For those who seek a happier ending...

Alternative Part 7

The last thing you remembered was this stone in your hand shining much brighter than the Sun, and someone calling a name. Then, you believed you passed out.

Or crashed on the floor, you're not sure if anyone caught you.

You were floating, that's for sure, but where exactly you couldn't tell. Your surroundings were pitch black but you could see your hands and fingers just fine. It was weird, like your eyes had filtered out everything except your body. You couldn't hear anything besides your steady breathing, and that gave you time to think, because your mind was really, really blank at the moment.

Why was there a shiny stone in your hand and what did it do to make you pass out? Was it the radiation that it emitted? Or the vapour it was giving off, if it was giving off anything? And that voice, that voice sounded familiar yet not. You knew it from somewhere, but you just couldn't pinpoint who it belonged to. Why couldn't you remember anything?

"(Y/N)?"

She mentioned a name, someone called (Y/N). Was (Y/N) important to her? Was (Y/N) even important at all?

She should be, because suddenly there were voices around you speaking out her name in different kinds of emotions. A male voice said it with concern, another female cried it out, and another whispered it in your ear. This person called (Y/N) sure is important around here.

Your feet felt something solid. You looked down and realised you had stopped floating and landed, but the ground was invisible. It was still dark, but there was this blob of light hovering in midair just a few steps away from you. With nothing better to do, you walked towards it. You tilted your head and admired the soft, comforting glow it gave off. For some reason, your hand was attracted to it and before you knew what you were doing, your fingers passed through the light and you felt an orb inside.

It exploded, but it didn't throw you back. Instead, you were completely fine, not a single scratch was made on your delicate skin. The darkness around you however was replaced with colour and life.

The first scene that appeared was a male and a female watching over you with content smiles on their faces. They made funny noises and you heard a baby laughing. Then, they seemed to grow older and they were comforting you. You looked down at your knee and realised there was an open wound. You tried to reach out to them, but one swipe and they dissolved. Now, they were standing and giving you hugs. Finally, you heard their voices.

"We're so proud of you, (Y/N)."

Oh.

You were (Y/N) and those were your parents.

Upon realising that fact, they disappeared and was substituted with more familiar faces and places that helped you recall your life. You remembered who your friends were and where you stayed, where you worked and where you schooled. Then came the bad memories.

Some were childhood nightmares that you instantly recognised the moment the first scene played. They didn't scare you as much, but the worst ones happened when you were older.

The bully you had in high school beat you up so badly, you could actually remember the taste of blood in your mouth. You cried and screamed for help but none came, because you were beaten near the trash area where no one ever passed. Then the girl who had a rotten mouth with nothing better to say had somehow fixed her mouth beside your ear. You heard each and every insult loud and clearly until you couldn't take it and tried to rip your ears apart. Then came the most depressing moments of your life where you remembered you wanted nothing but to sink in a hole, one that didn't have a bottom. You could keep falling and falling and that would actually keep you content. You would let the tears and pain go every night in bed when no one was looking, and it was a terrible time indeed. You had no idea you had gone through this for so long, that memory never seemed to end and you wanted it to stop.

As if there was a fairy godmother, your wish came true.

"(Y/N), You're alright. You're safe. I promised I would keep you alive, didn't I? I did, you're alive now, but you're asleep."

That voice was definitely not from your memory, and it always gave you a break from the monsters.

"Maybe you want to wake up now? No rush, but I've got loads to show you! Any time, anywhere, you name it!"

You were really looking forward to, but you just couldn't find an exit. There was a little progress bar in your head that seemed to remind you where in your life you were. Every time you heard her, the bar filled up and it was almost at the end. And when it was, you finally remembered who she was.

That voice belonged to the Doctor.

And the most recent memories came flooding back to you like water being let out of a dam. And once you've regained them, all you could say was, "In your face, Spirit."

You woke up in bed with a fluffy blanket covering you from head to neck. The lights were dimmed but they brightened up as though they knew you were awake. You didn't know how long you were asleep for, but there was no way of telling because the room was really bare. Moving your muscles for the first time in a long time, you struggled slightly to push yourself up to a sitting position.

Following that, the gang busted into the room with the largest grins on their faces.

"(Y/N)!"

You were immediately squished in the middle of the three of them with hardly any space to breathe. Yaz, Ryan and Graham all looked the same, apart from the bags under their eyes. You couldn't help but ask, "Did you guys get any sleep at all?"

Confused, the three of them let go and Graham answered, "Blame the Doc, we were out last night camping."

"None of us got any sleep because the camp became a game of hide-and-seek and try not to die challenge," Ryan added.

"Oh," you were slightly disappointed, and only Yaz seemed to understand.

"Don't worry, (Y/N)," she said, "We did stay up, waiting for you to wake up, though the Doctor did most of it."

Your eyes lit up the moment you heard her name. After all, she saved your life and your memories. You weren't the broken girl Meitner thought you would become.

"Where is she?"

Ryan and Graham both gave each other looks while Yaz replied confidently, "Preparing. I can take you to her, if you want."

Nodding, you got out of bed, tripping slightly but luckily Ryan was there to catch you. While on your way to wherever the destination was, you asked, "How long was I out?"

"3 months," came Graham's simple reply.

"What?!"

"Don't worry," Ryan reassured, "You remember we're in a time machine, right?"

"Yeah, the..." you searched your memory for a second, "The TARDIS."

The humming in the walls grew louder and then returned to its normal volume, freaking all of you out, save for Graham

"I think she's glad you remember her," Graham said with a shrug. You and Ryan looked at him in confusion.

"What? The Doc's mentioned she's alive, so she should be able to respond to you, right?"

The same hum was heard, just like before, confirming Graham's guess. Satisfied, Graham smirked. Ryan ignored him and continued, "Yeah, anyway, the TARDIS can take you back to where and when you were so it would be like you were never gone."

"Cool," you responded, "Sorry, I just can't wrap my head around the fact that I've been gone for a solid three months. THREE MONTHS."

Yaz placed a hand on your shoulder as the four of you rounded the corner, "You'll get used to it. Come on, she's through there."

And you found yourself in the familiar, cozy console room which, come to think of it after you've been through your memories, should have a better lighting system. There was a lonely balloon floating towards you. You grabbed the string, and started reading what was written on it.

"Happy birthday?"

The moment those words left your mouth, a loud pop was heard and the room was filled with confetti that was falling gracefully. You looked over to Yaz, Ryan and Graham, the latter two had the weirdest expressions on their face.

"Sorry, what's going on?"

The grandfather-grandson pair mouthed back to you, "No idea."

Yaz, on the other hand, knew. She walked around the console to the other side, bent down, and asked, "Doctor?"

There was a bang and a cry of pain, and right beside Yaz stood a blonde woman who was rubbing a swollen bump on her head. When she spotted you, her pained expression was immediately replaced with a huge grin.

"(Y/N)!"

She ran over to you and hugged much tighter than the other three did, lifting you up and swinging you around. You squealed in surprise and once your feet touched the ground again, you hugged her back.

"Sorry to interrupt," Graham said, "But what's all this about?"

"Oh!" The Doctor let you go and scooped up some fallen confetti, "I was planning a surprise 'Waking Up' party for (Y/N)! You lot came in too early though, I haven't even gotten the song  or the food done! Not to mention the goodie bags!"

Flattered and flustered by the fact that the Doctor actually had that much planned, you said, "Doctor, it's okay, this is good enough."

"I'll decide what's good enough," she said as she took out her sonic and started scanning you, "How much do you remember?"

"Everything, I think?" You answered, staying completely still. The Doctor started firing a bunch of questions.

"What's my name?"

"The Doctor."

"Doctor who?"

You paused and tried to remember, but nothing came up, "You never really explained."

"Good, that was a trick question," she said quickly, "What was the name of the scientist that you met?"

"Lise Meitner."

"Her friend's name who suffered a much worse fate than you?"

"Hahn."

"What tried to kill you?"

"A Spirit."

"What's four plus one?"

"Five?"

"Why does her balloon say 'Happy Birthday'?"

You and the Doctor turned towards Ryan who was pointing at the balloon next to you.

"That's the only one I could find and inflate on time, Ryan," The Doctor said with a hint of annoyance, "Did you expect me to drop you off back on Earth to get me another one that specifically says 'Happy Waking Up Day'?"

When Ryan didn't respond, the Doctor apologised, "Sorry, me being rude. Huh, must be from when I was a man or something."

She directed her attention back to you and clapped out of nowhere, "See, you remember everything! I told you we needed more things to celebrate! I can't wait to tell Lise the good news!"

Jumping, she ran around the console and started pushing buttons and pulling levers, preparing the TARDIS to fly off somewhere. In all the activity, you watched with amusement at the elated Doctor and poked your balloon. It moved back and forth, just as the Doctor did from one funny switch to another, and somehow it reminded you of something.

"Doctor?"

"Yeah?" She lifted her head to look at you.

"Do you mind taking me home first?"

The excitement on her face died down a little, and so did the smiles on the others. Noticing the disappointment, you held your hands up and explained, "I just want to know that you can get me back, that's all. And also that my home isn't destroyed or anything."

The Doctor quickly covered up her disappointed and agreed, "Sure, yeah. I'll take you home. Besides, I think the lot of you need a good sleep. Sorry about yesterday."

Stifling a yawn, Yaz said, "Don't worry Doctor. All good."

"Finally, sleep," Ryan yawned loudly and started to walk off, "I was waiting for the cue to go."

As you watched the three of them head off, you and the Doctor said at the same time, "Good night."

Only Graham replied with a "Nights".

The TARDIS landed back on Earth at exactly the same time you left, a distance away from the clinic, where it all started. You opened the door and inhaled. It was good to be home one second after you left, especially when you were gone for three whole months. You stepped out, and you saw your house waiting for you.

"So," the Doctor stood beside you as she closed the TARDIS doors, "Which one's yours?"

"That one," you pointed to your house, "Good to know it isn't destroyed."

"Yup," the Doctor put her hands in her coat pockets, "Well, I suppose you would want to go back inside and watch TV or something. Netflix, is it? Netflix and chill, seems like a really good thing to do alone, isn't it?"

You coughed at the Doctor's ignorance and stared at your home. It was still sitting there peacefully, intact, and behind you was the TARDIS, ready to fly back into action.

"(Y/N), can I ask you something?"

"Yeah," you said, not taking your eyes off the house.

"Do you, I don't know, maybe want to come with us? Go travelling a bit and hang out? I'm sure the gang would like some new company."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I suppose," she said, "And so would I."

You didn't respond, only turning your head to face the Doctor.

"Well, you don't have to. It's fine, really. It was just an offer, nothing to worry about if you reject it. See, I was maybe hoping that you...hold on where're you going?"

In the midst of her ramble, you turned your back and started walking, but it wasn't in the direction of your house. The doors to the blue box were in front of you, and when you couldn't open the doors, you asked, "Could you unlock this for me?"

Taken aback, the Doctor rushed up with her hand digging inside her coat pocket, "Sorry, it's a habit to lock up the doors when I exit."

"Don't worry," you said, "I'm just going to go get something."

The Doctor's smile faltered, "What?"

"You know, some adventures in time and space, and maybe a camping trip that you lot went on without me."

You winked and entered the TARDIS, and the Doctor couldn't be happier.