A/N: If you are unaware of F. Scott Fitzgerald, or his fantastic classical literary books, then do not fear! I'll be referring to some little quotes from his books but otherwise this will just be like any other Doctor Who story. I wanted this chapter to be quite light and fluffy. Nothing too heavy. Also more characterisation of Cara.
Note: I do not own Doctor Who and I do not own anything legendary Fitzgerald penned. I am just using a few quotes, everything is copyright to the publishers.
Chapter Fourteen: The Roaring Twenties
Francis Scott Fitzgerald. Born on the 24th September 1896. Novelist, short story writer, poet. One of the greatest writers of the twentieth century. An inspiration to Cara who was now on her way to see one of her favourite authors of all time.
The Doctor, however, was staring at her incredulously as she babbled on about Fitzgerald and his work. "You know, Cara, you can't go dressed like that," said the Doctor eventually, "you'll need to dress up for the occasion."
"But I don't have any 1920s clothes!" Cara replied with a little panic. She would stand out like a sore thumb in her uggs, grey mini skirt and fluffy scarf.
"Good thing I have a wardrobe suited for every occasion. The TARDIS will guide you. Now go on, go pick out something suitable," he said with a grin.
The Doctor wasn't exaggerating when he claimed to have a wardrobe suited for every occasion. The place was huge! Cara was tempted to try on everything in sight – from an Egyptian headdress to a space-age tutu, but the TARDIS seemed to have picked out something for her. When Cara returned to the control room, she was wearing a typical Flapper-style dress, straight from the roaring twenties. It was an aqua blue with excessive amounts of sequence and glitter fringes. With it, she was wearing matching heels and had her hair in a fancy up-do. She looked ready to step into the moonlight with a mysterious gentleman in a handsome tux. That was when she looked expectedly at the Doctor.
"Ready to go?" the Doctor asked as she came into view. He hadn't moved from the console.
"Wait, aren't you changing?" she asked.
"I don't need to, there's nothing wrong with this suit! Anyway, they already know me," he answered, already moving towards the door.
Cara felt particularly anxious as well as self-conscious when she followed the Doctor through the TARDIS doors. She had never visited America, which seemed like a pretty petty event to be excited over since she had just visited an alien planet. But this was a different time, a different generation. This was familiar yet unexplored. Any adventure was a good adventure for Cara. But time travel delved deeper into her imagination than she thought was possible.
It was a glorious sunny day. The Doctor and Cara had stepped out into an open field (Cara could never imagine calling it a garden) with a grand white house, extremely large and extravagant, standing in the distance. The Doctor was beaming at the look of amazement on Cara's face as she stared around her.
"This is 1921, the Fitzgerald estate. The roaring twenties have just begun despite prohibition. The Jazz Age is well underway. The lost generation is ready to celebrate after a long world war," the Doctor explained as Cara looked around in awe. It felt different. It felt new. She couldn't control the glorious grin on her face. He continued, "Francis Scott Fitzgerald – or I prefer to call him Scottie – has been married to Zelda Sayre for a whole year. They're an official celebrity couple here in America -"
"If it's 1921 then Fitzgerald has just released his first book This Side of Paradise, also known as The Romantic Egotist. The protagonist, Amory Blaine, is a student who dabbles in literature and attends Princeton University. The novel explores the themes of status-searching and love tainted by greed. Supposedly reminiscent of himself and Zelda, as most of his literary works. Next year he will release his second novel, The Beautiful and Damned which provides an insight to the Eastern elite during the Jazz Age," finished Cara, unable to hide her smug and impressive stare. The Doctor gaped at her. "Oh yeah, fancy-alien-guy-with-time-travelling-machine. Don't mess with me and literature."
The Doctor frowned and raised his eyebrows, "Were you born in a library?"
Cara ignored him and readjusted her dress. "It's another four years until The Great Gatsby. Why did you choose 1921?" she asked.
"Thought you would enjoy the parties," the Doctor smiled. "I was there at their wedding. Anyone who socialises with the Fitzgerald's are practically celebrities in their own right. I thought you'd enjoy a break after all the alien business you've dealt with recently. No need to thank me."
"Thank you," Cara said anyway.
The Doctor smiled, "May I assist you, Cara Harvey?" he asked and offered his arm.
Cara looped her arm in the Doctor's and they set off onto the driveway. America was definitely warmer than England, Cara noticed idly. It seemed to be summer at the moment in 1921, definitely different from the winter morning she had stepped into this morning. They had barely walked five paces when the Doctor broke the silence.
"So tell me more about yourself," he said conversationally.
"I wouldn't want to bore you. Someone who has seen millions of planets in millions of times would be bored by my boring life," answered Cara, looking up at him.
"Never act like you're not important," replied the Doctor seriously, "I'd like to know more about you. I'm curious."
Cara frowned. She didn't know where to begin. "Well, I'm half Irish, half Scottish. My and mum and I moved to England when I was three. Haven't heard of my dad since," Cara's went quiet as she thought of him. She shook her head to continue when she noticed the Doctor was grinning.
"What is it?"
"Just the old Irish charm," he said mischievously. "Where did you used to live?"
"Belfast," she answered, watching his enthusiasm curiously.
"Oh!" the Doctor exclaimed. "Love Belfast. Brilliant. Must visit there again sometime. Well known for the Linen factories. The Titanic, of course. Which I was on. Twice. You know the 'big fish' statue? That was my idea, thank you very much. Actually, I practically invented the Province of Munster in the Republic of Ireland. Poor Irish folk didn't know what hit them when they seen a monster roaming the streets. Why else would it be called Munster? Had to spell it differently, of course. Would have been too obvious. Anyway, you were saying?"
Cara was stunned. She didn't know where to begin. "Hold on – you were on the…? The big fish? Munster?"
The Doctor shrugged, "I'll save it for some other time when we have to walk up another long driveway. I want you to finish talking about yourself."
Choosing to ignore him, Cara tried to think of what to say next. "Um, my best friend is Flynn, as you know. He's a year older than me; nineteen, nearly twenty. Oh, I'm an Aquarius!"
"I guessed as much. Open minded. Stubborn. Intelligent and curious. Loyal yet detached and independent," the Doctor listed.
"You like horoscopes?" Cara asked, more than a little shocked. "I thought you'd be a typical Taurus. Focused, determined, quick-tempered and certainly not amused by horoscopes."
The Doctor scoffed, "As if! Horoscopes didn't exist on my planet. I just take an interest in culture."
"What was your planet?" Cara asked innocently.
The Doctor cleared his throat, "Moving on, tell me more."
Cara sighed. I'll get it out of him eventually, she thought to herself. "My favourite colour is red. You already know what I study at Uni. I'd love to write books or be a journalist one day."
"I have a close friend who is a journalist. Not your average journalist, mind," said the Doctor. They were nearing the house now. Only a few more metres.
"Oh, I know what you mean. Someone I know at Uni tried to write a newspaper article on the advantages of using organic candles over wax candles," Cara almost giggled at the memory. She didn't even know if there was such a thing as an organic candle. It seemed the Doctor didn't either, as he was struggling not to burst into laughter. "Is that the kind of thing your friend writes about?" she asked.
The Doctor considered this for a moment, still trying not to laugh. He glanced at Cara's curious gaze and decided to humour her. "Yeah. You could say that," he nodded.
The pair had finally reached the grand white house. Cara could barely control her excitement. She clung to the Doctor anxiously as he wrapped the door in a special rhythm. His brown eyes glistened, reflecting her enthusiasm. They only had to wait a matter of minutes before a butler answered the door. His eyes widened at the sight of the Doctor, clearly in recognition. His gaze also swept over Cara, and she could've sworn he emitted a faint sigh.
"Sir Doctor," greeted the Butler with fake politeness. "How very nice of you to drop by again."
"Roger," replied the Doctor, beaming. Cara stared at the two men in utter amusement. It seemed the Doctor left a mark on everyone and every where he landed.
"I'll inform the master and mistress you are here. They were not expecting you," Roger the butler stepped aside to let them through. He added quietly, "If they had, they would have asked for me to remove anything breakable."