I do not own the rights to Doctor Who.

Just My Luck

I don't know the exact person who invented air conditioning, but whoever they were, they should have their own monument somewhere, or even a national holiday. For the white box fan in the corner of the kitchen was barely making a dent in the humid August heat that could only be found in the Midwest.

The hot steam from the industrial dishwasher I was currently using probably wasn't helping things either. It was like being in a sauna, only with no door to step out of and into cooler air.

It was work though, and Earl, the owner of Mel's Diner—which didn't even have a Mel anywhere to be found—hadn't asked too many questions when I had shown up 155 days ago with no ID and asked to be paid in cash. He actually didn't question me at all, and I even had a sob story about being on the run from a crazy ex-boyfriend prepared. 155 days later, I've yet to see anything phase him, not even the August heat.

"Emma, did you hear me? You need to get out here and help with the tables."

Dinah, my fellow waitress and roommate, yelled, and I turned off the dishwasher in response. "Coming," I replied back, knowing full well she was already on her way out the door. I had lived with her for 154 days and had yet to see her stand still for more than a minute.

I tossed my rubber gloves off to the side and made my way to the doors that led to the eating area, but not before Ray, the head cook, shook his head at me. Pausing, I found that I was still wearing the rubber apron used for the dishes. With a quick nod of thanks, I took it off and exchanged it for my little work apron that was hanging up on the hook by the door. Normally it was Louie who washed the dishes, but he was at home recovering from getting his wisdom teeth removed leaving us short-handed with Gina home as well, except with her two kids being sick.

With a point of her pen, Dinah directed me to a table in the corner where a lone man was sitting. A coat was draped over the back of the chair across from him, indicating that he wasn't as quite alone as I had initially thought.

Wait, a coat? In this summer heat? Strange. Though given how my life has gone lately, not the strangest thing I had seen.

I made my way over to the table and pulled out my notebook ready to take an order. If only my parents could see me now, after saving for years to send me to college for a decent career here I was waiting tables.

Then again, it was hard to get a job you had studied for when your certification wouldn't be printed for another seventeen years and there were worse jobs out besides waitressing. I also couldn't complain too much at the moment, for at least out here there were two large fans overhead doing a better job at keeping the room cool.

The words I was about to speak died in my throat when I caught sight of the man. Up to this point, I'd only had seen him from behind, not the front. I hadn't paid much attention to his wild curly hair, or the long multi-colored scarf hanging off of his neck, just as oblivious to the Midwest heat as Earl or the owner of the coat on the chair across from him.

It was his face that had taken my breath away. It was a face I would normally not have paid much attention to if it hadn't been staring back at me every day my junior year in college from the back of the bathroom door, courtesy of my college roommate, Brittany.

It was just a coincidence, that was all. Some mega fan who had an uncanny resemblance and was having fun making the most of it. Dr. Who was nothing more than some television show, it wasn't real.

But hadn't I once thought the same of time travel? And look how that had turned out.

Whatever naïve hope I had left, was quickly burst when a young looking brunette slid behind me and sat down in the seat with the coat on the back. It was then squashed even further when she opened her mouth and spoke in an English accent, "You didn't order without me or anything, did you?"

"Don't be absurd, Sarah Jane," he replied, also in an English accent. "I'd never do such a thing without you." She gave him a look that said otherwise, but didn't utter a word. He didn't seem to mind though, either that or he was used to it. "Besides, I'm afraid I haven't gotten the opportunity seeing as how—" he paused while his eyes darted to where my name tag was, "Emma here, has yet to say anything to me."

My cheeks flushed red in embarrassment. Here was the Doctor, a fictional character and right now the only possible solution to my rather unique situation, and no doubt thinking I was an idiot.

"Yes, well…" I was unsure of what else to say or that there was anything I could say to make myself look better. Instead, I glanced down at my notebook and said as bashfully as possible, "Can I get you two something to drink?"

"Sarah Jane?"

The Doctor's companion peered closely at the menu before looking back up at me. "Oh the chocolate shake looks good. I think I'll try one of those."

I wrote down her order, and then snuck a peek at the Doctor. "And you?"

"A shake sounds marvelous, I think I'll try a banana one."

I jotted his order down as well, though I doubt I'd be forgetting it anytime soon considering who it was for. "I'll put your order in, and come back with your drinks shortly."

As quickly as I could manage without breaking out into a full sprint, I walked away from the table and dropped their order off at the kitchen. A quick tug on my arm, and I found myself looking at Dinah who's hazel eyes seemed to sparkle with excitement.

"So how's Mr. English then? Is he as dreamy as he sounds?" I raised my eyebrow at her. While he wasn't hard on the eyes, the Doctor certainly wasn't as attractive as the usual sort of men Dinah dated.

"What?" she said with a shrug. "I have a thing for guys with accents."

Considering how she was bobbing up and down on her feet, I could tell what she really wanted to ask me. That was fine with me seeing as how I was pretty sure I wasn't able to go back over there yet without spluttering like an idiot again.

"Do you want to switch tables with me?"

She nodded enthusiastically, and we quickly exchange notes on who had ordered what where. About ten minutes and several orders later, I found that the butterflies in my stomach had settled down somewhat and I was confident that I could approach the Doctor without losing my nerve.

Except by the time I got there, Dinah was clearing the milkshake glasses off the table. "Just my luck the first British guy in here is already taken and doesn't even leave a decent tip. I mean the guy ordered another banana shake to go, and you know how long shakes take to make, and I still made sure Ray got on it first thing. Yet, does he even act grateful for all my work? No, of course not, why be kind to the poor American waitress? I swear, the next time I meet a guy with an accent pinch me so I'll remember how much of a jerk they can be."

I nodded several times during her rambling, but I really wasn't paying attention to it. Panic was starting to well up in my chest, and my heartbeat had increased drastically. The one person who could probably help me with my odd predicament was gone, most likely forever.

Worse, something else occurred to me, something that caused my heart to drop to my stomach as I realize all my plans for the future have to be put on hold.

"Are you okay?" asked Dinah, her hazel eyes now full of concern. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

In a way I have. For the past 155 days I have been under the belief that everything that had happened to me was a result of traveling twenty years into the past. That it was simply a matter of keeping a low profile during said twenty years and buying some heavy duty make-up and I could take over my life again as if nothing had happened once it was 2015.

Except I was wrong. The fact that the Doctor had been in here a few minutes ago proved that.

I hadn't just traveled twenty years into the past, I had traveled to an alternate dimension as well.

That meant that there was no life in twenty years for me to return. That the five year-old me, who's biggest concern at the moment was whether or not there was truly a monster under her bed across town, wasn't a young me at all. Well she was, but she was more importantly an alternate version of me.

"Emma?" Dinah reached out and touched my arm in concern, and for the first time that day I realized I wasn't bothered by the heat. Goosebumps had formed up and down my body.

"I'm fine," I said, and smiled at her. "Just can't wait to get home and back in the AC."

She smiled back me, the worry in her eyes melting away. "Don't blame you there." Satisfied that I was alright, she went off to one of her other tables to see how they were doing.

It's a lie though, I'm not fine—I'm anything but fine. I have spent the past 155 days trying to get my life back on track and making the best of a bad situation. I've even been keeping track of the days as if I an inmate marking the walls, or a castaway on a deserted island.

And now I'm back to Day 0 without any idea of what's going on or what I should do next.

Just my luck.

**Author's Note**

I have other things I should be writing, but the diner scene popped into my head and wouldn't leave me alone. From there the story grew, incorporating other storylines I've had in my head for a bit that I've wanted to see explored on the show but haven't been so far.

Some notes about this story. Yes, it's one of those 'girl from our world ends up in the Dr. Who universe' stories. While I do enjoy those stories, they tend to have similar elements- some of which I hope to avoid in this story.

The first being Emma is not a Dr. Who fangirl. Thanks to her college roommate she does know about the show and has a general idea of the plot and characters, but doesn't know every episode or every plotline, and certainly isn't that excited to meet him in person. For that reason, there will be no romantic relationship between the two characters. At the most, it'll be friendship and mutual respect. Another thing is that I decided it'd be more interesting for the story to begin with her already in the Dr. Who universe for a bit, rather than having the first chapter revolve around her getting there. That'll be explained in later chapters.

Another thing to know is that even though the Fourth Doctor is in this chapter with Sarah Jane- both of which I hoped I got right character wise since I haven't seen a lot of their episodes and apologize if they were out of character- the Doctor who will be the main one in this story will be the Eleventh Doctor, set between Series 6 and Series 7. There's a possibility that the Ponds and River will show up, but no episodes from the shows will be included.

One extra note is that the reason for the lack of tip is that Sarah Jane is more used to eating in diners than the Doctor, and more so with ones in the 1970's in England. She's not very familiar with the exchange rate or inflation.

I'm hoping to have the next chapter up sometime next week. Right now it's called, 'Banana's are Good'.

That's all for now. Thanks for reading, and if possible please leave a review.