Doctor Who fic: Home (7/8)
Title: Home (7/8)
Rating: PG
Characters: Ten, Martha, Ian, Barbara
Timeline: Set during "Blink"
Summary: Stranded in 1969, the Doctor turns to some old friends so he and Martha can return home.
Disclaimer: Nope, these characters still ain't mine.
A/N: Posting this in honour of Doctor Who's 46th anniversary. A shout-out to my beta agapi42. Thank you so much for all your help!
Chapter One. Chapter Two. Chapter Three. Chapter Four. Chapter Five. Chapter Six.
The alleyway remained quiet even in the middle of the day. The Doctor leaned against the wall where he had first met Billy and waited for the young man to appear. Martha would also be arriving shortly, using her lunchtime to say her thanks and bid Billy goodbye.
Whether or not the young man completely understood the situation was still unclear, but he was ready to accept the tasks before him: ensure the Doctor’s recording made it on to the seventeen DVDs then deliver a message to Sally Sparrow in 2007. A part of him almost wanted to stay around to see that Billy settled into life in 1969, but he didn’t want to put more pressure on him. With thirty-eight years to plan, the Doctor was sure Billy would succeed.
Martha was the first to arrive, the clacking of her heeled shoes on the pavement giving away her approach. She seemed more at ease now that they were so close to retrieving the TARDIS. Her job at the shop was no longer a necessity for their survival in this time period, allowing her some luxuries like taking time to say farewell to Billy. The Doctor was glad for the change. Grouchy Martha hadn’t been much fun to be around and he’d felt guilty over the fact that she had been required, once again, to support him. He couldn’t imagine which was worse: being a maid in 1913 or working in a shop in 1969.
“No sign of Billy yet?” Martha leaned against the railing in front of the Doctor, taking some of the weight off her feet.
They had left Billy with Ian and Barbara, who had gladly agreed to put him up for the night, and, as far as the Doctor knew, Billy had left their house this morning to reacquaint himself with the city he had known so well. The now former DI knew where to meet them. The Doctor had made no demands for him to be punctual. “I’m sure he’s on his way.”
The sound of footsteps, quieter this time, caused them both to look towards the mouth of the alleyway. Billy Shipton, still dressed in his contemporary clothes, approached with his hands in his jacket pockets. Subdued as he looked, he walked like a man with a purpose.
“How’s 1969 treating you, Billy Shipton?”
“It still doesn’t feel real.” Billy looked around the alley like he expected it to disappear at any moment.
“You’ll get used to it,” Martha assured him.
The Doctor handed Billy a canister, containing the roll of film with his message, and a folded piece of paper. “I’ll leave it up to you to decide how to get the message onto the DVDs. And the code at the bottom of the paper?” Billy opened the note and glanced to the bottom. “Make sure it gets encoded onto the discs.”
“What is it?”
“A little something for Sally and Larry.” Billy put the note away in his pocket. “When you meet Sally again, she’ll have the list of the seventeen DVDs. Just tell her to look at the list.”
“How can you know that?” asked Billy. “Sally’s forty years in the future. You can’t know what she’s doing this very second.”
“I can’t tell you,” said the Doctor, and it was the truth. He didn’t need to confuse Billy even more.
“Are you saying I won’t understand?” Staring at Billy, the Doctor could see how he had worked up the ranks to become a DI. The young man pursued his goals with unwavering determination.
The Doctor didn’t hesitate in giving a response. If he withheld the truth, Billy would just continue to ask until he got his answers. Martha shifted uncomfortably, knowing what he was going to say. She had read through Sally’s notes as many times as he had. “I’m saying Sally Sparrow will understand it all one day but you won’t get a chance to.”
Some of Billy’s anger drained from his face. He let the Doctor continue, recognizing the gravity of his words.
“You’ll see Sally Sparrow again, Billy, on the night you die, the same night you two meet. You pass away when the rain stops.” He sounded like a prophet, but that wasn’t the case at all. He was just relaying words already spoken. Time felt more like a loop some days.
For a man who had just learned the exact date of his death, Billy Shipton hardly reacted. He blinked at the Doctor, but he didn’t shout or sway on his feet. Maybe the words had been comforting, rather than shocking. After a moment, Billy nodded his head. “But I can’t see Sally before then?”
“I wouldn’t recommend it. It’d probably tear a hole in the fabric of space and time and destroy two thirds of the universe. Good luck.” The Doctor held out his hand and after a second’s hesitation from Billy, they exchanged a firm handshake.
Martha gave him a quick hug, her gesture more supportive. “And thank you.”
Billy managed a smile before he took off down the alleyway. “Life is long and the solar system needs saving,” he called over his shoulder as he disappeared into 1969.
Barbara didn’t notice him at first. When he thought about it, she was probably still used to looking for a shock of white hair and a pair of checkered trousers, not a tall man in brown. It was only when she had finished her conversation with an older gentleman and he had walked off that she spotted the Doctor standing under the shade of a nearby tree. She smiled at him, surprised that he was there but still glad to see him nonetheless.
“You never mentioned you went back to school,” he said to her as she crossed the pathway separating them.
“It must have slipped my mind completely,” Barbara said apologetically.
“Who could blame you, in all the excitement?” He tried to rein in his grin as they took off down the pathway that wound its way through the university campus. Anyone walking by could have mistaken them for professors, not a student and a time traveller.
“Well, here we are now. Did you and Martha see Billy off?”
“That we did. He’ll be all right,” added the Doctor, guessing Barbara’s next question. She took his word for it and they walked on in silence for a few steps. “So what made you decide to obtain another degree?”
“Who have you been talking to?” Barbara joked, not at all surprised the Doctor was aware of her studies. He kept to himself that he had simply called Ian and asked where she was. She contemplated his question for a moment before answering. “We walked through history. When Ian and I returned, I wanted to do more with those experiences.”
As visiting far off worlds in the future had been a treat for the scientist in Ian, visiting Earth’s past had been a veritable playground for the historian in Barbara. The Doctor was flattered to think that his blunders into the past had inspired Barbara to return to the classroom as a student, for there was always more to learn.
“Let me guess. Your focus is on the Aztecs.”
She began to ask him how he knew but then she caught him glancing at the spines of the books she carried. His antics got a laugh out of her. “I’ll be certain not to mention a particular event where four people were mistaken for a god and her servants.”
They shared a chuckle, but the Doctor wasn’t as mirthful. Unintentionally, he was reminded of another topic. The departure of his good mood was interpreted by Barbara to mean something else.
“The TARDIS didn’t arrive, did it? Are you here to say goodbye?”
“A last minute goodbye? Nah, I could never do that to you and Ian. I just…” The Doctor faltered, unable to articulate his mood. He had set off the last element in a chain of events spanning forty years. It was an elegant solution to a complex problem, something his people used to revel in. And yet, it all felt wrong in a way. He had sought out Barbara because he needed to see a familiar face.
Barbara placed a gentle hand on the Doctor’s arm, bringing their stroll to a stop. “What, Doctor?” she asked, encouraging him to continue. “You’re on your way home. Isn’t that a good thing?”
The Doctor realized then that he had been lying to himself. He had sought out Barbara specifically, not because she would be the only one free at this time of day, but because she always said the right thing. “I changed their lives, Barbara.”
“You did, like you changed mine and Ian’s. People wander in and out of your life and you influence all of them. I think the universe would be much worse off if you ever decided to stop travelling.”
That familiar compulsion to make a joke and shrug off the comment loomed, but the Doctor had enough sense left in him to ignore it. He had come for support and Barbara had provided. He could decide for himself later if he believed in her conviction.
Rating: PG
Characters: Ten, Martha, Ian, Barbara
Timeline: Set during "Blink"
Summary: Stranded in 1969, the Doctor turns to some old friends so he and Martha can return home.
Disclaimer: Nope, these characters still ain't mine.
A/N: Posting this in honour of Doctor Who's 46th anniversary. A shout-out to my beta agapi42. Thank you so much for all your help!
Chapter One. Chapter Two. Chapter Three. Chapter Four. Chapter Five. Chapter Six.
The alleyway remained quiet even in the middle of the day. The Doctor leaned against the wall where he had first met Billy and waited for the young man to appear. Martha would also be arriving shortly, using her lunchtime to say her thanks and bid Billy goodbye.
Whether or not the young man completely understood the situation was still unclear, but he was ready to accept the tasks before him: ensure the Doctor’s recording made it on to the seventeen DVDs then deliver a message to Sally Sparrow in 2007. A part of him almost wanted to stay around to see that Billy settled into life in 1969, but he didn’t want to put more pressure on him. With thirty-eight years to plan, the Doctor was sure Billy would succeed.
Martha was the first to arrive, the clacking of her heeled shoes on the pavement giving away her approach. She seemed more at ease now that they were so close to retrieving the TARDIS. Her job at the shop was no longer a necessity for their survival in this time period, allowing her some luxuries like taking time to say farewell to Billy. The Doctor was glad for the change. Grouchy Martha hadn’t been much fun to be around and he’d felt guilty over the fact that she had been required, once again, to support him. He couldn’t imagine which was worse: being a maid in 1913 or working in a shop in 1969.
“No sign of Billy yet?” Martha leaned against the railing in front of the Doctor, taking some of the weight off her feet.
They had left Billy with Ian and Barbara, who had gladly agreed to put him up for the night, and, as far as the Doctor knew, Billy had left their house this morning to reacquaint himself with the city he had known so well. The now former DI knew where to meet them. The Doctor had made no demands for him to be punctual. “I’m sure he’s on his way.”
The sound of footsteps, quieter this time, caused them both to look towards the mouth of the alleyway. Billy Shipton, still dressed in his contemporary clothes, approached with his hands in his jacket pockets. Subdued as he looked, he walked like a man with a purpose.
“How’s 1969 treating you, Billy Shipton?”
“It still doesn’t feel real.” Billy looked around the alley like he expected it to disappear at any moment.
“You’ll get used to it,” Martha assured him.
The Doctor handed Billy a canister, containing the roll of film with his message, and a folded piece of paper. “I’ll leave it up to you to decide how to get the message onto the DVDs. And the code at the bottom of the paper?” Billy opened the note and glanced to the bottom. “Make sure it gets encoded onto the discs.”
“What is it?”
“A little something for Sally and Larry.” Billy put the note away in his pocket. “When you meet Sally again, she’ll have the list of the seventeen DVDs. Just tell her to look at the list.”
“How can you know that?” asked Billy. “Sally’s forty years in the future. You can’t know what she’s doing this very second.”
“I can’t tell you,” said the Doctor, and it was the truth. He didn’t need to confuse Billy even more.
“Are you saying I won’t understand?” Staring at Billy, the Doctor could see how he had worked up the ranks to become a DI. The young man pursued his goals with unwavering determination.
The Doctor didn’t hesitate in giving a response. If he withheld the truth, Billy would just continue to ask until he got his answers. Martha shifted uncomfortably, knowing what he was going to say. She had read through Sally’s notes as many times as he had. “I’m saying Sally Sparrow will understand it all one day but you won’t get a chance to.”
Some of Billy’s anger drained from his face. He let the Doctor continue, recognizing the gravity of his words.
“You’ll see Sally Sparrow again, Billy, on the night you die, the same night you two meet. You pass away when the rain stops.” He sounded like a prophet, but that wasn’t the case at all. He was just relaying words already spoken. Time felt more like a loop some days.
For a man who had just learned the exact date of his death, Billy Shipton hardly reacted. He blinked at the Doctor, but he didn’t shout or sway on his feet. Maybe the words had been comforting, rather than shocking. After a moment, Billy nodded his head. “But I can’t see Sally before then?”
“I wouldn’t recommend it. It’d probably tear a hole in the fabric of space and time and destroy two thirds of the universe. Good luck.” The Doctor held out his hand and after a second’s hesitation from Billy, they exchanged a firm handshake.
Martha gave him a quick hug, her gesture more supportive. “And thank you.”
Billy managed a smile before he took off down the alleyway. “Life is long and the solar system needs saving,” he called over his shoulder as he disappeared into 1969.
Barbara didn’t notice him at first. When he thought about it, she was probably still used to looking for a shock of white hair and a pair of checkered trousers, not a tall man in brown. It was only when she had finished her conversation with an older gentleman and he had walked off that she spotted the Doctor standing under the shade of a nearby tree. She smiled at him, surprised that he was there but still glad to see him nonetheless.
“You never mentioned you went back to school,” he said to her as she crossed the pathway separating them.
“It must have slipped my mind completely,” Barbara said apologetically.
“Who could blame you, in all the excitement?” He tried to rein in his grin as they took off down the pathway that wound its way through the university campus. Anyone walking by could have mistaken them for professors, not a student and a time traveller.
“Well, here we are now. Did you and Martha see Billy off?”
“That we did. He’ll be all right,” added the Doctor, guessing Barbara’s next question. She took his word for it and they walked on in silence for a few steps. “So what made you decide to obtain another degree?”
“Who have you been talking to?” Barbara joked, not at all surprised the Doctor was aware of her studies. He kept to himself that he had simply called Ian and asked where she was. She contemplated his question for a moment before answering. “We walked through history. When Ian and I returned, I wanted to do more with those experiences.”
As visiting far off worlds in the future had been a treat for the scientist in Ian, visiting Earth’s past had been a veritable playground for the historian in Barbara. The Doctor was flattered to think that his blunders into the past had inspired Barbara to return to the classroom as a student, for there was always more to learn.
“Let me guess. Your focus is on the Aztecs.”
She began to ask him how he knew but then she caught him glancing at the spines of the books she carried. His antics got a laugh out of her. “I’ll be certain not to mention a particular event where four people were mistaken for a god and her servants.”
They shared a chuckle, but the Doctor wasn’t as mirthful. Unintentionally, he was reminded of another topic. The departure of his good mood was interpreted by Barbara to mean something else.
“The TARDIS didn’t arrive, did it? Are you here to say goodbye?”
“A last minute goodbye? Nah, I could never do that to you and Ian. I just…” The Doctor faltered, unable to articulate his mood. He had set off the last element in a chain of events spanning forty years. It was an elegant solution to a complex problem, something his people used to revel in. And yet, it all felt wrong in a way. He had sought out Barbara because he needed to see a familiar face.
Barbara placed a gentle hand on the Doctor’s arm, bringing their stroll to a stop. “What, Doctor?” she asked, encouraging him to continue. “You’re on your way home. Isn’t that a good thing?”
The Doctor realized then that he had been lying to himself. He had sought out Barbara specifically, not because she would be the only one free at this time of day, but because she always said the right thing. “I changed their lives, Barbara.”
“You did, like you changed mine and Ian’s. People wander in and out of your life and you influence all of them. I think the universe would be much worse off if you ever decided to stop travelling.”
That familiar compulsion to make a joke and shrug off the comment loomed, but the Doctor had enough sense left in him to ignore it. He had come for support and Barbara had provided. He could decide for himself later if he believed in her conviction.