Disclaimer – Back in the Prologue.

Chapter 2

"No!" The Duplicate exclaimed softly, dark eyes widening in delight.

"Doc…" Rose stopped mid-title. He wasn't the Doctor…not really. And while she thought she knew what the answer would be, she still needed to ask the question. "Is that what I think it is?"

"I think it's a TARDIS." He said, awe lacing his voice. "Oh, that's brilliant! Positively brilliant!"

Rose tried to focus on the matter at hand and not the fact that the Duplicate sounded so much like her Doctor. The trio stood on the beach and stared at the cabana, unsure of how to proceed. They were all feeling rather exhausted after the recent battle with the Daleks and emotionally drained from the situation with the Duplicate and now there was this. Rose wasn't sure how much more she could take – she tried to be strong for her mum and Mickie and Pete and even for her heart – but right now, she felt brittle.

"I do hope its chameleon circuit isn't stuck because the idea of travelling around in a cabana…" The Duplicate mused, half to himself.

"Is sillier than a police box?" Jackie interrupted. "Although, seeing a cabana in the middle of Trafalgar Square would raise a few eyebrows."

"I was going to say 'drafty'." The Duplicate rolled his eyes.

The heavy fabric panels on the front of the cabana shifted and they watched as a slight woman emerged. Tan-coloured riding breeches met what appeared to be tall, dark brown riding boots. A billowy, white silk blouse was encased in a vest, embroidered in gold and pewter and green into a paisley pattern. A safari explorer's hat sat atop a prim-looking face, long mosquito-netting ribbons trailing down her back from the brim. All in all, she looked like quite the proper adventurer.

"Africa is that way!" The Duplicate Doctor called out and pointed. He paused and then pointed in another direction, while his grip on Rose's hand tightened, securing her to his side. "Or maybe that way!"

He looked at Rose for confirmation and was slightly disappointed, but not overly surprised, to see that her attention was not him. Feeling her fingers meshed with his, he slowly stroked his index finger along her palm, silently attempting to reassure the young woman that he wasn't leaving her side.

The woman tilted her slightly, listening to the Duplicate's words carefully before she allowed her eyes to scan the group. Slowly, she approached, her senses taking in her surroundings. As she neared, the trio tensed, wary of her presence and uncertain of how they could escape, let alone hide, in such an open space.

"Africa?" The woman asked, now mere steps away from the group, an innocuous smile appeared; one that was neither friendly nor fake...it was just, well, there. Her hands rested on her hips. "I don't believe I'm looking for Africa. Although, come to think of it, I'm not quite sure what or who I'm looking for, so there is every chance that perhaps Africa is just what or whom I seek."

"Who are you?" Leave it to Jackie Tyler to cut straight to the matter at hand and skip over the fact that the strange woman seemingly had no idea that Africa was a continent.

"Me? I'm the Professor." The woman replied.

"Professor Who?" Jackie asked and then slightly shook herself into a straighter position, her jaw slack. Once upon a time, she had asked a similar question. Slowly, she angled her head to look at the Duplicate Doctor. "Do you know her?"

"Nope." Came the clearly articulated response. "Never seen her before in my life…lives. Blimey, I've only one life now! How very…finite."

Shaking herself out of her silence, Rose resisted the urge to roll her eyes and instead adopted a stage whisper. "Can we talk about that later? Right now, we have the African Queen standing in front of us."

"Not quite a Queen." The strange woman admitted. "But there is some royal lineage in my blood. We try to not discuss it in polite society, what with the madness and all."

"Ahhh…" The Duplicate nodded knowingly. "Inbreeding. It'll get you every time."

"Certainly not!" The woman sniffed haughtily and then frowned. Leaning in closer to the tall man with dark brown hair, she delicately inhaled one side of his head. Then she leaned over to the other side and took in more of his scent.

"What cologne do you use?" Jackie asked the Duplicate, bemused at the woman's behaviour.

The Duplicate blinked quickly before he sniffed the woman in return.

"Oh my god, what are you? Dogs?" Jackie's voice raised in pitch. "Whatever happened to just shaking hands?"

The Duplicate closed his eyes and processed the scent that tickled his now-human olfactory senses. Still slightly more sensitive than was normal for a human, his brain wracked over the familiarity of the smell.

His dark brown eyes snapped open.

"Time Lord." He breathed, awe once again in his voice.

"Lady. Thank you, very much." Came the rather hoity response. "And you…not quite a Time Lord, but there is something distinctly…"

"Time Lord-ish about me. Thank you, thank you very much." The Duplicate grinned in appreciation, running a hand through his hair. "Nice to know I've still got it."

The woman placed two hands on the Duplicate's chest, frowning at what she felt.

"Only one heart."

"I'm somewhat human…well, actually, a human version of my Time Lord self."

Grey eyes blinked at the Duplicate before she took a step back and surveyed the entire group.

"Are you all…human versions of a Time Lord?"

"Just humans." Rose replied before her mother could shoot off another inappropriate comment. "And you, Professor, say you're a Time Lord…Lady. From where?"

"Oh, a far off place that you've probably never heard of." The Professor waved her hand absently in the air.

"Gallifrey, by any chance?" Rose asked and was rewarded with a startled look from the red-headed woman. "And is that your TARDIS?"

"Well, I can't say I'm surprised very often, but for a group of non-Time Lords you're certainly very knowledgeable. Especially, as I don't think any of my people have been here before."

There was a heavy pause in the air.

"People?" The Duplicate asked, hope in his voice. "There are…more…of you?"

"Of course there are more of me! Why would you think otherwise?"

"We're alive in this dimension." The Duplicate's eyes were wide with joy. "Shame I…he…didn't stick around to hear this."

"Who?" The Professor demanded.

"Me." The Duplicate replied. "Well, the Time Lord me…but knowing that he'd feel like I do right now, let me just say we're both delighted!"

Feeling that this conversation was going to take a little bit longer than she had originally planned, the Professor decided to get comfortable and reached up to remove a few pins holding her hat in place. As she lifted the brimmed accessory, the Duplicate gaped.