"He'll hear you" a whispered voice shrieked and indeed he did, The Doctor stood outside his TARDIS. He'd arrived back at his ship after exploring the planet of Ichtarine, he literally explored the entire planet in less than a day, small place but immensely beautiful. When he returned less than a minute ago he could swear he heard muffled voices coming from inside the TARDIS. This was mildly impossible seeing as his ship's interior was in fact another dimension but this simply nudged his curiosity like a young boy poking a jellyfish with a stick. The Doctor took his key from his pocket and was about to put it in the door when he suddenly thought "Where's the fun in that", replacing his key, he snapped his fingers and the TARDIS doors in turn snapped open. The console room was filled to the brim with people in party hats.
"SUPRISE!" They all shouted
The Doctor recognised every single one of them, there was Trix MacMillan, Tegan Jovanka, Nyssa, Victoria Waterfield, Jo Jones and so, so many more.
"Wow, everyone" The Doctor giggled to himself "What's all this then"
"Are you really that addled with age that you don't bother to keep track of days anymore?" said a skinny man in a black suit, who was trying his best to get through the large crowd. The Doctor couldn't believe it, the man's face. It was impossible.
"Brax?" The Doctor spoke
The suited, sinister looking man hugged the still quite stunned Doctor.
"Happy Birthday dear brother"
"But you... how did" The Doctor was still quite flabbergasted. He hadn't seen his brother Braxiatel in years, hundreds of years maybe even longer than that.
"Let us exchange temporal pleasantries later as of now, you have guests"
Braxiatel stepped away and ushered a woman dressed in white forward, her hair light brown and her face gentle as she smiled. The Doctor stepped up to her, examining her with his disbelieving eyes for she was just as impossible as Brax.
"Romanadvoratrelundar" The Doctor spoke before he proceeded to poke her in the face.
"Is it just me or have you gotten odder with age Doctor"
"It has been mentioned on a few occasions... are you still travelling with um"
The Doctor made a gesture to his hair and then his mouth
"Teeth and curls, yes he's being quite a disruptive influence"
"Thanks"
"Quite cosy, mind if I join in" Called a voice from the past
Dressed in her robes of office, a young blonde woman pushed through the crowd of people before looking The Doctor over and finally giving him a hug.
"Romana!" The Doctor beamed
"How come you refer to her as Romana" said the woman in white
"You wanted to be called Fred if I remember right" The Doctor rebutted before swiping at her nose thoughtfully with his thumb"
The Doctor broke Romana II's clutch on him and kissed her on the head.
"What time is it by you?" he asked
"Half past Zagreus by me, just thought I should pop in and have a chat"
"And I'm glad you did, Zagreus was mildly terrifying by my remembering... give the chap with the long hair a break if he says anything nasty, he was under a lot of pressure"
"Chap with the long hair? More like a poncy git by my remembering" Called out yet another impossibility. Lucie Miller broke through the crowd and gave a cheeky smirk at The Doctor, who proceeded to hug her.
"Oi you daft div don't ruin my hair, only had it done this morning"
The Doctor broke the hug and scrutinized her appearance.
"When exactly did you come from?"
"When? Now you're asking... Saturday teatime April 2010"
"So just after that business with Auntie Pat"
Lucie grimaced and nodded.
"I am so sorry"
"Don't be stupid, I was hurt but I know you had your reasons"
Lucie grimaced once again.
"Is that a bowtie?"
The Doctor self consciously shielded his bowtie for a moment.
"Bowties are cool"
"You look like Peewee Herman"
The Doctor looked mortally wounded.
"Like the hair though" Lucie added
The Doctor ran his fingers through his hair a little proudly.
"Well good"
Out of the corner of his eye, The Doctor saw Sarah Jane Smith, Mickey Smith and Martha Smith-Jones all gathered around a punch bowl and talking to Dr Grace Holloway; clever old Brax really pulled out all the stops.
After an age talking to Lucie and discussing what she was going to be doing when she got home, The Doctor decided to leave the two Romanas to bicker about The Other's true fate in peace. The TARDIS console room had been expanded to allow all of the previous companions room to move around, even little tables had been added for sweets and pies and multicoloured lemonade.
Endeavouring to get a plastic cup to have some multicoloured lemonade, The Doctor accidentally bumped into yet another face from the past. Harry Sullivan looked exactly as he did the day he left The Doctor in Scotland and returned to UNIT.
"Harry!" The Doctor bellowed
"Oh blast it all Doctor, you've done it again haven't you?"
"Afraid so, have you just left Teeth and Curls then?"
"No, No old boy it's been at least 3 years since we last met, however I did meet a little Scottish chap at last year's Christmas party"
"Oi I was not that little, I've been littler"
The two of them had a great chat about the good old days, the adventures they had together with Sarah and the times The Doctor met Harry without Harry knowing it was him.
Eventually Harry wished him well for the future and walked off to try and find Lethbridge Stewart. The Doctor got his multicoloured Lemonade which turned out to taste more wonderful than he could've imagined. It was like someone extracted all the coolness out of bowties and fezes and put it into a magnificent bottle of rainbow juice, Yowsa. He was just about to take a walk down into the rest of the ship, get away from the main party and hopefully find Braxiatel when he stumbled upon two insane shouty women engaged in a shouty match.
"If you superheat the conduits then you'll destroy the entire building!" Shouted Professor Bernice Summerfield
"And what's the problem with that" protested Professor River Song
"It exists in the time vortex and it belongs in a museum!"
The two women were exhausted from their discussion and did not see The Doctor standing a few feet from them. Something that The Doctor didn't want to remedy as he backed away slowly and turned.
"Oh you aren't getting away that easily, birthday boy" Bernice chuckled as she grabbed The Doctor's arm and pulled him around.
"Happy Birthday Sweetie" River smirked
The Doctor tried to compose himself from the fear, panic, dread and overall terrification that was coursing through his mind at this precise point, he fixed his bowtie and opened his mouth.
"Professors"
"It's funny" River spoke "You never mentioned a Bernice Summerfield to me before"
"What" said Bernice in a mock rage "He told me I was his longest serving companion?"
"Really" Said River "I thought that belonged to Romana"
The Doctor gritted his teeth.
"Romana was the longest serving companion until I picked up Benny"
"You picked up Benny did you" River interjected "Benny did he indeed pick you up"
"Oh he picked me up and put me down" Benny said happily
"Oh yes we were discussing the aftermath of the Ice Warrior invasion"
"That was a very fun day" said The Doctor obliviously
"It was, wasn't it" said Bernice slyly
The Doctor nodded, trying to recall the events of that particular day but failing.
"We had ice cream didn't we?"
"Champagne, Napoleon gave you"
The Doctor's eyes widened.
"Oh, yes um yeah"
"So do you make a habit of dancing with Archaeologists" River asked
"No not at all, well one or two... perhaps three, it's really hard to remember when you get to my age"
"So we just all fade away into facts and figures eh?" said River cheekily
"Of course not, you know you're more than that"
"Maybe you should visit us sometime"
The Doctor had no idea how he managed to get away from The Archaeologists but somehow he made it out of their clutches and into the TARDIS hallway.
"Braxiatel" The Doctor called out, Brax wasn't in the console room or outside, he had to have come down this way.
"Not again you little pest" Shouted an American voice as Captain Jack Harkness rounded a corner, revolver drawn. He quickly holstered it when he saw The Doctor, he was out of breath.
"Graske stole my underwear" He explained
"Hardly a shooting offence" The Doctor rebutted
"He also stole two creates of gold dust and a lovely lady by the name of Perpugilliam Brown"
"He really shouldn't have done that"
"Nope"
Jack was about to leave when suddenly stopped and turned to face The Doctor.
"Why not?"
"She's married to one of the most brutal and destructive warrior kings in this part of the universe and has two strapping young lads who I've seen eating a Driudslid bear to the bone"
Jack looked disappointed.
"Course it could always be the Peri that was returned to America or the Peri that ended up running UNIT for two months in 1999, neither are connected to a large brutal king by the way"
Jack flashed a grin.
"I'll bear that in mind, Captain Jack to the rescue!" He shouted out as he dashed down the hallway, only turning to say "Thank You Doctor!"
The Doctor smiled before setting back onto his path, He should've been able to sense Brax but it wouldn't surprise him if Brax was wearing something that kept him hidden. He was ever so cautious and suspicious in the days before The War, the days before he disappeared. Just then a door opened and a girl wearing a bomber jacket cautiously walked out. She looked The Doctor over before asking "Professor?"
"Ace!" The Doctor replied "What're you doing hiding in my shoe cupboard"
"You know the way we were all scooped up by that shifty bloke in a suit" She spoke in a hushed voice
"I do now"
"Well he managed to get three of me"
The Doctor closed his eyes for a second "Very silly, Brax"
"So now there's this really wicked space chick me running around trying to find you and a teacher me, trying to tell me off for everything I've ever done"
"Where are they now?"
"Console room, I think... I lost space me but teacher me is talking to some guy in a kilt"
The Doctor considered this and then smiled.
"Just keep your head down and try not to do any explodey woady things"
The Doctor then continued down the hallway, leaving behind a very confused Ace. Braxiatel gathered all his companions here in one time and place to celebrate his birthday. Two questions formed in The Doctor's head: How and Why. Ace said they were all scooped up. A Time Scoop perhaps? Braxiatel would certainly have the means to locate one of those or perhaps have one built for him.
Passing the library, The Doctor noticed a second Professor River Song reading The Time Machine to seven young children that The Doctor sort of recognised. One little blonde girl, One dark haired boy, One little dark haired girl, One little red haired girl, A little fair haired boy and of course her own parents, A little red haired Scottish girl and skinny little light haired boy.
The Doctor smiled, he was going to have a serious talk with Brax about the (mostly defunct but still partially important) Laws of Time and then he was going to thank him and offer him a bowtie.
The Doctor felt a strong tug to the bottom of his jacket, upon turning around he saw a little girl dressed in strange but familiar robes. She looked up at him with the bluest and saddest eyes he had ever seen.
"Hello" he said as he crouched down to speak to her.
"Hello" she spoke quietly "I'm lost"
"Hi lost I'm The Doctor"
The little girl looked wary but not of The Doctor, of her surroundings "What is this place?"
"It's my home, it's called the TARDIS"
"That's a funny name"
"It's a funny place"
"Did you bring me here?"
"Nah my brother did, are your parents along with you"
"I don't think so"
"What's the last thing you remember before coming here?"
"I remember my mother tucking me into bed, telling me a story and then leaving and then I woke up here"
"What story?"
"Does it matter?"
The Doctor paused before jumping up to his usual height.
"Probably not" he acknowledged
The little girl reminded him of someone, blue eyes, pitch black hair and her voice sounded very familiar.
"I think he came down this way!" bellowed the voice of an Elderly English Gentleman.
Ian Chesterton rounded a corner, holding a walking stick in one hand and the hand of his wife Barbara in the other. Upon seeing The Doctor, Ian chuckled away to himself.
"Five decades after we get married and you're still running about with that face"
"What can I say it's grown on me and anyway it was only last week for me"
"Oh to live the life of a time traveller" Barbara giggled
"Who's your friend" Ian asked
The Doctor looked back at the little girl.
"This is" he said before he could stop himself "I actually don't know, what's your name"
"Susan, my name's Susan" The little girl replied
"That's funny" Ian beamed "The Doctor has a granddaughter called Susan"
The Doctor however wasn't smiling, he simply stared at the little girl like she was a ghost. He hadn't realised it when he first saw the girl because he hadn't seen Susan as a child in over a thousand years. The little black haired girl was the very image of her aged roughly 7 years old, a year before she went into the Academy. A year before the incident that almost got her expelled.
"Hello Susan" The Doctor finally smiled
"Hello" said Susan obliviously and slightly creeped out
The Doctor turned to Ian and Barbara again with a gleam in him eye.
"Okay you two, how would you like to meet my brother?"
"The man that sent us the invites?" Barbara asked
"Yeah, eh, what invites"
Barbara took a folded up letter out of her coat pocket and gave it to The Doctor, who unfolded it and read it.
"Dear Previous Companion to my brother The Doctor
I, Irving Braxiatel (The Doctor's older, more intelligent brother) will be throwing a Birthday Bash for his Eleventh Incarnation.
Attached to this very expensive invitation you will find an RSVP stub, once peeled off you will be instantly transported into the TARDIS (at the time and space references enclosed)
Gifts not required (You don't want to embarrass the old man), No plus ones, No Cybermen (Sorry Kroton, this means you) and absolutely no outside food (this event is being catered for)
Hope you can make it
Irving Braxiatel"
Clever Brax thought The Doctor but it didn't explain how Ace got "scooped up" unless maybe a previous incarnation of himself had tricked her into peeling off the stub. Braxiatel must've messed up as well and sent three letters to her at different points her time stream.
"Okay" The Doctor begun "All we have to do is find my brother, get Susan and a few others back to their proper places in Time and Space and then..." The Doctor trailed off
"Then?" Ian pressed on
"Party" The Doctor concluded, his eyes lighting up and the mere notion of enjoying his birthday party.
At the far end of the hall, in the opposite direction from where Ian and Barbara came from, an old oak door that The Doctor couldn't for the life of him remember putting there, creaked open spreading a bright white light into the hallway.
"This brother of yours, Doctor, is he on the level?" Ian asked
"That's a very good question; do you two want to wait here?"
"Nonsense old boy, we've been through too much together"
"And it would be rather interesting to meet The Doctor's sibling" added Barbara
"Once in a lifetime chance" Ian agreed
"Okay, okay, but Susan is definitely staying" he could just about muster before Susan grabbed his hand
"Oh, come along the lot of you" The Doctor groaned as he made a start to the door
As he got closer and closer to the door The Doctor could feel the bright light dimming slightly and could see the door opening a little wider.
"Last chance to pull out anyone" The Doctor announced
"We should be fine as long as he doesn't decide to kidnap us and take us on a guided tour of space and time" Barbara teased
"Is that sort of thing genetic Doctor?" Ian couldn't help adding
"Oh, ha ha" The Doctor jeered as he and Susan crossed the threshold of the door to reveal – Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart, Sarah Jane Smith, Jamie McCrimmon and Mike Yates (some time after his second retirement) all standing around a police box shaped cake, that was just slightly bigger than the real exterior of the TARDIS.
"We meet again Doctor" The Brigadier started as he shook The Doctor's hand "Happy Birthday"
The Doctor hugged The Brigadier, taking him completely off guard but quickly breaking it so as not to make the old soldier too uncomfortable.
"Always fun Brig"
Sarah Jane immediately hugged The Doctor "When are you and that wife of yours going to pop around for tea again" she asked
When she broke the hug The Doctor sheepishly fixed his bow tie.
"Saturday be okay?"
"Just remember if you don't turn up I'll set K-9 on you"
"Fair enough, I think I've still got some metallic doggie biscuits"
"Who's your friend" Sarah Jane asked noticing that The Doctor was holding the little girl's hand
"Oh Sarah Jane Smith meet Susan, my granddaughter"
"Grandfather!" The little girl just realised the strange man's identity "But you're supposed to be all, erm"
"Old and crotchety" The Doctor finished "Well I grew up and I'd advise you not to do the same"
Jamie eyed The Doctor, not too sure of what to make of the young bowtied crazy man.
"You've gone an done it again haven't ye?"
"Hmm?" The Doctor wondered "Oh yes the body, yep I've had this one quite a while"
"I've never seen it before"
"That's because you've been doing Time Lord Errands, you can't keep up with my fashion trends. I kept the bowtie though"
"And grew a foot and a half"
"I have been smaller!"
"It's good ta see ya again"
Jamie gave The Doctor a mighty bear hug, only releasing him when The Doctor winced ever so slightly.
The Doctor still quite sore from Jamie's hug, extended his hand out for Mike Yates to shake. Not being one to jest with an incarnation he didn't know very well, Mike shook The Doctor's hand but then deciding what the hell, Mike then pulled him in for a hug.
"No more hugs, The Doctor is out of hugs, even though I instigated the first one"
"No worries dear brother, I shall endeavour not to gravitate toward you" Uttered Braxiatel as he and Liz Shaw pulled a cloaked object from around the back of the TARDIS cake and closer to the group of companions.
"Liz!" The Doctor exclaimed
"Can't get rid of you, can I Doctor"
"Evidently not, what's that?" he asked, nodding at the cloaked object
"Just a present" Brax interrupted
"The invite said no presents"
"Well I didn't want anyone else to get you what I had already spent months... working on"
"I don't know if I've ever told you but I really dislike mysterious, Brax"
"Said the kettle to the pot what a dirty face you've got" quipped Braxiatel
"What's this all about Brax?"
"The party?"
"Everything"
"Just a chance to reconnect with my younger brother and celebrate his birthday"
"You never seemed that enthusiastic to catch up"
"Well things happened, didn't they?"
The Doctor considered the implications Braxiatel was alluding to, if he had just escaped the Time War maybe he did just want to find his last remaining sibling.
"Do you like bowties Brax?" The Doctor asked
"I'm partially fond of them but before you go trying to pawn one off on me, I think you should see your birthday present"
The Doctor nodded as Braxiatel clutched at the cloak that covered the object and then tore it off revealing a Time War style Dalek.
"Why did you bring that here?" The Doctor spoke rather hoarsely, feeling quite sick at the very idea of a Dalek inside his TARDIS
"It's your birthday present" said Braxiatel happily
"A Dalek, goodie, never seen one of those before"
"Ah, not just any old Dalek"
The eyestalk of the Dalek flickered slightly, visibly unnerving The Doctor.
"Have you brought a live Dalek into my TARDIS"
"Sort of" Braxiatel admitted
"Why?"
"So you could hear this"
Braxiatel delivered a swift kick to the side of the Dalek.
"HAPPY-BIRTHDAY!" The Dalek growled
The Doctor couldn't quite believe what he just heard, did he get a happy birthday... from a Dalek?
"HAPPY-BIRTHDAY-DOCTOR-WHO?"
"He keeps insisting on calling you that" Liz chimed in "I think it suits you"
"HAPPY-BIRTHDAY-DOCTOR-WHO?" The Dalek groaned once more "HAPPY-BIRTHDAY-TO-YOU!" And then the Dalek fell silent, the eyestalk lost its blue glow and it became a life size paperweight.
"Well that was certainly new" The Doctor admitted
"I thought it would appeal to your predictable sense of humour"
"Well it did"
"Now, there is only one last thing to say"
"Which is" The Doctor asked
"I think Susan should say it" Braxiatel deflected
The Doctor turned to Susan, who gave him a huge grin.
"Grandfather" she began "It's time to wake up"
The Doctor realised what was going on "But I don't want to, not yet at least"
"But you have to Grandfather"
"Why?"
"Because Clara's waiting for you"
"Oh she's not here? That's rubbish"
"Grandfather, everyone in the TARDIS right now is from your past; you can look back of course but only in your dreams"
The Doctor smiled "You were always the clever one in the family" he shot apologetic smile at Brax and then took one last look around the room at some of his closest friends.
"I hope I see the lot of you very soon"
The Doctor turned to face Braxiatel once again, he looked like he was about to say something but then decided against it for nothing good would come from it.
"See you around Brax" The Doctor finally mustered before closing his eyes.
Upon opening his eyes, The Doctor realised he was in the console room, sprawled across the floor under the time rotor. He vaguely remembered wanting to adjust the levels of Zeiton-7 the TARDIS was burning through. The fumes must've knocked him out cold, silly, silly Doctor, he thought to himself. He should've been more careful.
"Finally awake sleepyhead?" asked a voice from behind him
Clara Oswald strode out of the TARDIS hallway and up the steps toward him.
"You looked like you had a bang on the head; I was trying to find a First Aid kit"
"Oh I accidentally destroyed all of those"
"How?"
"Apparently Dragons don't like it when you try and bandage their broken paws"
"So are you alright?" Clara asked thoughtfully
"I'm always alright" The Doctor stated as he got to his feet "Time Lords heal faster than humans do"
"Tell me something I don't know" Clara teased
"I can't actually pronounce Metebelis III in this incarnation"
"Huh?" Clara seemed confused
The Doctor simply ignored her puzzlement and started flicking switches and pressing buttons on the TARDIS console, bounding from one panel to the next to the next with incredible agility.
"Anywhere in the history of ever, Clara" he suddenly stopped, his hand hovering over a switch "Where do you want to go today?"
Clara paused for a second, as The Doctor asked her this most days she had taken to planning her responses for such impossible questions.
"The future" she replied
The Doctor shot her a grin, flicked the switch and then pulled the dematerialisation control.
They left present day Earth and bounded onward toward the future, an alien Doctor and his companion hurtling through space and time in a rackety old police box that was bigger on the inside than it was on the outside and was slightly less reliable than a broken clock. Though no one could see it the TARDIS smiled to herself, something's would never change.