A trip to the park.
Featuring: the Sixth Doctor, the Fifth Hatter, Peri Brown, and Lily Winters.
"Hatter, where are we going now?" Lily asked, leaning against the railing in the console room while she watched as the brunette Time Lady danced around the console, a large grin on her face.
"Oh, you know," the Hatter glanced over at her companion, her forest green eyes twinkling at her as she shrugged, "Places".
"Yeah, can we please not do the whole 'I'm a Time Lady with a secret' thing?" Lily groaned, crossing her arms across her chest, "Because usually when you do that we end up running for our lives on some alien planet while you blabber on about her fascinating you think things are, or better yet, crack up laughing like the Mad Hatter that you are".
"Hey, I take offense at that!" the Time Lady said loudly, pointing a finger at the other woman, "I don't blabber," Lily rolled her, shaking her head, "I've never blabbered. I simply get a little carried away and end up talking a little too much, but I can't help that, nor can I help it if I find the situation amusing. You, Lily Winters, simply don't know how to appreciate my wonderful sense of humour".
"Careful, Hatter," Lily gave her a half serious look while trying not to smile, "Your ego's starting to show".
The Hatter rolled her eyes, spinning dramatically away from the console and over to her companion, quickly smacking her lightly on the back of her head before jumping back to the controls, "Careful, Lily," she waved a finger at her over her should as Lily yelped in surprise and began rubbing the back of her head, "Your sense of humour is starting to show, now we wouldn't want that to happen, hmm?"
"Yeah, yeah," she shook her head, "But seriously, Hatter, we are we going? Because I sort of want to be prepared to start running for my life, and I can't do that until you tell me where you're taking us".
"Oh, come on, Winters!" the Hatter sighed, shooting her a look, "Where's your sense of adventure today? Stop being all doom and gloom before we've even landed. Come on, think positive! Repeat after me, today is going to be brilliant and fun. Okay, now you say it".
Lily sighed, rolling her eyes, "Today is going to be brilliant and fun…"
"Exactly," the Hatter grinned, clapping her hands together excitedly like a small child, "See? That wasn't so hard".
"I stand by what I said earlier," Lily stared at the Hatter with a strange look on her face, "You really are mad".
"Flattery will only get you so far with me, Lily," the Time Lady replied, still smiling as she pressed a couple of buttons on the controls.
"Who said it was a compliment?" Lily raised her eyebrows.
"Honestly, kids these days," the Hatter shook her head mockingly, "No respect for their elders. I miss the old days when youngest knew how to treat a lady, be it a Time Lady but the point still stands".
"Well, when I see one I'll be sure to treat her with respect".
"Funny," the Hatter replied dryly, "It's nice to see your sense of humour making a timely appearance, oh how I how missed it".
"Hatter," Lily sighed, stepping away from the railing and making her way over to the Time Lady, "Can you please tell me where you're taking us?"
"Fine," she let out a heavy sigh, "We're going to a lovely little park in the heart of London. I've visited it once or twice before with an old friend of mine, but that was a while back. Lifetimes in fact. We were completely different people back then," she smiled as she thought back, "Huh; I wonder whatever Alistair did with old Bessie, I do miss that old car".
Lily sighed and clicked her fingers together in front of the Time Lady's face, use to the Hatter getting lost in her own thoughts, "Hello, can you focus, please," she shook her head as the Hatter's eyes snapped back to hers, "Before you go off back down memory lane, can you please explain why we're going to some park in the middle of London? You have a time machine, why can't we go to another planet?"
"Oh, so now you want to go off on an adventure to another planet?" the Hatter raised her eyebrows, looking as if she was fighting back the urge to laugh, "Do make up your mind, Winters".
"I'm just saying," she shrugged, "I'm British, I grew up in London so forgive me if I don't find the idea of going to some park I've probably been to before not as appealing as you".
"Nice try, Winters, but you're not fooling me," the Hatter smiled, waving a finger at her, "I know you better than you think. Now come on," she grabbed her companions hand and dragged her toward the doors, throwing them open and stepping out to find them standing in the middle of an open park with tress and bushies dotted all around.
Lily blinked as she looked around, spotting a playground with a couple of children and their parents off in the distance, a man and woman dressed in clothing that appeared to be from the eighties walking hand in hand along a dirt path close by. She shook her head and turned to look behind her to see a large pond behind them.
"Okay," she said slowly, glancing at the Hatter standing beside her, looking at her slightly smugly, "I'm never going to get used to this".
"That's a good thing," the Hatter replied, "Because the day that you step outside those doors and don't feel that why is the day that it's your time to go. Nothing can last forever, time changes all things and this is no different, it's sad but so very true, but hopefully that won't happen for a long while yet".
Lily grinned at her, nudging her side, "Aw, I knew you liked me".
"Don't push your luck, Winters," the Hatter said jokily, giving her a fond smile as she turned and set off toward the pond, her dark blue and multi coloured polka dotted umbrella swinging on her arm as she walked.
Lily shook her head and quickly hurried after the Time Lady, "So, what's the date?" she asked as she fell into step with her.
"Take a stab in the dark".
"My mother always told me not to run with sharp objects," Lily said cheekily.
"Well, isn't it luck that she's not here?" the Hatter smiled, looking amused.
Lily laughed, shaking her head as she cast a glance at the people walking around the park close to them, "Hmm, judging by the clothing," she began, "I'd say it's either the eighties or the nineties".
"Who's to say it's not sometime in the future?" the Hatter raised her eyebrows, "You can't always go by appearances, Lily," she gestured down herself, "Take me for instance, I may look like a human but I am most defiantly not one. Appearance can be easy to fool".
"Okay, so are we in my future? I mean, I came from the year 2010, are we in my future?"
The Hatter paused and glanced at her, smiling, "Actually, you got it right the first time. It's the year 1985, March the 5th".
"Then why…" Lily frowned, looking confused but the Hatter cut her off.
"I was trying to teach you a lesson in not just going by appearance," the Hatter explained, "The world of time travel is a big, confusing, jumble of things that are far too hard for me to explain to you just now but give me a couple of lifetimes and a whiteboard with one of those lovely markers and I'll tell you all about it. But that's getting off the topic, what I am trying to say is that you need to have a keen eye, look at everything, Winters, take it all in".
"Who are?" Lily shook her head, "Sherlock Holmes?"
"No, but I have heard that he's quite a charming man," the Hatter replied, making Lily's jaw drop, "Nothing like how he's depicted in the books or TV shows, mind you".
"Wait, hold on!" Lily pushed passed the Hatter and stood in front of her, making the Time Lady stop, "Are you seriously telling me that Sherlock Holmes, as in the Sherlock Holmes is real? And you've meet him?"
"Of course he's not real," the Hatter rolled her eyes, laughing as Lily quickly closed her mouth, "I was joking. You should really know me better by now, Winters".
Lily shot her a glare and hit her arm as she began walking backwards, "Shut up, how was I supposed to know if Sherlock bloody Holmes is real or not? I mean, I've only been doing this time traveling thing for a month now, as far as I'm concerned Merlin or Harry Potter could be real".
"Trust me, there not," the Hatter sighed, looking slightly disappointed, "I wish they were, I would love to meet them both. Can you imagine it? I once had a dream were I meet them. It was brilliant. We had tea and biscuits".
"Of course you did," Lily rolled her eyes when she suddenly felt her back run into something hard behind her, causing her to yelp in surprise and lose her balance, causing her to find herself landing face first into the grass.
"Would you look were you're going?" a man's voice snapped from above her, sounding deeply annoyed.
"Lillian," the Hatter sighed, looking slightly concerned as she dragged her eyes away from where she had been watching a couple of dukes on the pond to see her companion sprawled across the ground a short distance away with a tall man with curly, blonde hair and dressed in a outlandish, multi coloured coat, striped, yellow trousers, a dark brown knitted waistcoat, and a turquoise polka-dot cravat, a plain white shirt with question marks embroider on the collar, and a pair of green boots with orange spats. Not an outfit that you would see every day, even in the world of time travel.
Lily groaned, rolling herself over as she felt the bridge of her nose start to throb from where her black rimmed glasses had pressed into it. Thank goodness the Hatter had taken her to alien market and had the glass changed to a special type of glass that was near impossible to damage a couple of weeks back, otherwise she would have been in trouble, "I'm fine," she said, sitting up as the Hatter reached them, still looking concerned.
"Yes, well, severs you right for walking backwards," the Time Lady shook her head, glancing at the annoyed looking man who was glaring at her companion, and back to Lily, "Now, if you have stopped lying about, Winters, I believe you owe someone an apology".
"Oh, right," Lily blinked, pulling herself off the ground and brushing some of the dirt off her jeans and T-shirt as she turned to the man, "Um, sorry, mate, I didn't see you there".
"Obviously," the man replied stiffly, his bright blue eyes still narrowed at the young blonde woman in front of him, "And I am not your mate!"
"I didn't mean to upset you…buddy," Lily frowned slightly, glancing at the Hatter who was eyeing the man strangely with a small frown of her own, "I just…"
"And nor am I your 'buddy,'" he shot her another look, beginning to grow even more aggravated by each passing second.
"Hey…" Lily started to say but the Hatter stepped in, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Now, I think we should calm down before things get out of hand," the Time Lady said calmly, giving Lily a slightly pointed look, knowing how her temper could get the better of her at times before turning to the man, giving him a small smile, "I apologise for my friend, she can get a little carried away at times," she held out her hand, "I'm the Hatter".
The man eyes flicked away from Lily and to the Hatter's face, seeming to have only just noticed that she was there at all. His entire body froze as his eyes widened as he took a small step back from the Hatter, staring at her as if he had seen a ghost. Recognition passed his face, along with a couple of other emotions that neither woman could place before they disappeared and were replaced with a blank mask.
"Hatter," he said slowly, staring at her as he ran his eyes down her body and back up to her face, not that she noticed but Lily certainly did, "I see you don't recognize me, but why should you? After all, I look quite different from the last time we last saw each other. An improvement from the feckless charm of the last one".
The Hatter frowned, "We've meet before?"
A genuine smile made its way onto the stranger's face, one that looked familiar to the Hatter, along with an almost amused twinkle in his eyes as he stared into the Hatter's eyes, "You could say that," he nodded, the Hatter continued frowning at him.
"Are you a Time Lord?" Lily spoke up, looking in-between the man and the Hatter, not exactly sure what was going on in front of her, not that, that made a big change.
But before the man could reply, a young woman with short brown hair, brown eyes, and dressed in a pair of heels, shorts, and a low cut, tightly fitted shirt appeared beside the man with an ice cream in her hand, "Doctor, what's going on?" the woman asked with a American accent as she looked in-between them.
"Oh…" the Hatter gasped, her eyes snapping to the Doctor's as she stared at him in surprise and shock, "It's you…you've regenerated".
"Yes, recently," the Doctor told her, "You couldn't sense me?"
"My mental shields are up," she replied, shrugging, "And I wasn't expecting to run into my best friend here. You couldn't sense me?" she added in a slight teasing tone in her voice.
"Hang on," Lily cut in before the Doctor could answer, "You're the Hatter's best friend? As in the best friend she's always talking about?"
"I don't always talk about him, Winters," the Hatter rolled her eyes, a faint ting of pink spreading it's self across her pale cheeks as the Doctor looked slightly smug. She shot him a look before shaking her head and flashing a bright smile at the woman who was clearly the Doctor's latest companion, "Hello, I don't believe we have been introduced, I'm the Hatter".
"Peri Brown," the woman smiled, glancing at the Doctor and back to the Time Lady, "It's nice to finally meet the famous Hatter," she nodded her head at the Doctor, "He's told me all about you".
"Oh, really?" she raised her eyebrows at the Doctor, "Nice things, I hope?"
"Peri, why don't you and this…" the Doctor trailed off as he fixed Lily an irritated glare, remembering there less than pleasant meeting from before.
"It's Lily, Lily Winters," the blonde sighed, giving the Time Lord an annoyed look of her own as she folded her arms across her chest. This guy might have been the Hatter's best friend but that didn't mean that she was going to forget how rude he had been earlier.
"Hmm," he hummed, still eyeing her before shaking his head, "Well, why don't you and Peri go and do…something".
"I think what my idiot of a friend is trying to say," the Hatter cut in, giving the Doctor a strange look, "Is for you two go and get to know each other better while we discuss some matters".
"Time Lord matters, you mean," Lily said, exchanging a look with Peri.
"Something like that," the Hatter smiled slightly before making shooing motions with her hands, "Now off you girls go, don't get yourselves kidnapped, don't talk to strangers, and Lily, I say this to you, don't walk backwards and run into another Time Lord. The last thing we need is for you to end up running, quite literally into the Master, but knowing your luck you would".
"The who?" she stared at the Time Lady, "You can't seriously be telling me that there's a Time Lord who calls himself 'the Master?'"
"Believe me, the Master is not anyone that you wish to come across," the Hatter warned her, looking very serious before she lightly pushed her companions shoulder, "But never mind him. Off you go, ladies, go on. Have fun…but not too much fun".
Lily rolled her eyes, exchanging looks with Peri before both girls turn and walked away, striking up a conversation about each other's Time Lords. The Hatter sighed and held back a groan as she heard what they were saying before they disappeared, feeling as if she would come to regret getting those two to get to know each other, seeing as it seemed to be a requiring habit for both Time Lords companions to become friends and team up together to torment both Time Lords.
An awkward silence fell over the Time Lords once the girls had disappeared as they glanced at each other, "So…" the Hatter started after a moment as she crossed her arms across her chest and fixed the Doctor with a stern look, "When were you planning on telling me about your regeneration?"
"I wasn't aware that I had to," he replied, seriously.
The Hatter stared at him for a moment, "Doctor, are you angry at me?" she asked finally in a quiet voice, "Did I do something wrong or…?"
"Like what?" the Doctor frowned.
"Well, if I knew I wouldn't be asking you, now would I? I mean, this is the first regeneration that I haven't been with you, and I'm just wondering if you're angry with me because of that".
"Of course I'm not angry with you, Hatter," the Doctor shook his head, "Besides, I'm glad I regenerated, my last self-had that feckless charm that simply wasn't me. This new me is certainly the biggest improvement of all of my other selves to far".
"Your fifth self wasn't fickle," the Hatter frowned at him, "He was strong and brave, an exactly swordsmen, and a brilliant listener. He helped me when I needed him most after April died, so forgive me if I can't agree with you when you say that this new you is an improvement".
"He was weak," the Doctor argued, "Not fit to defend the Universe against the likes of the Daleks, the Cybermen, or the Master! How could he possibly think that all he had to do was say a couple of words and things would be all good and jolly again? Action, Hatter, that is how you keep the Universe safe".
"I can't believe I'm hearing this, and from you of all people," the Hatter shook her head in disbelief as she stared at him, "Violence is never the answer, it only makes the situation worse. Words are just as powerful as any weapon, Doctor, if used wisely".
The Doctor scoffed, "My, my, my," he tutted, "I thought that you were smarter than that, but I see that despite all that you have witnessed throughout your travels you still look at the Universe and see nothing but a fantasy land were nothing bad ever happens. You disappoint me".
"I disappoint you?" the Hatter hissed, struggling to keep her anger in check. How in Rassilon's name did there simple chat turn into something so heated in so little time? "Have you completely lost you mind? If anyone is the disappointment it would be you, standing there, talking about violence as if it's something good. And how dare you accuse me of living in a fantasy world where everything is fine and dandy when we have both lost people that we have cared for. In what deluded part of your mind is that a good thing?"
"Well, perhaps if you had been more capable of defending your companions then perhaps none of them would have died," he said before he realised fully what he had said, regretting it as soon as it had left his mouth. How could he of all people possibly say something that hurtful to her, knowing perfectly well how much guilt she still felt, "No, Hatter…"
A loud slap echoed through the air as the Hatter slapped him across his face, causing his head to snap back from the harsh impact, a painful burning pain following quickly after. An old couple walking passed them gasped and hurried passed them as the Hatter glared at him, her fists clenched at her sides as she tried to stop herself from shaking.
"You have no right to speak to me like that, Doctor," she spat, furiously, "You maybe my best friend but that does not give you the right to use my own guilt against me. I would have given up my own life without hesitation for all of my companions, not to mention yours, and your life".
"Hatter, I didn't mean it," the Doctor tried, trying to reach out and touch her arm but she stepped away from him, "Please, I am so sorry…"
"And you think this new you is better than your past self," the Hatter shook her head, "At least he was never this arrogant and hurtful".
The Doctor flinched at her words but he quickly shrugged it off and stepped forward, grabbing her shoulders before she could move away again, "Hatter, look at me," she shook her head, making him sigh slightly and spuriously gently lifted her chin up so she could meet his eyes, "I am sorry, so very sorry, Hatter. It was never my intention to hurt you and your right; I allowed my arrogance to get the better of me. Please, I can't stand seeing you upset, forgive me?"
She took a deep breath before exhaling it, closing her eyes before slowly nodding, "I forgive you, Doctor," she told him softly, opening her eyes but the Doctor knew that she hadn't finished yet, "But I can't say that you didn't hurt me, and I defiantly don't agree with your new views on violence, but we have known each other long enough to know when the other means what they say. But make no mistake, I may forgive you but that does not mean that I will allow you to get away with this".
"I will do anything," the Doctor said without hesitation, something that was unlike this regeneration to be so willing to do anything for another person, but then again, this was the Hatter and she wasn't just anyone to him.
The Time Lady gave him a small smile, "Oh believe me, I will be holding you to that," the Doctor gave her a smile of his own before she continued, her voice lighter and happier then before, "Now, I suppose we had best go and track down our companions before they get themselves kidnapped or something".
"Indeed," the Doctor nodded, casting a glance around the park, "I never seem too find a companion who doesn't end up finding themselves in trouble of some sort".
"Yes, all of my companions have been the same," the Hatter agreed, "But then again, I think that having a companion who didn't end up getting themselves in trouble would end up being quite dull, and I refuse to have adventure that is dull".
"And I am quite sure your companions would agree. Now, come on," he grabbed her hand, surprising her and set off looking for their companions.
"So, Doctor, tell me all about this regeneration of yours?"
First off, a big thank you to Phantomhawk-writer for suggesting that I write this, sorry for its lateness but I really wanted to finish writing up the last chapter for Time Lady and her Time Lord before starting this.
This was my first ever attempt of writing the Sixth Doctor so I don't know how well it turned out, but I hope, for those who have watched him, that he seemed to be in partly character but I do have to confess that I've only managed to watch a couple of episodes with him in it. I know it probably seemed like the Hatter let the Doctor off after what he said, but believe me, the Hatter will make sure that he never forgets, as you've around seen in my other stories with her mentioning it, and somehow I think that would be worse for the Doctor to be reminded of how badly he hurt her even after all those years.
Anyway, I hope you liked it, if you have any suggestions on what you would like me to do next then feel free to let me know. Please review :)