The Doctor walked into the bar, sat on the closest stool to him and said to the barman;
"Pick the drink you wouldn't give your worst enemy, and make mine a double,"
It had been a trying time for him, and he needed to clear his head. Humans tended to do that with alcohol and plenty of it. The Doctor figured if that was good enough for them, it would do for him.
He felt like his life had been torn apart and stitched back together by a fourth-rate tailor. As though someone was writing his life story and hadn't the slightest idea what they were doing.
As things stood now, he had just dropped Mel back to her time stream to meet up with her future Doctor, after battling it out with the Valeyard.
The Valeyard. His destiny. The man he was going to become at the end of his regenerations. That's what he wanted to forget. Needed to forget. And he was prepared to put himself into an alcoholic coma to achieve it.
He had just put the first glass to his lips when, behind him, he heard "Hey, Doctor!"
Emma noticed the man in the multi-coloured monstrosity of a coat as soon as he walked in.
She had gone out for dinner with her mum, Jake and Snake. Joey, Caitlin, Craig and Angie had also joined them. Emma sat next to Craig. They both knew that the night would consist of their parents talking about the good old days when they were at school, so they were grateful for each other's company.
When she saw the man in the red coat, she turned to Craig.
"Oh my god!" she whispered, covering her face.
"What?" Craig asked.
"Don't look, but there's a guy sitting there wearing… I don't what." Emma said. "Over there," she motioned with her forehead to the man.
Craig followed her motion. He almost burst out laughing but covered his mouth just in time.
"What the hell?" he laughed.
"I know!" she exclaimed, "you see it too, right? I haven't lost my mind?"
"It's not your mind you should worry about," Craig said.
They both started giggling.
Emma's mum, Christine ('Spike' to her old high school friends), was sat next to Emma. She noticed Emma and Craig laughing about something and leaned over to her daughter.
"Hey guys, what's so funny?" she asked.
"Mum, there's a guy sitting over there. Check out what he's wearing," Emma whispered.
Spike looked up slowly, casually as possible. When she saw the man in the red coat, her mouth fell open, eyes widened.
"No way!" she said, a bit too loudly. Emma hoped her mum would be more discreet.
She leaned over the table to catch the attention of the group. "Guys, look who it is!" Spike said, pointing at the man.
"Mum!" Emma said, urgently, but they didn't hear her.
Joey and Caitlin had already turned around. They saw the man and instantly their faces lit up.
Joey turned back, gestured over his shoulder with his thumb, "That's the Doctor!"
"Doctor who?" Emma asked, raising an eyebrow.
Spike explained. "He was a guidance counsellor at Degrassi, just after Claude…" she stopped and looked at Caitlin, who looked back. She continued, "he helped us through a rough time."
"We should bring him over," Joey smiled.
Snake wasn't so sure.
"I don't know, Joey," he said, "he kind of looks like he wants to be alone."
Joey put his hands up. "Hey, I've been there. That doesn't help, trust me."
"Yeah, if he needs help, then we can at least try," Caitlin said, "I mean, he did so much for us."
"I'll bring him over," Joey sat as he got up. "Hey Doctor! Doctor!"
The Doctor was in no mood to give autographs or style tips, and was about to tell this person where to go, when he was met by a dark skinned man wearing a warm and welcoming smile. An infectious smile that instantly spread to the Doctor's face.
"Hello, old chap," he said, "How are you?"
"Well, I'm great!" Joey said.
"Marvellous!" The Doctor said.
Then there was a pause. Joey assumed the Doctor had forgotten his name. It was ten years since they last met, after all.
"Joey Jeremiah." He said. "We met at Degrassi High in 1991. You were a counsellor."
"Oh yes, of course," The Doctor said. "I'm sorry, it's been such a long time."
"That's ok," Joey said, reassuringly, "do you want to join us? The whole gang is here, we can catch up. How have you been?"
They walked over to the group's table as the Doctor contemplated his answer.
"Well… actually," he started.
Joey interrupted him.
"How's this for a blast from the past, huh?" Joey said to the others.
Caitlin got up and hugged the Doctor.
"My god, it's been so long, Doctor. How are you? Why weren't you at the reunion? Didn't you get your invitation?"
The Doctor was slightly flustered by this onslaught of questions. He had never met any of these people, but they clearly knew him. He wasn't sure how much they knew about him. Had they travelled with him at some point in his future? Or was he simply a guidance counsellor as Joey said. Best to play it safe.
"Well, guidance counsellors don't really get a look in at reunions, I'm afraid," the Doctor said.
The others chuckled, their eyes fixed in quiet admiration for the Doctor.
Emma was watching the Doctor closely. He was acting very strangely.
"So how exactly did you help these former students, Doctor?" Emma asked, trying to catch him out.
"Well, it was such a long time ago, I'm not sure I can remember," The Doctor started.
Emma frowned, clearly unsatisfied with that answer.
The Doctor continued, hastily.
"Although… wait, let me think," the Doctor clasped his hands together and began looking intently at Joey, Caitlin, Spike and Snake in turn, searching for clues in their faces.
As the Doctor moved his gaze from one to the other, he made assessments about each person from their body language. Joey, who had accosted him at the bar, was a man of action. A man who would jump into a river without finding out how deep the water ran. A man after the Doctor's hearts.
Caitlin was much the same, only slightly more cautious. Joey and Caitlin were obviously a couple who'd had trouble in the past, and the Doctor surmised that he must have helped iron out the creases in their relationship.
But then he turned to Spike and Snake and saw something different. The way Spike held Snake's hand told the Doctor that she loved him very deeply. The way Snake's face was set when he looked at the Doctor indicated that his very presence made Snake uncomfortable. Something terrible must have happened around the time the Doctor had shown up, all those years ago.
"Someone had died," the Doctor said, fishing for a response.
Snake and Caitlin averted their gazes, recalling the memories of those dark times.
Spike answered him.
"His name was Claude Tanner," she said, "he committed suicide at the school."
"AT the school?!" the Doctor was shocked.
"Don't you remember?" Spike asked, perplexed at the Doctor's response.
"I've tried to forget," the Doctor said, recovering quickly form his outburst.
"We all have, Doctor," Snake said, quietly.
The Doctor eyed Snake closely.
"If I remember rightly," the Doctor bluffed, "you were most affected by Claude's death."
"I was the one who found him," Snake said.
"Oh, I'm so sorry," the Doctor said, with deep sincerity.
"Doctor, you're acting like you're hearing this for the first time!" Emma said, watching the Doctor.
"I've moved around the planet for a long time," the Doctor said, glumly "I've seen so many terrible things, and I'm bound to see a lot more before I move into the next life."
"What happened?" Caitlin asked.
"I was put on trial," the Doctor said. "A completely bogus parody of a trial, but it had its effect on me."
"What were you on trial for?" Spike asked, warily. If the Doctor was anything like Jordan…
"No, nothing like that," the Doctor said as if reading her mind, "Interfering, becoming too involved in other people's lives, causing more harm than good, that sort of thing."
"But you were innocent, right?" Craig asked.
"Of course," said the Doctor, "but their words hit their mark. I cause too much trouble wherever I go. Perhaps I should hang up this coat and live a quiet life, keep out of people's way."
"Wait," Caitlin interrupted, "Doctor, you've done so much to help us. If it wasn't for you and Joey here, I don't think I would've coped with Claude's death. Okay, so you didn't change the world, but you both helped me when no one else could."
"Hey, don't mention it," Joey smiled, kissing Caitlin's cheek. Caitlin smiled.
"Same here, Doctor," Snake said. "You came at a time when I was at my lowest. I'd seen death and the only one who understood how I felt was you. You have no idea how much that meant to me. If you hadn't been there, I think I would've.."
Spike reached over and held Snake's hand, stopping him.
"I understand," the Doctor said. He sat up straight and looked at Spike.
"What about you?" the Doctor asked her.
"Well," Spike started nervously, "I had a crush on Snake in high school, but I also had Emma to look after," she said, smiling as she turned to her husband. "you kind of helped me with relationship advice."
"Well, it must have been good advice," the Doctor said looking pleased with himself.
"Not really," Spike said, "we only started going out about two years ago."
"Oh," the Doctor said crestfallen. "and you?" he turned to Joey.
"Relationship advice with Caitlin," Joey said.
"Successful?" the Doctor asked, hopefully.
"We got together a year ago," Joey answered.
Joey and the others laughed. After a while, the Doctor joined them too.
"But the main question is, are you happy now?" the Doctor asked them.
"Absolutely," Joey said.
"Very," Caitlin said.
"Mm-hmm," Spike sighed, contentedly.
"Yes, Doctor," Snake said.
"Well," the Doctor said getting up from his chair, "I don't want to intrude on your night any longer."
The others started to protest but the Doctor was adamant.
"No, thank you, but I really must be going," the Doctor said. "But I want you all to know how much this means to me and how happy you have made me. Thank you very much."
"No problem, Doctor," Joey said shaking the Doctor's hand, "and look, if there's anything else you need, give me a call," he handed the Doctor a card from his used car dealership.
The Doctor went around the table shaking hands and hugging the adults of the table. He turned to leave but as he got to the door he turned around and headed back to the table.
"What is it, Doctor?" Caitlin asked.
"Just one last thing," the Doctor said, "When exactly was Claude's death?"
"Why?" Snake asked.
"Um, I'm thinking of writing my memoirs," the Doctor said, quickly.
"It was after the new year in '91," Caitlin said, looking to her friends for confirmation.
They nodded. She turned back to the Doctor and said, "Sorry we can't be more helpful."
"That's quite alright," the Doctor said, "that's all the information I'll need."
With that he turned to leave, striding out with a new-found confidence thanks to his friends at Degrassi.
"Time to return the favour," he said as he stepped into the TARDIS.