ADVENTURES IN TIME

I do not own Doctor Who and I am making no profit off of this.

CHAPTER 1

MISSING CLARA

For the Doctor, this chapter takes place right after Chapter 19 of Tales of Gallifrey where Clara was left behind in the Doctor and Rose's past for reasons known only to them.

While alone in their bedroom on Gallifrey, the Doctor stared off into space as Rose played with Jacqueline on the bed next to him. Rose could see that he was very upset about something, and she knew exactly what that something was. It was because he was still deeply worried about Clara.

They had left her behind back on Gallifrey with their past selves in order to preserve their timeline. Rose was sure that they would get her back one day since she remembered Clara eventually leaving. The Doctor wasn't so sure. He was so worried about Clara that he had stopped doing anything that he would regularly do including traveling in the TARDIS.

Rose knew that he was in bad shape when he was too depressed to even go on adventures. She knew that she had to get his mind off of Clara for a while. The only way that she could see to do that since she was still on bed rest per her doctor's orders for illness due to her pregnancy was to find the Doctor another companion to travel with for a while.

Or rather she was going to find him an old companion to travel with. Someone who she could trust to take care of him until Clara could return or she would start feeling well enough to go with him herself again.

She had someone already in mind for the job as a matter of fact. It was a woman who she had become very close to since she had first met her a few months ago, and she was already an old friend of the Doctor's so he would feel at ease with her.

Polly Wright.

"Doctor, Polly would like to go traveling with you. She hasn't had much to do lately since I've been sick and Mary and Alex have started going to school. She really needs some excitement. I told her that I would ask you if you'd take her somewhere," Rose said.

She was lying to him for once because Polly had said no such thing and had no clue that this conversation was even taking place. She would have to explain it to Polly later. She was sure that she would go along with it though. Polly was very sweet after all and would do anything to help the Doctor. She cared a lot about him and was one of his oldest friends and traveling companions.

Besides she was sure that what she had said about Polly was absolutely true. She had been noticing Polly standing around looking as depressed as the Doctor lately. Polly had been living in the Doctor's TARDIS ever since she came back from traveling with River and Donald to stay with her grandchildren, Mary and Alex.

Rose smiled to herself as she thought about how Polly was a grandmother but actually looked like a woman in her early twenties thanks to being regressed in age a few months ago. She now acted and dressed like a young woman again albeit one who still seemed to think that the latest fashion was to dress in the mini-skirts and go-go boots of her own youth back in the 60s.

The Doctor looked at Rose in silence for a moment as he thought about what answer to give her. She wasn't fooling him for a second. He knew that Rose really just wanted him to start traveling again and that Polly probably never even said a word to her.

Still he would like to have someone to show the universe again, and he never did get to travel alone with Polly. There was always someone else there with them. First it was Ben, and then it was Jamie. He wondered what Polly would be like just by herself. Would they be able to get along without anyone else to act as a go-between? He was curious as to how that would work out.

"Tell her to be thinking of a destination, and I'll take her there. It's about time that both of us had something to look forward to again I think," The Doctor finally said with a grin.

"Good. It's about time that you started to travel again. You haven't been anywhere in almost a week. That's a new record for you," Rose said as she gave the Doctor a tender kiss in appreciation for agreeing to her idea.

As the Doctor left to get the TARDIS ready to start traveling again, Rose called Polly in her room on the TARDIS from the monitor in her bedroom. She quickly explained what she had just done and as she had thought Polly readily agreed to go along with Rose's lie for the Doctor's sake.

"I really am bored to tears sitting in the TARDIS doing nothing all of the time, and I feel so out of place on Gallifrey. It would be nice to go back to Earth again or even just to visit another planet. It'll just be nice to have a simple change of scenery really," Polly said.

"Well, you're about to get it in spades. I hope that you forgive me if he starts driving you insane," Rose said.

"I'm sure that we'll do fine. I did travel with the man for a long time once you know although it was never by myself. That might be fun actually," Polly said with a grin.

"I just hope that you still feel that way after being trapped in the TARDIS with him for several weeks on end," Rose said.

"I'm sure that I will. Don't worry, Rose. I'll take good care of him, and I promise not to kill him before we come back. I can't promise what I'll do afterward though. I'm a very vengeful person sometimes despite how nice I seem," Polly joked.

"You'll be alright. I just hope that this will help him to keep his mind off of Clara for a while until she comes back," Rose said.

"Me too. I hate seeing him so depressed. Clara really does mean a lot to him," Polly agreed.

The two of them stared at each other for a moment in silence as the unspoken subject of Clara possibly never coming back lingered between them for a while, and then Polly said, "I'll do my best to help him to feel better about things, Rose. I don't like seeing him in pain any more than you do."

"Thank you, Polly. I know that I can count on you," Rose said earnestly.

Polly and Rose said their good byes, and Polly turned off the monitor as she quickly got dressed. She was ready to go by the time the Doctor finally arrived in the Console Room. She sat in the Captain's Chair and smiled sweetly at him as she waited for him to speak first.

"This wasn't your idea at all, was it?" the Doctor asked.

"Nope. It was all Rose's. Don't tell her I said that though or I'll deny it," Polly said as her smile never faded.

"So do you have any idea where you'd like to go on our first voyage alone together?" the Doctor asked.

"I'd like to go to Earth, but other than that I don't really care. Pick a time period at random if you want," Polly said.

"I wish all of my companions were as easy to get along with as you. I remember that you never gave me any problems whatsoever back in the old days. It was always Ben and Jamie who were the troublemakers," the Doctor said with a warm smile.

"Oh, come on. I know that you didn't always get along with Ben, but you were always very fond of Jamie. You know it too. I bet it took a crowbar to finally get him out of the TARDIS. He loved traveling with you," Polly said.

The Doctor suddenly looked sad again, and Polly said in a soft voice, "I never even asked. I just always assumed that you would have told me if something bad had happened to him. What happened to Jamie? Is he alright?"

"I hope so. He was when I last saw him anyway. The Time Lords sent him and my other companion at the time Zoe back to their own times and erased their memories of all of the time that they spent traveling with me except for our first meetings. That was back when they put me on trial and exiled me to Earth," the Doctor explained.

"Maybe he's alright then. There's so much of your life that I missed after I left. You'll have to tell me more about it as we travel," Polly said as her smile returned.

"Agreed. Maybe I should try to find Jamie. I'm sure that you'd love to see him again. He would still recognize you I suppose since you were there when I first met him. He wouldn't recognize me though. I've gone through a lot of different faces since those days," the Doctor said.

"You still dress like my Doctor though. You're still wearing those wonderful bow ties, and you're always going on about your hats just like he did. It's why I get along so well with you. You're like a younger, taller version of my lovable little fellow," Polly said with a chuckle.

The Doctor beamed at her as he said, "Did I ever tell you that you were always one of my favorite companions? You've just gone up even higher on the list after complimenting my dress style like that."

"I'm glad to hear it. Maybe I can be your regular traveling companion once again. I'd like that," Polly said happily.

"I would too. I've missed you, Polly. It'll be fun. Just you, me, and . . . Clara," the Doctor said the last part sadly as his face slumped.

Polly immediately got up out of the chair and put her arms around him to comfort him as she said, "She's coming back, Doctor. I know she is. You're right. It will be fun. It'll be just the three of us having adventures throughout time and space. It'll be just like the good old days all over again."

The Doctor smiled weakly for a moment, and then his frown returned. Polly cupped his face in her hands and forced him to face her as she said, "She'll be okay, Doctor. I know that she will. She is the Impossible Girl after all. Doing the impossible and making it look easy is what she does."

The Doctor smiled at her as she removed her hands from his face, and he kissed her forehead as he said, "Thank you, Polly. I needed to hear that."

The two old friends embraced for a moment, and then they split apart again as the Doctor went back to his normal self. The Doctor started up the TARDIS and set the time and place for Scotland in 1746. It was where the Time Lords had sent Jamie the last time that he had seen him.

"Go to the Wardrobe Room and get dressed up in a ladies dress from the mid-1700s, Polly. We're going to find Jamie or at least we're going to try anyway," the Doctor said.

After what seemed like an eternity of waiting to the Doctor, Polly finally came back to the Console Room dressed in a long flowing dress that made her look like the belle of the ball. The Doctor snorted in derision, and Polly immediately frowned.

"What's wrong with it?" Polly asked.

"You're dressed like you're going to a party. The regular women in Jamie's time dressed nothing like that. Only the rich ones did on special occasions. You should know that better than anyone. You were there," the Doctor said.

"Yes, about fifty years ago. Excuse me if I've forgotten a few things since then. Besides I wanted to look my best when I saw Jamie again. I do look good, don't I?" Polly asked as she modeled the dress for him.

"You look wonderful, Polly. You always did," the Doctor said.

"Thanks. I guess you're right though. I really do need to wear something a little less ostentatious, don't I?" Polly asked.

"Yes, that's right. You should wear something that won't stick out like a sore thumb," the Doctor said.

Polly looked at his clothes and laughed but decided not to make any further comments. She knew that Rose and Clara did that enough already.

As she turned to leave, the Doctor said, "Polly?"

"Yes?" she said turning back to face him.

"Thank you for coming with me and for not making fun of my bow ties and hats. I really need the companionship right now," the Doctor said.

Polly walked up to him and kissed his cheek while she wrapped her arms around him for a moment. Then she pulled away from him as she said, "I always take care of the people that I care about, Doctor. I'll be right back in a minute."

"I'll believe that when I see it," the Doctor said under his breath after she left the room.

True to her word though, Polly returned in less than fifteen minutes wearing a much more plain looking dress that a typical woman of Jamie's time would have worn. The TARDIS had already had it laid out for her when she arrived in the Wardrobe Room. She had forgotten about how the TARDIS used to do things like that for her.

"That's much better; and yes, before you ask you look great in it. Honestly, you're so obsessed with how you look, Polly. You should be more like me," the Doctor said.

"You mean I should just slap on a bunch of odds and ends out of the closet and just give up on any sense of fashion whatsoever?" Polly joked.

The Doctor frowned and looked wounded as she began to burst out laughing at him. She gently touched his shoulder and said, "I'm so sorry, Doctor. I didn't really mean it. I just couldn't resist."

The Doctor smiled at her again as he said, "I know. It's just a game that I played with Clara. She'd pretend to hate my clothes, and I'd pretend to get mad about it."

Polly put a sympathetic arm around his shoulders as she said in a gentle voice, "She'll be alright, Doctor."

The Doctor nodded and started to say something, but the TARDIS interrupted him as it finally materialized. The Doctor opened the doors and said, "Care to venture outside, my lady?"

"I'd love to, my lord," Polly said as she took his arm with a grin.

He began to lead her outside of the TARDIS to start their very first solo trip together, but their voyage outside was cut short by the sudden arrival of the very man that they had both come there to see. Jamie McCrimmon came running inside the TARDIS out of breath as he shouted, "Let's go now before we get massacred by the soldiers waiting outside."

"What's going on?" Polly asked.

Jamie looked at her with a huge smile on his face as he said," Polly, you haven't changed a bit! You're still just as lovely as ever. Where's the Doctor, and who's this funny looking fellow? We need to get out of here quickly before we're caught."

The Doctor locked the front doors even as he said, "No one's getting in here unless I want them to. You should remember that from our travels together. Or rather you would remember it if your memories hadn't all been erased anyway."

"Doctor?" Jamie asked in surprise.

"It's really him, Jamie," Polly said.

"It must be. Who else would dress like that?" Jamie said with a smile.

"Jamie, do you remember traveling with me? Can you recall anything of our adventures together?" the Doctor asked.

"Of course I can. Why shouldn't I? Those people of yours tried their best to make me forget, but no one can make me do anything if I don't want to do it. I remembered again five minutes after they left me back home again. I've been waiting for you to come back ever since. I'm really glad that you picked now to do it too. You always did have a knack for finding trouble though," Jamie said with a grin.

"What are you running away from?" the Doctor asked.

"The Redcoats. We're still in the middle of that wee little skirmish between them and us that your people so kindly put me back down in," Jamie explained.

"You mean this is still the Battle of Culloden? You only just got brought back, didn't you?" the Doctor asked in surprise.

"Actually, it's been about an hour. I thought you'd never get here. I was beginning to think that you'd never show," Jamie said.

"Well, I finally got here, Jamie. It only took a couple of hundred years," the Doctor said with a smile.

"Aye, that sounds like you alright, Doctor. You'll be late for your own funeral," Jamie said.

They began to hear pounding on the TARDIS doors, and the Doctor quickly dematerialized. He had found Jamie again after all so he didn't really care to step out now. This really was starting to seem like old times. Now all that he needed was his recorder and some check trousers to really make himself feel at home in this particular part of his past again.

"Doctor, do you think that we can go find Zoe now? They probably put her back on that space station of hers again where we found her at. I'm sure that she's waiting for you too just like I was. I bet with that super memory of hers that she never forgot you either," Jamie said.

"I don't see why not. Let's go find Zoe then," the Doctor said as he started to put in the coordinates for the Wheel, the space station that Zoe lived on in the far future.

Before he could finish though, he received a very pleasant surprise as Clara suddenly appeared right in the middle of the Console Room. Clara looked at the Doctor in disbelief as if she couldn't quite believe that he was real, and then she ran to him and hugged him tightly. The Doctor eagerly returned the hug and kissed Clara on the cheek in gratitude for her having been returned to him.

"Clara, I'm so glad you're alright. How did you get back? What have you been doing? I'm so sorry for leaving you there!" the Doctor said in tears.

"I know. It's okay. I understand, Doctor. I had to be there. I know that now. I'm just so glad to be back at home with you again," Clara said as she kissed his cheek and hugged him tightly.

"Who's she? Did the Doctor go and get married while he was gone?" Jamie asked Polly.

"The Doctor is married as a matter of fact but not to her. She's his best friend, Jamie. Although I guess you could describe her as his work wife," Polly joked.

Clara glared at her as she said, "Don't even get started on that again, Polly. I had enough of that when he accidentally married me."

Polly laughed at her, and Clara's angry look eventually turned into a smile as she laughed along with her. Jamie found himself liking her already, and he could easily see why the Doctor did. The fact that she was extremely beautiful probably didn't hurt either Jamie thought to himself with a grin.

Polly shook her head at Jamie as she knew instantly what he was thinking. She had been around him enough to know his every look. She could read him like a book.

Clara was so glad to be home again that she didn't even care for the moment who the young man was who kept staring at her. She was just so glad to be back at last. The Doctor held her for a long time and refused to let her go. She knew that it was probably because he was afraid that she would disappear on him again. She was half afraid of that herself to be honest.

"Doctor?" Clara finally said when the Doctor finally let her go.

"Yes, Clara?" the Doctor said as he continued to smile at her.

"If you ever do anything like that to me again, I swear that I'll slap the life out of you!" Clara said with a stern look on her face.

The Doctor began to laugh as he realized that everything was finally back to normal again. He had his Clara back, and everything was right with the world again.

"Are you sure that she's not his wife?" Jamie asked Polly.

Next: The Doctor pays Zoe a visit on the Wheel to see how she's doing just as he promised Jamie. Will he get more than he bargained for?