"I swear it was there, sir! I didn't think it would be any harm if I borrowed a screwdriver, so I went into the Caretaker's shed and there it was, a real police box! Like the ones they had years back when I was a kid!"

Ian turned the pen in his hands over and over. He knew very well what the police box meant, and all he could think of was that odd replacement Caretaker.

"So you took the screwdriver, and when you went to return it a few minutes later-"

"It was gone, sir!" the old science teacher sighed, scratching his gray beard. "The box was gone! Don't know where it could have gone!"

Ian sighed, feigning perplexity as he tapped his pen on his desk. "I don't know what to make of it, Mr. Faring, but I'll look into it."

"It's just a trick the kids are playing, sir, I'm sure of it," the elderly man said as he stood up. However, there was a note of uncertainty in his voice, like he was trying to convince himself.

"Now let's not blame it on the children until we know the facts, eh? I'll get to the bottom of this."

Mr. Faring nodded. "Good day, sir."

"Good day."

The teacher's footsteps echoed into the hallway. Ian slumped in his chair, letting the pen fall on his desk. The melted chairs, the metal devices found throughout the school, the demolished Caretaker's shed…it all made sense now.

"Why didn't you just tell me, Doctor?" he murmured to himself, saddened that his old friend would speak to him and not even tell him who he was.

"I didn't want to worry you." The Caretaker strode into Ian's office, though now he was dressed in a navy coat with scarlet lining.

Ian smiled and stood to his feet, truly happy to see him. "Doctor! It's been years! And you've changed again!"

He looked down at himself, as if noticing he was different for the first time. "So I have."

Ian took in the Doctor's passive expression and remembered the dilemma at hand. He sat back down in his chair and looked straight into his old friend's eyes. "Were there aliens at the school?"

The Doctor frowned and shook his head, claiming the seat in front of the desk. "No, no aliens here."

Ian raised an eyebrow at him, remembering how many times he had lied and tricked him when he first knew him. "I see that some things haven't changed." He picked up his pen again. "It's my job to worry about the school, you know."

"Yes, but you didn't have anything to worry about, because as I said, no aliens here." He smiled, clasping his wrinkled hands together on top of the desk.

"No aliens anymore, you mean," Ian corrected. The Doctor wouldn't be here for no reason, and undercover no less. He finally took a moment to take in what the Doctor looked like, now that he knew he was the Doctor. "You're a bit more like you were when I knew you. Still not sure what I think about the other you, the one that came to my wedding."

"Yes, I thought it was time for a change. I hadn't been old for a long time." His smile grew wider. "And I see that you won't ever get old, eh Chesterton?"

Ian chuckled. It was both a blessing and a curse, not aging. Of course it was wonderful to stay young, especially with Barbara, but they had children who would age when they wouldn't. "No, I don't expect so, Doctor. I suppose I should thank you for that."

"No, don't thank me. You were the one who pushed yourself into my TARDIS." A playful old gleam shone in his eyes, one that Ian remembered well.

Ian smiled. "And am I glad I did." He focused on the pen for a moment, allowing himself to think back to the old days in the TARDIS with the Doctor, Barbara, and Susan. Such wonderful, extraordinary adventures. "Barbara will want to see you, you know. She won't forgive you if you don't come by."

"I don't do house calls," he said, shaking his head, "but I might just make an exception for the Chestertons. Only," he added, raising a finger, "if Barbara cooks."

Ian laughed heartily. "Dinner it is, Doctor. How about seven? If you can manage it." He remembered how piloting the TARDIS used to be such a difficult task for the Doctor, but the last time he had met him he had done perfectly fine.

"I can manage any time. Seven it is." He began to stand up. "Let me just tell Clara-"

"Clara Oswald?" Ian remembered how she had that look about her, like she had seen wonders beyond the Earth. It was one of the reasons he had hired her.

The Doctor paused, furrowing his thick grey eyebrows. "Do you know her?"

"Of course I do," Ian chuckled. "I hired her. Does she travel with you?"

The Doctor nodded as he pushed his chair in. "Yes, she does."

Ian smiled. "I knew it. The moment I saw her I knew it." He looked down at his pen and smiled. "I'm sure you've heard the kids talking about her and Mr. Pink."

He sighed, his lips settling into a deep-set frown. "Yes, I've become aware of that."

"Reminds me a bit of Barbara and I, don't you think, Doctor?" He smiled as he twirled the pen. "The bright, clever girl and the clumsy soldier."

The Doctor grunted in reply and turned his back to leave. Obviously, he had touched a sore spot. He wondered if the situation reminded him too much of Susan; the way she had fallen in love with a man and left the TARDIS to stay with him rather than her grandfather (though it had only been at the Doctor's prodding). It wouldn't surprise Ian if the Doctor was afraid that the same thing would happen again, even after all these years. But he would never admit to fear; oh, no. The Doctor was above fear.

"I think it'll be all right, Doctor," Ian said to his back.

"Seven," he called back before striding out of the office.

Ian shook his head and leaned back in his chair, tapping his pen against his chin. "New face…same old Doctor."