Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who, only the Hatter.
This story will be updated once a week on each Friday/Thursday, depending on your time zone, but having said that, I might update twice a week the closer I came to starting school again on the 1st of February.
The Two Doctors and Hatters, part 1
The Second Doctor, looking slightly older due to the stress of everything with the Time Lords, and Hatter stood at the TARDIS console, fiddling with the controls as Jamie stood just off to the side, wearing his kilt as he watched them work.
The Doctor looked across to him, "Come here, Jamie," he gestured to him and the human man moved to join him, looking curious. He broke into a broad smile, exchanging a look with the Time Lady, and looked over to the scanner on the wall, "Look at that".
On the scanner, an image of a very large spaceship floating in space appeared on the screen, looking like a city with high-rise buildings scattered across it.
"What do you think?" the Hatter glanced at Jamie, smiling brightly as she watched him move closer towards the screen, staring up at the image.
Jamie pointed up at the screen, his eyes widening, "Look at the size of that thing!" he exclaimed.
"Yes, Jamie," the Doctor nodded in agreement, eyeing the image, "It is a big one".
The Time Lady coughed, raising a hand, "Ah, can we not go down that garden path?" she looked back and forth between the two men, receiving a confused look from them both. She sighed, shaking her head, "You can't see how badly that might have sounded had someone not known the context?"
Jamie simply looked blank while the Doctor seem to rethink what he had said and a blush spread across his face, looking startled, "Hatter!" he practically yelped, spluttering, "That's not…what…how could you…?"
"Deep breaths, sweetheart," the Hatter laughed at his reaction, stepping around the console to him, and lightly patting his arm, "Goodness, someone looks a little red…" she remarked in a sing-song voice, reaching up with her other hand to touch his cheek.
"You've spending too much time around humans, my dear," he shook his head, still looking startled, but he couldn't help but lean into her hand, just a little bit.
She flashed his a cheeky grin, "I think you might be right. Spending time around Max certainly did change me, and Alice".
Jamie frowned up at the screen before glancing back over to the Time Lords, raising his eyebrows, "Just a wee laboratory, eh?" he gave them both a look, recalling what they had told them earlier about the place they were going to next.
The Doctor cleared his throat, trying to hide his disappointment as the Hatter lowered her hand, stepping away from him to stand beside Jamie, "Well, its…obviously…" he looked to Jamie, a little surprised by the discovering himself, "It's grown".
He pointed at the screen, "It's like twenty castles in the sky!" he cried, giving the Doctor a pointed look, "Are you sure we're come to the right place?" he turned around to the console, reaching out towards one of the controls.
The Hatter leaned across and battered his hand away, giving him a mildly scolding look, "Don't touch, Jamie," she warned him before smiling brightly, pushing her glasses up her nose. Had Jamie not been so used to the Time Lady's sudden mood changes, he probably would have been startled, "And of course this is the right place," she continued cheerfully, "I helped fly the old girl, didn't I?"
"Even with your help, Hatter, we don't always get where you say we're going," he pointed out, remembering, though it might not have happened very often, a few times that the Time Lords had worked at the controls together and still managed to end up in the wrong time and place.
She raised her chin higher, throwing the Doctor a look, "Yes, well, if someone would let me take the brakes off…"
The Doctor hurriedly cut across her, really not wanting to start talking about that again, "I got Victoria to where she wanted to go," he reminded them before frowning slightly, "Though, why she wants to learn graphology, I've no idea…" he shook his head.
"Ah!" Jamie gave the Doctor a look as he moved around to the other side of the console, "Will we ever get back to her, though?"
He gave him a mildly exasperated look over the controls, "Of course we will".
"I'll believe that when I see it".
"Oh, never mind that!" the Hatter said loudly before the Doctor could retort, practically skipping around the other side of the console, her red scarf hanging around her neck swinging as she did so, "We have far more important things to be discussing," she glanced at the Doctor, raising her eyebrows, pointing down to the console before her, "Take this, for instance".
The Doctor move to her side, giving her a curious look, before looking to where she was pointing to see a small glass dome had been fitted to the controls, and within the dome was a small, silver device.
At once, he felt a flash of anger hit him, because that had most certainly not been there before, "Look at this!" he exclaimed, outraged,
"What?" Jamie asked, stepping over to see for himself. He blinked slightly in surprise, looking curiously down at the device, "Hey, I've not seen that before," he commented, nodding down to it.
"It's not been there before," he huffed, glaring down at it as the Hatter tried hard to hide her amusement, "It's a teleport control," he looked up at the ceiling, shouting, "You'd think we'd never flown a TARDIS before!"
"Doctor, that's not going to help matters," the Hatter shook her head, giving him an amused look, "All it does is make you look like the crazy person here, which, granted, is pretty close to the truth".
He turned to her, still looking annoyed, but it was obviously not directed at her, "Oh, and you are just the perfect model of sanity?" he raised his eyebrows at her, breaking into a small smile.
"Why, of course I am, sweetheart".
"What's it do?" Jamie cut in, nodding down the teleport control.
The Time Lady cleared her throat, looking to him, "Well, Jamie, it gives the Time Lords dual control…" she began to explain to him.
"Infernal cheek!" the Doctor grumbled, leaning closer towards the Hatter and Jamie, "I shall complain when this is over," he informed them.
"Like they will pay any attention," the Hatter scoffed, rolling her eyes slightly.
He stepped around the console, looking thoughtfully down at the controls, "Now, then," he reached out and fiddled with a couple of buttons, glancing back across to the scanner with the image of the ship still on it, "I think we'll just dematerialise to avoid their detection, and slip in quietly".
Jamie crossed his arms, frowning at the Doctor, "Eh…I thought you two said they were friendly".
"Oh, they are," the Hatter assured him, smiling slightly, "Very much so, I imagine".
"Then why are we slipping in quietly?" he questioned, looking confused.
The Doctor turned to him, "Jamie, some of the most brilliant scientists in the Universe have assembled here to work together in pure research," he explained to him patently, smiling slightly as he shook his head, "The Hatter and I don't want them to know that we're arrived".
"Why not?"
"Think of the commotion!" he replied, pulling a small oil can from out of his pocket, "They'll all be scrambling around, wanting our autographs…"
"Oh, we are modest today," the Hatter laughed quietly, giving him an almost fond look.
"No, no, no," he continued, a small smile crossing his face, having heard the Time Lady's remark. He leaned closer to the console, trying to hide his smile as he began oiling a lever, "We just want a quiet word with old Dastari, Head of Projects," he finished oiling the lever, slipping the can back inside his coat pocket, and reached for the lever, "Right then…"
The Time Lady grabbed hold of the console, casting the Doctor a wary look, "Jamie, you might want to grab hold of something," she advised, and the Scottish man quickly grabbed hold of the console, too.
The Doctor struggled with the lever for a moment, pushing it upwards with all his strength as it began to creak, slowly moving, before suddenly jerking into place, almost causing the Doctor to land face first into the console. The entire ship shuddered and jerked before calming almost at once.
"Splendid!" the Doctor smiled broadly as he straightened, clapping his hands together, almost as if none of the shaking had happened at all. He glanced at Jamie, who was still clutching on to the console, "We've hit conterminous time again," he informed him.
Jamie eyed him, slowly straightening, "Well, we've certainly hit something".
"No, Jamie," he gave him another exasperated look before smiling slightly, reaching up to straighten his bow tie, and glancing at the Hatter, "Right, follow us," he held out his elbow to the Time Lady, who happily slipped her arm through his, and began heading towards the doors, "Wait!" they stopped suddenly.
"What?" the human man questioned, running into them, "What?"
"I think we ought to take the recall disk," the Hatter slipped her arm from out of the Doctor's, hurrying back over to the controls, and popped the top of the glass covering off, grabbing the device.
"And Jamie?" the Doctor cast him a stern look as the Hatter slipped the device inside her pocket, "Don't go wandering off. Stay with us".
"Do I ever?" Jamie raised his eyebrows at him.
He gave him another look, "It has been known," the Hatter reached across the console, hitting the switch to make the doors swing open, before she walked back over to them, and linked her arm with his. He paused, still looking at Jamie, "And…er…let us do the talking," Jamie crossed his arms, not looking entirely pleased, "All you have to do is to stand in the background, and admire our…"
"Diplomatic skills," all three of them finished in unison.
He cleared his throat, looking slight embarrassed, "Yes, well…"
The Hatter laughed, patting his arm soothingly, "Come on, sweetheart".
They stepped outside to find themselves in large kitchen with raw meat hanging from shelves, half prepared food left out on the counters with a number of very large knives laying around, and standing before them, staring at them, outraged was a man with bushy, bright red eyebrows and little grey warts covering his face with a very large sword hanging off his hip, along with several other knives and what appeared to be spices.
The Time Lords recognised his species immediately and exchanged a quick, wary look as the Doctor took a half step froward in front of the blonde Time Lady.
"How dare you!" the man shouted at them, waving a large hand around at them, glaring at the TARDIS behind them, "How dare you transmate that object into my kitchens?"
The Doctor stepped towards him, growing highly annoyed, "How dare you have the impertinence to address us like that?" he snapped.
"Doctor…" the Hatter sighed, eyeing his back worriedly. Honestly, of all the times he had to start demanding things and acting like…well, like a Time Lord he had to pick to do so to an Androgum, a being who could easily physically hurt him.
The man threw him a furious look before striding across to one of the kitchen benches, grabbing a very large curving knife, and whirled back around to face them, pointing the knife at them, "I am Shockeye, o' the Quauncing Grig!" he told them proudly.
The Doctor shook his head, "I'm not interested in the pedigree of an Androgum," he marched across to the room.
"Stay!" Shockeye ordered.
He came to a stop, rising his head higher, glaring across the room to the alien, "I am a Time Lord".
"Oh, oh…" his eyes widened, looking at him in a completely different light, "My humblest apologies," he held the knife closer to his chest, completely ignoring the Time Lady and Jamie as he sheepishly moved closer to the Doctor, who backed up until he hit one of the benches, trapping him. He eyed Shockeye as he bowed to him, "I should have realised," his eyes drifted across to Jamie and the Hatter, "But these…these two are with you?"
The Doctor glanced over to them, "He is from the planet Earth," he informed him quickly, "A human," but before he could say anything more in regards to the Hatter, Shockeye cut across him.
"Tellurian's?" he gasped, growing excited, obviously assuming that the Hatter was human, too, "Oh!" the Time Lady grabbed Jamie's arm, pulling him slightly behind her as the alien moved closer towards them, "I have not seen these before," he glanced back over to the Doctor, who was watching worriedly, "Is it a gift for Dastari?"
"A gift?" he repeated, alarmed.
Shockeye stepped closer to the Hatter, licking his lips, "Oh, such a soft white skin…" he began to circle the Time Lady and Jamie, holding his knife up, "Whispering of tender succulence…"
"That's quite enough of that!" the Hatter interrupted, fixing Shockeye with a sharp look, feeling slightly ill by the way he was hungrily eyeing herself and Jamie, and while she might not have been overly happy about possibly angering a being that could easily break even a Time Lords arm, she couldn't listen any longer to how tasty she and Jamie looked, "I am a Time Lady, so kindly stop waving that knife at me!"
He stopped sharply, his eyes widening again, and he quickly bowed to her, "My deepest apologises, my Lady, had I known…" he began.
"Yes, I'm sure you would have been quite charming," she remarked warily, rolling her eyes slightly as the Doctor sighed in relief, knowing that she was relatively safe, but that still left Jamie, who was very, very much in danger.
Shockeye straightened and, as expected, he set his eyes on Jamie, "Dastari will not appreciate its qualities, you know," he licked his lips again, eyeing Jamie hungrily before glancing over to the Doctor, "He has no sensual refinement," he took a deep breath, casting a look at Jamie, "Let me buy it from you".
"My companion is not for sale!" the Doctor told him firmly, growing angry once more, "And stay away from my best friend!" he added with a sharper edge to his voice, nodding to the Hatter.
"Sweetheart, I'm fine," the Hatter assured him, rolling her eyes at his protectiveness, or was that a bit of possessiveness thrown in, too? Quite honestly, she couldn't tell.
Shockeye walked closer to the Doctor, still holding his knife up, "I promise you, Lord, no chef in the nine planets would do more to bring out the flavour of the beast," he tried.
The Doctor stared at him angrily and pulled his arm from behind his back, revealing a large cucumber that he had obviously mistaken for a knife, "You get on with your butchery!" he demanded, waving the vegetable around before realising what it was, and blinking down at it. He huffed slightly and shoved the vegetable into Shockeye's chest, and quickly gestured to the Hatter and Jamie, "Come along, Jamie".
The Hatter happily hurried over to the Doctor, linking her arm through his once more as Jamie, carefully keeping his eyes on Shockeye, followed after them, walking backwards until they stepped out into a hallway. He soon caught up with the Time Lords as they looked around the hallway, almost running straight past them in his hast.
"Who was that?" Jamie asked them, pointing back down the hallways they had come from, his eyes wide.
"He called himself Shockeye of the Quauncing Grig," the Hatter replied with a small shrug, remembering how proud he had sounded when he had introduced himself.
"I know what he said, but…"
"He's an Androgum, Jamie," the Doctor cut across him as Jamie peeked around the edge of the wall, looking back down the hall, "The Androgums are the servitors here," he explained as they began to stroll down the hallway, "They do all the station maintenance".
"Ah, you mean a scullion," Jamie nodded in understanding.
"Yes, with a high opinion of himself," he agreed, shaking his head, "Chefs usually have".
"Personally, I wouldn't touch a single thing that came out of his kitchen," the Hatter remarked, grimacing, "When your chef eyes you quite so hungrily as he did, it rather puts you off the rest of his cooking".
"I won't allow him to lay a finger on you, my dearest Hatter," the Doctor told her firmly, pulling her closer to him.
She laughed, giving him a fond smile, "I can take care of myself, Doctor, but all the same, its sweet you care so much".
Suddenly, behind them, the sound of the TARDIS engines sounded from down the corridor, making them pause, and look back down the hallway.
"It's the TARDIS!" Jamie exclaimed, alarmed.
The Doctor and the Hatter exchanged a look, not surprised in the slightest.
…..Dastari's Office….…
The Time Lords stood side by side before Dastari's wooden desk in his office as he leaned back in his chair, while Jamie stood by his desk, trying to get a peek at the open folder on the table top. The office itself was large with a raised platform at the end of the room where Dastari sat, while the rest of the room was decorated with bookcases and modern sculpts, mostly made from metal, and a couple of chairs and tables were scattered around the room.
"I remember it very clearly, Doctor and Hatter," Dastari, an older looking man with neatly combed grey hair, and tinted glasses remarked to them. He glanced at Jamie and purposely closed the folder, catching sight of his curious eyes as Jamie quickly pretended to be looking at something else, "You came to our inauguration, bearing fraternal greetings from Gallifrey," he continued as he stood, stepping down from the platform, and approaching the Time Lords.
The Hatter cleared her throat a little awkwardly, glancing at the Doctor, who stepped over to one of the shelves lining the walls, fiddling with a small globe, "That was before we…shall we say, fell from favour?" she told him, shifting on the spot, "We've practically become exiles now days, I'm afraid".
"Yes, I heard something about that," he nodded, casting them a raised eyebrow look from behind his glasses, "But you still act on their instructions?"
The Doctor looked over his shoulder to him, "It's the price we pay for our freedom," he replied with a small frown.
"Needless to say, we've had no support at all from your people".
"You didn't honestly expect the Time Lords to help, did you?" the Time Lady gave him an incredulous look, shaking her head with a small laugh, "Oh, I would have expected better from you, Dastari. The Time Lords are strictly neutral, far too busy planning their boring speeches, you see?" she rolled her eyes towards the end.
The Doctor coughed, trying to cover up his laugh, but he could tell by the wink the blonde sent him she had noticed.
Dastari cleared his throat, not seeming to find the Hatter's last remark quite as amusing as the Doctor had, giving them both a serious look as he went on, "Nonetheless, there's been widespread disappointment among the other Third Zone governments".
"Don't chide us, Dastari," the Doctor shook his head, looking over his shoulder to him, "We're simply messengers," he moved across to another row of shelves, admiring the slightly larger globes sitting upon them as he brought his fingertips together in front of him, "Officially, we're here quite unofficially".
He sighed slightly, "You'll explain that paradox, I know".
He turned around to face the man, "We're pariahs," he explained with a small shrug, "Exiled from Time Lords society, so they can always deny sending us".
"And why have they sent you?"
"The Time Lords have been keeping a close eye on the experimentation in regards to time travel done by the Professors Kartz and Reimar," the Hatter informed Dastari, giving him a pointed look, "And they want them stopped".
"I see," Dastari commented, nodding slowly as he looked away from them briefly, and the Time Lady inwardly sighed, knowing that he certainly wasn't going to be happy, "And how do the Time Lords equate that with a policy of complete neutrality?" he questioned, fixing them both with a look.
"They don't have to," the Doctor answered, shaking his head as he gestured between himself and the blonde, "As I said, we have no official existence, so they can always deny sending us".
He chuckled sarcastically, walking past them, and back towards his desk, "Oh, typical," he scoffed, "Typical hypocrisy," a pretty, dark haired woman in a floor length silver gown entered the room, and he turned to her, "Yes, Chessene?"
Chessene came to a stop in front of Dastari, "I wondered if your guests require refreshment, Professor?" she asked, glancing over to the Time Lords and Jamie.
"Ah, well…" Jamie looked around questioningly to the Time Lords.
"Oh, that's very nice of you, but we'll have to decline," the Hatter gave Chessense and Dastari a polite smile, exchanging a wary look with the Doctor, "We ate before we arrived".
Jamie frowned at them, "Aye, but that was yesterday…" he began.
"One meal a day is quite sufficient, Jamie," the Doctor interrupted him quickly, his voice stern.
Dastari raised his eyebrows at them, seeming almost amused, "Are you sure?"
"Yes," the Time Lords said in unison as Jamie sighed slightly, looking mildly disappointed. The Hatter made a metal note to check her pockets once they were done, she usually carried some food in her pockets, and if not, he could always fill up on a bag of jelly babies.
He nodded and looked over to the dark haired woman, "Thank you, Chessene".
"Very good, Professor," Chessene smiled at him, giving him a nod, before leaving the room with a friendly smile to the Time Lords.
Dastair smiled, almost smugly as he looked across the room to the Time Lords, "Well, Doctor and Hatter, what did you make of our chatelaine?" he took his seat behind his desk.
The Time Lords heads snapped up, startled as they looked at each other, "Was she an Androgum?" they almost gaped at him, pointing over to where Chessene had just exited.
"She was," he corrected, clasping his hands together in his lap, seeming to enjoy the looks on their faces, "Now she's an Androgum TA. Technologically augmented," he clarified.
"I suppose I ought to have known," the Hatter frowned, shaking her head at Dastari, "She's one of your biological experiments," she pointed a stern finger to him, "You are playing with fire, Dastari, and those who do always get burnt in the end," she warned, and the Doctor nodded in agreement as he took a seat in an armchair in front of the desk.
"I've carried out nine augmentations on Chessene," he told them, ignoring her warning, sounding even prouder the more he spoke, "She's at mega-genius level now," he smiled faintly, "I'm very proud of her".
"Proud of her, or your own skill?" the Doctor raised his eyebrows at him.
"Perhaps a little of both, but all that Androgum energy is now functioning on a higher plane. She spends days in the databanks simply sucking in knowledge".
"She's still an Androgum," he argued stubbornly, "You can't change nature!"
Dastari leaned over the top of his desk, looking determined, "In Chessene's case, I believe I have," he insisted.
"Please, just listen, Dastari," the Hatter groaned loudly, stepping up onto the platform, and placing her hands on top of his desk, leaning closer towards the man, "As I said, you are playing with fire! You can take a person from their natural environment, but in the end, they will always fall back on their natural instincts!"
"Oh really, I expected something more progressive from you two," he sighed, slipping his glasses off as the Doctor joined the blonde. He looked back up to them, "Don't you understand the tremendous implications of my work?"
"Yes, that's why we say it's so dangerous!" the Doctor exclaimed.
He sighed again, this time even heaver, "Our races have become tired and effete," he tried to make them understand, a hint of frustration in his tone, "Our seed is thin," he stood from his chair, growing more passionate as he spoke, "We must hand the baton of progress to others. If I can raise the Androgums to a higher plane of consciousness, there's no limit to what that boiling energy might achieve".
The Time Lords exchanged a look before looking back to him, "Dastari, we have no doubt you could augment an earwig to the point where it understood nuclear physics," the Doctor conceded before raising his voice, trying to make him see reason, "But it'd still be a very stupid thing to do!"
…Lakeside….…..
Peri sighed to herself, annoyed as she stood watching the Sixth Doctor sitting in a small chair, fishing in a little lake with his umbrella sitting open beside his chair, while the Hatter, having switched her beret hat for a wide brimmed, floppy sun hat, and had decided not to wear her usual tights lounged back in another chair, similar to the Doctor, reading a book.
They had been sitting by the lake for hours, the Doctor fishing, the Time Lady reading, and Peri trying to get a tan as the alien sun shone brightly overhead, making the already warm and desert-like planet they had landed on remind Peri a little of home, but eventually, she had grown bored of tanning. Even the Time Lords, who she could usually count on for a bit of amusing banter or bickering had barely said a word to each other since setting up beside the lake. She was actually starting to grow a little concerned, because she couldn't remember a time when they had been so quiet amongst each other before.
She looked around, trying to find something to amuse herself, when she noticed a couple of small rocks on the ground, and leaned down to pick them up, tossing one of the stones into the still water of the lake, causing it to land with a splash, sending ripples across the water.
"Don't do that!" the Sixth Doctor snapped almost at once, sounding highly annoyed as he threw her a small glare, but Peri couldn't even summon the energy to care, "You'll frighten the fish".
"Don't get snappy, Doctor," the Fifth Hatter said with a lightly scolding tone, hardly looking up from her book, far to use to telling this regeneration off for his irritable tendencies, not to mention his ego.
Peri glared back at him and tossed another stone into the lake, "What fish?" she resorted in a snarky tone before sighing, "Doctor, I'm bored. We've been here for hours".
The Time Lady snapped her book shut and put it in her lap, turning to the curly haired man in the chair beside her, "I agree with Peri," she told him, sighing heavily, "Fishing is even more boring than watching paint dry, or worse, attending a High Council meeting".
"You've spent the entire trip reading," he waved her off.
"Yes, for a lack of anything better to do," she rolled her eyes.
"Don't be so over melodramatic," he replied, rolling his own eyes at her, making her raise an eyebrow at him, "There's another fishing rode over there," he gestured to the other side of his chair, looking back across the water, "I'll teach you how to fish, then you'll see what you have been missing".
The Fifth Hatter groaned loudly and covered her face with her hands, "I know how to fish, Doctor," she informed him, trying to hold back her annoyance, "It's just that I don't like fishing, and that remark about me being melodramatic is rich coming from you".
He shook his head at her and took a deep breath, a small smile settling across his face, "You know, I think it was Rassilon who once said, 'there are few ways in which a Time Lord can be more innocently occupied, then in catching fish'".
Peri and the Time Lady scoffed loudly, "That's a whopper," the human woman remarked, grabbing her top, and pulling it over her bathing top.
"Where?" the Sixth Doctor almost leaped out of his chair, looking eager as he began scanning the lake, "I don't see one".
The Hatter stared at him before laughing, "You know, sometimes I wonder how we've managed to stay friends for all these centuries," she commented, watching him fondly, "But then you do something like this and it just all comes flooding back, sweetheart".
Peri gave him a pointed look, looking slightly amused as she caught sight of the pleased look that crossed his face at the Time Lady's words, "It was Doctor Johnson who said that, about money," she said to him.
He glanced at her before shrugging, "Well, what's the use of a good quotation if you can't change it?"
The Fifth Hatter paused, nodding slowly, "He does have a good point," she admitted after a moment.
"Anyway, you're not innocently employed in catching fish, are you?" Peri carefully made her way over the rocky lakeside, past the Time Lords, and over to where she had set up a small pillow a short distance from them, sitting down.
"They're just lazy today," he replied, looking back to the still water, "Any angler will tell you there are times when nothing will tempt them".
"That so?"
"The last time I fished this particular stretch, I landed four magnificent gumblejack in less than ten minutes," he told them proudly.
"Yes, how exciting," the Fifth Hatter muttered, rolling her eyes. Oh, she knew she ought to have stayed with Lily, who she had dropped off at her parents' house. That, at least, might have been more interesting than this.
Peri frowned at him, "Gumblejack?" she repeated.
"The finest fish in the galaxy, probably the Universe," the Sixth Doctor answered, giving her a look as if she had somehow managed to offend him, "Cleaned, skinned, quickly pan-fried in their own juices till they're golden brown," an almost dreamy look crossed his face just talking about it, making the Time Lady give him an amused look, "Ambrosia steeped in nectar, Peri. The flavour is unforgettable," he turned back to the lake when he suddenly stood, looking excited, "I think I've got a bite!"
The woman exchanged a look, "At last".
The end of the Doctor's fishing pole began bending as the water below rippled faintly, "That's it…yes," he urged, grinning broadly as he tightened his hold on the pole, "Give him his head…"
The Fifth Hatter stood and moved to his side, looking curious, "You've finally managed to catch something, have you?" she asked, trying not to sound too hopeful. Perhaps once he had caught something they would leave.
"Yes," he nodded, still grinning as Peri stood, too, and joined them, "My word, this fellow's putting up a fight," he moved the pole around, "Stand by with the gaff, Peri".
Peri gave him a sharp look, "I'm not sticking that thing in a poor little fish!"
"Not so little, Peri," he began reeling the fish in, his eyes fixed on the water, "Not so little at all. By the feel of this, it might be a record…"
The fish popped to the surface, only it was tiny little fish, and the Doctor's face fell as the two woman laughed.
"Oh, wow, Doctor," Peri smirked at him, highly amused, "That must weigh very nearly an ounce".
"Be careful reeling it in, sweetheart," the Fifth Hatter added through giggles, "We wouldn't want you to put your back out".
"Yes…" he sighed slightly as he pulled the end of the line up to him, holding the tiny fish in his palm as it flopped around, "But did you see the one that got away?" he looked back to the girls as they continued to laugh, a faint blush covering his face, "That magnificent gumblejack that was trying to eat this poor little fellow. There," he pushed the pole into Peri's hand and carefully unhooked the fish, tossing it back into the lake.
The Time Lady cleared her throat, trying hard not to look to eager, "Does this mean we can leave now?"
….…..Dastari's Office…..….
Dastari sighed, retaking his seat behind his desk, and slipping his glasses back on, "Even if I wanted to, Doctor, Hatter, I have no authority to order Professors Kartz and Reimer to abandon their work".
"Oh, please stop talking to us as if we are idiots," the Second Hatter frowned at him, crossing her arms across her chest, "You are the Head of Projects, Dastari, which means you authorise all the experiments on this station".
"And what reason would I give?" he questioned, continuing with a slightly mocking tone, "That the Time Lords have expressed concern?"
The Second Doctor placed his hands on the desk top, leaning towards him, "Dastari, our monitors have already detected ripples of up to point four on the Bocher scale," he tried to make him understand, "Anything higher would threaten the whole fabric of time!"
"They are well aware of the dangers, Doctor. They are responsible scientists".
"They're incompetent meddlers!" he argued, and the Second Hatter nodded in agreement.
Dastari gave them a look, "Aren't you being a little ingenuous, Doctor?"
The Second Hatter frowned at him, pushing her glasses back up her nose, "And what is that supposed to mean, exactly?" she asked, eyeing him.
"Hasn't it occurred to you both that the Time Lords have a vested interest in ensuring that others do not discover their secrets?" he replied calmly.
The Time Lords paused and exchanged a quick look. The Hatter couldn't help but feel that Dastari had made a rather good point there, the Time Lords would lose a great amount of their power if the secrets of time travel was to be discovered by other races, but even still, they also had another very good reason for wanting to keep those secrets to themselves. She shuddered to think just what chaos could be caused if those who didn't understand the Laws of Time were to start meddling. Only the Time Lords could understand the full complexities of time, which is why, or though she might have felt that the Time Lords could have done more to help, she would always have to concede that time travel was better left in the hands of Time Lords.
The Second Doctor cleared his throat a little uncomfortably, looking back to Dastari, "Oh, I'm sure that's not the case…" he said slowly.
"I gather your own machine is no longer in the station," Dastari pointed out slyly, "Isn't that because you didn't want Kartz and Reimer to get a look at it?"
He shifted again, coughing slightly as he glanced at the Time Lady, "Look, I've a suggestion," he began and the Time Lady shot him a quick look, knowing that he was entering dangerous waters, "Stop these experiments for the time being, whilst our people study their work," he looked to Dastari, trying to give him a small smile, "If Kartz and Reimer really are on safe lines, I'm sure they'll be allowed to continue".
The Second Hatter sighed and closed her eyes tightly, "Oh, dear…" she murmured, hardly daring to even look at Dastari.
As she had expected, Dastari stood from his chair, staring at the Doctor with barley supressed anger, "Allowed to continue?" he repeated quietly.
"Idiot," the Time Lady nudged the Second Doctor's side, giving him a scolding look as she lowered her voice to a whisper, "You couldn't have let me handle it, could you?"
"Ah…" the Second Doctor winced slightly, giving her an apologetic look. On consideration, perhaps he should have left it up to her, since she always did have a way with words, possibly even more then him.
She looked at Dastari, flashing him a small apologetic smile, "The Doctor didn't mean for it to sound that way, Dastari," she tried to calm him, but she could already tell that the damage had been done, "All he meant was that allowing the Time Lords a chance to…shall we say, review the Professors work would merely ease any concerns that they might have".
Dastari took a deep breath, "In the first place, I have no authority to ask Kartz and Reimer to submit their work for analysis," he told them firmly, stepping around to the side of his desk, obviously struggling to hold back his anger, "And in the second place, the Time Lords have no right to make such a grossly unethical demand," the Second Doctor open his mouth, growing angry himself as the Time Lady grabbed his arm, "I've never heard such unmitigated arrogance!"
The Second Doctor stepped closer to him, pushing Jamie out of the way as the Time Lady sighed heavily, letting her hand fall back to her side, "And I've never heard such specious claptrap!" he glared at the other man angrily, "Oh, don't you prate to me about ethics! The balance of the space-time continuum could be destroyed by your ham-fisted numbskulls!"
Dastari turned away from him, shaking slightly as he leaned against his desk, and pulled off his glasses. The Second Hatter frowned slightly, growing concerned as she noticed how ill he had suddenly looked.
"I don't feel…" he pressed his hand to his forehead, closing his eyes, "…there's anything to be gained by prolonging this discussion, Doctor," he slowly sat back down in his chair.
"Dastari, you have more letters after your name than anyone I know," the Second Doctor said to his back, obviously not having noticed the other man's sudden change as the Second Hatter moved around Dastari's chair, eyeing him carefully, "Enough for two alphabets," he continued, "How is it you can be such a stupid, stubborn, irrational, and thoroughly objectionable old idiot?"
Jamie almost laughed.
"Doctor…" the Time Lady frowned, her eyes fixed on the ill looking man as she reached out, placing a hand on his shoulder.
The Second Doctor turned on Jamie, "And what are you smiling at you…you hairy-legged Highlander?" he demanded.
Jamie shook his head, grinning, "I'm just admiring your diplomatic skills," he replied innocently.
"Pah!"
"Doctor, shut up!" the Time Lady called, casting him a stern look as his head snapped over to her, looking surprised, "If you weren't so busy insulting people, perhaps you would have noticed Dastari".
He blinked at her and looked to the man, doing a double take when he realised that he was slumped over his desk, apparently unconscious. He frowned, leaning closer to the man in concern.
"He's got his head doon, Doctor," Jamie remarked, nodding to Dastari, not seeming worried, "I can't say I blame him".
The Second Doctor grimaced, glancing at him, "I'll thank you not to speak in that appalling mongrel dialect".
He sighed, "I mean, he's gone to sleep," he corrected himself.
The Second Hatter carefully examined Dastari, checking his pulse, "He's not asleep, Jamie," she shook her head, her eyes widening in alarm as she looked across to the Doctor, "He's been drugged!"
"He's what?" Jamie asked, frowning as he moved to see for himself, when the sound of energy weapons being fired somewhere close by echoed through the room, making them all look up, "What's that?" he looked to the Time Lords.
The Time Lords looked at each other, growing more and more worried as they listened to the sound, "I would have thought a Jacobite would recognise that sound," the Doctor commented grimly.
Suddenly, a man in a lab coat ran into the room, looking frantic, "Professor!" he shouted urgently.
Out of view of the doorframe, an energy beam fired, hitting the man, who cried out in pain, and collapsed. The Time Lords ran to the man, kneeling on the floor to check him, but there was nothing either of them could do. White smoke began billowing into the room around them as they turned their attention down the hall where they could hear the sound of more fighting approaching.
"Jamie, run," the Time Lords ordered.
"What?" he exclaimed, staring at them.
"Run, I say!" the Second Doctor called quickly, not looking away from down the hall, "Save yourself!" Jamie did as he was told and ran back through Dastari's office, heading for the other exit, "Hatter, you go too…" he began.
"I'm staying with you, Doctor!" the Second Hatter cut him off stubbornly, "Jamie will be fine, but I'm not sure about you, sweetheart".
He sighed heavily, opening his mouth to argue when a Sontaran appeared from out of the smoke before them, aiming its weapon at them, and slowly, they held up their hands in surrender.
And finally, we have another classic era episode story. Classic Era is so much fun to write, though, a little complicated when it comes to trying to keep track of just what Doctor and Hatter's know what. Still, I like the challenge.
Now, there's nine chapters and one original chapter, though, I should mention that at this point I haven't actually finished the last two chapters yet, but I did say that I wanted to try and have this story published before Christmas and we've gone over that deadline a bit, so I figured I might as well publish on the first day of the New Year.
I hope you liked it, tell me what you thought. Please review :)