Vignette 11: Jamie McCrimmon, the Sixth Doctor, and the Second Doctor. Part 3 of 4 of a mini arc, takes place during "The Two Doctors." Also, the throwaway mention of the Eleventh Doctor is actually canon; Two got a vision of him in one of the Big Finish stories.


Jamie never once regretted his vows of loyalty that he had made to the Doctor. He had told Peri's Doctor that once he had continued questioning why the Scot wouldn't listen to reason as they closed in on Jamie's Doctor and Shockeye.

Ironically enough, that had been more than Jamie had told his own Doctor; Jamie had suspected that his Doctor would have protested had he found out, whether due to the impracticalities of a human swearing fealty to a Time Lord, due to the fact that Jamie had more honor than to sink so low as to swear fealty to one who was branded as a criminal by his own people, or due to the fact that the Doctor did not need a vow from him at all and merely enjoyed his company, no strings attached—or, perhaps, a combination of all three reasons.

Indeed, Peri's Doctor had been surprised by this revelation.

"In retrospect, that explains a lot of things," he had mused.

Jamie had wondered exactly what he had meant by that, but Peri's Doctor didn't elaborate. And there hadn't been time to ask him, either; they had finally caught up with Jamie's Doctor. Shockeye had left, leaving chaos in his wake; while Peri and her Doctor attempted damage control, Jamie had tended to his Doctor—joyful as he saw him change back to a full Gallifreyan before his eyes.

The joy had been short-lived, alas; Dastari and the Androgums had taken them captive again, and once they were back at the hacienda, Jamie had been handed over to Shockeye, much to the horror of both Doctors.

The next several minutes were spent in a haze of pain. As he slipped into unconsciousness, Jamie took solace with one thought, and one thought alone—

My Doctor is back to normal. And he's going to be fine. That's all that matters

Jamie had kept his oath. And if this was the price he had to pay for his loyalty to the Doctor, he was willing to pay it. The Doctor had shown him years of kindness, and Jamie had done his best to reciprocate.

The knowledge that he had helped his Doctor one last time was enough comfort for the Scot now. Even now, he did not regret his vow; the only thing he regretted was that he wouldn't be able to keep his Doctor company any longer.

He slipped further into unconsciousness, but instead of everything going darker, the Scot was aware of a voice calling him back to awareness; the voice was calling his name.

Doctor…?

It wasn't his Doctor; it was Peri's Doctor, but, regardless, the Gallifreyan wasn't about to let Jamie's loyalty lead him to such a fate.

By the time Jamie fully awakened, he was alone; something must have caused Peri's Doctor to hastily leave. His search for him, however, led Jamie back to his Doctor, who was with Peri; Chessene had been menacing them both, but ended up falling into the trap that Peri's Doctor had set for her.

Peri's Doctor had caught up with them at that point, and Jamie noticed with alarm that he had been wounded somehow. But the Doctor's confident smile reassured Jamie that he was going to be fine—just as his Doctor is going to be fine.

Still, it didn't stop Peri's Doctor from giving Jamie a subtle, "Keep an eye on the old gentleman, will you?"

Jamie knew exactly what he meant. And, of course, he had every intention of continuing to fulfill his vow. By remaining loyal to his Doctor, he would, in a sense, be helping Peri's Doctor. By being loyal to one, he was loyal to both—to all of them, however many there were out there.

It was nice to be back in the TARDIS again, after everything. Jamie suppressed a smile as his Doctor immediately began to rant about Peri's Doctor.

"—The most ridiculous fashion sense I've ever seen! He's worse than that insufferable dandy—I didn't even think that was possible!"

Jamie winced as his leg pained him; whatever Shockeye had done to him would probably still hurt for a while longer. Still, he didn't complain; he grabbed the edge of the console to support himself and patiently listened to his Doctor. He was just unspeakably grateful to see him alive—and as himself.

"—Worse than that scarf, worse than that cricket outfit—"

"How many of ye are there?" Jamie interrupted.

"How many?" the Doctor repeated. "Well… I haven't met them all (thankfully), but our laws dictate that a Time Lord can regenerate up to twelve times."

"So there're thirteen of ye running around?" the Scot asked, his eyes wide.

"Well… possibly," the Doctor said. "Regenerations can be given and taken. There's no telling how many of me there are, but there are quite a few. And the ones I've seen show very little promise; the only one I have any hope for is the fellow in the fez…"

"If ye hate them so much… why change at all?"

"It's not a choice, Jamie; I'd be more than willing to stay like this…" The Doctor trailed off, noticing that the Scot was favoring one leg while supporting himself against the console. "Jamie?"

"Aye?"

"What happened to your leg?"

"Och, it's nothing," Jamie insisted. "Shockeye was prodding it with some contraption. He used it on my shoulder, too, but it's mainly the leg that still hurts. I expect it'll lessen on its own—"

He was cut off as the Doctor gently helped him towards the nearest room with a chair; he then retrieved a medical kit. Jamie protested at first, but then fell silent.

"It does nae hurt that much," he insisted, as the Doctor placed an ice pack on the sore spot.

"Nevertheless… You should have told me sooner."

"Aye, well; ye'd had a bad time of it, too."

"And that's another thing!" the Doctor chided. "You should have known better than to approach me when I was still an Androgum—even if I was unconscious! There's no telling what could have happened had I woken up before changing back!"

"I had to make sure ye were alright!" Jamie retorted.

"And it's not that I don't appreciate it, but you took a very foolish chance!"

"I'm going to tell ye the same thing I told Peri's Doctor—even if ye hadn't changed back, I knew ye wouldn't have attacked me!"

"Oh, you knew, did you!?" the Doctor repeated, exasperated.

"Aye!"

There was such conviction in the Scot's voice that the Gallifreyan was quite surprised.

"Oh, very well…" the Doctor said, going back to treating the Scot's hurt leg.

Jamie just gave a satisfied smile. They hadn't been words for the Doctor's benefit alone; Jamie had truly meant what he said. For he had learned that whenever you pledge loyalty to the Doctor, it was, inevitably, returned.