After a brief interlude for something more, ahem, naughty, time to start a new story, another one of my Doctor Who tales full of angst, jealousy and Clara (of course). I've now moved on to 12/Clara, but as it's a multi Doctor tale, have brought back 11, but with the Ponds. It starts from the end of Flatline and is canon up to that point...
"Come on, why can't you say it?" exclaimed the frustrated Clara. "I was the Doctor and I was good."
"You were an exceptional Doctor, Clara."
"Thank you."
"Goodness had nothing to do with it."
Clara looked a bit puzzled as the Twelve returned into the TARDIS. What was he suggesting, that somehow by becoming more like him, she was no longer a good person, or at least not as good as before? She was about to bring this up, when her thoughts were interrupted by Twelve.
"Bit of a problem, and seeing that you are getting good at being me, I was wondering what your thoughts were?"
"My thoughts are that I'd like to go home, but I assume that's not on the agenda."
"No, it seems that when the boneless drained the TARDIS energy, with me inside, they've caused some problems to the TARDIS. That one journey out of the tunnels might be the last for a while, as I now can't go forwards from this point in time, only backwards."
"What? The TARDIS can't take me home?"
"Correct. You can still walk home or take the train back to London, but in boring normal time."
"But I've got a class in ten minutes! It'll take me hours to get back to Coal Hill from here."
"We'd better find a solution then. Any ideas?"
"Um, no."
"I was hoping for a little more input than that Doctor Oswald" replied Twelve with what Clara thought was a touch of smugness.
"I take it you have a solution then?"
"Hopefully yes. What I need to do is go back in time and cross my own timestream. Do all the things I should never do."
"And that will do the trick?"
"Theoretically yes. Crossing my own timestream should create enough of an energy spike to jolt the TARDIS back into action again. It may also cause the sort of explosion that destroys any planets within 1,000 miles, but that can't be helped."
Clara glared at Twelve. Was he being serious, she could never be sure now with this Doctor?
"So where are we going?"
"Oh just a random moment in time, I'll let the TARDIS choose, but the only criteria is that is has to be before you came along. You crossing your own path would be too dangerous."
Twelve set the TARDIS in motion. It soon landed heavily with a massive bang, and sparks coming out of the console.
"It worked! The TARDIS is fully operational. A few checks and then I can take you home; I don't want to keep your class and PE waiting."
"So we've just crossed paths with one of your previous versions. Aren't we going to say hello?"
"Right gang" exclaimed Eleven, "Where do you fancy going? After all that Shakri and cube business, I fancy somewhere more exciting than your living room."
"Don't care!" exclaimed Amy, "Anything beats having you lounging around the house."
"God that was boring! I don't know how you humans live your life like that. All that inactivity. Anyway, I know the perfect place to visit."
"Is it safe?" asked Rory.
"Of course! Well fairly safe, I mean I got out alive last time, just about."
"Oh good oh, I love your words of reassurance!"
"Never mind grumpy chops over there, where are we going Doctor?" interrupted Amy.
"Qargon, in the Phaw Galaxy. A very nice planet, been meaning to return. Very pretty flowers and flying kittens. Well not exactly kittens as they are a completely different species, but they look like kittens and use their whiskers to fly around."
"Sounds cute!" exclaimed Amy. "What are we waiting for?"
Eleven pulled the lever and the TARDIS set off, shaking violently, as the three of them held on for their lives, sparks flying everywhere. After it landed, Rory spoke first.
"Is this what fairly safe means then Doctor?"
"I don't think this has anything to do with Qargon, I think I've just crossed my timestream. If I'm not mistaken, there will be another TARDIS out there. Another version of me, that's exciting. I'm going to have a look, stay here, I'll let you know if it's safe."
"No, I'm not going out there Clara; it's dangerous and wrong. We're leaving right now."
"Doctor, you can't come this close to a previous version of you without saying hello; that would be ridiculous. Besides, you probably owe them an apology for the explosion in their TARDIS you no doubt caused."
"Oh all right then" huffed Twelve grumpily. "But you stay here! Unpredictable things can happen when I cross my timestream. I don't want you rewriting my history."
If only you knew, Clara thought to herself, if only you knew…
Twelve exited his TARDIS and saw Eleven outside his TARDIS.
"I thought it might be you. Actually I knew it was you."
"So you're a future version of me?"
"Yes."
Eleven lowered his voice to a whisper.
"But I'm the last Doctor, so how come I'm able to regenerate again?"
"You'll find out in due course. And you'll forget that we had this conversation anyway once time resets itself."
"Then you can tell me how you come to exist!"
"No."
"Misery guts. And you're so old looking, no wonder you're grumpy! Amy will be in for a big shock when she sees you."
"Pudding brain" Twelve mumbled under his breath. "I'll go and fetch Clara my current Companion; I would have flown off straight away if she hadn't insisted on meeting you."
Twelve went back inside his TARDIS and closed the door behind him.
"Well?"
"You won't need PE any more, your boyfriend is back."
"Danny is my boyfriend!"
"Well your ex then."
"What your previous version? Chinny?"
"Yes, that one, but bear in mind that he has never met you before. He's still with Amy and Rory. We can't drop any hints about their future, and that he loses them soon afterwards. And don't do that thing with your eyes when you see him either, that thing where they go all big and weird, we don't need that."
Clara poked Twelve in the arm.
"Oi, and for your information, he wasn't my boyfriend!"
Meanwhile Eleven had popped back into his TARDIS.
"Come along Ponds, I've got a new Doctor for you to meet! A lot different from me, I mean he's all old and wrinkly, that's sonot cool."
"Now this I have to see" exclaimed Amy running to the door. Outside she saw Twelve and Clara leaving the TARDIS.
"Hello Amy" spoke Twelve sombrely.
"Love the accent!" replied Amy. "So you're a future Doctor then, that's interesting. New Companion too."
"Hello I'm Clara. Clara Oswald. You two must be Amy and Rory, I've heard so much about you." Clara smiled encouragingly, before looking across at Eleven. It was an earlier version, but undeniably her Doctor. Or was that not the case any more?
"Hello Clara," replied Rory who had joined them. "Good to meet you. It's weird, but you remind me of another Oswald, someone we met, well sort of. She was called Oswin Oswald. We never saw her, but she sounded a lot like you."
"It would be weird if somehow you two were related" added Eleven. "Mind you she was from way in the future."
"I'm pretty sure we aren't related" replied Clara exchanging glances with Twelve. "That would be impossible."
Clara smiled as Twelve looked up at the ceiling.
"It's very strange" continued Amy, "Seeing a future Doctor and his future Companion. I wonder how we leave."
"Everything changes" replied Twelve. "Yes Amy, you and Rory do leave the TARDIS, and your Doctor, with his silly bow-tie will change into me, but it's all in the future, your future, one which you can only find about in real time."
"It's good to know I have a future" replied Eleven. "So Clara, you're my future Companion."
"Yes."
"Ooh, that's good. Clara Oswald. Clara Os-wald."
Eleven put on his best seductive smile, and adjusted his bow-tie.
"Oi Doctor, we haven't gone yet!" exclaimed Amy interrupting him.
"Yes, er sorry. So what are you two doing here anyway, we nearly crashed!"
"I needed to reboot the TARDIS" replied Twelve.
"Reboot?" queried Rory.
"In simple terms, it had stopped going forward in time, and I needed to cross my own timestream to create a temporal schism to jolt it back into action. I was going to fly off straight away, but Clara insisted on getting out and saying hello."
"I should think so as well!" replied Amy. "Are you trying to avoid us?"
"No, but it's dangerous crossing my own timestream."
"Yes, well we did notice the explosions. Since you're here now, coming to see the flying kittens?"
"What!" exclaimed Clara.
"Clara" replied Twelve, "We've landed on a planet called Qargon, famous for its flying kittens. Not actual kittens, but they do look the same."
"Well there's no way we're leaving then!"
"Oh all right, but I need to do some checks on the TARDIS to make sure that she's working properly again. Shouldn't take more than a few minutes."
"And if you dare take off without us seeing the kittens, there'll be hell to pay!"
"I'm sure he won't" replied Amy with a smirk. "I don't think he's that brave. We'll be waiting for you."
Twelve and Clara returned to his TARDIS. As Twelve did his checks on the TARDIS console, Clara spoke.
"You knew it was him, didn't you? Chinny."
"Maybe."
"That's why you wanted to take off straight away."
"Not at all, it's dangerous meeting previous versions of myself."
"Is it? Don't forget I've been in the TARDIS with three versions of you at the same time, and that worked out ok. Three Doctors, a girl's biggest fantasy" Clara smiled, "Or nightmare."
"That was different, I've deliberately crossed my own timeline here; I don't want to, er, cause any more damage."
Clara strode around the console desk with a sceptical look on her face. She wasn't at all convinced by the Doctor's arguments. Surely the Doctor wasn't … jealous of his previous self? Then it occurred to Clara that the Doctor would be finding the return of Amy and Rory rather painful, as she knew how badly he had taken their loss. Clara slowly walked towards him and rested her head against his arm.
"Seeing Amy and Rory again, it must bring back bad memories for you."
"Oh, well we all move on. Have to. Anyway, the TARDIS seems to be fully up to speed now, shall we go and see the others?"
Outside, Amy was still coming to terms with seeing the next Doctor.
"It's really strange seeing a different version of you, especially since when I first met you, you had only just regenerated. The raggedy Doctor."
"Well the process is quite random" replied Eleven, "I've had all sorts of different faces, though none of them were as wrinkled as that one! How can I come back so old looking?"
Eleven looked at his feet in a rather fed-up manner.
"We all get old Doctor" replied Rory.
"You might do, but I've no reason to get old, or at least to look old."
"At least you can come back with another face!" exclaimed Amy. "In case you hadn't noticed, we're not even on the TARDIS."
"Yes, I wonder what happened to us?" added Rory.
"Oh, I'm sure one day you'll decide that you've had enough of travelling with the silly old Doctor, and I'll drop you off back home for the final time" replied the Doctor cheerfully. "You'll be living happy, fulfilling domestic lives, while I'll be flying off having exciting new adventures with Clara."
"You got over us quickly!" replied Amy with a laugh. "At least you could pretend to be devastated at our departure before finding your next bird."
"Clara isn't my next bird!" exclaimed Eleven with a look of indignation."
"And where does River fit into this?"
"Where does River fit into anything?" That was one story that sadly Eleven knew the ending of.
"Anyway, at some point in the future you regenerate, and come back with an older face" continued Amy. "Maybe you choose an older face to give yourself added gravitas?"
"Gravitas? Are you saying that people don't take me seriously?"
"No, but…. Ah, here they are"
Eleven looked up as Twelve and Clara exited their TARDIS. God how he hated how old his future self looked, and those eyebrows were something else! And yet, Clara with him seemed happy enough, a bit short and her nose was all funny, but there was something about her, yes…
"Kittens then" exclaimed Twelve with a smile, the first time Amy and Rory had seen this. "You'll love them Clara, they're really cute looking. Lead the way, er bow-tie me."
And with that Twelve, much to her surprise, took Clara by the hand as they strode off.
I hope you found the scenario interesting. 11 and the Ponds have just dealt with The Shakri (The Power of Three) so will shortly be going to New York...