Chapter 2.

The Tardis materialized next to the cricket pitch with its usual bumps and groans. The Doctor stepped out, locking the door behind him, and walked briskly across the field toward the school's main building.

Memories flooded back (as they always did) as he took in the sights around him.

A smile flowed across his face as he turned his head back to look at the pitch where the Tardis sat patiently waiting its master's return. "Oh yeah" he thought to himself. "That was where Susan whacked her first half-century." He had been so proud of her that day. The two of them had gone out for scones to celebrate afterward.

The smile changed quickly to a scowl. "Stop it" he scolded himself. "No need to dredge up the past. Especially her."

Pushing open the doors he stepped quietly into the old school's large halls. He pulled out his sonic screwdriver and checked for any trace of the temporal disturbance that had affected the Tardis. He found a very faint trace coming from the far end of the school's left wing and headed straight for it.

"That's the science wing. A time experiment, maybe? Naaaaah! It couldn't be. Not in this time period. Nowhere near the tech", he argued with himself.

His argument stopped abruptly though, because at that moment, as he was turning round a corner, he collided with a man coming the other way. The stack of books and papers the man was carrying scattered across the hallway.

The Doctor dropped to his knees and started retrieving them, apologies tumbling from his lips. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I was just lost in thought and didn-." His words stopped mid-sentence, and his eyes grew wide, as he glanced up at the man's smiling face.

"It's alright, my friend. These things happen to all of us" spoke a voice from so long ago. "I was as much at fault as you. Trying to carry too much stuff all at once." The man crouched and began picking up the papers.

The Doctor stood slowly, the smile slowly coming back to his face.

"Oh brilliant. Chesterton. Ian Chesterton."

The man looked up, his puzzlement registering on his face. "Yes, I am. But I'm sorry, I'm afraid that I don't know you. Have we met?"

"Ages ago. Seems like centuries" the Doctor said still grinning from ear to ear.

Ian rose to his full height, carefully looking the stranger over. "I'm sorry; I'm afraid I can't remember you. Are you a new teacher here?"

"No."

"Parent of one of the students?"

"No."

Ian crossed his arms and stared hard at him.

"Then I'm sorry, but I must ask you to explain who you are, and why you're here after school hours."

"What are you doing here after hours?" the Doctor asked. "Grading papers?"

"Answer the question please" Ian returned, a sharp edge coming on in his voice.

The Doctor smiled knowingly. "That's a nice tie" he said, glancing down momentarily at the strip of cloth hanging down Ian's chest. "Replaces the one you lost on Vortis quite nicely."

Ian blanched as though he'd been slapped. "What did you say?"

"You know, Vortis. The web planet. The Menoptra. The Zarbi. The Animus. How's Barbara by the way? Is she still gonna teach? For that matter, are you?" the Doctor rattled off in rapid fire succession.

Ian recovered his wits enough to grab the Doctor by his coat front and shove him up against the wall.

"All right you. No more games" he said dangerously. "I want to know who you are and how you know all that."

"I know because of the same reason you do, Ian: I was there."

Ian's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean 'you were there'? No one else was there." He thought for a moment. "Barbara. That's it. Barbara's gone blabbing either to you, or you overheard her blabbing to someone else. That's got to be it."

"Wrong. Although I will admit she was quite a bit of a blabber." His face drew up questioningly. "Blabber…blabber…is that really a word? Maybe I should have said babbler. No, that's not right. She did blab, but she didn't really babble that much…well, not all that much…well sometimes-". He interrupted his own train of babbling. "But that's not the point is it? No. The point is, young man that I most defiantly was there. It's me, Chesterton. It's me. The Doctor."

Ian stepped back in shock. "It's not possible."

"Any more impossible than a police box that's bigger inside than out? Or meeting Marco Polo? Or the Aztecs? Or the Daleks?"

The Doctor's eyes went wide, and he slapped his forehead. "Thick! Daleks! Of course, the Dalek time travel device. The one you and Barbara used to go home in. That's what pulled at the Tardis. God, I'm getting so old and thick! I knew that energy signature looked familiar."

He stopped and looked at Ian's incredulous stare. "How long have you been back, Chesterton? A week? Two?"

"Nine days. But it's impossible! You can't be the Doctor! You're too…" he trailed off.

"What? Too young?" The Doctor laughed. "Oh that was all soooooo long ago for me, young man. So many lifetimes."

"All right, if you're the Doctor, then tell me something that only I and the Doctor would know. Something not even Susan and Barbara would know."

The Doctor thought for a moment. "Do you remember when the spring on the fast return switch broke and we were headed backwards towards the big bang?

"Yes."

"When I lied to Barbara and Susan about how much time we had left, I told you the truth. Now, I never did tell either of them that I lied to them. So, unless you told Barbara, the only way I could know that would be if I were the Doctor. Which…I am."

Ian swallowed hard. "Good grief. It is you. But…how?"

"I'm a Time Lord, Ian. My race has the ability to regenerate. When my body finally grows old and wears out, or is damaged badly enough that I'm about to die, I use the energies of time to regenerate my cells. In effect, giving me a new body. Some of my people were so good at it they could control what they looked like when they regenerated, but I never quite got the knack of it though. I've always wanted to be ginger, but I can't seem to get it right."

"It's incredible! So that means you're immortal then?"

"No. Not immortal. I can only do so twelve times. When I grow old for the last time, I'll die just like everyone else."

The two old friends stood and stared at each other for a few moments before Ian broke the silence.

"Well Doctor, I was just on my way home. Why don't you come have some tea with me and Barbara?"

The Doctor looked surprised. "You and Barbara? You mean…the two of you are…?"

Ian looked amused. "'Shacking up', is the correct expression these days, I believe. When we got back we found that two years had passed. Most people thought we had run away together anyway. And I realized that I actually had fallen for her, and she for me. We plan on getting married in the spring."

"Oh brilliant! I haven't been to a good wedding since…well, a very long time. That is, if I'm invited of course."

Ian clasped the Doctor's shoulder. "Well, of course you are! We'd be honored to have you come. Just don't bring any Daleks with you" he quipped.

The Doctor smiled and held up his hand in a 'scout's honor' fashion. "I promise, no Daleks."

"Wonderful. Now come on, and lets go surprise Barbara. She'll be thrilled to see you again."

Please, please, please leave a review. This is my first DW story and I really want to do it right. So tell me if I start to screw things up. I can take constructive criticism just not flamers. Thanks everyone!