Five Times the Doctor Got it Wrong, and One Time He Didn't
Title: Five Times the Doctor Got it Wrong, and One Time He Didn't
Characters: Six, Evelyn
Rating: G
Word Count: 1,951
Beta: vandonovan. The awesome stuff was his idea. ;)
A/N: Written for finmagik who asked for "Evelyn and Six try to enjoy a walk in the park."
“I just want something normal. I want something real!” Evelyn wasn't having any luck persuading the Doctor. He stared at her, complete confusion etched on his face. It was clear that he wasn't understanding her at all. “Doctor. I want ... to go home.”
The Doctor's face went from incomprehension to crestfallen.
“I want to walk in a park.”
“You want a holiday!”
Evelyn sighed. “Not just any holiday, Doctor. Every time you say we're going to have a nice holiday, we always end up saving some planet out on the fringes of space. I want to go home and have a nice relaxing day walking in the park. I want to sit under my own sun and feel the warmth on my face. I want to hear familiar birds calling from the trees. I want to see plants that I recognize and people that won't look at me funny because my skin is not green, or because I walk on two legs. I want to go home.” Evelyn emphasized the last sentence, hoping that the Doctor finally understood what she was asking for.
The Doctor sighed. “Why do all my companions always want to take a holiday?”
Evelyn knew the question was a rhetorical one, but she answered it anyway. “Doctor, your companions are Human, they can't go at the pace you set without needing a break.”
“Not all my friends have been Human,” the Doctor said.
“Nevertheless, we sometimes need a break from saving worlds. And I want to go home and walk in the park.”
The Doctor, who had been standing with his hands in his trouser pockets this whole time, suddenly straightened up with a nod and began setting coordinates.
Evelyn was pleased with herself. She just hoped the Doctor got them there without too much trouble.
Within just five minutes, the TARDIS materialized and the Doctor double-checked their location with a dramatic flourish. “Even though I do say so myself, right location on the first attempt. Impressed?”
“When I see it for myself.” Evelyn had been travelling with the Doctor long enough to know not to get her hopes up that easily.
The Doctor huffed at her, opened the door and stepped outside.
“Well?” Evelyn shouted after him. The freezing wind that blew through the open door told her that the Doctor had definitely got it wrong. What a surprise.
The Doctor hurried back into the TARDIS, snow on his shoulders, his nose rosy.
“Off by six months.”
“Really?” Evelyn's voice was dripping with sarcasm.
The Doctor ignored Evelyn's scorn, brushed snow from his curls, and marched to the console. “Six months forward. Or back.” He pressed a few buttons and the time rotor lurched into life. After just a few seconds, it settled again. “There!” He swept past Evelyn to the opening doors and stepped outside.
Evelyn stayed in the TARDIS, awaiting a verdict.
“Evelyn!”
“Yes?”
“You're the one who wanted to walk in a park!”
Evelyn took a few tentative steps outside and was amazed to find green grass beneath her feet, and a blue sky above her head. “I'm impressed.”
“Thank you.” The Doctor looked as if he hadn't made the timing mistake at all.
Walking past him, Evelyn could smell the roses and bougainvillea that were in full bloom. The TARDIS had materialized in a wooded alcove in a corner of the park. With a happy smile, Evelyn began to walk along the neatly graveled path. There were topiaries of various animals, all of which Evelyn recognized as native to Earth. To her surprise, it seemed that the Doctor really was gaining better control over the TARDIS.
The Doctor walked past her, gesturing to the trees. “See? Oak!” He walked on, the evidence of oak trees enough to satisfy him.
Having stopped to actually look at the tree the Doctor had gestured to, Evelyn looked up the path after him and shrugged. Apparently the existence of oak trees meant something important. After five minutes, Evelyn was beginning to relax. It was warm, sunny, and the air was fresh and familiar. As much as she had travelled, she never could get used to the fact that other planets smelled different.
“Hey!”
Evelyn turned to the voice that had yelled. “Doctor?”
He turned back to face Evelyn. “Yes?”
“What?”
“What?”
“What!”
“Hey! You!”
The Doctor and Evelyn tried to find the origin of the voice. They stepped around a tree and saw a man leaning out of a second story window. The house backed up to the park, and Evelyn suddenly had a very bad feeling.
“Can we help you?” asked the Doctor.
“Yeah! You can get the hell off my property!”
“There's no call for that kind of language, my good man!” the Doctor shouted back.
“I can use whatever fucking language I want! That's my garden you're standing in!”
“Really!” The Doctor huffed to himself, clearly unsure how to handle the owner of the garden they were trespassing in.
“Doctor, you've done it again,” Evelyn sighed. She crossed her arms and stared accusingly at her companion.
“Get off my property!” The man in the window was slowly turning purple. Apparently two innocent trespassers were not on this man's good list.
“All right, we're going!” The Doctor shouted back. He turned to Evelyn and gestured back down the path toward the TARDIS.
Evelyn looked up at the house and saw that the man had left the window. “Not very hospitable, is he?”
“I would say not.” They began to make their way back to the TARDIS when they heard the unmistakable sound of a weapon being cocked.
“I said, get off my property!”
The first shot from the rifle whizzed past the Doctor's ear. “Definitely not hospitable!” Grabbing Evelyn's hand, the pair of friends broke into a run.
The man in the window kept firing, and Evelyn and the Doctor were soon dodging bullets as they ran back to the safety of the TARDIS.
“For someone so creative and careful with his gardening,” Evelyn puffed, “he obviously doesn't care about shooting off branches from his trees!” As if on cue, a bullet hit the tree just beyond Evelyn and embedded itself into the trunk.
“Less talking! Run!” The Doctor picked up his speed and Evelyn was trying to keep up. Around the corner, they skidded to a stop. The Doctor dug around in his pocket for the key, while Evelyn cowered on the side of the TARDIS, away from the gardener gunman.
“Doctor!”
“I'm working on it!”
“Work faster!”
The Doctor disappeared into the TARDIS, reached around the corner and dragged Evelyn into the console room.
“That was not at all relaxing!” Evelyn crossed her arms and stood tapping her foot on the floor, scowling.
“How was I to know it was private property?”
“Any chance the TARDIS could have told you!”
The Doctor waved away her objections and turned back to the console. “I'll just have to try again.”
Evelyn sighed heavily. “I'm going to make myself something hot to drink while I wait for you to get this straightened out.” She left the Doctor to his work, and she suspected that he didn't even notice she had left
Making her way to the kitchen, Evelyn found what she was looking for without any problem, which didn't always happen in the TARDIS. Perhaps the TARDIS felt bad about the Doctor's inability to get Evelyn to where she wanted to go.
After making a cup of cocoa that was wonderfully sweet and smooth, Evelyn felt her tension begin to evaporate. Oh, there was still a bud of anger at the Doctor, but she also knew that his control over the TARDIS wasn't exactly pinpoint accurate. Evelyn put her head back and looked at the ceiling. “Could you at least get me where I want to go?” Although she wasn't totally convinced of the sentience of the TARDIS, she had noticed that they were more likely to get where they wanted to go when the Doctor pampered the console.
After rinsing out her empty cup, Evelyn made her way back to the console room. She was feeling sufficiently relaxed to deal with the Doctor again.
Upon opening the door to the console room, Evelyn saw a look of pure horror on the Doctor's face. He was staring at the viewer, his mouth slightly agape.
“What is it?” Evelyn came into the room and faced the screen.
“Nothing!” The Doctor leaped on the console, turning the knob for the viewer.
The screen lowered before Evelyn could even see the horrors outside.
The TARDIS dematerialized and they were on their way again.
“So.”
“Hmm?” The Doctor didn't look up.
“Where were we?”
The Doctor looked up at her. “It wasn't a park.”
“No kidding,” Evelyn muttered. She stood away from the console, allowing the Doctor room to work. She didn't want to get in his way. They weren't having any luck so far, and she knew that she could easily make things worse just by being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
After a few minutes, the time rotor again settled into place, signaling their arrival. The Doctor activated the viewer again, and they found themselves looking at a large body of water.
“Doctor?” Evelyn asked. “Care to explain?”
He checked the console and then focused the viewer on the boat slowly rocking against the pier.
“Recognize it?”
“Should I?” Evelyn wasn't in the mood to play games.
“Evelyn.” The Doctor pointed at the screen.
Turning to look, Evelyn saw the boat and immediately recognized it. She closed her eyes and sighed heavily. That was something she was learning to do quite well. “Yes, Doctor, I do. But it's not a park, is it?”
“You would rather take a walk in a park than go meet Chris?”
“Yes. I would. I want a holiday. Besides, every time we meet anyone I've studied about, it never turns out good. I would rather leave Mr. Columbus as he is. Things will move forward just like they were supposed to without our interfering.”
Shrugging, the Doctor turned back to the console and set the coordinates again. Five minutes later they had arrived somewhere new. The Doctor checked the co-ordinates, his face exploded in glee and he ran out the door.
“Doctor!” Evelyn went to the viewer control and gave it an angry twist. The screen slid open to reveal a fair. Vendors were selling food, fabric, pottery and there were even a few with games for the kids. Evelyn didn't recognize any of the races that she saw, apart from the Time Lord in the garish coat. He was bouncing from booth to booth, apparently looking for something very specific. Evelyn leaned against the console to watch. The Doctor must have found what he was looking for, because he suddenly stopped at a vendor two-thirds down the street. After a few minutes, the Doctor bounded back into the TARDIS, an ice cream cone in his hand. It looked like chocolate.
“Ice cream?”
“Did you want one?”
“No.”
“I think I saw some candy floss.”
“No.”
“How can you enjoy a relaxing day in the park without something sweet to eat?”
“Doctor. I'm losing patience.”
The Doctor dropped the rest of his ice cream cone in his pocket and set the coordinates again.
Two hours later, Evelyn sighed contently as she sat on a bench under an oak tree, watching a few kids kick around a football. A chocolate ice cream cone appeared in her field of vision. Pleased, she took it, and gave it an appreciative lick.
She paused. “This isn't the one from your pocket, is it?”
Joining her on the bench, Doctor broke into laughter.
Characters: Six, Evelyn
Rating: G
Word Count: 1,951
Beta: vandonovan. The awesome stuff was his idea. ;)
A/N: Written for finmagik who asked for "Evelyn and Six try to enjoy a walk in the park."
“I just want something normal. I want something real!” Evelyn wasn't having any luck persuading the Doctor. He stared at her, complete confusion etched on his face. It was clear that he wasn't understanding her at all. “Doctor. I want ... to go home.”
The Doctor's face went from incomprehension to crestfallen.
“I want to walk in a park.”
“You want a holiday!”
Evelyn sighed. “Not just any holiday, Doctor. Every time you say we're going to have a nice holiday, we always end up saving some planet out on the fringes of space. I want to go home and have a nice relaxing day walking in the park. I want to sit under my own sun and feel the warmth on my face. I want to hear familiar birds calling from the trees. I want to see plants that I recognize and people that won't look at me funny because my skin is not green, or because I walk on two legs. I want to go home.” Evelyn emphasized the last sentence, hoping that the Doctor finally understood what she was asking for.
The Doctor sighed. “Why do all my companions always want to take a holiday?”
Evelyn knew the question was a rhetorical one, but she answered it anyway. “Doctor, your companions are Human, they can't go at the pace you set without needing a break.”
“Not all my friends have been Human,” the Doctor said.
“Nevertheless, we sometimes need a break from saving worlds. And I want to go home and walk in the park.”
The Doctor, who had been standing with his hands in his trouser pockets this whole time, suddenly straightened up with a nod and began setting coordinates.
Evelyn was pleased with herself. She just hoped the Doctor got them there without too much trouble.
Within just five minutes, the TARDIS materialized and the Doctor double-checked their location with a dramatic flourish. “Even though I do say so myself, right location on the first attempt. Impressed?”
“When I see it for myself.” Evelyn had been travelling with the Doctor long enough to know not to get her hopes up that easily.
The Doctor huffed at her, opened the door and stepped outside.
“Well?” Evelyn shouted after him. The freezing wind that blew through the open door told her that the Doctor had definitely got it wrong. What a surprise.
The Doctor hurried back into the TARDIS, snow on his shoulders, his nose rosy.
“Off by six months.”
“Really?” Evelyn's voice was dripping with sarcasm.
The Doctor ignored Evelyn's scorn, brushed snow from his curls, and marched to the console. “Six months forward. Or back.” He pressed a few buttons and the time rotor lurched into life. After just a few seconds, it settled again. “There!” He swept past Evelyn to the opening doors and stepped outside.
Evelyn stayed in the TARDIS, awaiting a verdict.
“Evelyn!”
“Yes?”
“You're the one who wanted to walk in a park!”
Evelyn took a few tentative steps outside and was amazed to find green grass beneath her feet, and a blue sky above her head. “I'm impressed.”
“Thank you.” The Doctor looked as if he hadn't made the timing mistake at all.
Walking past him, Evelyn could smell the roses and bougainvillea that were in full bloom. The TARDIS had materialized in a wooded alcove in a corner of the park. With a happy smile, Evelyn began to walk along the neatly graveled path. There were topiaries of various animals, all of which Evelyn recognized as native to Earth. To her surprise, it seemed that the Doctor really was gaining better control over the TARDIS.
The Doctor walked past her, gesturing to the trees. “See? Oak!” He walked on, the evidence of oak trees enough to satisfy him.
Having stopped to actually look at the tree the Doctor had gestured to, Evelyn looked up the path after him and shrugged. Apparently the existence of oak trees meant something important. After five minutes, Evelyn was beginning to relax. It was warm, sunny, and the air was fresh and familiar. As much as she had travelled, she never could get used to the fact that other planets smelled different.
“Hey!”
Evelyn turned to the voice that had yelled. “Doctor?”
He turned back to face Evelyn. “Yes?”
“What?”
“What?”
“What!”
“Hey! You!”
The Doctor and Evelyn tried to find the origin of the voice. They stepped around a tree and saw a man leaning out of a second story window. The house backed up to the park, and Evelyn suddenly had a very bad feeling.
“Can we help you?” asked the Doctor.
“Yeah! You can get the hell off my property!”
“There's no call for that kind of language, my good man!” the Doctor shouted back.
“I can use whatever fucking language I want! That's my garden you're standing in!”
“Really!” The Doctor huffed to himself, clearly unsure how to handle the owner of the garden they were trespassing in.
“Doctor, you've done it again,” Evelyn sighed. She crossed her arms and stared accusingly at her companion.
“Get off my property!” The man in the window was slowly turning purple. Apparently two innocent trespassers were not on this man's good list.
“All right, we're going!” The Doctor shouted back. He turned to Evelyn and gestured back down the path toward the TARDIS.
Evelyn looked up at the house and saw that the man had left the window. “Not very hospitable, is he?”
“I would say not.” They began to make their way back to the TARDIS when they heard the unmistakable sound of a weapon being cocked.
“I said, get off my property!”
The first shot from the rifle whizzed past the Doctor's ear. “Definitely not hospitable!” Grabbing Evelyn's hand, the pair of friends broke into a run.
The man in the window kept firing, and Evelyn and the Doctor were soon dodging bullets as they ran back to the safety of the TARDIS.
“For someone so creative and careful with his gardening,” Evelyn puffed, “he obviously doesn't care about shooting off branches from his trees!” As if on cue, a bullet hit the tree just beyond Evelyn and embedded itself into the trunk.
“Less talking! Run!” The Doctor picked up his speed and Evelyn was trying to keep up. Around the corner, they skidded to a stop. The Doctor dug around in his pocket for the key, while Evelyn cowered on the side of the TARDIS, away from the gardener gunman.
“Doctor!”
“I'm working on it!”
“Work faster!”
The Doctor disappeared into the TARDIS, reached around the corner and dragged Evelyn into the console room.
“That was not at all relaxing!” Evelyn crossed her arms and stood tapping her foot on the floor, scowling.
“How was I to know it was private property?”
“Any chance the TARDIS could have told you!”
The Doctor waved away her objections and turned back to the console. “I'll just have to try again.”
Evelyn sighed heavily. “I'm going to make myself something hot to drink while I wait for you to get this straightened out.” She left the Doctor to his work, and she suspected that he didn't even notice she had left
Making her way to the kitchen, Evelyn found what she was looking for without any problem, which didn't always happen in the TARDIS. Perhaps the TARDIS felt bad about the Doctor's inability to get Evelyn to where she wanted to go.
After making a cup of cocoa that was wonderfully sweet and smooth, Evelyn felt her tension begin to evaporate. Oh, there was still a bud of anger at the Doctor, but she also knew that his control over the TARDIS wasn't exactly pinpoint accurate. Evelyn put her head back and looked at the ceiling. “Could you at least get me where I want to go?” Although she wasn't totally convinced of the sentience of the TARDIS, she had noticed that they were more likely to get where they wanted to go when the Doctor pampered the console.
After rinsing out her empty cup, Evelyn made her way back to the console room. She was feeling sufficiently relaxed to deal with the Doctor again.
Upon opening the door to the console room, Evelyn saw a look of pure horror on the Doctor's face. He was staring at the viewer, his mouth slightly agape.
“What is it?” Evelyn came into the room and faced the screen.
“Nothing!” The Doctor leaped on the console, turning the knob for the viewer.
The screen lowered before Evelyn could even see the horrors outside.
The TARDIS dematerialized and they were on their way again.
“So.”
“Hmm?” The Doctor didn't look up.
“Where were we?”
The Doctor looked up at her. “It wasn't a park.”
“No kidding,” Evelyn muttered. She stood away from the console, allowing the Doctor room to work. She didn't want to get in his way. They weren't having any luck so far, and she knew that she could easily make things worse just by being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
After a few minutes, the time rotor again settled into place, signaling their arrival. The Doctor activated the viewer again, and they found themselves looking at a large body of water.
“Doctor?” Evelyn asked. “Care to explain?”
He checked the console and then focused the viewer on the boat slowly rocking against the pier.
“Recognize it?”
“Should I?” Evelyn wasn't in the mood to play games.
“Evelyn.” The Doctor pointed at the screen.
Turning to look, Evelyn saw the boat and immediately recognized it. She closed her eyes and sighed heavily. That was something she was learning to do quite well. “Yes, Doctor, I do. But it's not a park, is it?”
“You would rather take a walk in a park than go meet Chris?”
“Yes. I would. I want a holiday. Besides, every time we meet anyone I've studied about, it never turns out good. I would rather leave Mr. Columbus as he is. Things will move forward just like they were supposed to without our interfering.”
Shrugging, the Doctor turned back to the console and set the coordinates again. Five minutes later they had arrived somewhere new. The Doctor checked the co-ordinates, his face exploded in glee and he ran out the door.
“Doctor!” Evelyn went to the viewer control and gave it an angry twist. The screen slid open to reveal a fair. Vendors were selling food, fabric, pottery and there were even a few with games for the kids. Evelyn didn't recognize any of the races that she saw, apart from the Time Lord in the garish coat. He was bouncing from booth to booth, apparently looking for something very specific. Evelyn leaned against the console to watch. The Doctor must have found what he was looking for, because he suddenly stopped at a vendor two-thirds down the street. After a few minutes, the Doctor bounded back into the TARDIS, an ice cream cone in his hand. It looked like chocolate.
“Ice cream?”
“Did you want one?”
“No.”
“I think I saw some candy floss.”
“No.”
“How can you enjoy a relaxing day in the park without something sweet to eat?”
“Doctor. I'm losing patience.”
The Doctor dropped the rest of his ice cream cone in his pocket and set the coordinates again.
Two hours later, Evelyn sighed contently as she sat on a bench under an oak tree, watching a few kids kick around a football. A chocolate ice cream cone appeared in her field of vision. Pleased, she took it, and gave it an appreciative lick.
She paused. “This isn't the one from your pocket, is it?”
Joining her on the bench, Doctor broke into laughter.