Thunderbird

Martha had taken time out from studying some futuristic medical texts that she thought might help her with her exams and had moved on to some other books just for leisure. She hadn't really been quite sure what to read, as the TARDIS library was so expansive, so she decided on a whim to grab the first book she laid her hands on.

The book she ended up picking out was a journal. Grinning widely, thinking she may have just found something that may contain the Doctor's thoughts, she opened it to see if there was anything interesting to be found and was surprised to find the first page blank.

Blinking, she started flicking through the pages, only stopping as something falling out of the book made her jump and look down.

There, lying picture down so she couldn't see it was an old photograph.

Frowning and wondering why it could possibly be the only thing in the book, she bent down picked it up and flipped it over.

She gasped at what she found on the other side. There, pinned to a barn, was a huge bird. No, it was more than huge, it was enormous! A group of men were standing in front of it. Written in a handwriting she knew wasn't the Doctor's under the photo itself was one word, and it sent chills running through her. Thunderbird.

She had heard of the Thunderbird before, but she couldn't remember where. That sort of thing hadn't really interested her. Probably from her grandparents telling her stories.

Still, here she was, looking at a picture of something that was thought to not be real by some, and others thought only to be a legend. Some she was sure would believe in these birds though, without a doubt.

It was real. She was looking at an old photo that looked and felt real to her. She was sure that this wasn't an elaborate hoax or a photoshopped thing.

The one thought that she could think in the moment though was 'poor bird'.

"Find anything interesting?" came a voice behind her and she shrieked and spun around, only to find the Doctor looking curiously down at the photo in her hands. "Oh! That's where I put it. Been looking for that for some time. I kind of...screwed up there and always meant to go back and fix it, but never seemed to be able to find the picture again and now it's just a tad bit too late. Interesting, isn't it? It's the original by the way. The real one."

"The real one? There's a fake?"

The Doctor grinned at her. "Well, some people have made fakes yes, with the impression that what they were showing was real, but others were just trying to imitate a memory. Not so much faked as...just there."

"Imitate a memory? Of this photo?"

He nodded at her and was still grinning widely. "Yep! I asked if I could borrow it, you see, and 'forgot' to hand it back...it got into circulation for a short time and a lot of people saw it. Unfortunately, no one was supposed to see it. I couldn't let people think they could shoot any giant bird they see in the sky clear out of the air, just because it is giant and there, it's not right..."

Martha's head was spinning. "Umm, what?"

"Well, I didn't know the guy who took the photo had given it to others first, you see. That's where I screwed up. I was supposed to have arrived before it was shot, but got there a bit late. The photo was taken. It was all I could do to take the photo out of circulation. I also did...quite a lot of nabbing and changing of certain books and a few quite crafty changes of film, but people still remember seeing that photo. There are entire searches for it going on all the time on Earth. People trying to find the elusive real photo of the Thunderbird. Well, too late to give it back now, so...now I keep it as safe as it can get as a reminder to try not to blunder things up."

Shaking her head and hiding a smile of her own, Martha looked up at the Doctor and had to ask. She just had to. "You mean to say, that a whole lot of people are searching for this, because they saw it in books or on TV, all of which magically disappeared, and you wonder why people obsess over it? Doctor! That's...that's just so...silly!"

He nodded at her took the photo back, placed it in the journal and replaced it on the shelf in front of her. "As I said, I'll never make that mistake again! The photo will be safe here, don't worry about that. And before you ask, no, you can't take it to make a mint back home."

She hadn't been anywhere near asking, as she knew he'd say no anyway, but it was nice to get confirmation that she knew him well enough to know what he'd think on the matter.

"So, Doctor, got any other surprises around here?"

He looked at her with his most innocent look and blinked. "Me? No, not a thing!"

She didn't see the other photo, which was hiding under the Doctor's foot. The one that showed, without a shadow of a doubt, that Bigfoot truly did exist.

The Doctor told her of his tales involving Zygons and the Loch Ness monster, and of the yeti.

Honestly, if she hadn't ran into Zygons not a day after the whole photo discussion, she'd never have believed him!

This story was not written to offend. If you are offended, then I apologise for that.