Status: In Progress
Two Doctors in the TARDIS
Two Doctors in the TARDIS
Two Doctors in the TARDIS
“Are you positive that this will work?”
The Doctor didn’t answer John’s query, but merely led him over to the strange little blue box.
“Er…what’re we stopping for? Bart’s isn’t inside the box, is it?” John asked.
“No, no, of course not. Just open the door. Go on!” The Doctor was grinning at John strangely, but he went inside anyway.
“Oh.”
“I know!” The Doctor followed him inside and shut the door behind himself, still grinning like a slightly deranged wildcat. “Bigger--” he threw his hands in the air “—on the inside!!”
John cleared his throat and sat down in the leather chair attached to a thin metal rail. “Oh.”
“It’ll only be a moment, but you’ll want to hang on!” The Doctor shouted, grabbing the hanging monitor and slamming his fist down on an enormous red button. The TARDIS was off, dematerialising from Baker Street with the trademark noise.
“So is this a spaceship or something?” John asked, looking very uncomfortable with his surroundings. The Doctor peered around the enormous console at him.
“Yes! She’s called the TARDIS—Time And Relative Dimension In Space! Lovely old girl, isn’t she? Nicked her off—I mean, I got her when I was just a kid, about 200 years old. She can go to any place in the universe, and any time you want.”
“Yeah, but—why is it a police telephone box? Doesn’t it get noticed? I mean, I thought they had these back in the sixties.”
“Well, I landed in the sixties and she disguised herself as a police box, but then the chameleon circuit got stuck and she hasn’t been able to change to anything different. I could fix it, I suppose, but I quite like her the way she is, don’t you?” The Doctor rubbed the console lovingly, sparing a quick smile for John.
“Well, yeah, I mean, sure. I just thought, because they don’t have those anymore, don’t people stare, try to open it, stuff like that.”
“Oh, no, no. Because nowadays, if you see a thing, what do you do? Walk right past it. You just sort of go ‘oh, it’s a thing’. Ah, here we are! Hold on tight—I’m landing her!”
The Doctor yanked back a huge lever and gripped the side of the console for support. John made a grab for the metal railing a split second too late and was unseated by the horrid rocking of the TARDIS.
He managed to cling to the underside of the console and after it stopped, he stood up, gasping. “Is…is it always like this?” he panted.
The Doctor grinned at him. “Yes.”
“I can see why he liked it,” huffed John, following him out of the blue box.
When they exited the TARDIS, he looked around in puzzlement. “Er, Doctor, this isn’t where we need to be. Bart’s is about a half a mile to the north of here.”
The Doctor raised one ‘eyebrow’. “Really? Huh. Must be a glitch with the matrix. Let’s go back inside and I’ll fix her up.”
“Actually, would it be okay if I stayed out here while you fix it? I just need some time to…think.” John sat down on a nearby bench and rubbed his forehead wearily.
The Doctor’s grin faded. “Er, yes, of course. Um, I’ll come and get you when I’m done. Just…don’t wander off, please. Usually something bad ends up happening when they do that.”
John looked up, distracted from the current situation by the sorrow laced through the Doctor’s words. “’They’?”
“I…I’ve had companions. They travel with me, but they all end up leaving. One, Rose…I lost her. She ended up in a parallel universe. And another, Donna, she became a Time Lord like me and I had to erase myself from her timeline. It’s…hard to explain. But, anyway, I’d better go and fix the TARDIS.” The Doctor sighed and went back into the police box, running his hands through his messy brown hair.
John contemplated what had just been said. The Doctor apparently had had previous companions, and they had all left him, just like Sherlock. Sherlock had travelled with this mad, go-lucky Doctor fellow…John couldn’t believe it. He let out a small, humourless laugh at the irony of it all.
Sherlock, his best friend who acted more like a robot than a human, who disproved everything except what was most important at that precise moment—usually his own experiments—and despised emotional attachments. John then came to the sudden realisation that he was like that because it became too much for him. Travelling with the Doctor, seeing strange planets and aliens.
At that precise second, the Doctor popped his head out of the odd blue box. “All fixed and ready to go, if you are, John.”
“Yeah, I’m ready. But, Doctor…how many people have travelled with you?” John stood, looking straight into the old, old eyes of the goofy-looking man standing in front of him.
“A lot. Some left me. Some got left behind. And some…not many, but…some died.” The Doctor glanced away at the last word, blinking away tears. Then he cleared his throat, sniffed, and jumped back into the TARDIS. “Come on, John. We’ve got a high-functioning sociopath to save.”
“Are you positive that this will work?”
The Doctor didn’t answer John’s query, but merely led him over to the strange little blue box.
“Er…what’re we stopping for? Bart’s isn’t inside the box, is it?” John asked.
“No, no, of course not. Just open the door. Go on!” The Doctor was grinning at John strangely, but he went inside anyway.
“Oh.”
“I know!” The Doctor followed him inside and shut the door behind himself, still grinning like a slightly deranged wildcat. “Bigger--” he threw his hands in the air “—on the inside!!”
John cleared his throat and sat down in the leather chair attached to a thin metal rail. “Oh.”
“It’ll only be a moment, but you’ll want to hang on!” The Doctor shouted, grabbing the hanging monitor and slamming his fist down on an enormous red button. The TARDIS was off, dematerialising from Baker Street with the trademark noise.
“So is this a spaceship or something?” John asked, looking very uncomfortable with his surroundings. The Doctor peered around the enormous console at him.
“Yes! She’s called the TARDIS—Time And Relative Dimension In Space! Lovely old girl, isn’t she? Nicked her off—I mean, I got her when I was just a kid, about 200 years old. She can go to any place in the universe, and any time you want.”
“Yeah, but—why is it a police telephone box? Doesn’t it get noticed? I mean, I thought they had these back in the sixties.”
“Well, I landed in the sixties and she disguised herself as a police box, but then the chameleon circuit got stuck and she hasn’t been able to change to anything different. I could fix it, I suppose, but I quite like her the way she is, don’t you?” The Doctor rubbed the console lovingly, sparing a quick smile for John.
“Well, yeah, I mean, sure. I just thought, because they don’t have those anymore, don’t people stare, try to open it, stuff like that.”
“Oh, no, no. Because nowadays, if you see a thing, what do you do? Walk right past it. You just sort of go ‘oh, it’s a thing’. Ah, here we are! Hold on tight—I’m landing her!”
The Doctor yanked back a huge lever and gripped the side of the console for support. John made a grab for the metal railing a split second too late and was unseated by the horrid rocking of the TARDIS.
He managed to cling to the underside of the console and after it stopped, he stood up, gasping. “Is…is it always like this?” he panted.
The Doctor grinned at him. “Yes.”
“I can see why he liked it,” huffed John, following him out of the blue box.
When they exited the TARDIS, he looked around in puzzlement. “Er, Doctor, this isn’t where we need to be. Bart’s is about a half a mile to the north of here.”
The Doctor raised one ‘eyebrow’. “Really? Huh. Must be a glitch with the matrix. Let’s go back inside and I’ll fix her up.”
“Actually, would it be okay if I stayed out here while you fix it? I just need some time to…think.” John sat down on a nearby bench and rubbed his forehead wearily.
The Doctor’s grin faded. “Er, yes, of course. Um, I’ll come and get you when I’m done. Just…don’t wander off, please. Usually something bad ends up happening when they do that.”
John looked up, distracted from the current situation by the sorrow laced through the Doctor’s words. “’They’?”
“I…I’ve had companions. They travel with me, but they all end up leaving. One, Rose…I lost her. She ended up in a parallel universe. And another, Donna, she became a Time Lord like me and I had to erase myself from her timeline. It’s…hard to explain. But, anyway, I’d better go and fix the TARDIS.” The Doctor sighed and went back into the police box, running his hands through his messy brown hair.
John contemplated what had just been said. The Doctor apparently had had previous companions, and they had all left him, just like Sherlock. Sherlock had travelled with this mad, go-lucky Doctor fellow…John couldn’t believe it. He let out a small, humourless laugh at the irony of it all.
Sherlock, his best friend who acted more like a robot than a human, who disproved everything except what was most important at that precise moment—usually his own experiments—and despised emotional attachments. John then came to the sudden realisation that he was like that because it became too much for him. Travelling with the Doctor, seeing strange planets and aliens.
At that precise second, the Doctor popped his head out of the odd blue box. “All fixed and ready to go, if you are, John.”
“Yeah, I’m ready. But, Doctor…how many people have travelled with you?” John stood, looking straight into the old, old eyes of the goofy-looking man standing in front of him.
“A lot. Some left me. Some got left behind. And some…not many, but…some died.” The Doctor glanced away at the last word, blinking away tears. Then he cleared his throat, sniffed, and jumped back into the TARDIS. “Come on, John. We’ve got a high-functioning sociopath to save.”
♠ ♠ ♠
I know, I know. It sucks. Don't hate me!