The Impossible Queen

Chapter 1: Welcome to Storybrooke

Jack swung open the blue door of the TARDIS and peered outside. Emma, Regina, Henry, Snow, and Charming were staring at him. He gestured over to the Doctor and Clara. "Get out here. People want to know who we are and why we're here." They filed out, with the Doctor standing in the middle and forward, the other two behind him.

The Doctor straightened his red bow-tie and smiled. "Hello, I'm the Doctor! What are your names?" He asked.

The Queen stepped forward first. She offered the Doctor her hand to shake. He obliged. She said, "I'm Regina Mills, mayor of Storybrooke." She pointed out the others who were waiting to be introduced. "Over there is my son, Henry, Emma Swan, Mary Margaret Blanchard, David Nolan, and Mr. Gold." She gave an icy grin. "Who are they, the ones behind you?"

Jack stepped forward and shook Regina's hand, "Hello, Regina. I'm Captain Jack Harkness," he said with a thousand-dollar smile.

Clara shook hands with Regina as well. "I'm Clara, nice to meet you." She stepped back a little and said, "Nice to meet all of you."

"Very well, now that introductions are out of the way, I think we'll enjoy that cafe," said the Doctor. He began to walk to Granny's Diner. Jack and Clara followed, and Regina walked alongside him.

"How exactly did you get here, Doctor?" She demanded.

Jack cleared his throat and spoke up. "You saw us arrive. We got here in that blue police box. We call it a TARDIS. It stands for Time And Relative Dimensions In Space. It's a time machine and a spaceship at the same time."

Regina looked infuriated while Emma laughed in disbelief and said, "A space ship? That little box?"

"It's bigger on the inside," Clara said matter-of-factly.

"I can't believe this," Emma muttered.

The Doctor, Jack, and Clara sat down in a booth. Hook was at his own booth next to the window. Grumpy was at the counter. Regina stood over their table. Ruby noticed them and handed them menus. "Hi, I'm Ruby. What will you have to drink today?" she asked.

The Doctor spoke first, "I'll have some tea. Jack? Clara?"

"Tea for me as well," said Clara.

"I'll have some coffee, two creams, one sugar. Thanks Ruby," Jack said, with a wink.

"Oh, Jack! Don't you ever stop?" The Doctor exclaimed.

Regina was visibly losing her patience. She leaned in and looked the Doctor in the eye. She gave him a stern look as she said, "As mayor of Storybrooke, I demand to know who you are. What kind of doctor are you, anyway?"

The Doctor stopped smiling and became quite serious. "Mayor, I am the Doctor, and I am here to help you and this town, so why don't you stop asking questions, and tell us what's wrong here? Or we can just sit and eat. Your choice, Regina."

Regina backed away, and brushed herself off. "The affairs of this town are none of your concern. We're just another small town. You really should just finish your lunch and be on your way."

The Doctor stood up and got right in Regina's face. "No. Something is coming. Something terrible." He turned to the onlooking crowd. "You're all in danger. You know what it is. Tell me, so I can help you."

The residents of Storybrooke who were present looked away, at the floor or at each other. No one was talking. All except for Henry.

Clara saw it first. "Henry, you can tell us. What's going on here?" Clara asked.

Emma grabbed Henry's arm. "No, Henry, it's none of their business. You know what could happen if you tell them."

"They want to help," Henry said. "Look at them. They have secrets, too. They aren't going to tell anyone about what's going on here."

He walked over to the Doctor, who kneeled to get to Henry's level. Henry began. "My mom cast a spell."

Jack laughed. "A spell? As in magic? This ought to be good."

"Henry, stop!" Regina pleaded.

Henry ignored her. "If we don't reverse it, someone will die at midnight."

Ruby came back with the drinks. Clara sipped her tea and said, "So reverse it, then."

Henry shed a tear. "We can't. We need something that can only be found in Wonderland, and we don't have a portal."

The Doctor put his hands on Henry's shoulders. "What is it you need?"

"The Cheshire Cat," Henry told him.

The Doctor got to his feet. "We can do that, Henry. Come on, Jack, Clara. Break's over. We've got work to do." He tried to walk out the door.

Emma blocked him with her hand. "You're not going without me, she said."

Hook took a swig of rum and declared, "Where you go, I go."

Regina moved to Emma's side. "You're not going without me. This is my fault, and you'll need my magic. Snow, Charming, can you watch Henry?"

Snow and Charming nodded. "Yeah, we'll take care of him, you do what you have to do to stop this from happening."

Regina and Emma took turns hugging Henry goodbye.

The Doctor, Jack, and Clara led the way back to the TARDIS, and went in first. Regina went in next. She looked around, amazed and not at all sure what she was seeing. Next came Emma, and then Hook.

"I don't believe we've met," Jack said. "I'm Captain Jack Harkness. And who are you?"

Hook gave a devilish grin, "I, too, am a captain. Captain Hook, at your service," he said, with a bow.

"Oh, you will be," Jack smiled.

"Will be what?" Hook asked, confused.

"At my service." Jack winked. "So, would you three like the grand tour? There's a lovely hot tub in here, if you know where to find it."

"Listen here, Captain Jack," Regina said, gritting her teeth. "I'm here to make amends because I made a mistake that I regret and made my son more distant."

"And I'm here to help her do it," Emma added.

"We don't have time to play around," Regina concluded.

Jack laughed. "We're in a time machine, ladies… and gentleman. We have all the time in the world."

"If this thing can create a portal, then just take us to Wonderland," Regina demanded.

The Doctor spoke. "Let's get one thing straight, Regina. You may be the mayor of Storybrooke, but I'm in charge. Especially in the TARDIS, do you understand?"

Regina chuckled. "I have magic. What power do you have?"

The Doctor gave her a serious look. "I am a Time Lord, Regina. I am nine hundred years old and I have traveled through time and space. I have seen things you couldn't even imagine. You think the deaths you've caused are many and severe? I've wiped out entire species. I've destroyed planets. And from these great tragedies, with the help of some good companions, I learned how to be a better man. I am older than you, smarter than you, and I have two hearts as opposed to your one."

"Impossible," Regina and Emma said at once.

"I used to say that about Clara. Yet, here she is, so possible she's standing right in front of us. You might have thought something being bigger on the inside was impossible, for that matter, and now you know it is not. Very few things, as it turns out, are actually impossible. Now, you might want to hold onto something. Because we're about to take off!" The Doctor yelled, as he pulled the last lever and pushed the final button. The TARDIS took off with a "Vroormp! Vroormp!"