AUTHOR'S NOTE

Thanks for the kind reviews! Your kind words keep me plugging along. Here is this week's chapter.

Chapter 24

Sagacity, The Universal Collective for Temporal Insight, The TARDIS

The Doctor rested in his wing-backed chair on the upper level of the TARDIS after his supply run to Royal London. Still trying to avoid the wrath of Osgood, he chose to arrive in the wee hours of the morning to avoid detection.

But while there he couldn't resist looking in on Kate. He found her sleeping pallet easily enough, the crutches propped in the corner were a good hint. She was in the throes of a nightmare, reminding him of the last time he'd checked on Peter in the TARDIS before things went pear-shaped and they ended up on Karn.

Always, it's the Dad skills. The Doctor wondered if this was karma at play, giving him the opportunity to make universal amends for past acts. Or lack of acts, in the case of his own children.

As he did with Peter, the Doctor made the connection and descended into Kate's dreamscape to discover she had perhaps watched too many horror films in her formative years. He observed for a while and then found a way to nudge her toward a more positive memory. In this case, what came to hand was one of living with her father shortly after the birth of her son.

The Doctor stayed overly long in this new dream, curious about Kate's adult relationship with her father. What he learned only led to more questions. Eventually, he became ashamed of his flagrant voyeurism and ended the telepathic connection. None of my business, he thought.

But now, back in the TARDIS, the Doctor found he couldn't let it go. While with each regeneration it was more difficult to recall memories from his earliest lives, he still hung onto many fond ones of spending time with the Brigadier's family, most particularly Kate.

And then events had pulled him away from Earth and the Lethenbridge-Stewart household, and he didn't meet her again until she was in her late thirties or early forties.

He felt an insatiable need to look up Kate's timeline to fill in the gaps.

So, when he rose from his armchair and returned to the console, his new first priority was to do that background work, tracing out both the true and alternate timeline for Kate. When he did, he quickly found his next intervention point, one not on the "approved" list from Erdith and Hanar.

This led to a visit to Brigadier Alistair Lethenbridge-Stewart at his London flat. He couldn't help but chuckle when he discovered the old man had retired early and was snoring away.

Rather than awakening him, the Doctor opted to create a third victim of his telepathic intrusions. This time, he engaged directly with the dream in progress and urged his old friend to look in on his daughter.

After his visit to the Brigadier, he checked to make sure that his actions restored the true timeline. During that process the Doctor became aware of a strong aroma of food in the console room.

Apparently, the TARDIS thought he might need nourishment. Off to his right was a plate of steaming fish fingers and a bowl of custard next to a tall glass of water. That discovery led to an unfortunate paroxysm of dry heaves. Thankfully, when the Doctor regained his composure, he noted that the TARDIS removed the source of the attack.

"Let's not have any more of that. Agreed?" he said aloud. He did have some water to clear the metallic taste from his mouth, and thankfully, that stayed down.

When he felt better, he moved on to his next line of attack.

Before he returned to the other TARDIS and Peter (who was currently entering Danny Pink's classroom back at Coal Hill, according to the nanocam footage), the Doctor needed to see Peter's future – both on the true timeline and the alternate one. Given the significance of his role in establishing time travel 200 years early on the alternate timeline, the Doctor thought it prudent to understand how things played out on the true timeline.

When he had a clear picture of Peter's future, he had a new appreciation of who he was traveling with, and the importance of his role on both timelines.

Earth, London, England, Coal Hill School, 1 September 2014

He only meant to look in on her discretely because he missed her. He chose the first day of term in 2014 because it was well before the unfortunate trip to the moon with Courtney the disruptive influence that led to Clara telling him to go far away and not bother her. It also put him in a good position to intervene if Peter ran into difficulties.

"You!"

Clara's round face was screwed up in frustration. Not a good sign.

"Get in here. Now."

He followed her into the storage room where he usually parked the TARDIS with much trepidation. It reminded him that he actually did visit her on this very day, parking in this very storage room. He'd wanted to bring her along to investigate a Dalek that had turned good. He hoped he got the timing right and wasn't going to run into himself. But that concern was minor compared to the five-foot tall irate woman standing before him.

"Clara, I,"

"No, you don't! Don't say anything. I am very angry with you right now."

"But,"

"Don't!"

Clara stalked the length of the room, clearly trying to master strong emotions. The Doctor stood tensely, unsure what to do.

Finally, she turned to face him. Her deep brown eyes scrutinized him for several moments before she spoke.

"You visited my Gran yesterday."

Oh. Right. The Doctor considered denying it, but clearly that wouldn't get him anywhere he wanted to go.

"How did you know it was me? I was under cover."

That got a raised eyebrow.

"Basil Smith? Seriously, you thought she wouldn't tell me, and I wouldn't know it was you?"

"Hm,"

"And who was the boy you were with, Peter? He has one arm?"

"Clara, I don't see what the issue is. We just walked her home, Peter helped her with the groceries. That's all."

"Why?"

"What do you mean why? Because – we're nice. Wanted to help."

"No, I don't think so. You were looking for her. You asked about me. Why were you checking up on me?"

The Doctor felt like he was walking through a mine field. He said nothing but tried to look as innocent as possible.

Clara broke eye contact and moved briskly toward the door.

"Look, I don't know what you were doing with that boy and that American man, but my Gran is off limits. Understood?"

The Doctor's hearts skipped a beat.

"What American man?"

"The one in her building. He was with you, right? He asked her about me. He creeped her out."

"Clara, I assure you I don't know who you're talking about."

"He said his name was Starck, and that he worked with me at Coal Hill."

Starck. Beckman. The Doctor felt a burst of adrenalin.

"He wasn't with us. Clara, if you see anyone like that, if anyone like that approaches you, don't talk to him. Get away quickly. He's up to no good."

Clara's face softened and she took an uncertain step toward him. Once again, those brown eyes studied him.

"Wait. You look different. Thinner. Maybe older. Are you from the future? Are you trying to fix something?"

There never was getting anything past Clara Oswald.

"Yes, and I can't tell you anything because it could mess up your timeline. I've got to go, but Clara, promise me you will keep an eye out for Starck. His real name is Beckman. If you see him, call me."

He'd have to find a way to monitor the TARDIS phone from the loaner TARDIS. For the thousandth time, he cursed himself for not adding a messaging feature to his sonic.

As he moved to activate the return sequence on Beckman's time travel device Clara stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

"Doctor, are you okay? You look like maybe you're not. Are you safe? And where's the TARDIS?"

"I'm fine," he huffed. "Don't worry about me. Just take good care and get back to teaching. I'm sure you will see me soon."

He left before she could say anything else.