Author's Note: Beginning of Part 2! And double Doctors hehe
Prologue
"Oh," said the Doctor again. He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it. "Oh."
"Yeah, uh…" Rey looked between them, and suddenly she couldn't think of anything to say. "Uh, I think a bit of explaining is in order…"
"No, no explanations. I think we all know exactly what's going on here." The Doctor who stood beside her stared down the ladder, his eyes fixed on the other Doctor below. "Something that's not supposed to happen. Something that's never supposed to happen. Although…" His voice dropped its deadly serious tone. "Considering it's happened twice before in my life, I'm really starting to question that whole rule." Leaning down, he picked up the other sonic screwdriver and tossed it down the ladder. The Doctor—the other Doctor—caught it and slipped it in his pocket. "Oh, and keep that safe," he said. "You're going to need it quite a bit in the future. Now—" He pushed past Rey and was down the ladder in a few bounds. "Oooh, never seen myself from the outside like that. Bit of an odd feeling. Love the leather jacket though, it really suits you."
"You're me, then. Future me." The other Doctor just looked at him for a long moment. "Seems I've gotten more talkative. And younger, too. Wonder what brought that on."
"Um." A voice spoke behind Rey and she turned to see that a young woman stood in the shadows of the little attic. She was about the same age as her, her face framed in brown curls and written over with confusion. "Um—what—"
Rey shook her head. "It's—a long story." She offered the girl a smile. "I'm Rey, by the way. I'm the Doctor's friend—traveling companion. Uh, that Doctor. The one with the brown jacket. The one you were with." She made a face. "They're both the Doctor. It's—a long story."
"I'm Laila. Laila Blake—I mean—Wood." She managed a little smile. "And—well—honestly, I'm not sure how much stranger this day can get. I just found out I jumped 70 years in the future and I don't know how." She glanced at the two Doctors who stood at the foot of the ladder. "So honestly, you can just hit me with your best shot and I might even believe you."
Rey found herself laughing. "Well, the Doctor is…" Her voice trailed off and her eyes went wide as she looked down and realized she was standing by one of the beds she had seen in the future—
And it had a person in it.
She stepped back and little, her eyes fixed on the woman, lying still as death in the little cot. "What—"
"We don't know." Laila's voice was small, and her eyes had the look of a frightened deer. "The Doctor said their mind isn't in there, it's just their bodies—when we heard you coming, we—"
"Right." Rey reached for her staff and turned to the ladder. "You thought—"
Footsteps echoed down the hallway, and the four of them all turned to the doorway, Rey slowly beginning to draw her staff from its holster. The Doctor—her Doctor—lunged for the door and shoved it closed. Two sonic screwdrivers whipped out at once, pointed at the lock.
The two Doctors froze, staring at each other.
Rey sighed. "Oh, this is going to be confusing," she muttered.