ANOTHER VISITOR

Characters: Phil, the mechanic, the Tenth Doctor, and MacGyver

Synopsis/Time Period: This takes place between the Third and Fourth season of the Doctor Who series, and the sixth Season of MacGyver during the episode "The Visitor". Mac doesn't believe in aliens, but is about to meet two special ones.

Disclaimer: Don't own Doctor Who or MacGyver. The BBC and Paramount, as well as Russell T. Davies and Henry Winkler with John Rich own DW and MacGyver. This story is intended for fun and makes no profit.

MacGyver sighed as he prepared to go to the Phoenix Foundation that afternoon. Between the run in with the Sheriff, the stubbornness of the Wylie Family, and the hallucinations of UFOs that he'd seen, he had had it. He thought about the fishing he'd put off to travel to the small town of Elm Creek to insure that the Phoenix Foundation's desire to build an environmentally safe power plant wasn't in vain.

He watched as his blue and white car was taken away to be fixed at the local garage. As he looked at the mechanic driving his car to the inspection area, MacGyver was aware of a man standing beside him.

"Hullo," the man greeted cheerfully, his British—or was it Scotts-- accent sounding in Mac's ears.

"Hi," Mac replied glumly.

"Penny for your thoughts," the man said.

"Don't mention money," Mac said.

"Oh, it can't be that bad," the man said, looking at Mac Gyver's car. "That yours?" he asked, watching as the mechanic raised the car and inspected it.

Mac nodded, saying, "yeah, all mine, although I sometimes wonder why I traded my jeep in for that wreck."

"I know exactly what you mean," the man said, adjusting his pinstriped suit. Mac noticed his thin frame, brown hair, and round face dotted with freckles. "I have a vehicle which is not always reliable, and yet, I love her anyway."

"They say us guys love our cars," Mac agreed.

"I had a car once which gave me nothing but trouble," the stranger said. "Her name was Bessie." His brows furrowed as he thought about the yellow car. "Wonder what happened to her, come to think of it? Oh, well. Maybe I'll ask Alastair next time I see him."

"You're from England or Scotland, aren't you?" Mac asked, waiting for the mechanic to tell him the bad news. Without waiting for an answer, Mac Gyver extended his hand, saying, "I'm MacGyver."

The man shook Mac Gyver's hand, saying, "John Smith."

The mechanic came up beside both men. "Mr. MacGyver, your car should be ready in a few hours," the mechanic pronounced. "I'm afraid it's gonna cost you about $1,000 though."

"One thousand dollars?" Mac cried. "Great, just great!" He reached into another pocket, pulled out a check book, and wrote out the amount, handing the check to the mechanic.

"Sorry about your finances," Smith said sympathetically.

"Thanks," Mac said. He went outside, saying, "so what are you doing here so far from home?"

"Oh, I love traveling," Smith replied. "I've been all over, you might say."

"Me, too," Mac said. "Did you say your car was named Bessie?" Smith nodded. "I knew someone once in England who named his car the same thing," MacGyver commented.

"Really?" John Smith inquired, a smile touching his lips.

"Yeah," Mac Gyver said, remembering a strange man wearing a velvet opera jacket and a ruffled blouse. He walked away from the shop, Smith following in his wake. Deciding to put his time to good use, Mac started walking over to the Rigels' trailer to investigate what Tommy Wylie had told him. The man sighed, wanting to follow, but going instead to a little blue box hidden near the mechanic's garage. Before he entered it, he noticed a man in a black fedora and a black overcoat. The man looked to be about fifty years of age, and his blue eyes had a spark of mischief in them.

"Hello, Doctor," the man greeted warmly.

"Hello," the Doctor said, his tone filled with recognition. "What are you doing here? Might far away from home for you, isn't it?"

"Might I say the same?" the man asked, raising a brow.

The Doctor's head bowed sadly, his eyes filling with tears. "I have no home anymore, save for the TARDIS." He patted the ship affectionately. "Even that has given up on me, it seems."

The man felt sorry for the Doctor. He pulled an object out of one of his coat pockets and handed it to the Doctor.

"I think you need this more than I do," he said softly.

The Doctor held the object, muttering, "looks like a vacuum cleaner part."

"That's what everyone, including you, think, but trust me…insert this into your ship's main drive…you'll get her to run properly," he assured the Gallifreyan. The Doctor took the part and entered the TARDIS. He did as the man had said, and was amazed to hear the TARDIS engine purring like a kitten. He emerged a second later, saying, "thanks."

"Not a problem," the man said. "You've helped my people often enough. I'm just returning the favor." He peered at the Doctor, asking, "you've been talking to some humans just now?"

"Met one again that I had known briefly in my third incarnation," the Doctor said. "MacGyver is one extraordinary man…as far as humans go. Doesn't know me, of course."

"Quite," the man said. He held out a business card, saying, "you have changed much since then. Well, nice seeing you again, Thete. If you ever need me, call the number beneath the writing on this card."

The Doctor stared at the business card, which upon first glance indicated the alien man was a vacuum cleaner salesman named Phil Sternweis. As he trained his superior vision on the card, the Doctor saw the name Phenas Voldrani, Ambassador of Zenalar. "Great cover story you have there," the Doctor praised. "I mean, no human would suspect your real identity. They wouldn't be able to see past the first set of words."

"True," Phenas confirmed.

"So, I take it, you're just visiting?" the Doctor queried.

"Yes," Phenas answered. "Many of us are both enchanted by, and concerned about, the affairs on Earth." He glanced at the console room over the Doctor's shoulder and joked, "but look who I'm telling." The Doctor's ears twitched as he heard the familiar cloister bells, announcing imminent danger.

"I've got to…" the Time Lord announced. He ran back into the TARDIS, setting the controls for dematerialization.

"And I've got to help the people here, including MacGyver," Phenas said. He watched the time travel device disappear and walked toward the Rigels' trailer.

THE END