Heartbeats

Watching the Doctor try and find out where the source of the thudding was coming from was like watching a headless chicken running around on its last nerve endings. He couldn’t seem to find the point of impact, and each time he turned around again, his hands would brush through his hair making him look more crazed.

He looked gorgeous to me, not to mention a little silly.

The blush on my face from the kiss down in the crawl space was still fading away, being replaced by my flushed cheeks because of the ridiculous amount of running I was doing. You would think we wouldn’t run when we were looking for something specific…

And then I realized; it was the door.

“Doctor?” I said at a normal volume. When I got no response, I said a bit louder, “Doctor?!”

“Yes?” he answered, sounding more than a little aggravated. He came to stand next to me, and I quickly took hold of his hand, cupping it with mine for support.

I looked up at him, then back to the door of the TARDIS. “I think someone has come knocking…”

For all of the rushing around he had been doing for the last fifteen minutes looking for this exact spot, the Doctor didn’t even make a motion to move closer to the door. Instead, I could feel his hand pulling on mine, signaling me to get behind him. I did not oblige.

He looked at me, and I could see fear in his eyes once more. “What is it?” It seemed that this was becoming some sort of pattern, and I wasn’t sure if I liked where it was headed.

“There can’t be anyone out there. Except…” he trailed off, leaving me no choice but to push him on.”

“What, Doctor? What’s out there?”

He took in a deep breath as he started, “My people called them the Light. Winged creatures that wander around outside of time, space and the vortex. They race around it, catching anything that may come out accidentally.” He paused, looking down at me again, as if to gauge my reaction. “They are attracted to energy and light, because they live in the darkness, eating the electrons. They suck up the energy, and it makes them glow slightly in the dark. They look a little like a mix between a sting-ray and a dragon.”

My expression did not betray me as my heart did, but I knew we had to get out of here fast.

As though the Doctor knew what I was thinking, and decided to completely ignore it, he moved forward and with a few strides of his long legs he opened the door to the TARDIS. My mouth gaped open with shock, but I followed him once again, as if I was on autopilot.

I stood beside him and looked out at who was stood there; a man. I cocked an eyebrow, “Terrifying.”

The Doctor didn’t look at me when he responded due to the fact that his eyes were glued to the stranger on the doorstep.

The man was even taller than the Doctor, probably around seven ft. tall, and I couldn’t help but cower slightly. He was beautiful in a scary, statue type person kind of way. His skin was so pale it was practically white; his hair the color of snow; the suit he wore was also white, but with a black skinny tie.

It was beautifully terrifying, but his soft facial features made me feel slightly warmer towards him. Except for the fact that he shouldn’t be standing on the TARDIS’s door step in the middle of… wherever we are.

“Well, hello,” said the Doctor, his voice the meaning of enthusiasm and welcoming. But I knew that he was on his full guard; I had been traveling with him long enough to know curiosity and warning tones in his voice.

“Hello, Time Lord.”

We both took a step back, and every warning alarm in my head started going off. This wasn’t right; this alien being should not be standing at our threshold.

“How do you know I’m a Time Lord?” the Doctor questioned.

“We’ve seen this sort of device before. This Tar-Dis?” the stranger’s head cocked to the side as his gaze shifted from the Doctor to me. I felt all the color drain from my face as fear flooded through me. “What’s your name?” I nearly jumped when I heard the words squeak out of my mouth.

A grin spread across his tight lips before he answered, “My name is Xalan.”

“That’s nice, Xalan. Always wanted to meet someone named… Xalan,” the Doctor paused, squeezing my hand softly. “I’m the Doctor, and this is Rose. Now, it would be wonderful if you would help us back?”

I didn’t need to hear Xalan to know the answer to the Doctor’s question, but I found myself listening intently all the same. “I’m afraid we won’t be able to do that. You see, it’s been a long time since we have had such a great amount of energy, and we cannot just let you go…” My heart was in my throat.

As I watched the stranger look from our faces to past us and inside the TARDIS, I felt myself lose all control and reach forward, slamming the door shut quickly. Something told me nothing good would come of letting him get a better look. Outside the door, we heard a screeching sound that could never in a million years come from the vocal cords of a human.

“I thought you said they were winged creatures?”

“Just a cloak; I’m sure only the King has the gift of changing his form. But it wasn’t his true look, just a cloak to look more innocent to us.” For some reason, I couldn’t look at him.

It would be like looking at the doomed, because as far as I could see, there was no way back to the vortex. And as I thought this, I felt myself become angrier and angrier. “No, come on then… We’ll have to find a way back to the vortex. Maybe… maybe some sort of pull or strap-on jet pack. We can’t let those… things get in here!”

I was pacing now, my mind racing to think of something quickly to get us going. I was doing what he normally did, and when I looked over at him for some input, he was smiling at me. “What are you smiling about? Shouldn’t you be thinking of something brilliant?”

He continued to smile, his hands in his pockets and his head shaking slightly, “You sound just like your mother.”

And before I could stop him, he had his hands on my hips which pulled me into an embrace, his lips crashing into mine. I melted into the kiss for a few moments, cherishing the taste and feel before a thought came to mind and I pulled back enough to speak.

“So, does this mean you want to kiss my mum?” I grinned at him.

A look of disgust swam over his expression and he quickly shook his head, “Not funny. You just… amaze me when you get like that. You’re brilliant, you are, Rose Tyler; Defender of Earth, and now the TARDIS.”