"Geronimo!"

The Doctor yelled in triumph, his laughs of joy echoing around the TARDIS' circular control room. The Doctor was in the centre of it, and was crouching over a workbench. He pulls out his sonic screwdriver and aimed it into the pile of machinery and circuit that lay before him. Another smile breaks across his face as he hears the machinery click into place and start to whir.

"It stands to reason really. A neutron overdrive built with more than ten capacitors has the processing capability of 100 times its factory setting. Doctor, you genius!"

His cheerful face turned in a nanosecond to one of serious contemplation.

"Of course, it IS highly illegal in almost every quadrant of the known universe." He said thoughtfully. Then as quick as he had the thought, he shook it off and found himself in awe again.

"But the universe doesn't have any say in the inner workings of a Time lord's TARDIS" he continued. "Why didn't I think of it sooner? A man is nothing without his dog!"

He pressed a red control node on the top of the machine, and suddenly it came to life. Small LEDS broke into light all over the body, and inside the framework, gears began to spin faster than the human could ever perceive.

The Doctor patted the awakening robot form. It lifted its head to meet his smiling face.

"Hello again old friend." The Doctor said fondly.

"Maaaaaaster." K9 said in a croaky metallic voice. The little robot dog had undergone may upgrades, but his voice was just as the Doctor remembered it, and he gave an excited clap of his hands at his pet project came to life before his eyes.

"Master." K9 said again, his voice unit beginning to stabilise, his red eyes lighting up as he spoke. "This unit detects many illegal upgrades including a gamma radiator flux regenerator, and this unit would recommend that due to a large probability of an over-clocked core run-down, that this unit's thermo-conditioning displacement array should be calibrated at a lower setting."

The Doctor laughed "Ahead of me as always K9. It's so good to be able to talk to someone who understands the principles of quantum theoretics. As humans go, Clara is, well, brilliant. But there's only one Doctor and only one Doctor's dog!".

As the Doctor reached inside his panelling gently, K9 extended the probe on his forehead, and began to take readings of the area.

"This unit detects multiple Higgs boson particle accelerators in the area. According to my drive, there is a 98.67% probability with room for error margins that this the TARDIS. Type 14, recently undergone structural repositioning."

The Doctor patted the dog softly, "A lot's changed around here. Its been far too long since we last met for me to explain everything. I've been through changes... and I've met many people... brilliant people, kind people..." The doctor's voice trailed off, and there was a pain in his normally invigorating tones. "But those people are gone now. The Ponds. My Ponds. And I will never forget them".

He was suddenly full of life again - "But now I have Clara Oswin Oswald! Computer genius, mastermind of the arts of baking. One heck of a girl. And now I've got you, too! K9, Mark Five! I've upgraded your systems but I left your core CPU the same. Too many memories attached to that little voice."

"Why I didn't bring you back on board sooner is a mystery to me." he continued, chewing on the tip of his screwdriver as he put the last wire back into place. "I've had a lot on my mind. Ever since my regeneration. Not a dull moment! Ah K9, you should have been there! We've seen vampires, Smilers, Daleks, Cybermen, Silurians... And dinosaurs!" He put emphasis on the last one, a sense of awe and nostalgia at the remembrance of THAT adventure.

"But now... The adventures begin anew, eh?" he whispered to the robot dog as its head reared back up.

"Conversation has been recorded in permanent memory files for later use and recollection, Master." the little robot spoke in its infectiously cheerful metallic voice.

"Good dog!" the Doctor exclaimed, standing up to his full height. "Its great to have you back K9!" he said warmly to the dog.

"Good to be back, Master." the dog replied, as it rolled off the table, no doubt still warming up its new guidance systems.

The Doctor stood back and admired his handiwork. Rebuilding one of his oldest companions without taking away from his earlier incarnations had proven difficult, but he was proud with the result. The way the robot spoke, moved and even extended its sensory probe was overwhelmingly nostalgic for the Doctor.

There really was something of all of them in there.

He caught a scent drifting in from one of the TARDIS corridors. A smell of chocolate, flour and yeast. A smell that captured the very essence of all that was good in the world.

The Doctor smiled to himself. Clara was cooking again.

For a girl who had gotten lost so many times in her youth, the time he had spent showing her around the sanctums of his grand time machine was shockingly short. It was like she'd felt instantly at home, and had joyously ran down the corridors, finding the library, the games room and the luxurious kitchens faster than even the Doctor could ever keep up with.

There was a certain energy about her. A cheerful and energetic essence that made it impossible to feel down for long; a contagious sense of overwhelming joy about life itself.

It was little wonder that she had saved him. He had been a broken man after his Pond's had been torn from his two hearts by the cruelty of fate. He had just wanted loneliness, forced it upon himself. He had wanted nothing to do with the affairs of the universe ever again. But she had arrived in his life (albeit in a complex way that the Doctor had yet to figure out) and picked him up from the darkness, and filled him with life and joy again. She had saved him. And in turn, she had saved the universe.

There was so much mystery surrounding her that the Doctor had found it too hard to resist her. A woman twice dead? Three physically identical people with the same personalities?

She was an enigma, and usually the Doctor hated enigmas. But not this one. This one he was warming up to greatly.

The smell was getting stronger and the Doctor inhale deeply, and found himself unable to stop salivating.

The Doctor would never force cooking upon her. Clara simply loved to entertain herself. When she wasn't cooking delectable baked goodies he could find her in the swimming pool at 6am in the morning, swimming the backstroke energetically. Or in the library, encapsulated by one of the millions of collected works of literature the Doctor had collected in his travels.

She never needed telling twice when it was time for an adventure. She had a dress for the every occasion.

The Doctor had found himself following her every wish. 101 Places to See. She would find a hundred more. She just loved travelling, and the freedom the TARDIS gave her.

Oddly, the TARDIS didn't seem to be enjoying her. The Doctor had his suspicions about the cause of this. For all the great parts that made up her character, she was impossible. And the TARDIS had made it long clear to the Doctor that she hated impossible things.

The Doctor also suspected that the TARDIS may be jealous. She was, after all, a living creature. The Doctor had actually met and spoken to her once, but their time together was cut short but the inevitability of her return to immobile form.

But ever since that occasion, the TARDIS had been much more alive than ever. She would often do all the work for the Doctor, pulling levers and spinning cogs. It was like she wanted to show him that she was just as much a companion to him as Amy, Rory, or now Clara was. In fact, she was arguably the oldest friend of the Doctor. Long after the fall of Gallifrey and the Time War they had stuck together, bonded for life.

The mad man. And his blue box.

As if to prove this point, the TARDIS made a horrific screeching sound. The Doctor was used to it by now. It signalled the arrival of Clara in the control room. Clara had noticed that the machine disliked her, and had began to imitate the noise back at the machine, as if countering her retorts. K9 was not used to the sound, however, and his sensors began whirling alarmingly.

"Master. TARDIS distress signal activated."

"Just ignore it. False alarm."

The robot dog's sensors ceased. "Yes, master."

Clara entered the control room, a huge grin plastered on her face. As she came towards him, the Doctor felt his pulse quicken. He couldn't help it. She really was stunning. He'd have to be blind not to notice it.

She lit up the whole room.

"Hey, chin boy. These soufflés turned out great! I had a little trouble getting the timings on the oven right. Not least because your TARDIS kept resetting the timer." She sounded a bit cross, but wasn't letting it show.

"Ah sorry, Clara. She has trouble with.. uh..", the Doctor struggled to explain the TARDIS' hostility towards her. "...Cakes" he finally finished, rather feebly.

Clara just nodded and flashed him a knowing smile. The Doctor tried to hide how his insides felt like jelly at the sight of it.

"Whatever you say time boy." She set the tray down, then spotted K9. "What's that?"

The Doctor looked a bit offended. "His name is K9. K9 mark five, to be exact. He's an old friend."

Clara came over and shook the robot dog's antennae half-jokingly. "It's a pleasure, K9."

The dog remained silent.

The Doctor stepped in. "Sorry Clara, I have entered you in the database yet. K9, this is Clara, she is your mistress. Do you understand?"

The dogs eyes flashed, "Yes, master. Greeting acknowledged, Mistress Cla-ra."

Clara laughed. "What a funny little robot you are!". She turned to the Doctor. "Mistress? Does that make you the master?" she said flirtatiously, raising her eyebrows.

The Doctor went scarlet. "Uh.. well, That's just how his, uh... database recognizes us."

Clara giggled. If there was anything she loved more than baking soufflé, it was teasing the Doctor.

"So then, Chin-boy. You want chocolate, or plain?" she said, gesturing to her tray.

"Chocolate, of course", the Doctor replied with a smile.

"And for K9?" she said, passing the Doctor a delicious-looking chocolate-topped soufflé. "Or does he prefer the vegetarian option?".

The robot dog failed to see the joke. "Mistress, this unit is not equipped with the capacity for consumption of food products or liquids."

Clara winked at K9. "He's watching his figure. Wish I could be so restrained."

She picked a plain soufflé off the tray and sat on the sofa, facing the Doctor at his work-desk.

"So, Clara Oswald." The Doctor said through mouthfuls of soufflé. "Where do you want to go next?"

Clara looked thoughtful. "Well, I've always been a fan of the Beatles. Could we go see them play?"

The Doctor's eyes lit up. "As am I. Nothings too good for my Oswin."

Clara looked confused, a face she didn't often adopt. "Oswin? Why do you call me that? Is it a nickname? I didn't think you minded me calling you chin-boy?"

The Doctor smiled "Yeah. Oswald for the win. A nickname." He looked in deep thought. Clara wanted to press further, but decided against it.

"I never, ever thought I'd say those words without being laughed at! But then that's what time travels for, huh? Thank you so much!" she said, excitement building in her voice.

"I'll plot a course then. Maybe we can get you an autograph. But you must never, i repeat, never, try and make a quick coin by selling it. We don't do that in here, never. Okay?"

Clara looked genuinely upset by his sudden aggression. "I would never do that, Doctor. Money's never been important to me. I just love the experience, and the thrill."

The Doctor felt instantly guilty and moved across and sat next to her on the sofa. He put his hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry. I know you're not like that. It's just, there have been others, before... and.."

Clara smiled and cut the Doctor off "Well then, they clearly weren't as good a companion as me. And certainly not wise to the ways of time travel, like Clara Oswald." She gestured to herself and attempted to look ready-for-action. She gave up and broke down laughing. "How's the soufflé?"

The Doctor was clearly enjoying it, but looked thoughtful. "It's good. Really good. Your best yet." She smiled and blushed. "But it definitely needs something else."

He reached into the TARDIS console panel and produced a bowl of custard. To Clara's horror he poured it all over the soufflé, burying it. He tried it with his spoon. "Much better. Now its perfect!"

"That's an Oswald family recipe that dates back years! And what does he do, he pours custard on it! Do you want to dishonour my cooking?" she protested.

The Doctor laughed. "Everything tastes better with custard. Especially fish fingers!"

Clara made a face, then started laughing. "You really are alien!" she cried.

The Doctor looked up from his soufflé to find her looking right at him. Her eyes were so beautiful in their brown intensity. The Doctor couldn't pull away. They just stared at each other, in a trance.

The Doctor had a million thoughts at once. He wondered whether he should try and kiss her, or if that would creep her out. In the end, he just ended up looking stupid.

"Clara..." he began uncertainly. He really was out of practice. The look on her face told him she wanted him to go on.

He fumbled his words "Clara. I-" he started, but was cut off but a loud wailing noise that both relived him and annoyed him at the same time.

The TARDIS cloister bells.

"TARDIS distress call activated." K9 rumbled into life.

Clara snapped out of her trance too. "Doctor, what's going on?" she asked, panicking yet intrigued.

The Doctor ran to the console. "She's picking something up!", the Doctor shouted.

The control room was suddenly alive with whirring of dials and machinery. The TARDIS began to de materialise, and shook heavily. The Doctor fell down the stairs and landed on his back. Clara clung to the sofa for her life. The tray of soufflés hit the floor. K9 was sent rolling down the passageway.

The shaking continued for a good 30 seconds, before grinding to a halt. The TARDIS had landed. Somewhere.

The Doctor opened his eyes, to see Clara's outstretched hand.

"I've got you. Damsel in distress" she smiled.

The Doctor allowed himself to be picked up. He ran over to make sure K9 was okay. Then her ran back to the TARDIS. He looked up at the monitor.

He began reading off it aloud "Earth. 2013. London."

Clara looked dismayed. "Home? No way, that's not exciting!"

The Doctor snapped his fingers and the TARDIS doors opened.

"The TARDIS has brought us here for a reason. Almost certainly something exciting! And something almost certainly dangerous" he said, looking at Clara.

Clara's features instantly brightened. "Dangerous, huh? Now we're talking!" She ran through the TARDIS doors faster than the Doctor could ever try and stop her. But he didn't want to stop her.

He turned back to the TARDIS console. "So sexy... what have you got for me this time?" he said, smiling all the while. Then he turned and followed Clara through the doors.

TO BE CONTINUED...