Author's Note:
Hello new readers and old readers!
This idea popped into my head while we were in the McDonalds drive-thru. We were having a very in-depth discussion about how the Eleventh Doctor and Jack should get together, and suddenly the plot bunny bit me. The Doctor's got a new face and none of the older companions know. Aside from Sarah-Jane and Jo Grant, and I'm going to have to ever so reluctantly leave them out of this fic (they met him in a Doctor Who crossover with the Sarah-Jane Adventures).
I have planned four or so characters to write about, which are: Martha and Mickey, Sylvia and Wilfred, Jack and Torchwood (with Owen and Tosh) and perhaps a couple of older characters. If you have any suggestions as to which characters he could visit, then leave a review to suggest. :)
Exact Estimate
Friends are born, not made.
- Henry B. Adams
The Doctor bounded down the stairs which were joined to the console room, in search of something to do. He had flown the TARDIS into the vortex a couple of hours ago, hoping to grab himself some peace and quiet. But now he'd discovered peace and quiet was most boring when Amy and Rory were in their sleep cycle.
They'd gone to bed an hour or two ago, mumbling goodnight as they passed the kitchen where the Doctor had enveloped himself in fish fingers and custard. The Doctor had cheerily returned the goodnight wish with a smile, and then left the Ponds alone for the evening (although, he took to not mentioning they were in the vortex, where neither night nor day existed).
He now regretted letting them retire to their bunk beds so easily. Humans were so needy; they always needed food, the bathroom, sleep and sometimes they even seemed to want to kiss him. But he, the almighty Timelord, barely ever needed sleep. I mean, he could sleep if he wanted to. But he didn't want to bore himself to death by laying still for an extended amount of time. He just couldn't stand being still or quiet, and so now, he was annoyed at himself for leaving himself with no one to talk to.
He had tried to talk to the TARDIS but had only gotten a low hum in response. It seemed even Sexy wasn't up for a late night conversation.
And so the Doctor took to wandering the TARDIS corridors again. He left the console room in a trudge, now feeling rather depleted after bounding in. Although he'd been with Sexy for a very long time, she always managed to surprise him with her room contents.
Sometimes he'd find a room full of trees, a room full of badgers, a room full of balloons, a room full of beds... He still had yet to discover a room full of rooms. But he didn't tend to be patient.
And so the Doctor wandered for what seemed like hours (he was in the vortex, after all – he could have wandered for days and never known about it) as he searched absentmindedly for something to entertain himself with. In this time he was only drawn to two rooms. The first had been an empty room, and the second had been his old console room.
He'd wandered in when he caught himself smiling at all the happy memories the coral desktop bought him. So many wonderful things had happened in this room.
He took to running his fingers over the familiar buttons and levers, and listening to the sound of his feet pad across the metal grating. He had cherished the layout of his old console room. It had suited him back when he chose it – dark and plain. But now the console room was airy and made of glass, which reflected how bubbly and happy he was (acting) now.
"Sarah, you press this button."
The Doctor jumped when he caught a man's voice in the old console room – a voice that belonged to his previous incarnation. He looked up to the console again and was most surprised to discover all his companions standing around it, hands on the console and helping to fly the TARDIS. He remembered that day well.
"Jack, make sure this is kept level."
All his favourite people in the world had been in the same room. All of his companions and all of his memories had been cased into the tiny little police box as they flew Earth back to its rightful position in space.
"Jackie…"
He chuckled as he watched them fly her. He leant against the railing, watching them save the Earth and all the humans down below.
"You just, uh, stand out of the way. Over there."
He caught Jackie's glare at his previous incarnation, and Jack's laugh as he saw it. He smiled as he ran his eyes over his companions again, but when he blinked to clear away the tears that had crept to his eyes, they had disappeared and left the old console room dark and forbidding once again.
The Doctor uttered a heavy sigh as he took to caressing the old console again. He circled twice dreamily, reminiscing about all his companions and how brilliant (how fantastic) they all had been. When he paused to look up at the lifeless time rotor again, he was disappointed to find no more memories had come to life.
He took this time to slowly make his way out of the old console room. As he entered the doorway her turned to look at it again, and now was actually quite surprised to see all his companions standing around the console once again. The room suddenly lurched, and the room erupted into a mass of hugging and celebrating. The Doctor remembered that, too.
Eventually the commotion was resorted to a group hug, and people were smiling wildly and speaking excitedly amongst themselves. The Doctor caught himself crying as he watched his past-self get squished to death by Rose, Jackie and Mickey's hugs. He remembered having to call on his respiratory bypass system to continue breathing, and he smirked through his tears at the thought.
When everyone began to dispatch from the room to outside, he took it as he cue to leave. He turned to face the console room once last time, catching Jack's mockery of the Metacrisis, before shutting the door behind him. He let out a long breath and his fingers traced the doorknob.
The Doctor wondered why the TARDIS had shown him that. Perhaps it was his punishment for being so eager for something to do, or perhaps it was just a reminder that there were people out there who cared about him. But right now he wasn't feeling down. He was feeling depleted, but not in the emotional sense. He just wanted something to do.
And then, suddenly, he knew exactly what he wanted to do, perhaps solving the mystery as to why the TARDIS had shown him that particular memory with all his companions.
The Doctor – not so patiently; he took to speed-reading half the contents of the romance section in the library – waited for the Ponds to come out of their sleep cycle. It took them seven hours (again with the vortex thing) to finally make their way down to the console room, fully clothed and ready for another day.
"Right!" He announced to them as they descended the stairs. "We're going to have some fun today." He clasped his hands together almost excitedly, and the Ponds exchanged curious glances.
"Your definition of fun always involves running from some species you've angered by saying something about their noses." Amy said disapprovingly, and Rory nodded in agreement.
"I'll have you know, Amelia, there will be no running today. Unless, that is, something Rory says is taken the wrong way."
"What?"
"We're going to play the switcheroo." The Doctor announced. "Today, Rory, your name will be Doctor. And my name will be Rory." He then smirked and looked at Amy. "And Amelia, your name will be Fred."
The Ponds only gave him blank stares and Amy's stare had a slight suggestion of a glare at being titled 'Fred'.
"Old joke. Never mind, then. Keep your name, Amelia." The Doctor dismissed Amy's title with a wave of his hand.
"Why exactly are we switching names?" Rory asked as the Doctor began to fiddle with buttons and leavers around the console.
"Because, Doctor, I was kindly reminded last night that I still have friends out there. And none of these friends know about my new face. So, I thought to myself, 'why not'?" He looked up a Rory and flashed a big smile. "They won't know who is who, and what's better than a little prank?"
"I think the ridiculous bowtie will give it away." Amy chortled as she examined the Doctor, and he only pouted in response to her preposition.
"Amelia is in on it, Doctor, so why not you?" The Doctor questioned the rather bewildered-looking Rory as his fingers hovered over the switch which would throw the TARDIS into flight. "Live a little!" He exclaimed.
"Fine." He huffed ultimately. "But you have to take off the bowtie." He proposed with an evil smirk, seconding Amy's suggestion he'd so happily ignored.
"But –"
"Take it off, Rory." The real Rory hollered, holding out his hand for the Doctor's much-loved bowtie.
The Doctor grumbled as he untied his favourite piece of clothing and handed it to Rory. Rory stuffed the bowtie into his jeans pocket, before holding out his hand again.
"And the suspenders."
"Are you asking me to strip, or what?" The Doctor asked defensively, hugging himself to prevent his companions from taking his second-favourite piece of clothing.
"At least the tweed jacket." Amy suggested from her place on the jump seat with a slight smirk, and when she caught the Doctor's glare, she added with a smile, "If you want this to work, you don't want to look like someone who's walked out of the 1950's and into the 21st century."
The Doctor, knowing she was right, slowly removed his beloved tweed jacket and placed it Rory's hand. Rory took it and then handed it to Amy, who slung it over a railing, completely out of sight.
"Now I feel naked." The Doctor puckered. "Thanks, Ponds."
He then shoved the lever upwards and threw the console room into a violent shudder. Rory grabbed onto the nearest thing glued to the floor, as did Amy. The Doctor just managed to keep his hold on the console. Once the turmoil had settled, the Doctor began to run for the door, but stopped himself as his fingers brushed the handle.
"Right. I'm Rory." He instead brushed down his shirt with his hands and stepped away from the door.
Then Rory hesitantly reached for the handle and pushed the door of the TARDIS open. Once he disappeared outside, the Doctor took it upon himself to grab Amy's hand and drag her outside with him after Rory.