TARDIS Spring Cleaning (after Darksoul possession/Jamie-talk)
Several days after being possessed and the Doctor’s convinced he needs to do some spring cleaning. Or at least some kind of cleaning. Probably should have done it awhile ago, come to think of it, but things kept coming up. Things do that, so he doesn’t blame them. So, spring cleaning. Needs doing, established that, good as a distraction except….
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Unless Lash was installing lasers, but she was in a military. If anyone knew better, it was her.
Over the course of his derailed trip with the odd man he'd briefly seen on the observation deck, he learned that this was in fact the Doctor again, though he lacked the prior memories. Always curious about the people in Jamie's life, Billy followed readily.
"I think I have the hours to spare. Kaylee and Jamie were ready to throw me out of the lab if I'd stayed too much longer."
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"Probably not much for labs, are they? No, Engineering seemed to be more...well, Kaylee and Jamie -- " the Doctor paused for a second too long and then instead said, "I'm sure he could learn. So, here we are: you'll need this. Hold out your hand, there you go, don't go losing it."
The Doctor reached into his pocket and pulled out a ball of twine. It looked perfectly ordinary from shape to color and texture. He plopped it in Billy's hand, gave the ball of twine a fond pat, and then opened the doors of the TARDIS for his new companion. The Doctor brushed past Billy to enter first, turning on the spot and stopping to pick at a bit of scorched paneling on the TARDIS's interior. Didn't seem to want to come off. Poor girl. No, if she was cross with him, she had a very good reason. Despite trying to pick at the scorch mark, he might be also glancing sidelong at Billy, watching him enter the time machine.
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It's definitely a warmer color scheme than he remembered seeing when he first met Jamie inside a simulated version of the control room. Bright orange everywhere, glows here and there, more switches than he remembered seeing back then. So much more complex, just like Jamie had warned him.
"It's quite the upgrade," Billy commented, taking it all in. That was around the point when he noticed the damage. He wasn't quite sure what to think---the fight had been in here? With such a small space, it was a wonder Jamie and the Doctor had gotten out relatively unscathed.
"Do you want another set of hands for that?" he asks about the scorch-picking.
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The Doctor pulled his hand away from the scorch mark, shaking his head. "No, no, I'll see to it later. So, that ball of twine," the Doctor pointed at it, "It's quite easy, what I need you to do. All you have to do is follow me and help me map out the TARDIS. Got a bit scrambled since the last time, I'm afraid. We'll keep at it until the twine runs out."
Normally he would have sent Amy or Rory on their own to cover more ground, but they were still unaccounted for. And despite how much he might like humans, even with all their faults, the Doctor wasn't too keen on having humans wandering around unsupervised in the TARDIS. Not after the Darksoul. especially not when she was in a mood. Even if he knew Billy was probably trustworthy: or at least Kaylee and Jamie seemed to think so and he was inclined to believe them. The Doctor nodded toward one of the doors leading away from the console room.
"Shall we?"
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Billy nodded, following with the twine in hand whenever the Doctor opened the door. "Are you committing the layout to memory or do we need it recorded? I installed some mapping software on the omnicoms, but it's programmed for static layouts."
Most buildings Billy encountered didn't shift around. But then again, most of them weren't as magnificent as the TARDIS. The admiration was evidenced by his eyes lingering on the objects and walls.
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The door they took carried them down a long corridor, twisting and turning. The Doctor had the lead, using his sonic screwdriver as a torch when some of the lights flickered out about a quarter mile in. Probably one of the moved sections. Everything needed to be rerouted, if he could get the time to fix the lighting. The Doctor thought that the TARDIS looked rather sad right now. Well, cross and sad. The Doctor cleared his throat, not comfortable with the silence and glad that Billy seemed to be armed with his own questions. This was exactly why he needed someone in here with him. Not need exactly. Preferred ( ... )
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He nodded, expecting that much. Jamie had said that the Doctor's memory was impressive.
And look, there was an opportunity to talk about him! Billy smiled fondly. "I've been aboard longer than he has, but we didn't meet right away. He seemed to be adjusting as well as any other new crew member, though."
Just then, Billy thought he should probably get to the part where they did meet. "I found him in a simulation of the TARDIS as it appeared when he was traveling with you. That was right after we first learned that our worlds had been destroyed---before then, we thought we'd been abducted and that gaining access to the bridge would give us a way to return home. Most of us were feeling miserable then, so we appreciated the company ( ... )
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"So their method is to swarm the world, wipe out all the population? How can they actually destroy the planet itself?" The Doctor ushered Billy up the ramp, switching his sonic to his other hand. This was something he'd need to know. And maybe this was something he should try to fix, to blatantly interfere. The sheer scale of it alone was something he was sure the Time Lords of old would have had to at least sit up a little straighter for, for all their stuffiness.
He knew the Earth was going to be destroyed sooner or later. Just the natural life cycle. Everything had an end. But these Ohm going through time, space and multiple dimensions? That was hardly part of the natural cycle. He really did need to get the TARDIS up and running again ( ... )
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That hadn't been fun. He trudged up the ramp, carefully trailing the twine up it and onto the catwalk. A rather stomach-churningly creaky catwalk. It was at times like these that Billy wished he carried a portable grappling hook. Instead, he traced a hand over the morpher on his belt and gripped it for reassurance.
"Are you sure that this is safe?"
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And with that said, the Doctor did exactly that. Thankfully he didn't do it literally: instead of running, he carefully walked across, hands on the railing, the sonic screwdriver clenched in his teeth. The Doctor made it to the other side, and, satisfied with the integrity of the catwalk, motioned Billy to join him on the other side. It didn't appear to occur to the Doctor that maybe, just maybe, Billy might not be a fan of heights.
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Billy had a look at the connections, mentally calculated his chances, and positioned his morpher on the hand not trailing twine. If he happened to fall, morphing would cushion the blow.
Once he was set, twine and shiny silver device in tow, he nodded and started across carefully. With all luck on his side, he'd live to tell the tale of how ridiculous he looked right then. "It's been good to me so far."
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The Doctor turned, leading the way once more. Another corridor, this one suddenly lit. He thumbed off the sonic. This particular corridor did look interesting, the Doctor leading Billy through a dizzying series of turns until they stumbled upon the sprawling wardrobe. The Doctor made a mental note of where it was, herding Billy inside ( ... )
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