DOCTOR WHO

CHESS WITH AN OSTRICH

WRITTEN BY ZARIUS

PROMPT: Graham tells The Doctor how he feels about her at Ryan's prompting, then asks her out on a date. We find out how the date went

In the TARDIS, the fam was busy putting together streamer rockets to celebrate China's Lunar New Year.

All around them, tiny drones danced and darted across the room, emitting holographic monitors that projected the friends' faces across the whole of China.

"Right, remember guys, this is a big moral boost we're giving the people of china for taking interest in concepts to do with time travel. It's a big leap to defy their superstitions like that; whole laws were put in place to defy any entries into the field"

"Doc, I thought you said promised no more soapbox lectures" Graham said.

"Yeah, most of our adventures are history lessons in themselves, we'd rather we experience it firsthand" Ryan added.

Yasmin had gone first and the streamer was set off without a hitch, she giggled and excused herself as she needed a bathroom break rather desperately.

Graham went next, wishing the Chinese people well and pulling his streamer.

Ryan soon followed, and again the streamer went off without a hitch.

Then came the turn of The Doctor, who was having a lot of difficulty setting off her own rocket.

As she struggled, Graham looked on, and noticed Ryan was staring at him oddly as he did so. He chose to take a seat, urging Ryan to join him.

"C'mon, sit with your granddad, I need the company" he said.

Ryan leaned beside Graham, they both observed The Doctor as she struggled to set off the streamer.

"Do you think we should help her?"

"Nah, she just needs to put a bit of effort into it, don't you Doc?" Graham yelled, but The Doctor didn't reply.

"She's listening" Graham assured Ryan.

"I think I need you to listen right now" Ryan said, his tone all of a sudden more strict.

"I'll all ears son" Graham said.

"Graham, you've got that look"

"What look?"

"You know the one; you act like I can't see it, but its there. I told you before if you ever had that look for someone again I'd come down hard on you"

"What look is this?"

"The look you used to give Nan every time you told her you loved her; you've got that look about you now"

"Around who?"

Ryan's eyes told the story; he glanced to the front of the ship, prompting Graham to gaze at the alien female before them

"Aw, no, no Ryan doesn't do this" Graham began, wiping his brow with his right hand.

"I have to Graham, I have to, and I need to make sense of this" Ryan said.

"Ryan, I loved your Nan, she was the best of both our worlds, and she made me better even when my body wouldn't heal. The best days of my life were spent with her"

"Every day is that now, with me, with Yasmin, with her"

"So the look's for all of you then"

"It's always when she's about Graham. You've got the look for her"

"For the Doc? Crikey Ryan you have had a few benders"

"It's true though isn't it? The way you've carried on around her lately"

"In what way?"

"Making that remark about your Speedos, who else could that have been for? Certainly not Yasmin"

"Doc knew I was joking"

"I saw that look she gave you, she didn't know whether to be aroused or just plain disgusted"

"Yeah, well, trust me, it's the latte"

"Then you told Thomas Edison off, you made it clear that the TARDIS was hers and wasn't for sale. You came to her defence pretty quickly there"

"OK, OK, so there have been a couple of times where I've went to bat for her, but let's not presume anything. She's a woman now, but she was a man before right? I don't swing that way son"

"A friend of mine at work, Nathan, has a girlfriend, she started off as a man, they knew each other as blokes initially, after she let him know she was getting the op and needed the support, they just got closer emotionally, it wasn't about whether Nathan was gay or not, he just found his connection took on a deeper meaning"

"Maybe...aw Ryan I don't know what to think now. I'm sorry, truly I am, life carries on though son, I told your Nan, right after she flew up to the heavens that I wanted even more out of life than just the precious few years we spent together. She'd want me to have more, including the opportunity to love again, not just to live again. Had I known it would affect the way you think, I would have confided in you more. For that I can't apologise enough"

"You should ask y'know" Ryan said

"What?" Graham spoke, confused.

"Ask her, if she feels the same way about you" Ryan insisted.

"Oh I can't put her on the spot like that son" Graham said, opting to decline.

"Nan put you on the spot when she asked how you felt about her, she took a risk, and if what you claim is true, she'd want you to take a risk now. I want you to take a risk. You want your love life renewed, then grab hold of it with both hands and don't let go the way I let go of a bike. Nothing is easy to ride"

Graham glanced over to the Doctor as she finally managed to set off the streamer rocket

"Happy lunar new year" she said to the people of China, before signing off.

Graham got up, dusted himself off, put his hand in his pockets, and walked over to her, a hopeful Ryan looking on.

"Doc?"

"Oh hey, I managed to set it off, and this time it was only a party accessory, not a war..." she joked.

"Yeah, um, Doc, you, erm, do you...well, right how do I go about this? You've been around the odd galaxy, has there ever been a time you want more than companionship? Do you fancy..."

"...A kip? Splendid idea, mind if I lie down for a couple of hours?"

"Sure"

"Thanks" Doc said, heading up the stairs to her bedroom, waving to Ryan as she went.

"Later Ryan"

Graham put his hands in his pockets, and let himself pace aimlessly around the console, looking like a lost puppy.

"Well by our usual standards that went well"

"She read you like a book Graham, and you gave her an excuse to leave"

Graham took both hands out of his pocket and let them wash all over his face.

"Yeah, I kind of did. Golly Ryan this is a tough cookie to crack aint' it?"

"You need to try again. Go on up there and ask her"

Unbeknown to both, The Doctor had been listening in; she bit her lip apprehensively, before steeling herself and descending down the staircase.

"Almost forgot, I left my screwdriver on the workshop bench, won't be two ticks"

"Erm, Doc? I was asking you a question and you sort of tailed it before I finished"

"River always said I tailed it before I finished. Took me ages to get what she was referring to"

"River? Who's he?"

"Oh a she"

"Right, so...women still your area then"

"Graham O'Brien, are you jealous?"

"Oh not at all Doc, I'm glad you've got someone"

"I had someone"

"Oh, she's not around then?"

"Well, suppose you had a friend who travelled with you a bit, shared the odd joke here, you had the odd picnic, then it stops all of a sudden. That's the thing about life, and death, it's all so sudden. One minute it's there, the next it's gone"

"Like Grace then? I'm sorry"

The Doctor looked at him, her eyes conveying a loss he didn't fully comprehend, and she doubted anyone could.

"Don't be, those we're among now give us reason to keep going, so we can honour those we lost by continuing to live the life they valued so much"

This affirmation was all Graham needed to spur him on

"That reminds me, I never properly thanked you for being there for me, for all of us, when Grace...when...when she left us, and I kind of want to repay you. Starting now. A proper thank you. I was wondering if you'd care to...go out?"

"Go out?"

"With me, just for some fish and chips, just that, nothing else...and that way I can get to ask you more questions that I hope you'd be happy to answer. About...me, and, well, how you feel, regarding m... oh I'm useless at this aren't I? Just say yes and we'll go out and have a laugh"

"Graham O'Brien, that was the best worst attempt at a pick up chat I've ever heard, used to be like this all the time with the wife"

"Am I going to hear about her all day?"

"If it gives you insight, sure, why not? Romance to me is like playing chess with an ostrich; a mind like mine doesn't react to it in quite the same way. I find it weird and peculiar. I find women peculiar like that"

"So how did your marriage work?" Graham asked.

"It was a very peculiar marriage" The Doctor replied

"And that was just with women right...how do you feel about blokes? About, well, me? Am I...peculiar?"

"You? You're the strongest person I know, you know that" The Doctor responded, almost surprised Graham would even ask her to remind him of what happened at Ranscor Av Kolos. Surely he hadn't forgotten?

"Really? All of time and space, you've met the most extraordinary people, and you think I stand out amongst all of them?"

"You exhibit the finest qualities I look for in someone Graham, the quality of mercy. There have been lives where I've denied people second chances. In spite of what he did to Grace, you chose to spare Tim Shaw. You showed me that with mercy, warriors can be wiser, they can be brave enough to rise above the demands and costs of war"

"Without you Doc, I would have just thought of it as weakness. I guess that's what makes me a peculiar specimen to you. I hope"

"Hope's a good thing to carry around with you too" The Doctor added.

"Your wife sounds like she made you smile, and that's what I need from you Doc. All smiles" Graham said, his face blushing bright red as awkward anxiety took hold.

The Doctor, almost on command, gave Graham a big grin. She wrapped her right arm tightly around Graham's shoulder and power walked towards the TARDIS doors.

"Come on then my most peculiar fellow, somewhere there's risk, somewhere there's fish, somewhere there's chips, somewhere the tea's getting cold" she said

As she led Graham out of the TARDIS, he turned to Ryan and gave him thumbs up, to silently convey his gratitude in helping to arrange this date.

"Checkmate" Ryan said to himself, smiling.

Later that evening, Ryan waited for Graham to come by their house; he had put some tea on.

He suddenly heard the door open, and Graham stepped inside, humming a little light hearted diddy to himself, he looked cheerful.

"Well, how'd it go Graham?" Ryan asked, pouring a cup of hot tea into a cup and handing to Graham.

"It was alright son, light supper, light conversation" Graham described to him

"She tell you anything different about herself?"

"Just that her wife never could hold her caviar. She went on and on about how rich the food was with them on their dates"

"Did you get jealous?"

"I don't get jealous at my age son, what I get sometimes is worried"

"What about?" Ryan asked.

Graham settled himself down on his chair.

"She was distracted, I mean, proper distracted, y'know? This whole business with the Judoon and this Ruth character...it's really rattled her, she could barely focus on getting to know me, she just rambled on about the best days of her lives, the lives she could remember anyway, but she overcompensated"

"Sounds like you didn't have such a good time"

"Oh an A for effort there lad, make no mistake, my shoulder just wasn't prepared to be leant on all evening. She said she'd make up for it on the next date"

"Next date?" Ryan said, slightly startled.

"Yeah, we're trying again, that alright?"

"I just...I don't know Graham, part of me is hoping you can be the one to lead us all to her home, that she'll learn to trust in you and show all of us what she hides whenever she returns from there, on the other hand...what if it becomes more between you? I'm talking proper commitment"

"Don't go there just yet son, it's early days"

"What kind of family would I be brought into, y'know? What would that make the Doctor to me? A grandmother that looks like she could be a mum or an aunt, and what if she changes back to a man? Do I still call her Nan? Or do I have two granddads? It's just something I have to wrestle with...then there's Ruth"

"What about her?" Graham asked.

"That Ruth person...the one she claims was her in the past, she looked an awful lot like Nan don't you think?"

Graham felt as if his mind had just gone south for the winter.

"Crikey, I hadn't considered that"

"Maybe that's why you've got something for the Doctor, maybe the universe has a way of giving you tiny clues as to what the people in your life mean to you, a way of reminding you that something lost can be gained again"

"I knew this was a bad idea, just did"

"Yeah, but look at the company Ruth kept, that Lee fellow, he was willing to put himself on the line for her, just like we all would, and they were happy, they looked pretty together. I'm just saying, maybe if you're a faithful enough companion, she could be what Nan was to you, if she's willing to take another crack at it"

"You're a brave lad Ryan, you're right, we still don't know too much about her, but if we carry on, I don't want what she and I have to just be some fact-finding mission, or a chance to relive what I had with Grace. I want it to be something altogether new, for both our sakes. Let's not dwell on what we know, or what we think we know, and instead just piece together a better tomorrow for all of us"

"Sounds nice" said Ryan.