Title: Come Away With Me
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Tenth Doctor/Brendan Block
Fandom: Doctor Who/Secret Smile
Rating: PG
Table: 3
Prompt: 68, Impressed
Author's Note: Continuation of Taken By Surprise.
Warning: ongoing story
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my own imagination, and I make no profit from it. I do not own the Tenth Doctor or Michael Cutter, unfortunately. Please do not sue.

***

The Doctor could feel a thrill of anticipation going through him as he led Brendan through the streets towards the place he'd left the Tardis. He didn't know exactly how he was going to explain his ship to this man, but he'd have to try. Hopefully, Brendan wouldn't think he was a right psycho.

Of course, he didn't seem much in a mood to think anything, the Doctor thought, casting a glance at Brendan from under his lashes. He was quiet, not looking around, seeming to be deep in thought. He supposed it was because of the ex-girlfriend leaving him.

The Time Lord couldn't keep himself from asking about that, even though he knew that it was probably a bad idea. "Brendan .... I know you're upset about your ex, but please, try to put it behind you. If she didn't want to be with you, then it's her loss, and you're better off without someone who has that kind of an attitude."

The other man looked over at him, scowling before the expression on his face gradually relaxed. He shrugged, looking away again. "It doesn't really matter, does it? I'd thought about doing so much to get back at her -- but it doesn't really seem worth the time or the trouble now."

"It's never easy to have someone you care about leave you," the Doctor told him, his voice soft. "I've had it happen to me enough times to know what it feels like. People just .... seem as though they've had enough of me and want to go back to their old lives without a backward glance."

"What do you mean, 'their old lives'?" Brendan asked, raising an eyebrow in query. "It sounds as if you're offering them an entirely different life from the one they have. It's not like people are going to have to completely change and turn everything upside down to start a new relationship."

"Not in most cases, no," the Doctor said, biting the inside of his cheek to keep himself from bubbling over with an explanation of just what it meant to be with him. It probably wouldn't be best to go into all that before they reached the Tardis -- there was a very good chance that Brendan would think he was crazy and run in the other direction before he could explain.

"In most cases?" Brendan was looking thoroughly confused now; the Doctor almost laughed at the perplexed look on the other man's face.

"It's .... different with me." He really didn't want to say more, but he supposed that he owed Brendan more of an explanation than those few words. He didn't want the other man to get overly frustrated with not getting what could be termed a "real" answer and leave.

"When someone chooses to get involved with me, they have to .... literally leave their life behind," he said, looking anxiously at Brendan and wondering how he would interpret that. "I don't live here -- in fact, I'm something of a traveler. I really don't stay in one place for very long."

Brendan shrugged again, glancing over at him before concentrating his attention on the street ahead of them again. "At the moment, my life here doesn't look very palatable. I don't think I'd mind chucking it all and starting over somewhere else."

"Really?" The Doctor was surprised to hear that; Brendan looked like the very picture of a young man with a settled, secure life. But looks could be deceiving, as he'd discovered several times in the past. There could be a lot beneath the surface that he hadn't yet seen.

"I've got no reason to be around here," the other man answered, shoving his hands into his pockets. "No relationship, and the other aspects of my life don't exactly look wonderful. I'm ready to try something new." He glanced at the Doctor again; this time, their gazes met and held. "Where were you thinking of traveling to?"

"Oh ...." The Doctor hesitated, not quite knowing what to tell Brendan. What was he supposed to say to that question? "I hadn't really thought about any place in particular," he stammered, caught off-guard by the inquiry.

And really, he hadn't. He'd thought that he would stay on Earth for a while -- though he didn't know if he wanted to be in the 21st century for much longer. Maybe some time in the future would do him good. It had been a while since he'd been there ....

He pulled himself out of his contemplation, focusing his attention back on Brendan. "We can find some place to go if we put our heads together, I'm sure. I doubt it will be that hard."

"You're a strange man, Doctor." Brendan shook his head, smiling a little. "First, you won't tell me your actual name, and now you say that you're a traveler -- but you have no particular place to go. It's all more than a bit mysterious. Makes me wonder just what you're all about."

"I'm not about one thing or the other," the Doctor murmured, looking down at his feet as they walked along. Only one more street, and they would be at the Tardis; how was he going to talk Brendan into going in? He was sure that he could explain things once the other man was inside the ship, but Brendan didn't seem the type to just jump into something head first without looking.

"Brendan ...." He began to speak, but closed his mouth when he realized that they were closer to the Tardis than he'd thought. "Here we are," he said, slowing down to a stop right in front of the blue police box. Brendan stared at him, looking puzzled, a slight frown on his face.

"What do you mean? There's .... nothing here." He glanced around, clearly expecting to see some mode of transportation that he was used to.

"Come inside," the Doctor told him, opening the door of the Tardis and standing back so Brendan could enter the ship. It would be best if he went in first, the Time Lord told himself. That way, the Doctor would be behind him, and be able to soothe whatever trepidation he might feel when he saw was he was stepping into.

"Inside? What?" Brendan was staring at the Tardis as though the Doctor was insane. "It's a police box. I know what one of those looks like inside. And believe me, there's no reason to call the police. I haven't done anything!"

"I didn't say you had," the Doctor said soothingly, holding out a placating hand to the other man. "Just .... go inside, Brendan. Please. I think you'll be .... pleasantly surprised. You won't be seeing what you expect."

Brendan took a step forward, then stopped, frowning again. "What's so special about the inside? It looks like a normal police box to me."

"Far from it." The Doctor smiled, tilting his head to the side and giving Brendan what he hoped was a convincing smile. "Go on. You'll see."

With a sideways glance at the Doctor, Brendan did as the Time Lord asked and stepped into the interior of the Tardis. The Doctor quickly followed, pulling the door closed behind him; hopefully, Brendan wouldn't want to dart right back out again.

He nearly barreled into the other man as he bounded up the three small steps; Brendan was standing stock-still, looking around him, his mouth hanging open and his eyes widening more with each moment. The Doctor stood beside him, taking in the interior of his ship and feeling proud that he could show someone such a sight.

"Well, what do you think?" he finally asked, turning to Brendan with a smile. "She's impressive, isn't she? Much bigger on the inside than you might think."

"How .... what ...." Brendan shook his head, closing his eyes and running a hand over his face. "I must be dreaming. This can't be possible. I'm seeing things. Or going completely barmy."

"No, you're not seeing things," the Doctor said gently, wishing that he dared to reach out and take Brendan's hand in his. "She's called the Tardis. It stands for Time and Relative Dimension in Space. She's a ship, basically. I'm .... a time traveler."

"A .... a time traveler?" Brendan's voice was incredulous, his eyes still wide with disbelief as he looked at the Doctor. "You must be joking. This kind of thing doesn't happen outside of science fiction movies. It isn't possible."

"But it is, and you're right in the middle of it." This time, he did reach out to Brendan, putting a hand on the young man's shoulder. "Brendan, this is real. You're not seeing things. You're not going crazy. And I really do travel in time."

"I've heard of suspension of disbelief, but this is insane," Brendan whispered, his eyes roaming around the Tardis. "Things like this don't happen out of the blue."

"But it is happening to you," the Doctor pointed out. "Open your mind, Brendan. Let yourself believe in what you see -- because it is real. You aren't dreaming, no matter how strange this might feel at the moment."

Brendan just stood there, not saying anything else, looking around him as though he couldn't believe what he was seeing. The Doctor held his breath, wondering what the other man was thinking -- and wondering if he would stay here, or turn around and head for the door and out of his life.

He was hoping against hope that it wouldn't happen. He was intrigued by this man -- and, truth be told, attracted to him as well -- and he had the definite feeling that if Brendan Block walked out of his life, he'd regret it for a long time to come.

"I'm impressed," Brendan finally said, his eyes settling on the Doctor. "I don't know if I believe it all, but .... tell me more. You've definitely got my attention. And I have a feeling there's a lot more to this setup than meets the eye."

"Oh, there's a lot to tell," the Doctor said, smiling and taking Brendan's hand to lead him to the console of the Tardis. "But what it boils down to is that I'm lonely -- and I need a companion. I'm hoping that you may decide to fill that need. Come away with me, Brendan. Don't let yourself be held down to just this world. There are so many others out there to discover."

Brendan's brows rose, his expression turning contemplative. The Doctor held his breath again, waiting for whatever the other man would decide to say. He couldn't help feeling that whatever those words were, they would have a decisive effect on his future.

"A time traveler," he said, repeating the words with wonderment in his voice. "I've met a time traveler. My life has become a sci-fi novel. All it needs is an alien."

The Doctor opened his mouth to say that aspect wasn't lacking at all, but snapped it shut again. It probably wasn't the best idea in the world to tell this man that he was standing here talking to an alien while he was still adjusting to the idea that he was a time traveler. One shock at a time, the smaller ones first.

"So .... are you interested in coming with me?" he asked, his voice soft and a little anxious. He wanted to know now, before he let his hopes rise too far. He didn't want them to be crushed if Brendan said no.

Brendan seemed to hesitate for just a moment, then he nodded slowly. "Yes. I am. I don't have much left here, and ...." He shrugged, looking over at the Doctor, a slight smile tugging at his lips. "I think you and I have a lot to .... errr .... talk about."

The Doctor let his eyes linger on those lips, on that smile that promised so much. "Yes, I think we do," he murmured, his mouth suddenly dry, a shiver moving through his slender body as Brendan reached for him. Somehow, he thought talking was the last thing they'd be doing -- at least for the next few hours.

***

Next story in series - Carried Away.