Beach Time
Rating: G
Prompt: #063 - Summer
Claim: The Time War
Table: Here
Spoilers: None
Characters: Second Doctor, Jamie
Summary: Sometimes, it's enough for Jamie to just lie in the sun and do nothing. It's a talent the Doctor doesn't have.
Word count: 827
“There has to be something more here.”
Jamie opened an eye, then closed it again. To him, lying on the beach, in the sun, all day, was quiet enough. Every once in a while he could use a break. And so could Zoe. Or at least she would, if she was still with them. He still had to get used to the fact that she wasn’t.
Eventually he would stop seeing her in every short girl they happened to meet. Not yet, but one day. Maybe in a week. Since she wasn’t there, he had to relax alone, because the Doctor definitely wasn’t going to.
He managed fine on his own - until he felt sand rain down on him. And again. And again.
He gave up and sat up to see what was going on.
“Doctor,” he said. “Are you digging holes in the ground?”
“A silly question,” the Time Lord scolded without looking up from his work. “It is obvious that I am.”
Jamie pondered this. “Why?” he eventually asked.
“To get deeper, my dear Jamie.”
“What for?”
“I need to see if the sand deep down is the same as the sand on the surface.”
Jamie looked at the sand that was being filled into a glass. “I’d say it is.”
“Yes.” The Doctor nodded. “You would.”
Jamie could now have wondered if he’d just been insulted. He could also get up and avoid getting sunburned. “I’ll go to the hotel,” he proclaimed, knowing that the Doctor would tell him if he needed his help. He wasn’t going to offer. Jamie had been with the Time Lord long enough to know that that would have ended with him carrying glass tubes across the beach all day.
“You do that,” the Doctor said. “I’ll gather more samples.”
“Uh, yeah.” Jamie shrugged, unsure what to make of this. “Have fun.”
“Fun, Jamie, has nothing to do with it.”
“Good luck, then?”
“Hm? Perhaps. Though I’m not quite sure what to hope for.”
“Well. I’m sure you’ll find out.”
Leaving the Doctor to his hole-digging, Jamie wandered up to the hotel. Since he had never been able to enjoy a proper vacation at the beach, and since the Doctor didn’t do things halfway, they were staying in a large, expensive suite instead of sleeping in the TARDIS.
Suite 6 B was cool, elegant and filled with twilight, because the curtains were closed to keep the sun out. Jamie fell onto the bed and closed his eyes. Lying around all day was exhausting. He fell asleep after a minute and woke up after two. Or so it felt. On closer observation, he must have been asleep at least long enough for the Doctor to finish taking samples. Of sand. Which he was now examining with his sonic screwdriver.
Why for this purpose it was necessary to get the sand all over the bed was anyone’s guess.
“What’s so interesting about that?” Jamie asked, secretly convinced that there was nothing interesting at all and the Doctor was making this up so he would have something to do.
“It’s not sand.”
“It could have fooled me.”
“It’s not all sand,” the Doctor clarified. “Some of it is dust.”
“Impressive,” Jamie said, because obviously it was. For whatever reason.
“Dalek dust,” the Doctor explained. “It shouldn’t be here, least in these quantities. It’s all over the place, and no less present a metre below the surface. Which means it didn’t just rain down here in one instant.”
Jamie imagined the Doctor digging a hole one metre deep into the beach. “How did Dalek dust get here?”
“Hm. That’s the interesting part. It couldn’t have. Daleks won’t come to this planet for another thousand years.”
“Maybe you got the time wrong?” Jamie dared to suggest. “Or the planet?” When he grew up, he had never imagined himself ever asking this question.
The Doctor didn’t take offence. “I didn’t. There’s something odd here. Time is scrambled and distorted all around us. I felt that right when we came here. That’s why I decided to stay.”
“Oh.” Revelations like that didn’t even surprise Jamie anymore. “I thought there was something odd about that.”
“And I found Dalek dust.” Suddenly, the Doctor looked thoughtful. “And something else.”
“More dust?”
“Yes, but not of Daleks. The atomic structure more resembles…” He trailed off, looking at his little tool with a frown.
“What?”
“Oh, nothing of importance,” the Time Lord suddenly said. “We should forget about this, it’s silly.” He grinned at Jamie. “Tell me, did you ever water ski?”
“Uhm, no?” Jamie was confused. This was odd. But then, this was the Doctor, and he had given the word odd a new meaning since Jamie knew him.
He didn’t have time to think about this. The Doctor took his hand and pulled him out of the room and down to the water, leaving sand and dust scattered all over their bed in the twilight.
October 5, 2009
Prompt: #063 - Summer
Claim: The Time War
Table: Here
Spoilers: None
Characters: Second Doctor, Jamie
Summary: Sometimes, it's enough for Jamie to just lie in the sun and do nothing. It's a talent the Doctor doesn't have.
Word count: 827
“There has to be something more here.”
Jamie opened an eye, then closed it again. To him, lying on the beach, in the sun, all day, was quiet enough. Every once in a while he could use a break. And so could Zoe. Or at least she would, if she was still with them. He still had to get used to the fact that she wasn’t.
Eventually he would stop seeing her in every short girl they happened to meet. Not yet, but one day. Maybe in a week. Since she wasn’t there, he had to relax alone, because the Doctor definitely wasn’t going to.
He managed fine on his own - until he felt sand rain down on him. And again. And again.
He gave up and sat up to see what was going on.
“Doctor,” he said. “Are you digging holes in the ground?”
“A silly question,” the Time Lord scolded without looking up from his work. “It is obvious that I am.”
Jamie pondered this. “Why?” he eventually asked.
“To get deeper, my dear Jamie.”
“What for?”
“I need to see if the sand deep down is the same as the sand on the surface.”
Jamie looked at the sand that was being filled into a glass. “I’d say it is.”
“Yes.” The Doctor nodded. “You would.”
Jamie could now have wondered if he’d just been insulted. He could also get up and avoid getting sunburned. “I’ll go to the hotel,” he proclaimed, knowing that the Doctor would tell him if he needed his help. He wasn’t going to offer. Jamie had been with the Time Lord long enough to know that that would have ended with him carrying glass tubes across the beach all day.
“You do that,” the Doctor said. “I’ll gather more samples.”
“Uh, yeah.” Jamie shrugged, unsure what to make of this. “Have fun.”
“Fun, Jamie, has nothing to do with it.”
“Good luck, then?”
“Hm? Perhaps. Though I’m not quite sure what to hope for.”
“Well. I’m sure you’ll find out.”
Leaving the Doctor to his hole-digging, Jamie wandered up to the hotel. Since he had never been able to enjoy a proper vacation at the beach, and since the Doctor didn’t do things halfway, they were staying in a large, expensive suite instead of sleeping in the TARDIS.
Suite 6 B was cool, elegant and filled with twilight, because the curtains were closed to keep the sun out. Jamie fell onto the bed and closed his eyes. Lying around all day was exhausting. He fell asleep after a minute and woke up after two. Or so it felt. On closer observation, he must have been asleep at least long enough for the Doctor to finish taking samples. Of sand. Which he was now examining with his sonic screwdriver.
Why for this purpose it was necessary to get the sand all over the bed was anyone’s guess.
“What’s so interesting about that?” Jamie asked, secretly convinced that there was nothing interesting at all and the Doctor was making this up so he would have something to do.
“It’s not sand.”
“It could have fooled me.”
“It’s not all sand,” the Doctor clarified. “Some of it is dust.”
“Impressive,” Jamie said, because obviously it was. For whatever reason.
“Dalek dust,” the Doctor explained. “It shouldn’t be here, least in these quantities. It’s all over the place, and no less present a metre below the surface. Which means it didn’t just rain down here in one instant.”
Jamie imagined the Doctor digging a hole one metre deep into the beach. “How did Dalek dust get here?”
“Hm. That’s the interesting part. It couldn’t have. Daleks won’t come to this planet for another thousand years.”
“Maybe you got the time wrong?” Jamie dared to suggest. “Or the planet?” When he grew up, he had never imagined himself ever asking this question.
The Doctor didn’t take offence. “I didn’t. There’s something odd here. Time is scrambled and distorted all around us. I felt that right when we came here. That’s why I decided to stay.”
“Oh.” Revelations like that didn’t even surprise Jamie anymore. “I thought there was something odd about that.”
“And I found Dalek dust.” Suddenly, the Doctor looked thoughtful. “And something else.”
“More dust?”
“Yes, but not of Daleks. The atomic structure more resembles…” He trailed off, looking at his little tool with a frown.
“What?”
“Oh, nothing of importance,” the Time Lord suddenly said. “We should forget about this, it’s silly.” He grinned at Jamie. “Tell me, did you ever water ski?”
“Uhm, no?” Jamie was confused. This was odd. But then, this was the Doctor, and he had given the word odd a new meaning since Jamie knew him.
He didn’t have time to think about this. The Doctor took his hand and pulled him out of the room and down to the water, leaving sand and dust scattered all over their bed in the twilight.
October 5, 2009