A/N: I once hinted back in The Storm of the Wolf that the Doctor's universe existed in my storyline. Here is what happens when those two universes suddenly collide. Also, this idea was prompted by DooWeeBipBopBamLookAtThisLamb (I will never get over your username) a while back, so props to her!

Interlude: Unexpected Meetings

The Wolf and John stumbled out of the TARDIS, retching, as smoke billowed out after them. "What happened?" John yelled over the clanking and groaning the console was making from inside the phone box.

"I'm not sure," the Wolf answered, dragging him away. "Some kind of a wormhole. The TARDIS accidentally crossed over into some kind of an alternate universe."

"Is that even possible?"

The Wolf shrugged. "Used to be easy, if you had seven other Time Lords to help you fly your ship. With just me, well – "

John nodded sympathetically. "Can you get us back?" he asked, back on subject.

The Wolf opened her mouth to answer, but she was drowned out by an alarm sounding from the TARDIS. "No, no, no, no, no!" she shouted, running back to her ship. John tried to follow her, but she motioned for him to stay put. "Stay there, John, it's too dangerous!" She disappeared into the smoke.

John could hear clanging coming from the ship, but couldn't make out what was going on. The TARDIS kept up its alarms for several minutes before falling ominously silent. He was just about to ignore the Wolf's orders and follow her inside when she reappeared, backing slowly outside. John went up to stand next to her. "She's gone," the Wolf whispered, her voice dead. "She couldn't handle the universe switch. Not the right kind of Vortex energy. She can't operate."

"Is there anything you can do?" John asked.

The Wolf shook her head dumbly. John pulled her into a tight hug, holding her against him. The Wolf's eyes were dry, but he could see that she was falling apart right in front of him. "I'm sorry," he whispered in her ear.

Suddenly, the sounds of the TARDIS materializing filled the air. The Wolf removed herself from John's arms, eyes roving around wildly as she searched for the source of the noise. "That's not possible," she muttered.

"What is it, Wolf?" John asked uneasily.

"It's almost like –" the Wolf began.

The TARDIS finished its materialization, and a young girl wandered out. "Doctor?" she called. "Doctor what did we land here for?"

"I dunno, Rose. Something throwing off the TARDIS trajectory..." a man walked out after the girl called Rose, catching sight of the other pair. He immediately assumed a protective stance, partially shielding Rose from their view, although she poked her head around him curiously, trying to get a look at the two strangers.

John was amused for a moment, until he realized the Wolf was doing the same thing with him, even though she was nearly a foot shorter. He rolled his eyes fondly. He leaned over. "What are those two doing with your TARDIS?" he asked quietly.

She was too busy staring at the other man to answer John, her posture stiff. "That's not possible," she said to herself. The man was also staring at her like she was ghost.

"Which one are you," the stranger called over, sounding defensive, yet hopeful.

"I could ask you the same question," the Wolf answered. John could see the identical emotions warring in her face.

"Doctor, what's going on?" the girl named Rose asked.

"The Doctor?" the Wolf scoffed. "You're Theta? Not a chance."

"I am the Doctor," the Doctor protested.

"What are you doing with my TARDIS?"

"It's – it's my TARDIS!" the Doctor spluttered.

"It bloody well is not!"

"Alternate universe, Wolf," John muttered.

The Doctor caught her name. "The Wolf? Kuryak? You're alive? How?"

"Different universe," the Wolf answered. "If you're alive in this universe, I think you know how," she answered, her face grim. The Doctor faltered.

"Doctor, is she talking about the –" Rose trailed off.

"Yes, Rose," the Doctor confirmed sadly. "The Time War claimed billions of lives. Yours included," he told the Wolf. "I take it they managed to keep me planetside in your universe."

The Wolf nodded. "I ran away, but you felt that it was your duty to remain," she said forlornly.

"It was the same for you here. Kuryak was one of my oldest and only friends," he told Rose.

The Wolf nodded. John was taking a good look at the Doctor, and noticed more than a few similarities. "Wolf, why does he look like me?" he asked in a whisper.

The Wolf cocked her head, giving the Doctor and appraising glance. "Good question Johnny. I have no idea. It can't be spatial genetic multiplicity – different species, you see," she mused.

"Spatial whose-it?"

"Yes, and you look rather like Rose, don't you Kuryak?" the Doctor interrupted. "I wonder how – OH! Alternate universes leading to connected beings through time and space causing similar appearances between individuals leading similar lives with kindred personalities!" he exclaimed in a rush.

John stared at him. "I think I almost understood him, but do I talk like that?" he asked incredulously.

The Wolf grinned. "Not all the time, but you have your moments," she answered fondly, patting him on the cheek comfortingly.

"So you're saying that they're like our universe twins, but we've been switched?" Rose asked the Doctor.

"Exactly!" The Doctor whipped out a pair of glasses and ran up to inspect John, making him lean back, uncomfortable. Apparently the Wolf wasn't the only one with unnecessary spectacles and no sense of personal boundaries. "Yes, yes, certainly – hang on." He turned to the Wolf. "How did you two get here? Crossing between universes is impossible with the Time Lords gone."

"Not impossible, Doctor," Rose said, walking up behind him. "We just did it, remember."

"Weeelll, true, Rose. But still, highly, highly unlikely. The odds are astronomical," the Doctor pointed out.

"You did this before?" the Wolf asked quickly. "What about your TARDIS? Did she make it okay, because – mine's dead." Her voice thickened with pain at her last words, and John put his arm around her shoulders.

"Ours did that as well," Rose answered kindly. "But he got it back with a – what did you call it, Doctor?"

The Doctor nodded excitedly. "One last little power cell survived our trip. After a little charging, she did just fine, apart from a rough ride back. Hopefully yours has done the same."

The Wolf's eyes brightened. "Well, let's go and see, shall we?"

When an hour's search revealed no energy source remaining, John could see the Wolf practically wilting with the knowledge that her beloved ship may be really dead. Eventually, she sat on the captain's chair, discouraged. John went over to stand near her, trying to offer her some kind of comfort. The Doctor was muttering under some of the grating, and Rose was sitting on the platform above him, observing while swinging her legs back and forth over his head.

Suddenly, a crazy thought occurred to John. "Wait a minute," he said.

The Wolf looked up at him. "What is it, John?" The Doctor and Rose looked over too, the Doctor rubbing his head balefully where Rose had accidentally kicked it as he was popping his head up through the grating.

"When you guys were talking earlier, you said something about counterparts, right?" he asked, starting to pace as he tried to organize his idea.

"Yeah, what about it, Johnny?" the Doctor asked, having picked up the Wolf's nickname for him already.

"So according to you guys, the Doctor is my – kindred spirit, for lack of a better term, and Rose is yours," John confirmed.

"Right, but what does that have to do with my TARDIS?" the Wolf asked.

"Hang on, I'm getting there." John was growing excited now. "So wouldn't it be plausible to assume that the Doctor's TARDIS is identical to your TARDIS, Wolf? I mean, it looks the same and sounds the same."

"OH! I see what you're getting at!" the Doctor said, grinning.

"Yes! I do too!" the Wolf said enthusiastically.

"You mean you want to exchange a power cell with one of ours?" Rose asked hesitatingly.

"Exactly, Rose! Our TARDIS' power cells are built to run off of this universe's energy, and really, one is all you need to fly the old girl. The rest are just extras and will regenerate once you get back to your home universe. Brilliant idea John! You really are like me," the Doctor said before rushing out the door and back to his TARDIS. He returned not a minute later, a glowing egg-shaped cell cradled in his hands.

The Wolf almost looked to be in tears at the sight of it. "She's beautiful," she whispered, taking it when the Doctor carefully offered it to her. She removed a dead one and handed it to the Doctor. "Will your TARDIS be able to adapt this one to your universe and use it?" she asked him.

"Don't see why not. Yes, it should work brilliantly. Assuming this works, which it should," the Doctor answered. "Let's see, shall we?"

The Wolf jumped back down under the grating and gently installed the power cell. With a flicker, the TARDIS hummed back to life.

Noises of celebration filled the ship as the Wolf and John and the Doctor and Rose embraced. "You've got a smart one there, Kuryak," the Doctor complimented.

The Wolf grinned. "So do you, Theta," she told him, nodding at Rose.

The Doctor looked at Rose fondly before turning back. "Well, I guess this is goodbye then," he said.

The Wolf nodded. "And none of us will remember this."

"What? Why not?" Rose asked, surprised.

"Kuryak and I are alone in our respective universes," the Doctor said sadly. "Remembering, the temptation would be too great. Better that none of us know what happened."

"But for just a little while, we weren't alone," the Wolf told him. "And I want you to know that I miss my friend every day."

The Doctor gave her a small smile. "Me too." He lifted the Wolf into a hug, spinning her around. She clung to him tightly.

John stuck out his hand to Rose, but wasn't too surprised when she hugged him tightly instead. She was, after all, like the Wolf. "Take care of her," she whispered in his ear.

"You take care of him," he muttered back. "But it seems like you do a pretty good job of that already."

Rose pulled back and smiled at the Doctor fondly. "Don't know what he'd do without me," she said teasingly.

The Doctor scoffed, having caught that last bit. "I'd have more bananas in the kitchen, I'm sure," he shot back. He shook John's hand. "Good to know my counterpart has done so much with himself," he said, grinning.

John smiled back. "Same to you."

The Wolf and Rose hugged quickly, before the Doctor grabbed Rose's hand and they left the TARDIS together. Rose sent one last wave over her shoulder before the doors clicked shut behind them.

John looked down at the Wolf, standing next to him. "Do you regret it, Wolf?"

The Wolf looked at him quizzically. "Regret what?" she asked.

"That you're not going to be able to remember any of this?" he clarified. "That you're friend is still alive. Even if it's not in the same universe, you could know that he was still alive."

The Wolf smiled gently and took his hand, tugging him over to start the lift-off sequence. "I have you, John," she said seriously. "What could I possibly regret?" She flipped one last lever. "Now, onwards and upwards?"

John grinned and nodded. "Onwards and upwards, Wolf. Allonsy."

A/N: On a side note, the next chapter may take a little longer, as my life has become rather busy of late, and I haven't had as much time to work on Howling as I would like. That said, I am working on The Girl in the Fireplace, and it will hopefully be up soon!