Old Acquaintances
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2010
Merlin cocked his head and looked at the thing.
That wasn't here yesterday.
He recognized what it was, of course. Fifty years ago, blue Police call boxes had dotted the countryside, even on remote country lanes in Cornwall like this one.
But he'd only just returned to England after several decades abroad, so he shrugged it off, reckoning the object for an abandoned relic, or even one of the last hold-outs of the old technology being clung to firmly by some elderly lone constable. He passed without a further thought and continued on his way to the village to run his errands.
Still, he was sure he hadn't seen it the day before.
In any case, he'd put the mystery out of his mind when not five minutes later a body slammed into him and knocked him to the ground with a loud "Oof".
"Oh sorry, mate! Are you all right?" Merlin heard a voice say and he glanced up to see a young man, roughly his height, with light brown hair and blue eyes looking at him contritely.
"You!" Merlin laughed, wild joy bubbling up within him for the first time in years.
The other man looked at him, puzzled, and then his eyes widened. "You! I don't believe it! Oh here, let me help you up. Are you sure you're all right?"
"Are you joking? This is wonderful!" Merlin exclaimed, grabbing the man before him in a hearty embrace. "I haven't seen you in absolute ages!" The warlock drew himself up as he remembered something. "So it happened then? It opened?" he asked eagerly.
A smile was quickly replacing the somewhat hectic expression on the other man's face. "It did."
"Worth the wait?"
"Without a doubt!" the other man said, a remarkable light shining from his eyes. "How about you? Have they…?"
"Not yet, but I think it will be soon."
"I hope so."
Suddenly a gleeful voice cried out from behind Merlin. "Come on, Rory! Now's not the time to be chatting with friends! We've got a planet to save!"
The warlock turned around to see a lanky man in a bow tie and a red fez leaning out of the doorway to the Police Box and gesturing at his friend. A stunning red-head poked herself out beside him and, after smacking the man in the fez on the arm, called out, "Is he all right, Rory?"
Rory nodded and then said to Merlin, "You know, we could probably use your help on this one. Think you might want to come along?"
Merlin grinned. "Lead on, Centurion!"
The day was looking up.
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Just a short one this time, I'm afraid, but hopefully you all enjoyed it. I wanted to cross the two, but I was trying to think of a twist when I remembered "The Pandorica Opens" and realized that the Doctor wasn't the only long-lived person in the Tardis. Indeed, Rory with his long wait for a loved one actually had more in common with Merlin than the Time Lord. So, how did they meet? I figure Merlin's magic would sense the Pandorica in its hiding place and he went to investigate, thereby giving both men a bit of company. And I liked the idea of Rory introducing the Doctor to someone interesting for a change!