TITLE: That Moment When
AUTHOR: MikeJaffa
SYNPOSIS: Missing scene from "Oxygen." And I am probably as swift as Nardole.
DISCAIMER: the BBC owns Doctor Who. I am making no money off this silly fic
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"Haven't seen my true face in years," Nardole said thoughtfully. "Swapped it for this one on the run." He was standing in the door of the Tardis, across the console from Bill and the Doctor.
The Doctor grinned. "Oh, look, Bill! It's Nardole. What a lovely surprise." The smile faded. "I thought I sent you to Birmingham for a packet of crisps."
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"Birimingham!?" Nardole yelped. "Why do I have to go there for crisps? What's wrong with the shops around here?" He and the Doctor were standing in the kitchen on the floor beneath the Doctor's office.
"I'm very particular about the crisps I eat," the Doctor said.
"Since when?"
"Since forever."
"I never noticed."
"It's not my fault you haven't been paying attention." The Doctor fished a piece of paper out of his pocket, scooped a key ring off a wall peg, and offered them both to Nardole. "Take money from the petty cash box. Here's the name of the shop. It's just a quick run up the M5. Now, off you go."
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Nardole tapped the steering wheel of the red Volkswagen Golf Hatchback as he sang along to the song on the radio. He'd been driving for almost an hour. Rush hour traffic in Bristol had been a nightmare, of course, but things had sped up once he'd hit the motorway.
The song ended, and Nardole huffed out a breath. "If I had known it would take this long, I would have borrowed the Tardis. Funny. Why didn't he offer?" He frowned. "And I don't even know where this shop is. How much longer until I get there?"
Just then he passed a sign showing the distance to Birmingham. Nardole did some math in his head. "I'm barely halfway there?" he wondered. "And even assuming I find this shop quickly and Birmingham traffic isn't too bad, there's no way I'll get back to the university before Bill-" He broke off and his eyes went wide. "Son of a-!"
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53 minutes later in the Tardis, Nardole said to the Doctor, "Yeah, I saw through your cunning ruse." 'Eventually,' Nardole thought to himself, but the Doctor didn't need to know that.
THE END
