Summary: The Doctor is the last of his kind. Or is he? An old friend shows up...
Notes: I wrote this after having only seen 'Rose' and 'The end of the world'. (Very, very well done, I might add.) I'm not sure if they divulge any more info about the war or the end of the Time-Lords later in the season, so if I do continue this, it'll probably be after I see the rest of the season. Anyway, that whole 'last of his kind' thing got to bugging me. What about the Rani, or Cho-Je, or Romana, did they all die too? Just don't seem right, somehow. Anyway, this fic is the result of that little bit o' ponderin'. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: It belongs to those who were kind enough to finally bring back our favorite eccentric time traveler. Wish it was mine, though. If it were, it'd never have been off the air for so long...
THE LAST OF HIS KIND? WELL, MAYBE NOT...
By screaminheathen69
"There you go sir. Thank you for shopping with us." The Doctor nodded and gave the shopgirl one of his huge toothy smiles as he and Rose gathered up the half-dozen overflowing bags and made their way out the door.
Rose shook her head and chuckled as they walked down the crowded street towards the alley where the TARDIS sat. "Seriously, Doctor, I think you've got a real problem here. You're addicted, you are. Wonder if there's a Jelly-Babies-Anonymous?"
The Doctor smiled as he popped another one of the afore-mentioned items into his mouth. "Tried the patch once. Didn't do a bit of good."
Rose snorted. "Well, I should think you'd have enough to last a while. I mean, six bags! How many of these things do you eat in a day?"
The Doctor stopped and pondered it for a second, then gave a huge shrug. "Dunno. Never thought about it. Just like to stay healthy."
"Healthy?"
"Yeah."
"Eating jelly-babies?"
"Certainly. Everything a growing Time-Lord needs, all right there in one tasty little package. What more could a fellow ask for?"
Rose rolled her eyes. One of these days, she'd stop being surprised at the amazing little factoids her alien friend had the habit of dropping at the strangest times. Certainly kept traveling with him interesting, though. Well, that and the never-ending life and death experiences. So, when days like this one popped up, she enjoyed them that much more. No life or death stuff, just the Great Jelly Baby Shopping Expedition of 2005.
The Doctor froze in his tracks, hand halfway to his mouth with yet another jelly-baby, at the sound of a familiar noise.
The sound of a TARDIS materialising.
Rose leaned in close to him. "Is that sound what I think it is?"
"Yes."
"But I thought you were the last..."
"I am! Or, I thought I was, anyway..."
There in the alley, right next to their own TARDIS, another one was materialising. A TARDIS that had a functioning chameleon circuit apparently, as it looked like a delivery van. The Doctor seemed to collect himself, pulling Rose into the shadows, waiting to see who the occupant of the time machine was. He'd given up hope of ever seeing any of his kind ever again, and fervently hoped this one was not one of his many enemies.
The rear doors of the van popped open, and young blonde woman climbed out and looked around. She was shorter than the Doctor, but had the same inquisitive air about her. She was wearing a tweed overcoat and an old fedora, and had a ridiculously long scarf wrapped around her neck, the ends dragging the ground. She turned around and reached into the van. "Right then, K-9, out you come. The TARDIS is here, so the Doctor must be somewhere nearby. Probably in trouble as usual."
The robotic dog waggled its ears. "Probability factors indicate you are likely correct, Mistress."
The Doctor, having recognised the two time travelers, stepped out of the shadows. "Well, it's nice to know you're not always right, K-9." The two Time-Lords stared at each other for a long minute. The Doctor slowly smiled. "Hello, Romana."
"Hello, Doctor. Like the new look..." The dam broke, and the two old friends hugged fiercely, both fighting back tears, both talking at once. After a few minutes of non-stop babble, Rose stepped up and cleared her throat.
"Oh! Manners, where are my manners? Rose, meet Romanadvoratelundar, fellow Time-Lord. Romana, meet Rose Tyler, my newest traveling companion." The two women shook hands, exchanging pleasantries. The Doctor (who by now was as giddy as a schoolboy, though he'd have vehemently denied ever being giddy in his life), walked over and knelt by K-9. "And this is K-9. Quite possibly the cleverest dog I've ever met. Isn't that right, K-9?" He scritched the robotic dog between its antennae/ears. K-9's tail wagged in response.
"Quite right, Master. It is good to see you again."
The Doctor looked up at Romana. "How'd you get back from E-Space? I wouldn't have thought it possible without a TARDIS."
Romana gestured at her time machine. "We found one. An old Type Thirty-Eight, if you can believe it. Spent five years just getting the old thing operational. After that, we set about exploring E-Space, at least until we recieved the recall. Took us three years to find a way back here. First place we went was Gallifrey. Or, what was left of Gallifrey. After that, we set about tracking you down. Kept missing you, till now."
The smile faded quickly from the Doctor's face. Romana looked up at him with tears in her eyes. "Doctor, what happened?"
The Doctor cast a helpless glance at Rose, who gave him an understanding look. "C'mon, K-9. Why don't you tell me about some of your adventures..."
"Certainly, Mistress."
As Rose and K-9 made their way down the street, the Doctor took a deep breath and turned back to his old friend to tell her all about the End of the Time-Lords.
So much for a happy reunion...
Might be the end, might not. All depends on the feedback...
Hint, hint...
To thee no star be dark...