The lovely Unwilling Adventurer sent me some prompts on Tumblr. This one was inspired by their suggestion to have Ian and Barbara stumble across the TARDIS swimming pool and not tell the Doctor that they're going for dips. It's about time I got to getting these done!
"Ian, admit it, we're lost."
"No, we're not. If you'll just give me a minute, I'll be able to figure out where we are."
Barbara sighed and rubbed her forehead with her fingers. "We've been past this door four times already. I think we should just wait for the Doctor to find us."
"We haven't been here before! I'd know if we had," Ian said, a hint of frustration in his voice.
It really wasn't any use arguing with him now, she figured. She had already tried several times, but he refused to give up. He would collapse in exhaustion before he would agree to stand by and do nothing while the Doctor and Susan searched for them.
They continued down the dimly lit hallway, attempting to find even the littlest things that would help them remember where they had been. It was a difficult feat as everything looked the same. Closed doors invited them to investigate, but the temptation to see behind them was what had gotten them lost in the first place. After a maze of hallways and doors, they didn't feel any closer to finding their way.
"I don't think we've gone down there yet, do you?" Ian had stopped and was now pointing down a hallway that looked exactly the same as every other one. He started walking without giving Barbara a chance to respond. He was sure that she'd just argue with him anyways.
This hallway simply had closed doors and an eventual sharp turn to the right. Ian and Barbara followed this turn to find an unexpected sight. A rectangular swimming pool lay before them complete with a diving board. The ceiling was painted to look like some galaxy far from the Milky Way. It was dotted with thousands of stars of differing sizes. There were larger spheres which could have been planets. Some of them even had rings. Along either side of the pool were at least a dozen lights. They shone a bright blue and cast a glow onto the ceiling and pool.
"It's a swimming pool!" Barbara said in awe. She stepped through an open door and into the room, amazed by the sight before her. "Ian, look at this place!"
Ian did as she told and was just as stunned. "The pool is huge! And look at that painting!" He stood next to Barbara and placed an arm around her shoulders. "How come the Doctor never showed us this?"
Chuckling, Barbara said, "Maybe he didn't know about it. You know what he's like with the TARDIS. He'd probably get just as lost as us."
"There you are!"
The excited voice startled Barbara and Ian. They turned to find Susan smiling at them. "We've been looking everywhere for you!" she said.
Throwing a quick glare at Ian, Barbara said, "We got lost."
"Susan, did you know the TARDIS had a swimming pool?" Ian said, ignoring Barbara's look.
As she began leaving the room, Susan responded, "Yes, I knew the TARDIS had one. I don't like swimming and Grandfather always says he has better things to do, so we never use it."
Ian and Barbara looked at each other in disbelief. They trailed behind Susan and Ian asked, "Could we use it?"
"I guess you could. Grandfather probably wouldn't like that, though."
"Well, why not?" Ian asked.
Barbara answered, "He would probably call us lazy and tell us to do something useful."
"What if we just didn't tell him?" Ian said. "He doesn't have to know."
"If you really want to go through all that trouble just to swim, I'm not going to stop you." Susan wrinkled her nose and added, "But I just don't understand why you want to swim so much."
Seeing that Ian was about to argue, Barbara placed a hand on his arm and shook her head. She learned that it was sometimes better not to argue with Susan and the Doctor. While they walked, she focused on remembering the path Susan took to be able to find the pool later.
The three eventually entered the console room and the Doctor greeted them with a "hmph." He looked Barbara and Ian up and down before saying, "Couldn't help getting lost, could you?"
"Your ship isn't exactly easy to navigate, Doctor," Ian said, balling his hands into fists. "You probably don't even know what's all in here."
"You don't know what you're talking about."
"Oh, I don't, do I?"
"Stop it, both of you!" Barbara interrupted, stepping between the feuding men.
There was a strained silence. Ian and the Doctor stared at each other while Barbara and Susan looked back and forth between the two of them.
The Doctor moved first. He turned around and said, "Be more observant next time, Chesterton," before starting to investigate the console.
Ian resisted the urge to argue. There really was no use in doing so seeing how stubborn the Doctor could be.
Barbara checked the time. "It's late. I think I'll go to bed." Susan said good night and the Doctor gave a mumble which possibly could have been an acknowledgement to Barbara's statement. Ian left without a word.
Once they were out of earshot, Barbara said, "Well, that could've gone better."
"What did you want me to do, Barbara? He acts as if he knows everything. If he would just —"
"I know what he's like, but that's over now. Just think, we found a swimming pool! I never would have imagined that there could be one on the TARDIS. I never realized how much I've missed swimming."
"We haven't been gone that long," Ian chuckled. "We left in November. It's not like we would have gone swimming in the winter anyways."
"Hush, you," Barbara elbowed him in the arm. "Just let me be excited about this."
They made plans to sneak away to the wardrobe after breakfast the next morning. Surely the Doctor had bathing suits in his collection. After everything was set, they said their good nights and left for their separate rooms. Although Ian tried to hide his excitement, both he and Barbara looked forward to their clandestine meeting.
Their scheming for the following day proved to be fruitless. The Doctor had landed the TARDIS sometime while they slept. They were woken early by his calls to venture out to an island surrounded by a sea of acid. This next stop plunged them into a nonstop adventure that led them to all different kinds of locations from a jungle of overgrown plants to a city governed by a severely twisted justice system.
Ian escorted Barbara inside after a sad farewell to Altos and Sabetha. Barbara did little to disguise her grief, so the two walked without speaking to each other. They joined the Doctor and Susan at the TARDIS console and watched the Doctor prepare the ship for takeoff. Once the TARDIS was moving through time and space, the Doctor smiled and said, "Well, that's that. We're off to somewhere new. I wonder where it will be this time."
"Hopefully back to England, 1963," Ian said, giving Barbara a pat on her shoulder.
"Yes, hopefully," Barbara nodded.
The Doctor stood straight and grabbed his lapels. "I am trying, you know. Controlling this ship isn't as easy as I make it look."
"We know, Doctor," Ian said.
"Yes, we know. Thank you," Barbara added.
"Hmph." The Doctor returned to the console and looked it over. "We won't be landing for a little while. I suggest everyone gets some sleep in the meantime. We all need it after this journey."
Barbara and Ian said their good nights to the Doctor and Susan, who wanted to stay up a little longer. Neither of the humans knew how she had so much energy. She almost always went to bed after them and was awake before them.
They walked down the hallway towards their rooms. Once they were out of sight, Ian quickly turned to Barbara and grabbed her shoulders. "Barbara, we should go back to the pool. I've been dying to use it."
"Aren't you exhausted?" They hadn't gotten a decent night's sleep since landing on Marinus. Running from Voord, destroying deceitful rulers, battling killer plants, surviving in below freezing temperatures, and fighting a corrupt justice system had left them hardly any time for resting.
"We might land by the time morning comes around. Now might be our only chance before we venture out again."
The near-pleading expression on Ian's face was enough to convince Barbara. She grudgingly acquiesced to his excitement and the two changed their course for the wardrobe room. The room stretched before them, so much so that it was difficult to see the back wall from the door. Clothes filled the room from where Ian and Barbara stood all the way to the back of the room. There were countless rows of clothes racks extending to either side of the room's walls. The sheer amount of clothes was staggering, but it did not have the same astonishing effect as the clothes' colors did. The colors were a kaleidoscope, all different shades and hues somehow mixing together to create a beautiful effect.
"This room always amazes me," Barbara said in awe.
"I'm sure we can find some swimsuits in here." Ian started off down one of the aisles and sorted through clothes.
The search took about fifteen minutes. Barbara easily found a pair of swim trunks that fit Ian. It wasn't so easy to find something for her to wear. Ian found plenty of bathing suits, but she wouldn't be caught dead wearing any of them. After he showed her a horrendous two-piece suit, she finally found a simple single piece that wasn't too repulsive. They took turns changing inside the wardrobe room and then left to find the pool. Between the two of them, they managed to find it without getting lost too many times.
Barbara opened the door to the pool and felt her breath leave her at the sight. It was just as magnificent as she remembered. The stars and planets on the ceiling glowed blue from the lights.
Ian was as mystified as she was. He put his hand on her waist and walked with her to the pool's edge. "It's all just so surreal, isn't it?"
"Just as surreal as a machine that transverses time and space?" Barbara smirked.
"You have a point," Ian said, chuckling. "I shouldn't be surprised that the TARDIS has a room like this, but I am."
They admired the artwork and the lighting for a little while longer. "Well," Ian said, "Ladies first, then."
Suddenly, Barbara felt a strong push on her back and the ground slipped out from beneath her. The blue water rushed up towards her. She had just enough time to draw a quick breath before she was completely submerged in the water. Her arms flailed around until one broke the water's surface. She managed to lift her head out and inhaled deeply.
Her yell of "Ian!" sent the man into a fit of laughter. "I couldn't resist, Barbara!" he said in defense. His laughs didn't do much to help his case.
She pushed the hair out of her face and wiped her eyes. "What would possess you to —," she stopped when she noticed he wasn't listening. She tried again, but a smile crept on her face. She tried one last time to chastise Ian and only found herself laughing with him. "Well, get in here, then!" she splashed water up at Ian who jumped when it touched his feet.
"Alright, already, I'm getting in!" Ian stepped back from the edge and made a running jump into the pool, sending Barbara to shielding her eyes.
Not so easily appeased, Barbara jumped onto Ian's back and pulled him back underwater. She swam away from him before he emerged, coughing and spluttering. Ian rubbed his eyes and said, "Oh, you think you're clever?" He swam straight for her, arms outstretched.
With her feet slipping on the pool floor, Barbara turned and moved as fast as she could in the opposite direction. She reached out for the pool wall, but couldn't hold on as Ian grabbed her waist and lifted her high out of the water. She tried to yell, but could only laugh. She managed to demand, "Put me down!"
"Alright, you asked!"
She was thrown to the side and fell back underwater. When she emerged, Ian was directly in front of her, ready to attack again. "No! You win!"
"That's what I thought," Ian said. He moved away from her and climbed out of the pool. Barbara wiped the water from her eyes. She was about to ask where he was going, but he stepped onto the diving board. He ran and jumped, leaning his body forward to dive into the pool. He remained underwater and swam to the other end of the pool, emerging only when he reached the wall.
"Now you're just showing off!" Barbara said. She swam to him, keeping her head above the water. "Where'd you learn to swim like that?"
"I spent a lot of my summers at the local pool near my home. It's been a while, but it looks like I've still got it. What about you? Where did you learn to swim?"
"We had a little creek by the house. A couple friends and I would swim there if it was hot enough."
"Hm, that sounds nice," Ian said. He kicked off of the ground and floated onto his back.
Barbara followed his lead. The two floated lazily along with the slight currents of the water. She stared up at the stars above. She might've been attempting to count them when she felt her eyes begin to close. Ian's voice brought her back to the present.
"I'm glad we found this place, Barbara. It's just the sort of thing we need to relax after battling some hostile alien race."
"It is nice. The Doctor wouldn't come looking for us here, would he?"
"I don't think so. Why would he come back to the pool? Susan might figure out we're here, though. She found us the first time we were here."
"I think I'd prefer her interruptions than the Doctor's."
When Ian didn't respond, she looked back up to the painting. She tried to count the stars again, but her eyes closed. The slow current drifted her to a light sleep.
Ian said something and waited for a response. When he didn't get one, he noticed that Barbara had dozed off. He watched her bob up and down on the water and wished he could fall asleep himself. There was no way he'd be able to do so floating on the water. He wondered how she had managed to do it. While he wanted to let her sleep, he was sure that she wouldn't be happy with him if he left her there all night. He imagined her head falling to one side and her waking up with a nose full of water. No, it was best if he woke her up.
Once they were out of the pool, they realized that they had forgotten towels. There didn't seem to be any around the pool. Ian wondered aloud what kind of pool didn't have towels, much to Barbara's tired laughter. They walked quickly out of the room and down the hall, attempting to retrace their steps. It was easier to find their way back this time. Ian went into the room he shared with the Doctor. He was relieved to find that the older man had yet to go to bed. If Ian wasn't so tired, he would wonder if that man ever slept. He said a quiet good night to Barbara and closed the door.
Susan was sleeping in the room when Barbara got back. Barbara could expect some prying questions in the morning, but Susan had said that she wouldn't tell her Grandfather about their using the pool. Hopefully she would keep that promise. In reality, it was another mystery in this adventure in time and space. To Barbara and Ian, however, it was their own little planet. The Doctor was sure to find out eventually and judge them for their lazy habits. Until then, the pool was an entire world of their own, devoid of time and space. It was just what they needed.