NOTE: This story is not cannon & should not be treated/mistaken as such. I am aware that there are fans out there that are loyal to the Big Finish audio stories & might bog me down on this story not being accurate. But do note that this is a complete retelling of the 8th Doctor's story from my imagination. I repeat, This story is not cannon.
One last thing, this story shall be the first of a series of stories regarding the 8th Doctor. This is also my first work of Fanfiction posted on this site. So I do apologize if my story is some-what mediocre. With that being said, enjoy the story.
The Doctor lay under the TARDIS console, repairing it from the damage caused by the Master's slug form crawling into it causing an emergency materialization. "That was a first," The Doctor thought to himself, "Never once have I heard of a Time Lord turning into such a creature..." He should know, since he is a Time Lord, after all. But, that's one advantage of traveling through time and space as a renegade Time Lord. 900 years of traveling, he's bound to see something never before seen or heard of before. He loved being a renegade.
Just as soon as it started, the repairs were over. The TARDIS should be running like new. The Doctor crawled out from under the console to listen to the universally known Vwoorp of the TARDIS alongside his record player playing gracefully in the background. "Hm, sounds better." He noted. "Right, where to next?" He pondered, clicking his Sonic Screwdriver shut & placing it in the holster on the console. Before he forgot, he preset some controls on the console to make sure that everything went smooth & steady. Once he was finished, he grabbed his cup of tea & headed back to his armchair for some well-deserved peace and quiet. "Now, where was I?" He sat down his cup on the small table set on the right, sat down, grabbed his book and kicked his feet up. He flipped through the pages trying to find where his last incarnation left off, enjoying the music and the relaxing sound of the TARDIS in the process. Just as he found the page where he stopped, the record started to skip once more. "Oh no, not again..."
He bookmarked the page yet again, placed the book down on the table & got up to fix the record. After taking the 2 seconds to fix the record, an orange light lit up brightly on the console. The Doctor sighed as he wondered over to check the problem. The TARDIS monitor hanging from the ceiling reading "DEMATERIALIZATION CODE ENTERED. DEMATERIALIZING." The Doctor tried to counter the command & bring it back into the vortex, but the TARDIS's landing was already in progress. "I swear, this old girl is in need of some serious repairing." He made a mental note to himself as he checked the location and date on the Console screen. "THURSDAY, 22 MARCH 2012 A.D. JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA" It read. "Florida... I could probably park the TARDIS here for the time being & continue reading." He wondered. Without a second thought, he decided that this was the best way to go for now. He went back to the armchair & took a swig of the tea. After swallowing, he made a semi-disgusted face, as if he tasted something bitter. The tea was Cold! Apparently, this version of The Doctor wasn't too fond of cold tea. He walked over to the console with the cold tea in his hand, pushed a button & opened up a small, circular hatch on the side of the console. The new garbage disposal system he installed when his previous incarnation designed this interior. Waste goes in & instantaneously gets atomized by the sheer power of the Time Vortex! A cool idea he thought at the time. He poured out the cold tea into the hatch, closed it, and listened to the sweet sound of the atomization of the tea. Sounds much like water hissing before it boils, but much, much more intense & dramatic.
The Doctor placed the empty tea cup on the edge of the console & examined the location once more. "Well, why waste time in here making another cup & reading when I could simply go out, buy some more & get some fresh air?" He pointed out. He did admit that going out for tea wasn't worth writing home about. But at least outside there was a greater chance of something going terribly wrong then in here. Besides, maybe the TARDIS could repair itself while he was gone. He decided to take the funner route. He grabbed his Screwdriver from the holster & put it in his inner coat pocket, fixed up his coat a little bit, & opened the doors & walked outside.
He was greeted by a nice breeze of humid, warm air. Several large, puffy clouds dotted the visible sky. The immediate area was was surrounded with small, business like buildings & trees nearly everywhere you turn. Several cars driving along side the road & not very many pedestrians. Not too crowed, not too deserted, just the way he liked it. The Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS, it appears as though he landed next to a large, bland, financial building, but he couldn't be 100% sure nor really cared for that matter. As long as he knew where the TARDIS was is good enough for him. Enough dilly-dallying, he shut the doors behind him & locked them shut. Now, the only challenging part is finding a Starbucks around here...
After wondering around for a little over 15 minutes, admiring the sights & sounds around him in the process, he finally came across a Starbucks. It lay a little over 100 meters away across the street. It was on the corner of a small little Mini-Mall on the street side. Upwards of 20 cars were parked alongside this mall. Beautiful tall palm trees lined up along the median of the street, more colorful buildings around the mall & a much greater amount of people in the sidewalks. Overall, this little place here does seem a bit more... Busy, so to speak. This did not stop The Doctor, of course not! He was actually anxious to try out this new Starbucks beverages. The Doctor himself doesn't even think that he's even been to a Starbucks before. Or, at least, not that he can recall. He was wondering whether or not their kind of tea would taste like. For all he knew, this tea could very well be the worst mistake he ever had the misfortune of tasting. Many people he's heard of love Starbucks, so it has to be good. At least, by Human standards of living. But, like he always said, You can't just read the guidebook, you've gotta throw yourself in! Eat the food, use the wrong verbs, get charged double & end up kissing complete strangers!
He could already start to smell the scent of the shop after 3/4 of the short walk there. It smelled of a faint scent of many a drinks. Coffee, Espresso, Frappuccino, Tea, every form of beverage imaginable. & all from this distance! He was worried if his delicate Gallifreyan nose could withstand such extreme aromas. If the smell of it was this good, then he could only speculate what the beverage would taste like! The Doctor counted at least 6 people sitting at tables in the front of the shop. Talking, texting, laughing with each other, enjoying their drinks, doing human stuff. The tables themselves, of course being outside, had those cute little umbrellas with the iconic Starbucks logo printed on them hanging above the tables. They were some-what of a useless ornament. Considering that most of the large, puffy clouds The Doctor had previously seen had blown away or dissipated completely. & the fact that the sun was blocked by the building itself. Trees lined up the edge of the khaki-colored brick side way. Benches placed here & there along the side. The activity on the street & on the sidewalk still hasn't cleared up any since the time he arrived here. People walking in & out of stores in the mini mall, cars parking or driving away, the fresh breeze of the moist air. People everywhere, cars everywhere, the whole city's out wandering around. Like good ol' Times Square.
The moment he walked into the shop, he was almost overwhelmed by the smells & aromas of the store. It smelled of a scent so divine, so unique, so perfect, it could be next to impossible to describe. Try taking the smell of freshly baked cookies, soap, the Earth after a rainstorm, fresh flowers, a babbling brook at the side of a mountain & newly bought perfume. Combine all those scents & place it in such a small & concealed area such as this store & that is how good it smells like. The Doctor closed his eyes & took a deep breath to capture this all magnificent smell. Not even the Eye of Orion was this pleasant. "I really should come here more often..." The Doctor thought. He opened his eyes to find a relatively strange interior design. The walls were composed mainly out of a reddish-brown painted wood. The counter was made of the same dark wood material with a top made of what looked like marble. Dark tan bricks were the only other material used, they made up the wall behind the counter & all the many many different concoctions. Little lamps strewed down from the ceiling on small silver chains, lighting up the establishment. There were an awful lot of tables strewn about with even more people sitting at them. Much more then outside. Barely a single open seat at one of them. Up front at the counter wasn't any better. Only 2 out of the 8 seats were available for taking. Still, that was a lot better than all of the tables & outside. So he decided to take the ladder & head up front to get some breathing room.
Almost immediately after even getting close to the counter, The Doctor was greeted by a young girl. No longer a child, not yet a woman. She looked like a jovial sort of person. Her long brown hair done up flawlessly in a ponytail with a black hairband for that extra touch. She wore thick, black glasses that matched her glistening green eyes. Her work outfit was as clean & as perfect as a whistle. No dirt, no dust, nothing. Just flawless. & to top it all off, she had the biggest of all smiles. She had a smile that said "Hello world! May I take your order?". The Doctor always loved meeting these radiant kind of people. Always so fun & carefree. "Hi! Welcome to Starbucks! My name is Sadie, how may I help you today?" She beamed.
"Hello there, Sadie." The Doctor replied, sitting down. He began to look at their extensive menu of coffees & beverages. So many choices, so many flavors... He wanted to try them all. The fine taste of tea, brewed to perfection... No. He realized the only reason he came here was for something quick & easy. He didn't have time to indulge in such wonderful tastes & smells. He looked around at the menu for a brief moment more then made up his mind. "I'll have the Refresh brewed Tea, no added flavoring, &, hmm... I guess that will be everything." He decided.
"Alright! Your drink is coming right up!" She announced as she walked a meter or two away to one of the many pots at the bottom of the counter. The Doctor had to wait a grand total of 11 seconds for her to walk to the pot, pour a glass then come back. He liked the fast pace of her. "That will be $2.99!"
"Alright! Let me see what I have in here..." The Doctor dove into his coat pockets trying to see if he has any American currency on him. American currency. What a joke... After a few moments of struggling, he felt a long, rectangular piece of paper. He pulled it out, & turns out it was a $100 bill. "Will this cover it?"
"Hmmm-" Sadie grabbed the bill, looking at it closely. "-Just about." She smiled, then very quickly broke into laughter. The Doctor couldn't help but smirking a little bit with her. Her jollity was contagious. The Doctor started to wonder if it was natural for an average human to be this happy? Must be all the fumes she's exposed to on the everyday basis. Which, he couldn't blame her. Either that or she has especially large Mitochondria packed into her cells. Nevertheless, he enjoyed the happiness emitted from her.
"Hmmm..." Sadie observed the Doctor's odd sense of clothing. Sadie couldn't help but ask about it. Which, the Doctor wouldn't blame her. He'd do the same thing if he was in her position. "What is the costume for? Do you have an interview or meeting today?"
"Oi!" The Doctor began. "I happen to be British & this just so happens to be the average clothing they wear! Or, at least, in the Victorian Era, they did.."
"Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't realize that... Wait," Sadie stopped, "Victorian Era?" She was completely puzzled after that.
"Yes. You know? Victorian London? Horse drawn carriages, people with top hats & monocles, terrible smog, Queen Victoria, eh..." The Doctor stopped. "Not one of the most memorable queens, but I tell you, great sense of humor! I heard her tell some jokes & stories once when I visited... I couldn't stop chuckling for days!"
Sadie's smile & jolly face has turned into a face of pure & utter confusion. Never once has she ever served a customer this far out there. "I don't know whether I should be laughing or terrified... If I didn't think you were strange enough!"
"Not strange," The Doctor started. "Just a bit unusual." He took a drink of the fresh tea. And it was single handedly one of the best beverages he has ever had the privilege of tasting. It was every good sensation the sentient body can conceive of condensed into liquid form. And did it taste marvelous...
Before Sadie could respond, she got called back by a much older, larger gentlemen. He looked like the manager of the establishment, but the Doctor couldn't get a very firm look at him before he, as well as Sadie, disappeared behind the wall. The Doctor then just spun his seat around, kicked up his feet, & enjoyed the peace. He could stay here forever. Slowly, but surely, order each & every single beverage that this place has to offer. Here, time seemed to stand still. Nothing to worry about. No big rush. Just him & his tea... This life felt perfect.
Until the silence was broken by a scream coming from outback.
It sounded like the cry of a female, calling out for help. Saying "Get it off of me!" and, "I can't get out!" Naturally, The Doctor couldn't help but to find out what this screaming was all about. So, he drank down the rest of his tea, put the cup down, & walked through the counter area & into the kitchen.
"Well, sounds like there could be something interesting happening after all." He thought, pushing his way through the employees trying to stop him. He did notice that there were several other employees heading outside with him to see what the big ruckus was all about. Good thing. He doesn't even know the situation outside. For all he knew, someone could be getting mauled by a bear. After finally making his way outside to the back of the store with the other employees, he saw something strange...
It was Sadie, with an angel statue grabbing her arm.