I came up with the idea for this fic when I was asked if these two specific shows could ever be combined. I was like, Well Jess is very zany and curious and awkward; she'd fit right in with the Eleventh Doctor. But then I realized that all three of the (New Who) Doctors would react to Jess differently. Nine would be slightly bothered; Ten would simply appreciate her strangeness; Eleven would embrace and enjoy her personality. Each chapter will focus on a different Doctor during three different moments in Jess's life. This chapter is about the Ninth Doctor, right before he meets his companion Rose. Anyway, I hope I did a good job.

I don't own anything. Not even the dates- the dates mentioned are actually important events in history.

Nine and the New Neighbor

The Doctor had a rare tendency to drive the TARDIS off course. Although he had been with his time machine for almost 700 years, every once in a while he made a mistake in the exact coordinates or year.

He had received high levels of alien activity from San Francisco, California. Date 18 April 1906. There was a fault-line there, and he sensed something catastrophic was about to happen.

Maybe it was because he hadn't spent as much time in the States as he had in Great Britain, but the TARDIS landed outside a one-story house. Its cream-colored panels looked worn, but obviously someone was currently residing there because a moving truck was open outside. The Doctor scanned his surroundings for a moment, confused yet curious.

He saw a young woman with fluffy dark hair and large glasses exiting the truck, holding a heavy-looking cardboard box. He went toward her. Maybe she could help him.

"Excuse me," he said as nicely as possible. The woman looked up at him, her eyes seeming to take up her entire face.

"Yes, hello. I was wondering if you could tell me—"

"Why, 'ello Guvnuh!" she said loudly. "Top o' the mornin' to ya! No, wait, that's Irish. Sorry. What can I do for ya, ol' chap?"

The Doctor stared at her in slight disbelief. This was why, he remembered, he didn't like Americans. He never quite understood their shrinking manners over the decades. She continued to blink at him as if what she had done was completely normal.

"Umm. . . I was wondering if you could tell me what town this is," asked The Doctor after a minute of staring at each other.

"Sothern California," she said squinting now. "Or Los Angeles, if you're a tourist. Are you a tourist?"

"Sort of." The Doctor looked around again. "And, um, what year is it?"

"2006. Hey, can you hold this? My arms are starting to hurt." She placed the cardboard box in his arms, which immediately wavered with the weight.

"What's in this box?"

"My songbooks," she said. "I didn't realize how much stuff I had till I packed it all up. Good thing we got the TV inside already." She laughed to herself.

A man appeared in the doorway of the house. He had long sandy brown hair; he dressed like a bum in The Doctor's own opinion.

"Hey, babe," the man said. "Did you hook up the TV to the cable yet?" He noticed The Doctor. "Who's he?"

"Who are you?" the woman asked.

"Uh, The Doctor."

"A doctor. I think he's British."

"Well, do you think he could help us move your stuff in?" the man called.

"Oh, yeah. Come on, bring that inside and I serve ya a nice hot cup o' tea!" She walked towards the house, motioning for him to follow.

"Sorry, but I shouldn't be here," The Doctor said. "I must have made a mistake in the coordinates and—"

"Then we can give you directions," she tried to persuade him. "Just come inside. I know it looks small, but it's bigger on the inside."

"I've heard that before," The Doctor said to himself.

The woman twirled around. "I'm Jess, by the way. And that's my boyfriend, Spencer. This is his house. I'm moving in with him, so I guess it's my house too now. I used to live in an apartment with my friend Cece, but she was always bringing random guys back home with her. Not that I minded, but she's a model, and since she's a model a lot of men would assume that I'm also a model, which is sweet but then creepy because it usually means pervy foreign guys will hit on me. But actually what bothered me most was that they would stay up late and make lots of noise, and I have to wake up really early because I'm a teacher. I just started teaching second grade last year. I really like it. I have to stick to the curriculum, but I have a lot of ideas for the kids that I know will help them release their creativity. Like learning through arts and crafts and singing. You're never too old for that kind of thing. I mean, I sing and craft all the time."

This woman talked too much, The Doctor thought. Never before had he seen someone just speak incessantly without even glancing at the other person. Again, Americans.

"Welcome to our home!" Jess sang. Literally sang.

True, the house was bigger on the inside (though still not as big as his TARDIS). The walls were same color as the paneling outside. There were boxes all around, colorful knick knacks strewn about in every corner. Spencer was lounging on the couch, quickly skipping through different TV channels.

"You can put that box down anywhere. We're just emptying the truck. It's not really organized right now," Jess said.

"I can see that," The Doctor said.

"What kind of doctor are you?" Jess asked. "Are you like medical or scientific or historical?"

The Doctor crossed his arms and gave a dazed nod. "Yeah."

Jess went to the kitchen and opened a cabinet. "All we have is herbal tea. Is that okay?"

"Yeah," The Doctor answered, now wandering around the house.

"Hey, you're not just pretending to be a doctor when really you're like a mass murderer or something, right? I've read about serial killers who befriend their victims and enter their homes and then kill them in their sleep," Jess said.

The Doctor shook his head. "No."

"Are you sure? You could be lying right now," she said suspiciously.

The Doctor paused. "Listen, I appreciate the tea, not so much the interrogation, but I really must be on my way. I shouldn't be here. I'm supposed to be in San Francisco. . ."

"Oh, that's easy!" Jess said.

"But not now," The Doctor finished.

"Wait, I'm confused. Are you in a hurry or are you early?" she asked. "I mean, if you're early, you can help us with my stuff till you need to go."

"No, I'm late," he said quickly. "Extremely late."

Jess's face fell with concern. "Was it something important?"

"I think so."

"Well, I hope you didn't miss whatever you needed to go to."

"No. I missed it," he said, looking away from her. "Missed it by a hundred years."

"Did you miss it because of me?" She was looking at the floor now.

The Doctor turned back to Jess, thinking she was about to cry. "Oh, no, no. It was my own mistake. Nothing you did, honest." He stood closer to her and, not knowing what to do to comfort her, patted her on the back.

"It's just that sometimes I turn people off, you know?" she replied between sniffles, her hair hanging down as she focused on the floor. "Like, I don't know that many people. Cece and Spencer are only ones who put up with me. He's my first boyfriend ever and I've only been dating him for six months. I don't know any of the neighbors. So when you came and helped us, I got really excited 'cause I was like, 'Oh goody! New friend!' But it was all a huge misunderstanding." She was crying more now, softly but more obvious.

The Doctor couldn't stand to see her like this. "It might have been an accident, but I did make a new friend."

"You're just saying that."

"No," he said. "I mean it. If I'm ever in town again, I'll come by and visit. I promise."

Jess picked her head up, eyes puffy from tears, the lens of her glasses blurry. She looked miserable. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely. And you know what?" he said. "I think it's okay that I missed my appointment. Nothing seems to be wrong because I wasn't there." He looked up and around at the ceiling, as if confirming the stability of the house.

"Okay," Jess said as she wiped her cheeks. "I'll finish your tea."

"Actually, could you give me a banana instead? Better on the run."

She looked at him curiously, her eyes squinting again. "Just a banana?"

He smiled and shrugged. "Great source of potassium."

Jess gave a small grin. "I think we have some."

"Fantastic."

And so goes The Doctor's first encounter with Miss Jessica Day of Southern California. He might have stayed longer, but he noticed an Auton invasion in South London. Date 4 March 2005. He anticipated chasing monsters through the city again. Still, it was nice to talk with a normal person for once, even though she was a bit strange.