I do not own the rights to Dr. Who

The Scarf

As a girl, Verity Osgood had once been afraid of everything. The shadows in the corner of her room, the monsters under her bed, whatever was lurking in her closet. She'd clutch her inhaler close to her chest and try her best to not have a full blown asthma attack.

Her sister, Gloria, would tell her to stop being such a ninny. That was easy for Gloria to say. Gloria didn't fear anything and could do everything. Gloria was tall, gorgeous, and athletic. Verity was short, mouseish, and a bookworm with asthma who was afraid of everything.

Her father, Tom, worked for UNIT and had seen a good deal of monsters in his day. Whenever she got really scared, he'd tell her she shouldn't be—that the Doctor would save her, that the Doctor was what the monsters were afraid of. He'd often tell her stories of the Doctor and how he'd always save the day and she'd imagine him saving her too. It always worked, the monsters would be gone and she'd be safe.

It was her father's stories of the Doctor that inspired her to follow in her father's footsteps and be a scientific advisor for UNIT just like him. That was how she ended up working under Kate Stewart. The woman was a legend in UNIT, as was her father.

Verity tried her best to be helpful and impress her superior, but it was so hard to do—her sister could have done a better job for sure. The dampness in the air didn't help, and neither did the chilly air in the gallery where they were investigating—her asthma was easily aggravated and she could do nothing but cough away. The other UNIT officers would look at her whenever her coughing would interrupt their words, no doubt wondering what she was doing there.

Then, the curator came along and offered her his scarf. He reminded her a bit of her grandfather, so old and gentle. At first she refused, but he was rather insistent that she needed it more than he did. It was long, she had never seen a scarf so long and colorful. Once she put it on, her chest started to warm and the tightness went away.

It reminded her of one of her father's stories about the Doctor and a scarf that sounded similar. She made a comment to the curator about it, and he just smiled at her. She wanted to say more, but she never got to because that was when she had received word that the Doctor had just arrived outside.

Oh well. She'd just have to make sure she returned the scarf later with a thank you note.

*Author's Note*

It's been a while since I've wrote so much in one day. So, after seeing the end with Tom Baker, it wasn't that much of a stretch to make the connection that he gave Osgood the scarf. At one point it sounds like she was referred to as Verity and Osgood. The Tardis Wikia reveals that there was a character named Tom Osgood who worked as a researcher for UNIT and knew at least the 3rd Doctor. Between that, and the character having asthma (which I can relate to), and her constantly saying, 'The Doctor will save', I felt that there was a story there. Can't find any confirmation that her first name is Verity and it's possible I misheard, but I decided to keep it in honor of Verity Lambert. The show has honored her with other characters named Verity, why not continue that tradition in the 50th?

Also, not much info. is available on Osgood so I went with what I had. And if that is the 4th Doctor's scarf, he has to get it back somehow for it to appear in the wardrobe for the Christmas Invasion when the 10th Doctor is deciding what to wear.