Out of Time
(This is because ultimategingepond made me an amazing gifset for my birthday and I couldn’t help it…based on this post.)
Mary frowned at the gangly grey-haired man and his younger companion, as they both wore strange clothes that looked as though they’d stepped out of a different time.
"Who are you?" she questioned, the twilight falling around the grounds of Downton Abbey. She’d simply gone for a walk that clearly had been ill-advised now that she’d bumped in to such a pair.
"I’m the Doctor and this is Clara," the man said, his accent thick but not unusual for the area.
"Doctor what?" Mary asked, directing her question to the girl called Clara.
"Just the Doctor," Clara replied, a look of shared exasperation on her face.
"Alright, Doctor,” Mary said, raising one eyebrow. “What are you two doing at Downton?”
"We were looking for you, Lady Mary," he said simply.
"Me?" Mary frowned, staring at this Doctor. She couldn’t decide if she liked him or not. His face was stern, his expression not unlike her own. And why was this strange man wearing odd clothes looking for her? “How do you know my name?”
The Doctor half-smiled. “Why don’t you come with us and find out?”
Mary looked between the two, unsure why she felt so drawn to this man wearing a strange coat, the inside lined in red, and the girl who smiled at her.
"Just for a minute," she agreed.
They walked across the grounds to a grove of trees, a blue box nestled among the leaves.
"What is that?" Mary voiced aloud. It reminded her of a public phone box, but she’d never used one and she certainly had never seen one on the grounds before.
"TARDIS," the Doctor said, as though it was the most normal thing in the world.
"What?" Mary asked.
"TAR-DIS," he replied, emphasizing each syllable as though that explained it. He tugged open the door, disappearing inside.
"You’ll get used to that," Clara murmured, following him inside.
Mary hesitated, casting a glance back at her home, lights shimmering in most of the large windows.
As though noticing her failure to enter, the Doctor popped his head out of the thing called the TARDIS.
"Don’t worry, it’ll be here when you get back. Right where you left it, m’lady."
