It's another day at the library and everyone working per usual while snow fell outside the large gothic windows near the front desks. The heat set comfortably on all floors, prevented the employees from feeling the frosty chill in the breeze as it passed through the downtown area.
Working diligently in organizing shelves, checking books in and out, maybe sort through records and see who's defaulting on their book returns, going from there, Lila felt the heat on her thick long sleeve shirt.
Everyone in their corners working, it's a slow day at the library since nobody wanted to be outside in the cold, except of course the workers at the library, but semantics aside, it's a slow day.
So slow, that even Hammond's not in a meeting today, busied with work in his office, but routinely walked around his floor, checking on everyone's progress.
Of course, checking on his little brother, who's shelving books as he went between aisles.
Too cold out, lunch's inside the library, because rightfully, nobody wanted to go anywhere outside unless it's going home for the evening.
Bill's on her vacation, the lucky duck, and everyone else's working before the holidays.
Lila's curious as to what the Smith siblings planned, she didn't see them having a roast together unless perhaps Hamon and Odette got them together, even then, Odette's elsewhere and Hamon's in his own world that occasionally pops in to check on his nephews and niece.
For her, with her brothers and dad in different corners of the world until mid-January, Lila's not fussed at all, she's got nowhere to be, no parties, no plans, just hot chocolate, a marathon of the "Die Hard" movies, and leftovers.
… And of course, Lila couldn't forget, the misadventures she and Theodore dealt with in the meantime and probably through Christmas.
While she enjoyed the warmth of the one adventure they had last night, she wasn't about the insects.
Since this is her dealing with life that's unseen by the masses, these insects weren't the swatting kind, rather, you'd die before you're able to slam a shoe at them. Large, angry, hungry, buzzing, you know, the usual insects that Lila's dealing with since Ziggy kidnapped her and Theodore, now it's their secondary job.
Already, she's dealing with bruises that she's covering up with whatever possible to avoid embarrassing rumors.
The woes of looking normal and having abnormal adventures.
Theodore, well, he changes his clothing depending on where he's going, he looks like a space hobo when traveling in the TARDIS and looks like someone with hand-me down suits when working in the library.
Somehow, probably his genes, he doesn't worry about bruises showing, Hammond's reaction otherwise met trouble ahead.
Hammond's taken to questioning every adventure they take and what happened on them, big brother's worry, Lila guessed.
He still hates that his little brother's the Doctor and wished he wasn't, but Theodore told him more than once, is what it is, he can't change it, and if he tried, it'll be worse for the both of them.
Whether Hammond agreed or not, Theodore's the Doctor, and until otherwise remains as such, something Hammond doesn't even want to fathom.
Not that Lila blamed him.
Having lost both parents, Hammond's trying his best to keep from losing Theodore in the process, but Theodore hates Hammond treating him like he's still a child.
Theodore proclaimed he's thirty-four years old, but Hammond didn't see him as an adult, still his little brother.
Ah, family.
Mom never liked the thought of Lila joining the navy like she wanted at the time.
Said it's not the place for her, but Lila wanted to be like dad.
Then dad agreed with mom, said it'd be best if Lila find another career and not a career in the navy.
Dad never gave specifics, but it felt like he worried about her working in the navy. Maybe it's just the stories he shared that did it, he didn't want her to risk the problems he witnessed.
Given he censored himself when she was younger, he knew things that she wasn't privy.
Bummed Lila, but as she grew older and wiser, she found that her parents made the right decision and fortunate she didn't join.
While Lila didn't go into the navy like her dad, Billy and Ethan did, and they're not having issues as far as she's aware, but they're built like Schwarzenegger. Guess it helps.
Despite the stringent adventures she's had as of late, Lila's not exactly close to a body builder physique like them.
Depending how it goes after the end of this, she might have a four pack, if she doesn't get arthritis first.
Whatever, enough dozing off, have to finish shelving these books and go check the computer for any requests from other libraries.
Yawning, Lila pushed the last book in before returning to the front desk with the empty cart clacking as she pushed it against the side of the desk.
Getting on the computer, Lila checked for requests, her coworkers moving between floors and aisles overhead, and so far, there's no requests.
Lila guessed after New Years, there'll be at least forty requests. Only because of New Years resolutions and people wanting to read a good book before they quickly abandon their resolutions.
Trust her, she's seen it, from fitness to books, people make up tons of resolutions, and only half managed completing them.
Checking emails and looking for anything to keep her busied, Lila heard footsteps coming towards her, at first she thought it's one of her coworkers.
Feeling a presence in front of her, Lila looked up to see David.
Wearing a brown trench coat and all.
"Oh no, don't tell me," Lila couldn't even bother to come up with anything to say. Her mind sapped of energy, she just wanted to finish work for the evening, and go home.
David waved his hand as he explained that he's not here looking for help, just figured that he'd pop in on her and Theodore.
"So, why're you here, anyway?" Lila asked him.
David shrugged as he admitted that things happened since the last time her and Theodore saw him last.
Still no clue on his father's identity, but there's a development of sorts that David couldn't believe until it finally clicked in his head.
"Watch a bit of Telly?" David asks Lila.
Lila replied, "Not much since I've been commandeered as a companion, really, why?"
David shrugs as he tells her, "Well, I may have a new job. Outside being the Doctor, of course."
Raising a brow, Lila grew curious as she wanted answers to her questions, which David gave them as he went, resulting in her learning that he accidentally ended up in a casting call without realizing it.
"You thought you were auditioning for a play… and they casted you in a new show?" Lila raised her brow at this as David meekly shrugged his broad shoulders before explaining in detail.
He didn't mean to audition for the role, he thought he's playing a doctor in the play, almost popped his eyes out when he realized that he wasn't auditioning for a part in a play, but a new show in development.
"So, what now?" Lila looked at him.
David replied as he shifted in his spot, "I'm going to be an actor, it's… weird… y'know?"
Lila remarked that David couldn't possibly be an actor, reminding him that if he's working on a show, they'd hound him for details, some of which he surely couldn't fib. There's a registry for all known actors and guilds, regulations, the whole shebang!
Reaching into his deep pocket, David brought out a black leather wallet and opened it outward for her to look inside. He said he has the papers that proves he's the genuine article and that they're shooting soon.
Looking at it, Lila sees everything needed for David to be an actor for a union show, drawing questions how he managed, leading David to reveal that he's not actually showing legitimate paperwork.
Confusing Lila, she looked at the papers in the wallet until David told her that she's duped by the aptly named psychic paper.
It tricks minds into seeing things the user wanted them to see, ranging from driver licenses to guild cards, it's a Doctor's best friend in the thick of things, and it's easily concealed, too!
"So, if I say I have a ticket to the upcoming Predators game, it'd show it?" Lila asked David.
Nodding, David proved it to her, by briefly closing his wallet and reopening it, showing her a copy of the Predators ticket, her name on it!
It amused Lila as she asked how he managed to find something like it, only for David to tell her that he… well… might've made it himself.
"Hold on, you made it?" Lila eyed him suspiciously as he closed his wallet once again before shoving it in his pocket.
Nodding, David told her that he made a couple of them so he'd have extras and other Doctors liked them so much, he shared it with them too!
"I'm guessing you had a very interesting time as a teenager, didn't you?" Lila crossed her arms as she inquired if David used the psychic paper for any shenanigans and Tom foolery when he was younger, only for him to plead innocence.
He made them when he was older and if he had them when he was younger, he'd have a field day using his psychic paper.
"Just a warning, it'll break if you make a big enough of a lie, like saying you're the prime minister of earth or… the long-lost twin of Keanu!" David warns there's limitations on the psychic papers.
They'll work on small lies, but anything impossibly big and it shorts them out, David's unable to fix that issue, but he's told by the older Doctors not to on account that they didn't want something happening since Doctors have to lie all the time.
"I'll keep that in mind," Lila lowered her brow as David had a smirk on his face, proud of himself that he made the psychic paper on his own, after several tries.
Hard to lie all the time and with the psychic paper, he has an ace if people didn't believe him the first time around.
"Okay, what's this new show?" Lila wanted answers about this new show that David joined, especially now that there's some context.
Sheepishly grinning at her, showing his teeth, David tells her the name and she almost face palmed at this.
It's called… "The Doctor."
David's the titular Doctor.
A new exciting science fiction show with him going everywhere, every which way the wind blows, from the past to the future, to worlds apart!
Lila ended up blinking several times before she talked again and she asked, "And dare I ask how this came to fruition?"
Okay, she's aware of the nature of the Doctor, but she didn't expect one of them to blatantly influence a person enough to make a show based on the exploits, and not only that, manage to skirt by without others knowing.
"Well, it'd seem someone had a vivid dream and this is what spawned from it," David tells her. "The executives liked it so much, they think it'll be a hit."
Oh right, Lila heard about this, for every universe, there's a chance someone here has a counterpart. Every now again, their memories bleed into each other, giving rise to the term, mandala effect, where someone seemingly misremembers something they thought happened. When in fact, it probably did happen, but not to them, one of their counterparts.
Sometimes it happens in dreams, where people dream they're somewhere they haven't been with vividness with people they haven't seen before. Still a chance it's a vivid dream, but it can easily be a bleed effect from someone in a different universe.
Of course, human brains don't understand this, hence confusion.
Since David's part alien, he has no counterpart in this universe, allowing him to operate incognito as it were.
"Oh wonderful, as if I didn't have enough tinnitus to last me an eon, I get to deal with it listening to a reproduction of the Daleks on my own TV screen?" Lila held a hand over her face as she realized that they're going to reproduce Daleks for the show, voice and all.
David exhaled as he disdainfully hated Daleks as much as her, but yes, they're going to be in the show, too, since they're heavily prominent.
He reminded Lila that despite the show playing off memories of a counterpart, not everything's translating to it exactly, meaning that not everything that happen's going to script.
However, there will be Daleks and there will many more enemies of the Doctor appearing on the show, but the aliens and enemies that aren't as impactful or haven't made contact with multiple Doctors, won't show up.
Letting the show create stuff to fill in the blanks.
"Oh, there's also going to be lore, something exciting, I think," David smiled as he brought up that the show's going to do something daring that nobody done before.
David went through the whole lot of what the show's about and ended it off with something interesting.
Rather than the show stopping when he leaves, they're going to replace him with a new person, and they'll act as him, like nothing happened.
It's called regenerating.
The Doctor regenerates as a completely new person and the show continues from there, allowing it to continue for as long as humanly possible.
"Just so you know, Time Lords don't really regenerate like the show," Lila warned David what Theodore told her about Time Lords.
Time Lords don't regenerate into new bodies, personalities, whatever, that's just exaggeration on someone's part to explain why multiple people claim they're the Doctor.
Seeing David fidget in his spot only told Lila that he hadn't thought of that before, as he sheepishly thanked her for telling him that.
Not that it'd do any good considering he's half-Time Lord, but what can you do?
"Oh yeah, I think it'd be a wonderful cover," David gleamed at the thought of him acting in between adventuring in the TARDIS.
He even sees it as a perfect cover, when he wanted to remain incognito without having to worry about someone trying to kill him.
Can't kill someone who looks strikingly like the Doctor, David's thought went.
Lila reminded him, "Dude, they tried to kill Theo because he looks like his dad, trust me, they'll try to kill you if they think you're the same. Even if you are one in the same."
Okay, she has him there, but point is, it's a cover for him and he liked the ideas they're throwing around on set for the whole thing.
"And dare I ask, how're you going to schedule between doing episodes and going on an adventure?" Lila inquired how David planned to keep his schedule from hitting snags because of how adventuring in the TARDIS worked.
David claimed he had everything worked out, but Lila remained skeptical about it, and he said that he promised that he'll keep sensitive information from leaking, things that can't be said or else things go wrong, badly.
"How do you plan to do that?" Lila blinked as she asked David how he planned to keep management from finding out things that shouldn't be said or heard outwardly.
David replied thoughtfully as he rubbed the side of his flushed face, "I got a bit of a… repartee with the producer and director, I think I can keep them busied."
Basically, he's going to keep them entertained with some ingenuity and BS so they don't get too creative and spill beans they shouldn't.
"How are the other Doctors feeling about it?" Lila asked David if he even discussed this with the other Doctors, knowing that their stories might flutter into an episode unknowingly.
Swatting the air, David assured her he's got it down, nobody's complained.
… Of course, if he bothered to ask them directly.
He can't help they're too busied to take a phone call and besides that, he's influencing the show with his own adventures.
Whatever happens after he leaves, he can't help much there.
"You realize that if they so much touch a thread of his dad's adventures, you're not going to hear the end of it, right?" Lila reminded David, that if they adapt an adventure based on the one led by Theodore's dad, it's not going to end well if they so much as take artistic liberties with it.
Especially Hammond.
David didn't want to have him angry.
"It'll be fine," David swats the air.
They all say that and Lila's waiting for the punchline. Probably a couple of punchlines.
Seeing the time, David bid farewell to Lila as he departed from the floor, his hands in his pockets, and his trench coat moving in the breeze.
Disappeared into a tear, Lila guessed.
Watching him leave, Lila remarked aloud, "I should ask for royalties!"
She returned to her duties and Theodore popped up with books returned in the bins down in the lobby. As he returned the books to the cart for scanning, Lila broke the news to him, and by the time she finished, she could tell by the look on his face.
"What?" Theodore's face contorts in a manner of confusion.
THE END