First Entrance!

[and_she_waited]

When I was a little girl, I had an imaginary friend. And when I grew up, he came back. He's called the Doctor, he comes from somewhere else; he's got a box called the TARDIS that's bigger on the inside and can travel anywhere in time and space. I ran away with him, and this is the story of how he changed my life...

You know that lovely sound a TARDIS makes? It's sort of a whoosh, or a hum, or a whoom-WHEEEM, rwhooom-REEEM? Some would say it's the loveliest sound in the universe, because it means something wonderful is coming.

Only this time, there is no sound. Just a step, and a little stumble, and a brand new room.

Amy blinks, freezing in the middle of Ten Forward.

"Doctor?" she calls, glancing about. "Rory? Doctor! Rory!"

Oh, what has he done now? If this is a joke, she's not going to laugh. Frankly, his sense of humour is abysmal. "Where am I?"

Comments

[decideformyself]

"No. It's a connection with the planet-- my planet Earth," he clarifies, because out here that's ambiguous. He's frowning, though, because the specificity of her questions is bothering him.

[and_she_waited]

She thinks about that for a tic, then drops her arms to her sides in frustration.

"So your knowledge of things only goes so far as your Earth and your time?" she guesses.

Fab.

"And you really don't know any way off this ship?"

[decideformyself]

He nods in response to both questions. "The problem is not 'How do we get off this ship'. Even if we did so we would still be stranded in a time period not our own, possibly an entirely different universe. So far as I can tell, our situation can only be resolved by the same being who caused it: Q."

[and_she_waited]

"Not a problem," she corrects. "All I need is some way to get a message to the Doctor. If I could find some planet that knows about him, maybe he could work out a way to get everyone home."

It's just a matter of getting his attention somehow. Really, he must have noticed she's missing by this point, right?

"Q? A letter of the alphabet is holdin' us hostage?" she says, arching an eyebrow.

[decideformyself]

Philip shakes his head. "Q is the entity's name, as well as the name of his species as a whole." He turns aside, hand on his mouth in thought. "Ah-- you believe your TARDIS may be of some use?"

[and_she_waited]

She beetles her brow.

"Like a cat named Cat?" she counters. "Not very inventive. And yes, I do. Time and space and unruly cats can't stop the Doctor."

[decideformyself]

"Does that include travel between universes?" he inquires.

[and_she_waited]

"Theoretically," she answers.

She looks and sounds cautious. She just got back from a place outside of the universe, so she knows it can be done, but in her hurry to get home she mustn't forget she doesn't know him. The Doctor is always mum about things, even if she doesn't know why at times.

"I don't know who this 'Q' is, but I know the Doctor, and there's nothing that can stop him," she insists.

[decideformyself]

"Then perhaps it will be possible for him," Philip concedes. "I can't make any assumptions without knowing him."

[and_she_waited]

"Then finding him would be in both our best interests," Amy guesses.

She lays her palms flat on the nearest table and gives Philip a hard look.

"So if you aren't the one keeping me here, and you don't know how we get back, maybe you can at least keep an eye open for a bloke in a bow tie, hm?"

Pause.

"And maybe a fez."

[decideformyself]

"I will add that description to the list of people to look for amongst new arrivals," he says. He's not sure what a fez is, but he can figure it out.

[and_she_waited]

Good enough.

"Right, then. Anythin' else you want to know? My mother's birthday, perhaps?" she asks.

[decideformyself]

"No, I have gathered the information necessary for my comparison." He has charts and graphs of where everyone is from. In his head.

[and_she_waited]

Aaaand she doesn't trust him a jot. Her eyes narrow, but still, he could come in handy down the road.

"Then I'm off to search for my friends," she says, hoping that's enough of a hint for him not to follow. "You let me know if you see them."

With any luck, she'll be back on the TARDIS in time for tea.

(But not before she sees everyone else here safely returned home.)

[decideformyself]

"Very well, then." He nods his head, which is just about as close to a bow as Philip ever gets. "I will do exactly that. Ah, and in return-- if you should happen to see a Japanese man dressed in red leather or a woman assaulting people with a pair of green slippers, would you mind letting me know?"

[and_she_waited]

He's treated to a very perplexed, very judgemental look.

She has to remind herself of what the Doctor looks like, and that she really has no place to pass judgement.

"All right," she nods. "They should be easy to spot. Deal."

She straightens up, takes a step away, and pauses. Frowning, she tosses one last comment at him.

"Good luck."