It didn't matter how many times he would look in the mirror. That same old face would still stare right back at him. The bird-like nose, the long, white hair, and the wrinkles which signaled centuries of age. Everything that encompassed what the Doctor had once been, but no longer was. Oh sure, the face of his current self would flicker every now and then. He would see his mop head of black hair and the trousers that were too big for his smaller frame. But then it would just as quickly switch back to the dignified face of his former self. This was all proving to be a rather new experience for a man who used to act as if he was so old.
Over the last several days, perhaps as a coping mechanism from recent events, the Doctor would go venturing off for a bit wherever the TARDIS landed, Polly and Ben sleeping inside unaware of his current predicament. Yet each place he went to didn't feel quite right as it had once been. His most recent landing had been mere feet away from an active volcano and, while the TARDIS shields protected him, he hadn't even flinched in the heat of the moment. Had these changes to his being been more than simply external?
The Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS as soon as it landed in its new location. It was a lake with purple water and blue grass, like a peaceful stream that had been colored with the wrong ink. Still, the air was crisp and dew covered the strangely-appealing grass. The Doctor decided to utilize this serene, morning-like atmosphere to meditate. He could feel his heartbeats, pumping back and forth. Yet try as he might the time traveler could not get into the right frame of mind nor take in the nature all around him.
This exercise proved to be for not as soon as the Doctor heard the sounds of a fishing rod being pulled back in, any semblance of "tranquility" now utterly broken. Not one to let a mystery go unsolved, he gave up on his meditation entirely and journeyed toward the sound's origin. It barely took a moment for him to spot the person responsible.
It was a tall, lanky man wearing a tweed jacket with a bright red bow tie. He had a young face with hair whipped to one side and a chin so large it could be used as a shovel. The young man was trying to get his string untangled. "Excuse me," the Doctor said.
The young man turned to look at the Doctor and almost immediately broke into a smile upon seeing him. "Oh, hello," the young man said.
"Oh, yes. Um, hello to you too," the Doctor responded, even giving a short, if confused, wave to the man. "I was wondering if you knew what this place is. I'm a traveler, you see."
"Well what a coincidence," the man said, still smiling, "I'm a traveler too. Been coming to these parts for quite a long time now." By this point, the young man had already thrown his rod onto the ground and strolled up to the Doctor. "Welcome to Ganymede VIII, a nice little ground for anyone wanting a spot of fishing or just a few moments of repose." The young man gave the Doctor a strong yet enthusiastic handshake. The Doctor couldn't help but smile.
"Why thank you, young man." Then the Doctor paused for a moment. It felt strange saying the words young man even though he used to say it all the time in his previous body. It reminded him that he was no longer a withering old grandfather, but a younger, more fit individual. Granted, not as young or fit as the man standing in front of him, but still far more flexible than he had been in years.
"Oh I'm not as young as the face says," the man proclaimed. "I just age well enough." Not giving the Doctor much time to respond, the young man pointed towards the lake. "Would you like to join me for a bit of fishing?"
"That's sounds lovely," the Doctor said, still grinning. There was something about this young man the Doctor quite liked. His youthful energy was intoxicating and the way he presented himself felt both unknown yet familiar all the same.
Over the next several hours the two chatted about their travels, exchanging the sole fishing rod between them every so often. Not a single catch was made, presumably because they were a little too loud for anything to come near them. The Doctor's fascination for the man continued to grow. Here was a traveler with the same passions as him. And what a track record. Vincent van Gogh, vampires in Venice, a woolly mammoth, and Stonehenge. It hadn't taken the Doctor long to realize who the young man actually was.
"You're..." the Doctor said to him, pausing before completing the question, "one of my people, aren't you?" The young man's reaction was a strange mix of both surprise and predictability, like the Doctor had gotten the general idea correct, just not the ultimate answer.
"I suppose I am, yes," he responded. "What gave it away? There's plenty of ways one can traverse the fabric of time. I could easily have been one of those lucky pioneers that broke the mold or even a rogue Time Agent."
"Simple enough, I suppose. It's the sheer number of things you've told me. As far as I'm concerned, only our people have the capability and resolve to become so bored with a sterile and broken system that they would travel so far across the universe." He patted the young man on the shoulder. "It also helps that I happened to notice a binary heartbeat."
The two couldn't help chuckling for a moment, ensuring that not a single fish would be caught that day... Then everything grow quiet without a moment's notice and an awkward void started to form between the two.
"I'm not going to turn you in," the young man said. "Personally, I don't think you did anything wrong. And well," he clear his throat, "I'm not exactly in a spot to contact them myself."
"It's actually not that," the Doctor replied. "It's just... May I asked how many times you've... changed?"
"A lot." The young man looked the Doctor straight in the eyes. It was only then that the Doctor felt as if he knew this man better than he knew anyone else. "First time, I take it?"
"Yes. It's such a strange feeling. This sense of renewal has encompassed my entire self and yet certain things still feel so... familiar. I held on to my first body for so long that I couldn't fathom what it would be like. And now that I'm here, looking at hands that didn't used to be mine and talking with a different pitch and tone, that I realize what it all means. And I don't know if I like it."
"It takes a while to get used to, you know," the young man said while throwing the rod back into the lake, casting it the farthest he had done the whole morning. "A bit painful at times." The smile he had mere moments ago faded away. "You're always scared when it finally hits. Because you know that all you had been is coming to an end. What comes out the other side an unknown."
"Then why bother doing it over and over again?"
"Because no matter what comes out that other end, even if it may act and look differently than what you've known, it is still you. I've had to learn that the hard way more times than I care to count." Both of them let the moment sink in. "Because there's a universe out there so large and extraordinary that you can't just give up and die."
"Yes," the Doctor responded, reflecting on the words of this old-young man. "I think I'm finally starting to understand." He looked up toward the green sky above and a smile once more broke out. "There's no one in the universe that can do what we're doing."
"Now you've got it," the young man responded, his big smile returning as if it had never left.
"Then I suppose," the Doctor said as he got up from the rock he had been sitting on, "it's time I got to see a little more of what the cosmos has to offer."
"Sounds about right." The young man reeled his fishing line in for the last time. "Bit rubbish day for fishing anyway. Plenty more things to do on my end as well." He held out his hand. "It was nice meeting you, Doctor."
"Oh the pleasure was all mine," the Doctor gave a fiendish little chuckle as he shook his hand. "... Doctor."
Once again the young man gave a surprised look, but this time it was on the money. "I forgot how observant I once was."
"And it seems to me that I have a very interesting future to look forward to." With that, the two Doctors went their separate ways. "By the way," the Doctor shouted to his future self right before he vanished from site. "I love the bowtie!"
It was strange how new the TARDIS seemed as he stepped back inside, like it had also renewed itself. It was subtle, certainly not something Polly or Ben would notice. Or perhaps there hadn't been any change at all and the Doctor was merely reflecting his current state on the ship itself. It didn't really matter either way. The dawn had finally come.
Before the Doctor went to check on Polly and Ben he looked into the mirror once more. What greeted him was no longer the face of the past. Instead, the Beatle-cut, baggy-pants cosmic hobo was the only thing he could see. The Doctor smiled widely. "Hello, there," he said to the reflection. And for the first time since his change had occurred the reflection smiled back.