Welcome Home - Chapter 1

Broken promises swelled my thoughts first, not the initial knowledge that I was awake. Cringeworthy memories sprang to mind before the emotions that sung of joy. I knew that somewhere, I was screwing up over and over again, despite everyone's belief in me.

It's not the same, I thought to myself. Not the same at all. Calm down. Maybe you don't understand. You see, I wrote so much of this story, but it moved in real time. Basically, one hundred and ten pages of crap and nonsense. But this was a fresh start, a new page. Another chance. Start where I began, essentially.

I pushed all of these thoughts out of my mind and began to really wake up. Both hearts began to beat with excitement. I was only here for a little while, until tomorrow.

My room was a little wooden room, with aging walls and a creaky floor. It was hidden away in this place (Missy's TARDIS, more on that later) but I liked it. It was small. I got up, out of the cream-colored sheets, and looked at myself in the mirror.

"Still looking alright," I whispered to my reflection, and she echoed me. I needed to get changed so I could greet everyone - but that would be odd, given the time of day. It was midnight, or something close to it, and only a few people would be awake. I still changed from my space PJ's to my regular clothes: a colored top, hidden underneath a black sweat jacket, bootcut jeans, and of course, my snowboots. I wouldn't travel without them. I would've done my brown hair, but it was too short for that now. Pixie bobs really do a number to your hair-doing skills.

So, I said this earlier, but I was in Missy's TARDIS. I would've been in The Doctor's, but hers blew up. Both of us wouldn't see it for a few months, unfortunately. Missy's was the next best thing. My squad and I travelled through time and space with her permission. I loved traveling, but I usually never stayed awake long enough for it. Now, I could.

I glanced around the room once more. My red 3DS sat on an end table, dead. My ukulele sat next to it. I didn't want to take either of them - I was making an entrance.

I opened the sliding door and stepped out into the hallway, which was styled in the same sort of way my room was. The overhead lights gave the hall a warm glow, making it feel comforting and homey. 

As I walked down, I heard people talking in the console room. I couldn't really make out what they were saying, but whatever it was, it sounded heated. Tense. Curious, I kept going. The walls slowly were bleached white as I went down, leading up to the completely white console room - which was the main hub of activity.

"Doctor, I don't think this is going to work," I heard someone warn. It sounded like either River or Pearl.

"I'll decide whether it works or not," she responded. I froze. I'd heard her voice. Ever since Twelve became Thirteen, I'd only heard her say one line, "Brilliant," upon looking at herself for the first time. One line. It meant so much to me in that moment.

"Doctor, be careful!" It was River, I was sure.

"I'll be fine," The Doctor said, "now, if we just..." Her voice trailed off as she continued with what she was doing.

I saw her sitting at a desk, close to the second entrance to the thick maze of halls and rooms. River hung over her shoulder. She was turned away from me, but I knew she had an anxious look on her face. As they worked, I crept closer. There was nobody else in the room but us.

I must've made some sort of noise, because The Doctor turned to look behind her, and upon seeing me, she gasped, then put something down. I heard a glass-like clatter as she did.

"Berri? You're awake?" she asked. River turned to look too, with an almost startled expression on her face.

"Of course I'm awake. This is the surprise I was talking about last night," I explained, "and I'm writing Welcome Home again!"

River and The Doctor exchanged quick glances.

"Berri," River began, brushing a golden curl out of her face, "can you handle writing all of this again? Last time, you really..."

She stopped, trying to think of a good word. "Doctor?"

"You couldn't choose timelines, Berri," she finished for River.

"I've changed how I think about this place," I said, telling the truth. "Half-hour days here just don't work for me. I'm gonna do stuff, write, and then do more stuff that night. Does that make sense?" I asked, trying to get them to understand.

"Elaborate," River said, and I did.

"Say we go to Nuvema Town, in Unova. We'd do stuff there - which will be a time and place for me to experiment with ideas. I'd wake up the next day, and write. That would be my second draft, if you will," I responded. "Then I'll keep writing drafts of chapters on the computer until I have my final, printable chapter. Or maybe not. Only the first part of the plan is really thought through."

"She can handle this, Doctor. The first part of her plan sounds solid enough. That's better than plans you've come up with in the past," River said, hopeful.

"I still don't trust you," The Doctor told me, making eye contact with me. "Prove to me that you can do it, and I'll trust you."

"What will it take?" I asked.

"Two days," she answered. "That's all it takes. Two days of being able to do this and I'll be alright." She ran a hand through her blonde hair.

"Got it," I promised, nodding. She looked away, thinking deeply.

"You should get some sleep, then," River suggested, "so you can be awake for tomorrow."

"Yes, I agree. Go get some sleep, hun," The Doctor said, and I listened to them.

"I'll see you tomorrow morning, then," I answered, turning to leave.

A/N - This is the first chapter of Welcome Home I've published on here! Yay!! I hope you guys can give me some good feedback and I hope you enjoyed my chapter! ( -w- ) Chapter 2 is coming soon!!