. I bite my lip, rolling my eyes as I groan. "I don't know. Can't feel the wind.... Because it isn't touching us, because... Because we just don't?" I give up easily, my mind already spiraling away from the matter at hand. I'm only thinking of the damn apple I threw on the ground.

The Doctor spun back to face Loren, his hands flailing in the air. "Ah, okay. Fine. Hello, Loren. Hi." He tapped the top of her head with a bleak smile before a new distraction dragged his attention away. "That's not a real tree!" He yelled excitedly, rushing over with the enthusiasm of a five year old. The Doctor, grinning childishly, ran his hands down the bark. Small scratches formed on his palms, but he ignored it as he studied a leaf. "Look at the detail on this! Look at this leaf, Loren!" He plucked one off the tree, turning back to wiggle it in front of her face. "It's cheese!" Pulling it back, the Doctor quickly licked it. "Blue cheese. Though blue cheese isn't actually blue." He frowned, running a hand over his forehead as he thought.

I laugh, taking the leaf from the Doctor's hand to look closer at it. "You're a nut," I exclaim, turning it over in my palm, though regretting it instantly as I feel the wet spot from his tongue. I rub my hand down his arm quickly, then push my interest back onto the leaf. "Why the hell would there be leafs made of cheese, then, huh? That's ridiculous unless someone is coming for fast snacks. Which, might I add, is still ridiculous. Especially when it's, of all things, cheese." I raise an eyebrow, lifting my head back up to look at the Doctor expectantly. I crumple the leaf up, tossing it at his face as I sit down in the grass. I stretch my legs out in front of me, resting back on my elbows. "Tell me about the wind then, Einstein."

The Doctor stood there for a moment longer, staring down at her as he rubbed the palm of his hands together. "You killed a leaf." He said after a short silence, glancing down at the crumpled, now dry, leaf. He walked towards Loren, collapsing beside her with a smile. "Well, you see, I know about as much as you do. Wind that touches nothing. And cheese trees. Did that apple taste like an apple? Not cheddar cheese or maybe Swiss? No, hang on. That's bananas." He rested back in the grass, staring at the tops of the trees thoughtfully, almost as he were studying them. "Or," he started, poking Loren's arm, "or maybe it's that nut you mentioned. No, that's not right either." He popped up into a sitting position, turning his head to look at her with a childlike grin. "There's still wind. We just can't feel it. Barriers. Barriers could work!"

I pull my legs to my chest, wrapping my arms around them as I sigh. "You sound like a mental patient. How about you explain something without veering off course drastically, huh?" I nudge him with my elbow, raising accusing eyebrows. But the barriers comment caught me off guard. I get to my feet, grinning down at him cheekily. "Let's put your theory to the test then. See if this is a total Hunger Games moment." I immediately frown. "Never let me make that reference again." I mumble, turning away from him and rushing at top speed into the forest. Calling after me would be a waste of time, the Doctor of all people should know I don't listen well. I feel myself jumping over things, but my mind is going a mile a minute. I can't focus as the adrenaline works it's way through my veins.

After what seems like a half hour of running, my forehead connects hard with a really, really solid object. I yelp, slipping backwards and down onto my butt. The back of my head connects with the ground almost worse than the barrier did to my forehead. "Okay, I'm saddened to admit you were sorta, kinda right about that damn barrier." I yell, not even sure he would hear me.