As Time Goes By
Written by Angel Pallet
Chapter 1
The Kit Kat Club
In drenching rain, an African American young man held onto his hat as he ran toward the back door to the Kit Kat Night Club. Frantically, he attempted to open the door. It was locked. The man clinched his fist to pound the door frame.
In his Texas accent he shouted, "Open the door! Anyone, please help me!"
The door opened only to display a police box. The Doctor opened the door of his Tardis to rescue the frightened man before the dangerous thugs could injure him.
Then the Tardis escaped before the thugs could shoot at the Tardis. Needless to say, the thugs became startled to watch a police box disappear into thin air.
A man said, "Find him!"
The Doctor helped his new guest to his feet.
"Don't be frightened."
Straightening his blue bow tie the Doctor added, "I'm the Doctor."
The Doctor's new guest gazed at the ship. Baffled, he tried to open the door behind him only to find it locked.
"I must be dreamin'. Where am I?"
Clara dressed in a sleeveless Art Deco dress, was told ahead of time to wear a wig with bobbed hair and a black felt hat. She led the man to a rail to hold onto. Because the man was dripping in wet clothes, Clara placed a warm blanket around him.
"You are safe here away from those men. You are not dreaming. We won't hurt you."
The Doctor gazed at his console.
"We need to find out who those men chasing you were working for."
Clara then gave their frightened guest some hot coffee in a thermos mug. In exchange, he offered his wet hat. With his handkerchief, he wiped the rain and sweat from his face. Then, Clara placed his hat on a rack.
"My name is Clara. What is yours?"
Their guest spellbound by all the sights and sounds of the Tardis answered, "Doo…ley Wil…son ma…am."
The Doctor turned around to calm Dooley. Dooley seemed to shake like a leaf.
The Doctor explained, "I know this seems quite overwhelming to you."
Wringing his own hands, he added, "To explain this delicately, you are in a space ship traveling through time."
Dooley Wilson took a sip of soothing hot coffee. He understandably became perplexed.
After swallowing his coffee, Dooley answered, "Sir, I was born and raised in Tyler, Texas. I play the drums with my band. Sometimes, I sing. You see, goin' to London is the furthest from home I've ever been. You're tellin' me, I'm travelin' through space?"
Clara gave a reassuring smile. Facing Dooley, Clara leaned against a panel. Thoughtfully, she stroked the knot of her long pearl necklace.
"You are doing amazingly well, Dooley. Yes, you are traveling through space."
The Doctor gave further instructions.
"We are going back to the club before those men chased you."
The Doctor went back to pushing his levers.
Clara asked, "What happened to cause those men to harm you?"
Dooley stepped up to the platform observing the Doctor's every movement.
As he grasped tightly to the blanket around him, he said, "I was told I stole some jewelry from a safe in the motel I stayed at. The club could only put me up in the cheapest motel a block away. I said, 'No, sir. We did no such thing.' Then, the boss of those men ordered them to rough me up. So, I ran. The next thing I knew, I am here…in a spaceship!"
The Doctor took Dooley to a room on the Tardis so that Dooley could change clothes. After doing so, he joined the Doctor and Clara on deck.
As the Doctor gave Dooley his hat, Clara then gave the Doctor his own hat to match the styles of the roaring twenties, 1925 to be exact.
The Doctor gave orders to Dooley, "You must not converse with yourself or you will become conflicted with the time line. We are going to follow those men to see what they are really up to. There is more to all of this than meets the eye."
Chapter 2
Alice Diamond
The Doctor, Clara, and Dooley entered the Kit Kat Club one day before Dooley was chased from a gang of men he had never seen prior to that event. This club was the usual club of the 1920's. What was not usual was Dooley watching his earlier version of himself playing drums in his own band. The Doctor took out his psychic paper to display that he had reservations for a table.
The hostess led the Doctor, Clara, and Dooley to a corner table. The Doctor ordered ginger ale, not having the stomach for anything stronger in his human body. Clara only wanted seltzer water.
"Please Dooley," Clara said.
"Order something, our treat."
Dooley seemed a little shy to impose.
"I'm missin' cola you could get at home."
Many people in the club seemed to be enjoying themselves with the music, wine and food, all except for a man sitting in the shadows in the opposite corner wearing a naval officer's suit. He sipped his drink and simply stared at the Doctor and Dooley.
As the skinny waitress took Dooley's order, a woman in a silky black fur coat and diamond rings on all her fingers entered the club. Her appearance was incredibly noticeable. If it wasn't enough that she wore diamond rings, she wore an Art Deco diamond necklace and diamond earrings that were pear- shaped.
Briefly, he tugged at the Doctor's coat sleeve.
"That's the man who accused me of stealing jewelry!"
Dooley used his hat to shade his eyes. Since he sat in the corner, it fortunately was quite shaded to offer a great deal of privacy.
The Doctor boldly asked a bald man in the next booth, "Pardon me, but do you know who the woman is in the fur coat and diamond rings on her hands?"
The overweight man chuckled and replied, "Why that is none other than Alice Diamond. You don't want to have an encounter with her."
By this time the waitress gave the Doctor, Clara, and Dooley their ordered drinks.
After she left the Doctor asked, "So, what is her story?"
The man took a sip of his drink.
"She is the leader of the Elephant Gang, one of the most famous gangs here in London. Alice is known for slugging the police with her hand filled with diamond rings!"
Thus far the Doctor knew she was the key to the mystery of why her gang would threaten someone as kind as Dooley Wilson.
The woman laughed loudly and smoked a long cigarette.
A man whispered in her ear then she decided to leave. After leaving a substantial tip, the Doctor motioned Clara and Dooley to follow the woman. She entered a shiny black Cadillac. Clara gave a shrill whistle to hail a taxi.
The Doctor teased her.
"Why use a sonic screw driver when I've got you?"
All three companions entered the taxi.
The Doctor asked the Taxi Driver, "Please follow that Cadillac up ahead as without them noticing us."
Squirming in a tightly fit back seat he added, "Thank you."
The taxi wove in and out of traffic until they came close to a shoe warehouse that used to make women's shoes.
The taxi driver stopped at a safe enough distance. Using his psychic paper, the Doctor asked for the taxi driver to stick around claiming to be from Scotland Yard. The taxi driver was kind enough to give the Doctor a flashlight to use in the dark because the moon was not out and it was cloudy too.
Clara and Dooley then followed the Doctor toward the back part of the warehouse to snoop inside some windows. As hard as the Doctor tried to not step on anything such as rolling bottles, he seemed to accidently kick one or two. Dooley avoided some pieces of old newspapers tossed about in the wind.
Wiping lots of dust from the window with his handkerchief, the Doctor peeked inside. The only thing he could see was some boxes against a wall. Then again, it was night time with fog and quite difficult to make out anything significant.
The dust caused Clara to stifle a cough.
One light came on. The infamous Alice Diamond stroked her fur coat and admired her diamonds. Then she began speaking to the shadows that the Doctor could not determine what it was.
"We found a fall guy to take the rap of stolen jewelry. The poor sap plays the drums. We'll make our move tomorrow."
Then the two hearts of the Doctor sank. He recognized the voice of a Dalek.
"Make sure he is exterminated."
It became eminent that the shadows were Daleks! As the British industrial lights came on, each shadow displayed the Daleks.
Dooley felt a poke behind his back. A gang member motioned him and his friends to get up and put their hands behind their back.
Chapter 3
A Familiar Face
The man that stared at the Doctor at the Kit Kat Club moved into action to take the weapon away from the thug working for Alice Diamond. Leaving the thug unconscious, the man motioned them to get back to their taxi cab.
"I'll meet you back at the Kit Kat Club. We need to talk."
When seeing the man up close, there was something a bit familiar about him that the Doctor could not put his finger on. The man drove his motorcar and followed them to the agreed destination.
Back at the Kit Kat Club the man motioned all of them to sit at his booth.
Curiously the Doctor asked, "Thank you for saving us. We owe you our lives."
When Dooley sat in his chair, he asked, "I've seen you many times in this club."
Clara observed his neatly pressed naval suit with three white buttons on each side plus two white horizontal stripes on his sleeves. He had very dark hair and also wore a distinguished mustache.
"Allow me to introduce myself."
After leaning forward and folding his hands he concluded, "My name is Alistair Stewart."
The Doctor had been taken back with surprise.
"You can't be."
The Doctor met the Brigadier much later in the century.
Then he whispered to Clara, "This is the Brigadier's father."
Clara remembered the Doctor mentioning the Brigadier in their travels now and then. She understood however limited the conversations were that this must be the father of Alistair Gordon Lethbridge Stewart.
The Doctor reached over to shake the man's hand.
"This is indeed an honor! I am the Doctor, and this is Clara…and Mr. Wilson."
The Doctor did his best to contain his enthusiasm of the meeting. Remembering the scene at the warehouse stifled all pleasantries.
Alistair said, "I have seen many things in the military, but I have never seen weaponry such as what I have seen tonight."
The Doctor understood his alarm.
"Alice Diamond has agreed to work with the most evil enemy of all time, the Daleks."
The waitress took up more orders. This time Dooley decided to order coffee. He watched the other Dooley in his band, 'The Red Devils,' sing a song that was popular in that era, the Irish song, 'Mr. Dooley.'
Dooley Wilson sang: "Dooley, when you meet me, I like the way you treat me, I never will forget you, John, wherever I may be; And remember Mr. Dooley, while my name is Mike O'Hooley, that I am your servant truly, you're a dear friend to me."
Alistair lit up a cigar.
"Your twin brother is an amazing singer. He just may go places someday."
Dooley did not know whether he should give away that he was the same person or not. It would all sound too crazy. Was he out in the audience last night when he sang in his own band?
Dooley asked, "I beg your pardon Doctor but who are the Daleks and what do they have to do me?"
How does anyone explain the Daleks who have never seen them before?
The Doctor preferred to just keep it all simple.
"Dooley, you will have to trust me. The Daleks are not from this world and they need to get off this planet."
Dooley got one surprise after another. Clara placed her hand on his arm.
In a soothing tone, Clara explained, "They are aliens."
Alistair blew a puff of smoke.
"All this time I believed we were alone in the universe. If I am ever blessed enough to have a family, I will have to teach my children that there could be more out there in space than just us."
The Doctor caught himself saying, "I have a feeling that if you have a son he will keep an open mind."
Clara opened her purse to place some lip gloss on her lips. Taking a compact mirror to make sure she aimed correctly, she used the gloss ever so carefully. She pressed her lips together. Though the night air had moisture, the club itself felt dry and of course had a smoky filled atmosphere. How could anyone breathe in such a place?
After closing her compact mirror with a click and placing it in her purse, Clara asked, "So Doctor, what is your plan?"
The Doctor leaned forward.
"Wherever there are Daleks, there is bound to be a spaceship somewhere!"
Chapter 4
Not just a Diamond
The Doctor led Clara and Dooley back to the Tardis. Alister respectfully retired for the night at his apartment. Using equipment on the Tardis, the Doctor found at least one spaceship hovering above the earth. The good news is that there weren't more. In the Doctor's mind why was there one? As much as he did not want to do this, he decided to land inside the ship to destroy the whole thing. What choice did he have? The one track mind of a Dalek is conquest until every human being on earth was extinct.
The Tardis landed inside the Dalek ship. It had been decided that Dooley and Clara would stay on the Tardis. The Doctor snuck into some control panels to do some rewiring. The middle panel had a pear-shaped diamond in the middle of it.
"What is this doing here?"
The Doctor took out his sonic screwdriver to examine why the Daleks would have any interest in this particular piece of rock.
He mumbled to himself, "In the middle of this gem is a power resource."
The Doctor heard the voice of a woman.
"Didn't anyone ever teach you not to tamper with another woman's jewelry?"
The Doctor turned around to see Alice Diamond in the flesh, fur coat and all. She must not go anywhere without it, including a Dalek spaceship. In addition to her fur coat, she brought her pistol. The Doctor hid his sonicscrew driver in his coat pocket before she could see it.
"What deal with the devil did you make Ms. Diamond."
She caressed the Doctor's face with her finger. The diamonds on her fingers were excessively showy.
Then she stroked her diamond on the console.
"I will be the queen of the earth with every jewel at my disposal. So, who are you and what do you want with my diamond?"
The Doctor's back leaned against the console. Analyzing the woman, he crossed his arms.
"You're diamond? I am the Doctor, Ms. Diamond and I will stop you and the Daleks from whatever scheme you have devised."
Alice laughed. She pointed her pistol toward his chest.
"This diamond will give me power beyond your comprehension. It's also a weapon of great importance to the Daleks. We made a contract you see?"
One by one a Dalek appeared behind Alice. The Daleks went into a frenzy recognizing their foe.
The Doctor asked, "Where are all your other buddies?"
Then it hit him. These were defective Daleks. Ordinarily, they are dumped on a planet with other weaklings. They were dumped in this time period and left for dead.
"This is your attempt to claim this planet as your own promising this woman fame and glory! How typical and pathetic."
With a push of a button, the Doctor dismantled all the Daleks. A woman's shoe flew through the air hitting Alice behind the head. She fell to the ground finding her pistol taken from her and pointing back at her.
Bewildered, Alice asked, "Who are you?"
"I'm the wife, missy. Not nobody and I mean nobody messes with my husband without messing with me!"
Chapter 5
Play it again, Sam
In her usual flirtatious way, River Song said, "Hello, sweetie. Miss me much?"
The Doctor couldn't resist a bit of a kiss on the lips to his wife.
"Glad you got my memo."
River Song motioned Alice to the Tardis, while the Doctor gave the finishing touches to the ship's self-destruction. The Tardis landed back on earth while the Dalek ship exploded. To star gazers this appeared to be another typical meteor shower.
River Song handed Alice over to the police. Unfortunately, River Song had to get back to her cell using her teleporter but not without telling the Doctor goodbye.
"Call me anytime my love."
After a push on her button, she disappeared.
Dooley realized he had to get back to his time line. He shook the Doctor's hands.
"Thank you, Doctor for showing me the impossible."
The Doctor placed his hand on Dooley's shoulder.
"Yes, but the best is yet to come for you my friend."
Dooley shook his head.
"I will never get a break in the talking pictures."
Clara exchanged a glance with the Doctor. She hit his right shoulder with hers.
"Are you thinking what I am?"
The Doctor bumped her back.
"I don't know. What am I thinking?"
Clara said, "You know, take Dooley to his future."
Dooley became surprised.
"You can do that?"
The Doctor motioned for Dooley to enter the Tardis for their next trip. Clara entered afterwards deciding to go to her room and change her wardrobe to a longer skirt with a sweater.
After the Tardis landed, the Doctor took Dooley to a movie set. An older man was at a piano.
Dooley asked, "Who is that?"
The Doctor replied, "That is your finest moment approximately 14 years from now. This man singing one of the greatest songs ever written, is an older version of you…in the talking pictures."
Before the younger version of Dooley, he watched his own performance at the piano.
And sing Dooley Wilson did.
"And when two lovers woo
They still say, 'I love you.'
On that you can rely.
No matter what the future brings
As time goes by."
"Moonlight and love songs
Never out of date
Hearts full of passion,
Jealousy and hate.
Woman needs man,
And man must have his mate
That no one can deny.
It's still the same old story
A fight for love and glory
A case of do or die
The world will always welcome lovers,
As time goes by."
The young Dooley felt encouraged. The Doctor gave Dooley a pat on the back.
"These are the days worth living for Dooley. You will make a profound difference in this world. So, no matter what setbacks come, remember what you are here for. The music world and movies need you."
Dooley wept.
"Thank you Doctor for showing me, to hang in there when I feel like givin' up."
The threesome entered back into the Tardis to take Dooley back to the Kit Kat Club. Once there in a back ally, Dooley stepped out into a sunrise. This experience would undoubtedly become life changing.