Doctor:
It was so good to see the fam. But we had other more pressing issues.
"Dal," I said. "Do you mind if my friends call you Dal? There being two Doctors in one TARDIS is kind of messy."
"Wait," Ryan said turning to Dal. "You're the Doctor too?"
"Yes," he said. "It's all a little confusing. I don't really want to be called Dal, but I'll take it. We have bigger problems."
"One moment," Graham said. "Are you Anna Lee Fulton? The missing astronaut?"
"Yes," she said with an impatient sigh.
"You haven't aged in over thirty years."
"I got in an accident involving a suspended animation chamber," she said irritably. "We can talk about it another time."
"Right," I said. "Dal, Doctor, I have an idea."
"What is it?" he said.
"Give me the data and I'll corrupt it. Then I'll send it back to you to give to the Daleks."
"That sounds complicated," Dal said. "You haven't had many chances to use your brain over the last two years while in solitary confinement for most of that time. Not to mention you were nearly killed twice in the past six hours."
"What!?" Yaz said.
The sound of the Dalek ships grew louder.
"Doctor, listen," I said. "I can do this. You're a fast-talking manipulator. You're good with charming people. It's what made you a good lawyer. You like taking crazy risks to prove your abilities. I'm none of that. I'm all science and code. I can reconfigure the data."
"We really don't have many other options," Anna Lee said.
"This could hurt you," Dal said.
"I'm rather fond of planet Earth," I said. "I'll take the risk."
He still didn't look certain.
"I'm the Doctor," I said. "I'm you. We can do this."
"Okay," he said finally.
He put his hands to the sides of my head. I closed my eyes.
The plans rushed to me. I focused on the details. The chemical equations needed to be adjusted. Another variable added. One new element here. Subtract a coefficient. They kept flying through my mind. I fought to focus. Multiply the sub-fractal. Divide the common denominator. Rework the bilateral structure. Add more elements of sub-particle D.
I slowly lifted my hands. I was focusing so hard on restructuring the Data, I could barely breathe. The Doctor guided my hands to his temples. Resending the data, I added more changes. I tried to make sure he got all the information. With the last biometric parameters sent, I collapsed.
"You did good Doctor," Jack said as he caught me.
I began to breathe heavily. My body was completely exhausted.
"Is she going to be okay?" Yaz asked.
"Do you still have a comfy couch, Graham?" I asked breathlessly.
"You can stay there as long you like," he said.
"First we have Daleks to deal with," Dal said. "If I give it to them easily, they'll suspect a trap. What do I do?"
"Negotiate terms," Anna Lee said. "Safety for your family and they'll leave you the Hell alone."
"What about earth?" Ryan asked.
"I never cared for this place personally," he said. "If I negotiate for Earth's safety, they might get angry."
"Well that will change," I said angrily.
"Sure," he said and walked to the door with the ear trumpet. "You lot stay here. Let's see if this works."
Anna Lee set up a monitor. Jack laid me on the floor. I moaned.
"I'm never doing that again."
"Leave my family alone!" Dal could be heard saying. "I want nothing to do with you after this. Do we have a deal?"
"You try our patience Doctor!" they said. "Give us the data and you get to live in one piece."
He huffed.
"Fine."
There was an unearthly screech as the data flew like smoke from the ear trumpet. It hit the Daleks. Nothing happened at first. Then silence. It started to rain.
"You turned the Daleks into water?" Anna Lee said, turning to me.
"The formulas were hydrogen-based so it wasn't much of a stretch," I said.
"Is it at all toxic?" Ryan asked.
"Anything toxic about it will burn off in the higher elevations."
Dal appeared.
"Great," he said. "Now I'm wet."
He turned and smiled.
"Brilliant work Doctor."
"Thanks," I mumbled.
"Let's get you someplace a little more comfortable," he said.
"I have a spare bedroom Ryan uses from time to time," Graham said.
"To your house then," Dal said.
"Um Dal," Anna Lee said. "What about your wife?"
"I'm delivering her to the Judoon after we settle the Doctor in," he said.
"What about your kids?" I asked.
"I got a text from Nara's grandmother on my way to face the Daleks," he said. "They're fine. Just anxious to see Dad."
"Do you want to talk about it?" Anna Lee asked.
"One thing at a time," he said.
…
Graham showed me his spare bedroom and I promptly laid on the floor. I closed my eyes but did not sleep as he shut the door.
I could hear them talking.
"I don't know what your Doctor was like, but she is not who she was two years ago," Dal said. "Solitary confinement messes with the head. I saw it in a lot of my clients."
"So, you were hiding out as a lawyer?" Graham said.
"Yes," he said. "She's going to react differently to stimuli. She won't like being touched all the time. Expect nightmares. There will be times when she's irritable, don't take it personally. Force her to eat, and don't buy any excuse that timelords don't eat. We do, just not as much. Keep meals simple for a while. She might get mad and claim she doesn't need to be babied. The truth is, after living in isolation for two years, she needs companionship and assurance that she isn't alone."
"Is that all?" Yaz asked.
"She probably hasn't told you this. I saw it in her mind as it was close to the surface. I thought I was a Timelord from Gallifrey. I'm not, she's not. We're two of twenty total regenerations documented by Judoon. We were adopted by a Gallifreyan, who found us as a child on the edge of the universe. We were experimented on and our DNA was spliced to create the Timelords. Our memory has been wiped and manipulated numerous times."
"That's what the Master showed her," Yaz said.
"Wow," Anna Lee said. "What are you going to do with the information?"
"Honestly, wipe it from my mind," he said. "Anna Lee, I want to go back to being Dal until my kids are old enough to learn who I am. Can I trust you with chameleon arch?"
"Do I have to put down roots?" she asked.
"I was thinking I could hire you," he said. "You could be my PI."
She laughed.
"With what money?"
"Oh, the TARDIS has a piggy bank that can finance you."
"Wait, the TARDIS is loaded?" Ryan said. "Do you think the Doctor can loan me some money?"
"Not cash, Ilodium," Dal said.
"That's worth more," Anna Lee said excitedly.
"Let's get out of here," he said. "I'll transport the Doctor's TARDIS over here. But first, I want to check on her."
He quietly opened the door and knelt by my side.
"I know you heard everything I said. You're going to be okay. It looks like you made some good friends here. Take care Doctor."
I opened my eyes and slowly lifted my hand.
"Thank you," I managed to whisper.
He held it and kissed it.
"Thank you."
He silently left.
Of the many faces I carried, I knew Dal was going to be one of my favorites, from here on out.