I do not own these characters, or the songs that will appear in this fic. I am still catching up on Classic Who.

Chapter Management

A large group of people ranging from late 20s to late 90s are sitting in a round circle. "I only met the Doctor a few times," says a young man with dark hair, "my mom, Sarah Jane, traveled with two of his faces and helped two other faces out a number of times."

"What is your name, son," the oldest person asks. Ian Chesterton is still in shock that there have been many Doctors and not all of them were grumpy old men.

"Luke Smith, of the two I met, one was in a pinstriped suit and the other looked very young, wearing a bowtie." Jo puts her hand on Luke's knee, "I remember some of you from her funeral a few years ago."

"Now that you say that, I remember a woman sitting in the very back not talking to any of us and she was crying," Ace McShane points out. "The Doctor was there indeed for Sarah Jane at the end. That's Ace." Ace looks around at everyone, her eyes fall on the man she has been talking to ever since the last time she saw The Professor. They share a small smile the others notice. "When I met the Daleks when I was a teenager traveling with The Professor, he gave my bat to the hand of Omega and I was able to beat up a Dalek."

"The same bat you carry around to this day?" Asks a companion to the 5th Doctor. Tegan sitting next to her partner that she traveled with for a few years, Nyssa.

"This lady here," Graham starts to speak up, "can't be fooled by the psychic paper."

"What's that?"

"It's a piece of paper that you can trick whoever reads that you are something you are not." I had to use it when I saved the earth from The Master." Martha Jones-Smith asks "how many of The Doctors have all of you met?"

"I met the one with the long scarf, I didn't travel with him at first, he then changed in front of our faces."

"My God that was bizarre how that happened, the mysterious figure that was following Adric, Tegan and I, turned out to be the future Doctor who stepped into the one about to regenerate."

"Ricky and I both worked with one with black short black hair and a leather jacket with an affinity for bananas."

"The name is Mickey, Captain Cheesecake."

"The next one was the one who helped save the planet from The Daleks and Davros with Martha, Rose, Jackie, Sarah Jane, and Donna. The reason she isn't here is that The Doctor had to wipe her memories after she absorbed some regeneration energy."

"So he destroyed some of his companions' lives?"å

"Tegan, you know he doesn't mean to. It seems like in this instance it was to make sure she didn't die, he also brought together a lot of people like the two of us, Mickey and Martha and maybe one more," Nyssa subtly hints at the two people who keep sharing small smiles.

…A few hours later….

As everyone, but Mel as she had to leave early, is cleaning up they have divided into groups Tegan, Nyssa and Ace are in one area putting away the chairs while Ian, Martha, Mickey, Captain Jack, Jo Grant-Jones, and Kate Stewart are heading to leave as most of them have to got to work. Yaz, Dan, and Graham are packing up the food.

Graham and Ace share one more look and a smile. Yaz laughs at it, "Graham do you have some news to share with Dan and I?"

"What do you mean some news?"

"The not so secret smiles you have been shooting to a certain someone."

"Ace and I have just been talking more."

"Talking sure," Dan says while laughing.

Meanwhile across the room, "Matchmaker matchmaker, make me a match," Teagan jokingly sings towards Ace.

"Te, I haven't had a match for years, the only thing that keeps me company is K9, you know that."

"You did tell me that while in the volcano with Graham that asking your age wasn't appropriate especially for a first date."

"I was also joking with him."

"Didn't he enjoy blowing up the Daleks with you." Tegan bumps Ace's shoulder, "now you can see someone that you can tell about your past that will have a higher chance of understanding it." After everything is put away Ace and Graham are talking as everyone waves goodbye to them.

"Graham, is everyone teasing you about us too?

"Yes, they noticed a lot of our smiles."

"We must not be as good at hiding things as The Doctor. "They share an awkward laugh both knowing that they still have to tell the other a few things about their own adventures with The Doctor. Someone comes up behind the two of them.

"Are you guys here for friends of The Doctor meeting?" Asks the balding man.

"Sorry sir, that ended," Graham looks at his watch, his eyes go wide, "two hours ago. May I ask your name?

"Brian Williams, my son and daughter-in-law traveled with The Doctor for a few years, near the end of their time I went on a few with them. Sadly we lost them in 2012. My grandson ended up being older than me.``

"Sorry to hear that, I lost my wife with my first adventure with my Doctor." Ace looks at Graham not knowing that happened to him. "We meet at 2pm every other week at this location thanks to some money from UNIT and some psychic paper."

"I have some stories about that nifty piece of paper."

"We all like telling stories and hearing them, I am Ace by the way and this is Graham. Did you get an invite?"

"A whole bunch timey wimey of stuff that I don't fully understand."

"As life with The Doctor is. We all better get going before the next group of people comes in, hope to see you in a few weeks Brian." Brian leaves the two alone, "Graham let's have a nightcap at my place."

"Lets," Graham holds out his arm for Ace to take. He walks her out to the car that keeps breaking down. I will follow you there." Ace gets into the car as Graham walks to his own. He follows that old beat up yellow car wondering how it still works knowing that it's a 1970 Edwardian Roadster that hasn't been manufactured since the late 70s. They arrive at a small cottage that looks like it has a TARDIS blue bomb shelter on the side. Ace quickly exits the car grateful that she didn't have the tool that The Doctor would use to make it go fast.

"Welcome to my humble abode, Tegan and Nyssa sometimes spend the night in my spare room when they don't want to go back to Australia."

"Nice car, and is that a bomb shelter?"

"I have to have a safe place to make my Nitro-999. This is Betsie 2.5"

"2.5?" Ace welcomes him to the cottage to see a small robotic dog.

"Welcome Mistress, how was it?

"Hello K9, it was good, Luke came there today,"

"I would like you to meet Graham, he traveled with the most recent at least to our knowledge Doctor." K9 extends his metalic arm.

"Welcome Master, Graham."

"K9 is it?"

"Yes." Ace is silently laughing at the interaction between metal dog and man, "You traveled with The Doctor too I take it?"

"He did, he used to belong to Sarah Jane, he came home with me after her passing."

"It seems everyone loved her."

"We did, I met her once, but she told me that if something happened to her, make sure that K9 went with someone who doesn't leave the country much."

"She probably knew she was dying and just didn't want to tell anyone, when I had my cancer scare a few years back, I couldn't tell anyone. The Doc could tell that something was up of course. Ryan and I stopped traveling, we still see each other from time to time. He just doesn't like that I keep helping out when I get a call from her and now UNIT."

"Want some tea," Ace asks, wanting to change the subject.

"Please," Graham follows her to the kitchen. "Can I help at all?

"Sure, there are cups in the cupboard to your left." Ace says filling the tea kettle. "English Breakfast ok to you?"

"Perfect, a Gallifrey cup?"

"I studied a little bit at The Time Lord Academy."

"Time Lord?!"

"After some of my travels before The Time War, The Doctor convinced me to go study there, but then he came and got me. The two of us had a major falling out. Our little adventure was the first time I had seen them in years."

"Jimminey." They hear a whistle Ace gets up to fill their cups

"How do you like yours?"

"Milk and two sugars please." They drink their tea silently thinking about what to talk about next. "Did she hear me tell Mr. Williams about Grace?" Not wanting to broach the subject. "Your car has a name."

"Betsie 2.5, the others either died before I met my Scottish Doctor, or reside with UNIT, or with other companions."

"Your Doctor was close to you?"

"I always called him The Professor, he more or less adopted me when he found me on an ice planet. I met him and Mel there, Mel decided to leave then. He then invited me to stay and taught me a lot of things about everything including my past. Which isn't really a topic I bring up much even though it is a reason I never wanted kids, because I didn't want them to go through with what I did."

"You had a hard young life didn't you?"

"When I wasn't fighting with my mum, blowing up classrooms, I created an accidental time storm that sent me to a future planet."

"Did you paint your bomb shelter that color for any reason?"

"I felt guilty for my last words to The Doctor. Before you showed up that night I had a good talk with him."

"That's good, it is always good to clear the air, speaking of clearing the air, you looked great in that jacket you wore that night."

"Smooth talker are ya, at least better than you were that night, asking a lady her age," with a laugh in her voice.

"I didn't know you traveled with the Doc yet, and you look fantastic."

"I was in a volcano that was surrounded by Daleks. How did you not know that?"

"I was in a bit of a rush and was greeted by a beautiful woman. I hadn't been attracted to one since I lost Grace."

"I heard you mentioned her while talking to Brian Williams. You lost her while traveling with The Doctor?"

"The day we met her. We were slightly weirded out that this woman mentioned how she used to be a Scottish man. Though she wore clothes that were a little bit too big for her."

"My Doctor was also a Scottish man, but shorter than the one you traveled with."

"Should we save some of The Doctor talk for the group, I would like to get to know you as you."

"I would also like to get to know you." They move into the living room and face each other on the couch. Graham's arm is around the back of it.

"Where are you from?"

"Perivale, a small town where everyone knew each other. What about you?"

"Essex. What is your favorite animal?"

"Pandas, after nearly becoming a wolf and fighting people who became big cats, I don't really like them anymore."

"I guess I shouldn't say I like cats. When did you get the amazing jacket?"

"I have had it for as long as I can remember. Next to doing errands for UNIT and The Doctor what do you do?"

"I still drive a bus, what about you?"

"I run a non-profit called A Charitable Earth."

"Ace for short?"

"One way to get my preferred name out."

"What is your real name then?"

"Dorothy Gale McShane." She says with an eye roll, "What a fun name to have growing up. By the time a friend's house had a Molotov cocktail thrown at it, because she was from Pakistan, I was going by Ace."

"Please tell me she wasn't home."

"She was badly hurt and almost didn't make it, sadly we lost her due to long term effects from that event." Graham leans forward and rubs her hand in comfort.

"I am sorry to hear that." Graham moves his hand to brush a stray lock of hair behind her ear. Ace leans into his touch, there is only one other being that knows this story that wasn't in Perivale when it happened. It still hurts her to think of that, not as angry as it used to though.

After a few minutes of just staring into each other's eyes, Ace receives a text, "We will be there tonight, Nyssa wanted to visit where we put a memoriam for Adric." By the time she has finished reading the text Graham has moved into his original position.

"That was a text from Tegan telling me that she and Nysaa will be late. They stay here when they come to London as it saves them money on a hotel. Should we watch a movie?"

"Of course."

How does the remake of 'The Quatermass Experiment sound?" They scoot closer on the couch Graham's arm ends up around Ace's shoulder, her head on his. After the credits are rolling K9 rolls up and pushes the blanket over the sleeping two. Around 10pm the door opens and stumbles into the house, Tegan and Nyssa. Tegan sees Ace and Graham fast asleep and nudges Nyssa; they both mischievously smile head upstairs to their room to be greeted by K9.

"Mistress is asleep, the two guests must remain quiet tonight."

"We will K9," says the both of them in unison as they get out their phones to text the members of the group. "The next meeting, try to have Ace and Graham sit next to one another, they are here at Ace's fast asleep on the couch with the autoroll of some old movie."

"The Doctor brings people together as much as they bring apart don't they Te?"

It's weird to think that we met through The Doctor, Mickey and Martha among others." They go to bed.