Remembering - Doctor Who, Second & Eleventh Doctor eras (m, Jamie)

[angora48]

Next time I write a Two-era fic, I'll make sure to include some sneezy!Zoe for you, count de tisza. Normally, I'm all about the male sneezing, but Doctor Who is one of those shows where I just love EVERYONE.

And I know what you mean. While I was writing this, I realized very quickly that I couldn't write my first fic with classic Who characters and NOT include a SwH scene - I'm pretty sure there's a law. ;-)

Part 12 is regrettably sneeze-free, I'm afaid - while Jamie and Eleven dry off, all the plot is happening on the other end of the forest with Amy, Two, and Zoe. Some of you may enjoy reading it anyway, and I promise to make it up to you with more sneezing tomorrow.

Amy had been listening to all of the Doctor and Jamie’s talk, and she’d vaguely grasped the concept of a different Doctor – after all, when she first met him, he’d still been getting used to the nose, chin, and long limbs he had now – but she hadn’t been at all prepared for this.

She hadn’t even seen him yet, just heard him, and it left her standing dumbfounded outside the holding cell on the Yeshovi spaceship. His voice was deeper than the Doctor’s, her Doctor’s, but she had no doubt about who was impatiently interrupting the protests of the girl who was with him. “Honestly, Zoe,” he said, “I’m only suggesting a quick jaunt through the ventilation shaft. What was the point of my removing the vent cover if you won’t –”

“Doctor, we’ve no idea where those shafts lead!” the girl, Zoe, argued. “I’m liable to wind up caught in the engines, and the shaft is too narrow for you to come in after me and get me out.”

“Jamie would have gone,” the Doctor told her, and Amy could believe it. “He’s always game for that sort of thing.”

“It’s good he’s not here then, since he’d have gotten just as lost as I would,” Zoe pointed out.

“Would you prefer a more Thesean mode of exploration?” the Doctor asked. “I’m sure I have a ball of twine in here somewhere…”

For a minute, Amy forgot her task entirely. It was like eavesdropping on a through-the-looking-glass version of her own life. It was another Doctor, another Doctor’s friend. Good thing for her that she suddenly become conscious of the weight of the sonic screwdriver in her hand, or she might have stood there for hours.

The discussion, bickering but affectionate, halted as soon as the sonic screwdriver began to whir. “What was that?” Zoe cried.

“It came in the direction of the door,” the Doctor observed. “Come, Zoe – perhaps we can see something through the window.”

Soon, two figures came tumbling out of the holding cell onto the floor; Amy just had time to duck out of the way and out of view. She peeked round a corner at them. Zoe was small with short brown hair. She wore a skintight cat suit made from some sort of glittering black fabric. No wonder Jamie didn’t believe we were from the same century, Amy thought.

And the Doctor. Oh, the Doctor. The clothes bore the same basic elements – jacket, braces, bow tie – but the overall effect was entirely different. Less screwy professor, more time-travelling hobo. As for the man himself, he looked to be well into his 50s. Amy could scarcely imagine the Doctor ever being this person. And yet, despite the much older-looking body, he had the same youthful enthusiasm, the same light in his eyes.

Really, since Jamie was someone the Doctor used to know, this Doctor was technically younger than hers. At that moment, Amy mentally congratulated the Doctor on not being nearly as mad as he ought to be.

“Doctor, it was unlocked!” Zoe exclaimed.

“I know it was unlocked – these bruises will bear the proof,” the Doctor replied, rubbing his elbow. “What were we doing sitting in an unlocked cell?”

“Do you suppose it was something to do with that noise we heard?” Zoe asked. She took the Doctor’s proffered hand and got back on her feet. “Perhaps it was a power fluctuation.”

“I certainly hope so – less embarrassing for us if it’s only just happened,” the Doctor commented. He had a Beatles sort of hairdo, and he absentmindedly drew his fingers through it now. “Well then, we’d best get a move on.”

“Do you think that’s wise?” Zoe asked. “It could be a trap.”

“In that case, let’s use it to our advantage and try to escape,” the Doctor suggested.

Zoe sighed, exasperated. “Oh, Doctor!” They ran off together hand in hand. It took Amy a few minutes to get over her shock at the old man who was completely different and yet couldn’t possibly be anyone else. Finally, though, she was able to remember that she should get out as well.

* * *

The Doctor grabbed Zoe and pulled her back just before she ran into a stream of molten tarkerite. “Oh my word,” he murmured.

All around them, the Yeshovi camp was in chaos. There were rivulets of tarkerite flowing everywhere, sizzling in the damp atmosphere. The Yeshovi were nowhere to be seen, and the Coterines, taking full advantage of that fact, used the heat of the tarkerite to melt their chains.

“What’s happened?” Zoe gasped, staring in wonder at the pandemonium.

“I couldn’t say, Zoe,” the Doctor replied, “but it seems that now’s our chance to gain the upper hand.” He looked up at the pristine spaceship behind them. “I do believe I have an idea.”

[angora48]

Here's Part 13. :-)

The Doctor trekked through the forest as quickly as the mud allowed. He and Jamie had stayed at the river longer than they should have – there were still the Coterines, and Amy, to consider. In retrospect, it might have been wiser to drop Jamie off at the TARDIS and go straight back to the clearing, but for all the Doctor knew, this was the last time he was ever going to see his old friend. The Doctor couldn’t part with him, not yet. They would see this adventure through to the close, and when the Time Lords forced Jamie to forget it, along with all the other adventures, the Doctor would hold the memory for him.

“Huh-SHUHHH-oooo!” Jamie sneezed. Even though he was in a rather wretched state at the moment – the downstream escape hadn’t done his cold any favors – he kept up with the Doctor admirably. “Doctor, what do we do whed we get there?” he asked.

“Find Amy,” the Doctor told him. “Stop the Yeshovi. Save the day.”

“Aye,” Jamie said, “but how? What’s the plad?”

“…It’s a plan-to-be,” the Doctor replied. Retrieving these old memories was like picking fossils out of an archeological dig. They came slowly, with great effort, and the ones that emerged weren’t always the ones he wanted. How had the Yeshovi been defeated? He couldn’t recall.

As the clearing came into sight, he heard a whisper of “Doctor! Over here!” There was Amy, beckoning them to a nearby tree. “He’s mad, but he’s brilliant,” she added as the Doctor and the sniffling Jamie joined her.

“Who –?” the Doctor began, but Amy just shushed him and pointed.

Ahead, they could see the Yeshovi stepping into view, evidently having given up on searching for the Doctor and Jamie. In the clearing, the creatures found their operations halted, their slaves out of bondage, and their precious tarkerite all over the ground, making deep veins in the mud as it cooled. As one might suspect, the Yeshovi weren’t entirely thrilled with this state of affairs. They were quick to make their objections known, loudly, and they brandished their fusion rays in a cruel manner.

“Not so fast,” spoke a clear, familiar voice, and the Doctor looked at his old self with amusement. His taste in bow ties had certainly improved with age.

The long-ago Doctor stood before the Yeshovi craft with more than a touch of the old glint in his eye. “The mining of Cotera is finished,” he announced. “Consider it lost to you. I highly suggest you leave immediately.”

“Oh, look at how young I was!” the Doctor exclaimed from their hiding place behind the tree.

“Have you seen yourself lately?” Amy countered. “You should talk!”

“Wha… SHOOOOO-ihhh!” Jamie buried a loud sneeze in his shoulder, earning himself a shush from Amy. “Sorry,” he said, sniffing. “What has he dud?”

The Yeshovi weren’t having any of the little man’s bold words. “And why should we listen to you?” one of them hissed, stepping forward. The brute towered over the Doctor, who didn’t so much as flinch.

“Oh me?” he asked. “No reason to listen to me at all. Who am I? Just an old man – you could kill me easily.”

The Yeshovi grinned wickedly and glowered down at the Doctor. “Good advice.” He curled his fingers round the handle of his fusion ray.

“Doctor, he’s going to kill you!” Amy whispered urgently. “And when then-you dies, now-you will just disappear, like Back to the Future.”

Jamie leapt to his feet. “I’ll fix hib!” Ill as he was, he was still ready to jump right into the thick of things for the Doctor’s sake. Bless that excellent boy.

Of course, the Doctor also preferred that the excellent boy remain alive, so he reached up, took Jamie by the shoulder, and dragged him down again. “Wait,” he instructed, not taking his eyes off his other self. There was a memory, something, just under the surface, but he couldn’t grasp it. Still, he recognized the look in the eyes. Though he wasn’t often in a position to see it, he’d felt it in every pair of eyes he’d ever had, and he knew what it signified.

In the clearing, the Doctor grinned straight up the barrel of the fusion ray. “Of course, before you get round to killing me, you may be interested in what she has to say.”

The memory came shining into the Doctor’s mind just as Zoe stepped out of the spaceship. He remembered her words as she said them, like mental surround sound. “There you are, you wonderful, brilliant girl,” he murmured.

Zoe. He couldn’t speak to her, couldn’t hug her, not with her at her own Doctor’s side – it didn’t happen that way. But he could see her. He thanked time for the particular way this history played out, so that he could at least see her.

Zoe stated the situation beautifully. The Doctor understood it, then and now, and the Yeshovi certainly understood it, but… “She’s dud what?”Jamie asked, tugging on the Doctor’s sleeve.

The Doctor was aware that he was positively beaming at Zoe and her Zoe-ness; he didn’t mind. “She’s rigged the ship to reject the Coterine atmosphere,” he explained softly. “If they don’t leave the planet immediately, it’ll explode in fifteen minutes and any of them not killed by the blast will be stranded. No way of contacting Yeshov and no way of getting the tarkerite off-world. Just gorgeous.”

Amy elbowed him in the side. “Oi, don’t give Miss Brainiac all the credit,” she said. “I’ve been watching the two of them – it was your idea!”

“Was it? I suppose,” the Doctor replied indifferently. He seized both his friends by the hands and pointed to the spaceship. “Look there! Here’s my favorite bit.”

All three of them watched the Yeshovi tromp into their spaceship, glowering at the Doctor and Zoe. “You mean they just leave?” Amy asked.

Her question was soon answered by the take-off of the Yeshovi craft. As it soared away, the Coterines cheered. The Doctor and Zoe hugged one another. Jamie jumped up again and whooped at the sky. “So log, you dasty old beasties!” He hollered. “That’s what you get for trying to –”

Fortunately, Jamie’s sore throat rendered his voice quieter than usual. Still, the Doctor and Amy pulled him back behind the tree just as the pair in the clearing turned round and peered in their direction. “That’s funny,” Zoe said. “I thought I heard…” She shook her head. “Never mind.”

Jamie made a face as the Doctor gave him a light smack on the cheek. “You’re meant to be on the TARDIS, remember? They can’t see you.”

“Right – sorry,” Jamie said sheepishly. “Got a bit carr-carried awaaay… there…” His eyes fluttered closed and he raised a hand to his face. “Hih-ehhh-CHOOOOO-uhhh!”

“Gesundheit,” Amy mumbled, only half-listening. She was back to peeking round the tree at the other Doctor. “You know, I think he dresses even worse than you do!”

“Oi!” the Doctor protested. “He’s just further proof that bow ties have always been cool.” With pride, he straightened the rather excellent specimen adorning his own neck.

Hope you like it. Conclusion tomorrow!

[angora48]

And here's Part 14, the end of the story.

While the long-ago Doctor and Zoe joined the Coterines for a celebratory feast, the Doctor and his Scottish dream team enjoyed celebratory cocoa back on the TARDIS.

“Honestly, Doctor, you nearly blew up a spaceship,” Amy told him. “How do you forget something like that?”

“Amy, you underestimate the number of times I’ve actually blown up spaceships,” the Doctor countered. “When you’ve traveled as much as I have, not everything gets to make the highlights reel.”

Jamie, sniffling, poked curiously at the marshmallows floating in his cocoa. He sat on the console room steps with a blanket thrown over his shoulders. “It’ll be a laugh whed the Doctor add Zoe tell be what happedd to theb here,” he mused. “I’ll have to pretted I dod’t doh addythig about it.”

“That’s right,” the Doctor said, mildly surprised that Jamie had figured it out on his own. “Zoe and I will think you just had a rather boring few days on the TARDIS by yourself.”

Jamie smiled, rubbing his nose with his thumb. “But I’ll doh.”

While you still have the memory of it, the Doctor thought. He didn’t want to think about this, and he sprang into action so suddenly he upset his mug and cocoa dribbled onto the floor. “Where to now?” he asked. He began busily twisting dials and flipping switches on the console. “You know what?” he said, turning to Amy. “We ought to take him to your time, to Scotland. We can show him Glasgow, find someplace that’ll do us a nice curry.”

“Erm, Doctor?” Amy said.

“All that time you traveled with me, Jamie, and I don’t think I ever took you for curry!” the Doctor exclaimed. “What was the matter with me?”

In the midst of his eager chatter, Amy managed to squeeze in, “What about the other Doctor? Jamie’s got to get back to his TARDIS before –”

“Time machine, Pond,” the Doctor reminded her. “Quick jaunt to 21^st-century Scotland, no problem. And then, who knows? 1437 is lovely this time of year, and Renestros is one of those planets I keep meaning to visit, but I never seem to get round to it. Not to worry – we can still get Jamie back to his TARDIS before Zoe and me, with time to spare.”

“Doctor, we can’t do that,” Amy argued.

“And why not?” the Doctor challenged.

“ ‘Five minutes?’” Amy replied.

She was right, of course. They’d crossed the Doctor’s own timeline, and that called for light treading. They couldn’t rely on the TARDIS to be accurate enough to leave and come back at the right time. “Yes,” the Doctor replied softly. “Yes, I know.” He looked at Jamie and sighed. “You should be getting back.”

“Right dow?” Jamie protested.

“We don’t want to strain the integrity of the timeline,” the Doctor told him. “Besides…”

Jamie’s shaggy hair fell in his eyes as a strong “CHOOOO-iehhhh!” bent him forward.

“…You ought to be in bed,” the Doctor finished.

Jamie sniffled and sighed, but he drank the last of his cocoa and stood up. “It was good to beet you, Aby,” he said, making a slight bow as he kissed Amy’s hand

“Okay, 18^th-century boy,” Amy said, “enough of that; we hardly know each other.” She winked and offered him a grin. “It was nice having a bloke on the TARDIS for a bit. You might think about reinstating that, Doctor.”

Amy, of course, couldn’t remember that the Doctor already had. He laughed it off. It wasn’t her fault; she didn’t know what she’d lost.

Outside the TARDIS, the Doctor lingered with Jamie. “You can find your way back to your TARDIS?” he asked the boy.

“I’ll be fide – don’t worry,” Jamie replied. He bit the side of his lower lip. “You’re the Doctor frob the future, aye?”

“From your perspective, you could say that,” the Doctor told him.

“So…” Jamie’s eyes dropped momentarily to his mud-caked boots. “So, where ab I?”

The Doctor’s face broke into a soft smile. “Jamie, what we saw today? Zoe and me against the Yeshovi? That was over 400 years ago for me. Where do you think you are?”

“Oh,” Jamie said. He smiled too, sheepishly. “I see what you bead… Ehhh-SHOOOOO!” He coughed a little and rubbed his nose.

“Now, you take care of that cold,” the Doctor instructed. He was feeling especially paternal just now. “Lots of rest – lots of tea. All right?”

“Wait a biddit,” Jamie said. “I still dod’t…” He looked at the Doctor with a thoughtful frown. “If you dew be four hudred years ago, thed how could you recogdize be whed you saw be? Eh… heh-Ihhh-SHHHHHH!” He caught a sneeze on the side of his hand. “I bead,” he went on, sniffling, “how could you still rebebber be?”

“Oh, Jamie,” the Doctor replied, his voice brimming with fondness as he placed his hands on Jamie’s shoulders, “how could I ever forget?”

Thanks for reading, everyone, and thanks for all the lovely comments!

[matilda3948]

What a lovely ending to such an amazing story

Thank you so much for sharing it!!

[count tiszula]

Yes, a ferrific resolution to a lovely, perfectly worked out story. So glad to know sneezy Zoe may reappear. [Well, I'm sure she will do so to join Rose and Romana if I ever write a second drabble sequel]. Funny how many companions have really top dilated nostrils.

Troughton was supposed to be a young Doctor [in his forties at the time] hence all that hippy recorder-playing. Even Hartnell was only in his fifties, though supposed to be much older, hence the essentially Victorian garb. Just a quite interesting facr, like that Troughton's grandson played Dudley Dursley......

[angora48]

Thanks! I was worried that the story was maybe a bit overly plotty in places (too much story to distract from the sneezing! ,) but it's great to hear people liked it!

count de tisza, I just recently learned about how old the first three Doctors actually were, and it bowled me over! Especially Hartnell - even though he was only 55, his Doctor seemed so much older. Really, while it's true that the actors are getting younger, it's more that the portrayals themselves are getting younger. And I had heard that before about Dudley Dursley - fun! I'm always a fan of interesting Who facts.

As for a fic where Zoe gets in on the sneezy action, I'm tossing around an idea; it's just a matter of figuring out a decent alien plot (the hardest part of any Whofic for me.)

Thanks again for reading, everyone!

[ichixshiro14]

This is all so great and in-character! I felt like I was in an actual episode! Your writing is so impressive!! Thanks for sharing, and I hope to see more sometime!!

Edited November 8, 2012 by ichixshiro14