Matt Smith pulled up to his flat after a long day of shooting 'Doctor Who'. He killed the engine and got out of his car, only to have another man plow into him at a dead run. The two men went tumbling to the ground, a tangle of limbs and curses.
"Oi, mate, watch where you're going," Matt yelled as he collected himself from the ground.
"Sorry," the other man said as he brushed his suit off.
"David?" Matt said suddenly, looking at the man before him. Then his face broke into a wide grin. "David Tennant!" he exclaimed happily as he extended his hand. "How are you? Long time no see."
"Ah, hi," the man said with an awkward smile on his face. "I think you have me mistaken for someone else. I'm the Doctor."
Matt looked at the man before him. He was certainly dressed like the tenth Doctor; pinstripe suit, natty tie and trainers. A new even bigger smile appeared on Matt's face. He was being pranked. For all that he was exhausted after a long day, he always enjoyed a bit of fun.
"You can't be the Doctor," Matt said suddenly. "I'm the Doctor."
The Doctor, who was already lost in his own thoughts, suddenly whipped his head round to look at Matt. "I beg your pardon?" he asked astonished.
"I'm the Doctor!" Matt repeated with enthusiasm.
"Well how can that be?" The Doctor exclaimed. "You don't look like me, or any previous me for that matter. Are you a future me?"
"Yes, I'm your next incarnation," Matt replied.
"My next incarnation," the Doctor repeated. "When do I regenerate?" he asked hesitantly. Then immediately, "No wait, maybe it's better if you don't tell me that."
Matt was having quite a bit of fun. His exhaustion was all but forgotten.
"Say, do you want to come up to my flat for some tea?" he asked the Doctor.
"You have a flat here?" the Doctor asked incredulously.
Matt immediately realized his mistake. The Doctor has a TARDIS. What would he need with a flat?
"Yes, well, I'm going to be here for a while. I thought it would be prudent to establish a local base."
"Ah, very prudent," the Doctor said absentmindedly, as he glanced down the road in the direction he had been running.
Matt turned around to see where the Doctor was looking. "Am I keeping you from something?" he asked inquisitively.
"Well, it's just that…" the Doctor trailed off for a moment. "Ahh, he's probably a kilometer away by now anyway. Sure, I'd love some tea."
"Who's he?" Matt asked as they walked to his front door.
"Oh, just a Sontaran," the Doctor replied.
Matt froze and turned momentarily white. He was quite glad this was all just make believe. The thought of a real Sontaran running around didn't appeal to him in the slightest.
"Okay, David, this has been a fun game, but seriously now, how have you been?" Matt asked as he put the kettle on.
The Doctor was only half-listening as he walked around the living room, poking seemingly random objects and running his sonic screwdriver over them.
"David?" Matt asked again as he looked at his guest; and nearly dropped the mugs he had in his hands.
Well it seemed that David was still playing the role of the Doctor, which while annoying, (couldn't the man give it a rest?) wasn't the reason for Matt's shock. The Sonic screwdriver he held in his hand was more realistic looking than any other Matt had ever seen. Matt knew a prop when he saw one, and he was pretty sure that wasn't a prop.
Nah, but that's crazy, he thought. Thinking that I have a real fictional character wandering around my flat.
Just then the kettle started to whistle, and this time Matt did drop the mugs, which shattered with a terrific bang all over the kitchen floor.
"You alright in there?" the Doctor asked, glancing up briefly from a sweater he had taken an inordinate amount of interest in.
"Yes, fine," Matt said sheepishly, feeling quite embarrassed at having been so startled by the kettle.
He quickly took the kettle off, grabbed a broom to sweep up the mess, then filled two new mugs with tea. Putting these on a tray, along with some biscuits from the pantry, Matt walked into the living room, where the Doctor had finally slowed down enough to take a seat in a chair.
"Thank you," the Doctor said taking the mug of tea Matt offered him.
Matt sat down opposite the Doctor, and was just putting his mug to his lips when the Doctor said, "You're not me you know. You're not even a Time Lord."
Matt nearly choked on his tea. Feeling the rage boil up inside him, he slammed his mug down on the coffee table, and looked right at the Doctor.
"Look David," he yelled. "This has gone far enough. I can enjoy a joke as well as the next guy, but this is just too much. Either drop the act, or get the hell out of my flat!"
The Doctor, who had a biscuit half in-half out of his mouth, froze at this outburst. Then he slowly took a bite, and methodically chewed it whilst he stared calmly and unwaveringly at Matt.
"Well," The Doctor began slowly, "as I'm not acting, and since this is your flat…" He suddenly sprang up from his seat, a large grin plastered across his face. "Thanks for the tea and biscuits, but now I really must be going."
Matt stood up and followed the Doctor to the front door. "Feel free to drop by again," Matt said, once again in control of his anger. "But make sure that when you do you're acting normal or I won't let you in."
The Doctor paused with his hand on the doorknob. He looked back at Matt. "I don't really do normal," he said, and then the door opened, and he was gone.
As soon as the door closed, Matt felt his fatigue rush back into him, and he slumped heavily against the door. He rested there for a few seconds, and then with a mighty grunt, he managed to push himself back to his feet, and started heading for his bedroom.
He had taken no more than two steps, when there was a knock on the door.
Figuring David had forgotten something, he grabbed the knob and opened the door.
"By the way," the Doctor said, as he stood in the hall, looking much too chipper for half past eleven, "Don't go around pretending that you're me. It can be quite dangerous."
Matt was in his bathroom ferociously brushing his teeth. That man has some nerve, he thought. Pretending to be the Doctor and all. A joke's a joke, fine. But he just wouldn't leave it alone. He spit angrily and continued his brushing. Maybe he was drunk. Maybe I should call him tomorrow and make sure he got home safely. By then he'll be sober and I can ask him…" Matt's thoughts were interrupted by a peculiar noise coming from outside.
Walking to the bathroom window, he peered into the night and was struck dumb by the site before him.
There in his own backyard, down by the trees at the edge of his property, was the TARDIS, noisily dematerializing.
The Toothbrush fell out of Matt's gaping mouth, and landed on his bare foot, completely unnoticed.
He continued to stare until the TARDIS was completely gone.
After several moments, he realized that he was now staring at nothing. Blinking rapidly, he turned to look at his reflection in the mirror.
He stared straight into his own eyes and then muttered in disbelief. "Nooo!"