Chapter Four

An announcement; the crowd erupted and kept at it even over the special version of the theme now playing around them. He, on the other hand, listened carefully; there was something oddly familiar about it despite the sound of synthesizers and electronic beats, like someone had got the sound of the TARDIS in motion and then translated it into music.

"What's with that face?" Marisa asked. "You look like you've never heard the theme before…"

He instantly was brought back. "…Just… getting a feel for it," he explained, "New version and all…"

She crossed her arms. "It sounds the same to me…"

More cheering came as the theme ended even though some people were cheering throughout.

"You're acting really… different," she pointed out. "Did something happen in the alley we should know about?"

"No… I'm pretty much okay…" He defended. "Why? Is something wrong?"

He had gone into a deep thought after his sudden revelation. It was like he had fallen into an episode and had to figure out what to do; it wasn't as easy as the script made it look.

"Is everything alright?" the girl asked from her seat on the consol.

He scratched his head. "I… don't really know," he stated, "It all seems much easier in the TV show…"

She raised an eyebrow. "TV show? Might I just say that might be because you don't always have to do all of the action sequences and deep thinking whereas we ALWAYS do…"

It was his turn to give her a look. "We? Really?"

She shifted. "…Okay… so mainly the Doctor does all the really deep thinking, but still… you know what I mean…"

A smile; then he quickly went back into thought. "If only there was a way for me and the Doctor to trade places again without causing a big racket…" his face lit up with a sudden idea. "Like a way to get backstage!"

"…Oh, and me without my physic paper," she said sarcastically.

Another smile. "I have something even better," he stated happily.

"Really?"

He pulled a small slip out of a pocket. "An actual backstage pass…"

"Bu… How?"

"Main actor, remember?" he explained. "It was supposed to go to one of my family members, but none of them really like Doctor Who that much… Sad, right?"

She reached out for it, but then stopped. "…Wait… You should use it… it's your pass."

"Can't, remember? … The press would have a field day if they saw two EXACT Doctors, not to mention everyone already knows I don't have a twin, so if I were to show up with the Doctor still there… Well… let's just say it won't be very pretty tomorrow."

"…So I have to go…"

He handed the pass over. "Just say you're one of my distant cousins, considering the Doctor knows you personally he'll hopefully go along with the story and then we can pretend like none of this ever happened after he gets back here."

"He'll probably still want to talk to you…"

"Right now I kind of want to talk to him, too."

He rubbed his head; usually he would have thought he would know if people were following his life, let alone as much of his life was being show on screens around the stage. Suddenly the screens flashed with a title; Doctor Who. He smiled; a fitting title for his life.

The girl walked up yet again. "Well, you may be able to take a break again soon," she whispered to him. "We've got conformation from some of the other actors that they're on their way, but they're having trouble getting here… Can you believe it? Having trouble getting through London on New Years Eve?" She let out a laugh.

"Is it New Year's Eve?" he asked somewhat shocked.

"How dense are you? You've known this has been planed for months now…"

"Sorry…it's just… Where has the time gone?" he asked half-jokingly.

She shook her head. "There's something seriously off about you, today…"

Before he could reply a young girl came running up from back stage. "Hi, Doctor!"

"Who's this?" Marisa asked slightly skeptically.

"…Oh… ah… she's my…" he saw the girl mouth something to him and instantly nodded. "…cousin! That's it! She's my cousin!"

"I thought you said none of your family was coming today," she stated.

"Well that's because… She's more of a friend then a family member, aren't you?"

"Oh, yes. We're very close," the girl quickly explained. "They sometimes have trouble getting us separated at gatherings because we're so close."

"Uh huh…" she started, but before she could continue there was a loud popping sound and all the screens turned to snow.

The backstage turned to pandemonium as technicians and other staff rushed to figure out what was going on.

A sudden announcement came on, "Nothing to worry about, people. Just a slight technical difficulty…"

"…Slight? All the screens are out," the Doctor wondered. "I think maybe they're hiding something…"

"I think you sound like your character," Marisa stated.

The screens suddenly flicked back on as a collective gasp came from the crowd.

"Daleks…" the Doctor whispered.

For some reason, the "quick switch" idea seemed to be taking a lot longer than it should have. He sighed and sunk to the floor; what could have possibly happened?

A yawn came from further in the gigantic room. "You were right, Doctor," a voice following it said. "All that rest did kind of help…"

The owner of the voice walked forward and immediately locked eyes with the actor. "What are you doing on the floor?" he asked slightly confused.

"Who are you?" the actor asked even more confused.

"…Oh on… You don't have amnesia, do you?" the man quickly demanded. "…Wait… Can Time Lords even get amnesia?"

"…Actually…" he started before adding, "…Oh, never mind…"