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flames and kisses,
Mlle. Phoenix Fox
Once the Doctors had woken back up, Jack and Allison took them and the companions back to GD so Allison could run some tests. Not that the Doctors said anything. They just had dour expressions on their faces. Especially as they drove back through town and Eureka Con. Rose tried to engage the Tenth Doctor in conversation. But he wouldn't respond. Clara tried too but Eleven just looked at her. Then Amy tried. Just, not as gently as Rose and Clara did.
"Don't you two have anything to say? Anything?" Amy snapped at them. They just sat there.
"Grr! Fine! Be lumps!" Amy huffed turning from them to join the other companions. They were leaning against an examination table. They watched the Eureka scientists working furiously to try to make sense of the puzzle that was their existence.
Jack and Fargo soon joined them and Jack asked,
"How are you guys doing?"
"I don't get it. Why aren't they doing anything? The Doctor I know wouldn't stop until he figured this out." Rose asked shaking her head.
"They just found out their entire life has been used as entertainment for a television show. The good, the bad. The really painful moments. I know I would freak out if my life was on TV." Jack said.
"Eureka as a TV show? I don't see it." Fargo shook his head.
"So there are actors out there who look just like us? Are they world famous?" Amy asked curiously.
"For playing you guys mostly. More famous in the UK for other stuff." Fargo replied.
"I'm more concerned about the whole 'self healing hand' bit at the moment." Rory said flexing his hand.
"Yeah it almost looked like the Doctor when he was regenerating." Rose said.
"Maybe we turned part Time Lord." Clara shrugged.
"Well that can't be it because so far, we know your DNA is registering as human. But we're still running tests to make sure." Fargo said.
"What's the last thing you guys remember before showing up at GD?" Jack asked.
"Dying of old age." Rory said.
"Same here only five years later." Amy said.
"Although...it's funny. It's like I know what our life was like, but I can't really remember it clearly after after we got sent to 1938 by that Weeping Angel." Rory added.
"Yeah...I know what you mean. Last thing I remember was standing on the beach of Bad Wolf Bay. But the few years before that, when I was trying to get back to my home universe, back to the Doctor. It was all a blur." Rose said.
"Huh? How about you Clara?" Jack asked.
"Not really the same for me. Last thing I remember was the Doctor regenerating." Clara said.
"Wait. The Doctor regenerated? Was this around Christmas?" Fargo asked.
"Yeah. Ironically after he saved a town called Christmas." Clara said.
"Fargo? What's up?" Jack asked.
"Well on the show, Matt Smith's last episode is going to be at Christmas. That show hasn't aired yet." Fargo said.
"What does that mean?" Rose asked.
"It sounds like whoever brought you guys here, somehow knows what is going to happen in that Christmas episode." Jack deduced.
"Yeesh! Spoilers!" Fargo cried indignantly.
"Okay...anyway...so what you're saying is that if you can figure out who has found a way to see that episode before it airs, you'll find who brought us here?" Amy asked.
"I think so. But it's getting late and you've guys have had a long day. And Allison and I would like you to stay at our house." Jack offered.
"I take it the charges against us have been dropped then?" Rose smirked.
"Under the circumstances, yes they have." Jack smiled.
"We could stay at a hotel. We don't want to impose." Clara said.
"Nah. We've got plenty of room. Even our little ones are going to spend some time with their grandparents. Besides our only hotel in town got shut down a few years ago and no one's opened a new one since. We'd love to have you." Jack said.
"Doctor? We're going to stay at Sheriff Carter's house. That's nice of him isn't it?" Rose tried to say to Ten.
"I guess..." He muttered in a depressed tone.
"Well at least he talked." Clara told Rose.
So they left GD, after Jack had to practically drag Allison from her microscope. Yet the Doctors still had yet to respond to conversation. Then they pulled up a dirt road past a quaint mailbox that said 'The Carter's' on the side. Yet what greeted their sight upon parking was a small, metal bunker.
"Might be a bit cramped." Clara said shutting the door on Jack's jeep, after Eleven and the Ponds had climbed out.
"It's bigger on the inside." Allison smirked as Rose and the Tenth Doctor got out of her car. Eleven shot her a look before heading for the door behind Jack.
"Too soon?" Allison asked.
"Yeah. A bit." Rory nodded. They went inside and down a set of steps to a second metal door. But when Jack opened the door, they were pleasantly surprised to find the large spacious house inside.
"Blimey. This is nice." Rose said.
"Thank you. I try to keep myself put together." S.A.R.A.H replied as Rose and the other companions looked around for the source of the voice.
"What was that?" Rory asked.
"That's the AI interface for the house. Self-Actuating-Residental-Automated-Habitat." Allison said taking off her coat.
"S.A.R.A.H for short. S.A.R.A.H this is Rose, Clara, Amy and Rory. And the Doctors of course." Jack introduced them.
"I'm a big fan!" S.A.R.A.H gushed.
"Yeah. As big as a house." Rory joked, hoping the Doctors would chuckle. But they merely sat silently on the couch.
"We're going to get started on dinner. Please. Make yourselves at home." Allison said.
"Would anyone care for refreshments?" S.A.R.A.H asked.
"Doctor? Would you like some tea?" Clara asked sitting next to Eleven who was staring at his hands.
"If you'd like." Eleven muttered with a shrug. Clara looked to the others with worry.
"Hey guys! How about we watch some TV?" Jack suggested.
"There's a Blackburn Rovers versus Manchester United game on." S.A.R.A.H suggested turning on the TV.
"There you go Doctor. That's your favorite football team playing." Amy said.
"Whatever." Eleven replied.
Amy and Rose pulled Jack aside and Rose whispered,
"Sheriff I'm starting to worry about them."
"Yeah what do we do?" Amy asked looking to see the Tenth Doctor taking off his tie.
"Just give them some time. They just had their entire world turned upside down. And you guys did too. You need time to adjust just as much as them. Don't worry. I'm sure they'll be okay in the morning." Jack reassured them.
Three days later...
Rose stared in disbelief as the Tenth Doctor tipped his head back to fill his mouth with whip cream from a can. He was sitting next to Eleven who was munching on a bag of pretzels as they stared at the TV like zombies. They had three day beards and piles of empty junk food wrappers around them.
Rose and the other companions were gathered around the kitchen island staring at them. Unlike the Doctors, they were fully dressed in new clothes Allison had gotten them in town. They had tried to go shopping with her, but apparently S.A.R.A.H had shared the juicy gossip with Vincent while ordering groceries. And a crowd of devoted Whovians were waiting to greet/mob them. They couldn't go anywhere without people in town trying to hound them. So they had been forced to stay at Jack and Allison's, watching two depressed Time Lords turn themselves into cough potatoes.
"I just wish the Doctors would snap out of it. I've never seen him this depressed." Rose said.
"I have. The first time the Doctor properly met one of my echoes was Victorian London. He retired there after he had his hearts broken. He didn't want to interfere or help with anything until I said the right word." Clara told them.
"What was the word?" Rory asked. Clara hesitated.
"Pond." She said. Amy blanched. The Doctor had been depressed after losing them? She wished she could hug him, but right now the Eleventh Doctor practically ignored them.
"I'm no expert on Time Lord psychology, but I think the Doctors are going through their own stages of grief." S.A.R.A.H added.
"Yeah denial, depression and donuts." Amy quipped.
"They just need something to get them inspired again." S.A.R.A.H said.
"Morning." Jack said coming down the stairs, dressed in his uniform.
"Morning Jack." Rory nodded. Jack stopped seeing the Doctors in tee shirts, sweats and robes.
"Are those my clothes?" Jack asked.
"S.A.R.A.H sort of had to trick them into getting a shower. Fully clothed." Rose explained.
"They were starting to smell." S.A.R.A.H said.
"Huh. You know considering everything you guys are taking all of this very well." Jack said grabbing his thermos of coffee.
"Well after what we experienced with the Doctor, being in another universe where we're fictional isn't that big of a leap." Rory said.
"Good morning everyone!" Andy said coming into the kitchen.
"Where'd you come from?" Clara asked.
"Had to recharge last night after a forty eight hour shift." Andy replied.
"S.A.R.A.H...asked him to move in about a year ago..." Jack sighed.
"S.A.R.A.H is your girlfriend?" Rory asked skeptically.
"She's my Homey Hunny!" Andy grinned.
"Doesn't my Cutiebot say the sweetest things?" S.A.R.A.H giggled.
"And on that note, I'm going to work. Come on Andy." Jack said.
"Coming Boss." Andy said.
"But you haven't had breakfast yet Jack!" S.A.R.A.H protested.
"I lost my appetite. S.A.R.A.H door." Jack said over his shoulder.
"Bye." Amy said as they left the house. Eleven went to the fridge while Rose plopped down on the couch next to the Tenth Doctor.
"If you keep eating like that, you're going to get a tummy." Rose told him.
"Don't care." Ten said before taking another swig of whip cream. Rose shook her head as he added, putting down the can to stand and say,
"Nature calls."
She watched him go to the bathroom as Amy exclaimed,
"I can't take this. I'm going for a walk. Come on Rory." Amy said heading for the door.
"Hang on. I'm coming too." Rose sighed getting up.
"S.A.R.A.H door." Rory said letting Amy and Rose out first. Clara hesitated and hung back to ask the Eleventh Doctor,
"Do you want to come along?"
"There's a NCIS marathon coming on." He told her looking at his socks. Taking a chance, Clara grabbed him by the lapel of his robe and kissed him. He tensed and barely kept ahold of the plate of sandwiches he held. When Clara pulled back, she was satisfied to see a blush gracing his cheeks.
"Any ideas?" She asked him cheekily.
"Um...my show is about to start." He said clearing his throat and avoiding her eye. Frustrated and hurt, Clara turned and walked out the door.
"S.A.R.A.H door!" Clara said trying not to cry. Eleven winced as the door slammed shut. He sighed before shuffling back to the couch. But he merely stared at his sandwich. Ten came out of the bathroom and flopped next to him, taking up his sandwich.
He took a bite and asked,
"The others gone? "
"Yeah." Eleven replied.
"Not hungry?" Ten asked.
"No." Eleven said.
"Clara kissed you didn't she?" Ten asked.
Eleven closed his eyes. He'd be lying to himself if he hadn't wondered if Clara's kiss would be like her echo's. Now he knew.
"Honey? I got your costume sewn. You want to come down and try it on?" Daisy's mom asked from the ground.
"In a minute Mommy." Daisy called down from her treehouse. She looked through her plastic binoculars before making a log entry in her notebook. Then she set up her IPad to record the Barlow house next door. But she didn't notice the flash of light coming from the old bed and breakfast.
"Hey Henry. What's the word?" Jack asked the director of GD.
"We're still trying to determine what happened to Rory's hand. Which is hard when half of our medical equipment is missing." Henry said in frustration as he sat back in his chair and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"And we can't figure out the energy spikes because that equipment is missing too." Jack guessed.
"Exactly. So how's our guests doing?" Henry asked.
"The companions are coping. But they're worried about the Doctors." Jack said taking a seat.
"Still depressed huh?" Henry asked.
"And wearing my clothes. And eating my snacks that I hid from S.A.R.A.H." Jack said.
"On the show, it was easy for the Doctor to move on from a big tragedy because he had the TARDIS and could travel. In their minds, even that is a lie. So they don't know what to do." Henry explained.
"This is such a mess. Andy and I have been canvassing the town, but so far no one seems to know anything about that Christmas episode. Unless they're lying. Which Andy says they haven't been because their heart rate doesn't increase indicating they're lying." Jack explained.
"You know it's ironic. This is exactly the kind of puzzle that could get the Doctors back to themselves." Henry said. Not knowing that Fargo was listening to their conversation by the door. Resolving himself, he turned and walked down the halls of GD with determination.
Meanwhile, Jack asked,
"What I don't get is what does someone gain bringing fictional characters to life? And why these Doctors? There's been eleven right? Are they the most popular?" Jack asked.
"Almost. The most beloved Doctor is the Fourth Doctor. Because Tom Baker had the longest run as the Doctor." Henry replied.
"Right. So whoever brought them here, really likes the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors." Jack said.
"So make a list of who favors the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors in town. Which won't narrow it down by much, but it's a start." Henry suggested.
"Right thanks Henry. Keep me posted." Jack said standing up and walking out.
The only place that they could find refuge was a lake about a mile from the house. Rory was skipping stones while the girls were chatting.
"So what do you think will happen to us? I mean there's no TARDIS to fly away on. We have no ID. No family." Clara asked.
"Same thing happened to me and Rory. Stuck in 1938 with nothing but each other. We had to lie our way to get anything our first year. At least this time the scientists at Eureka will help us." Amy said.
"Right. And I had to go through the same thing when I got stuck in Pete's World. We'll be okay." Rose told the brunette.
"But I'll never see my Dad again. And you'll never see your families again." Clara said. Rose thought about her Mum and Dad. And her little brother. Amy thought of the parents she left back in Leadworth and River and Tony. And her grand kids.
"At least we have each other yeah?" Rose said as she and Amy hugged Clara's sides.
"Scanning...area...life signs...detected..." Interrupted a mechanical voice.
"What's that?" Rory asked.
"I know that voice..." Rose said standing up. Sure enough out of the woods came a little army green metal dog, resembling a Terrier in shape.
"K9!" Rose asked running towards the robot.
"What's with the tin dog?" Clara asked as she and Amy got to their feet.
"He's the Doctor's dog. K9 is that really you?" Rose asked.
"Affirmative." K9 replied wagging it's metal tail.
"The Doctor had a robot dog. Why doesn't that surprise me?" Rory asked rhetorically.
"He's so Disco." Amy giggled.
"Oi, he's state of the art from the future, aren't ya boy?" Rose asked patting the dog on the head.
"Affirmative...affirmative...affirmative..." K9 replied over and over again like a record as he began to sputter and spark. Then his head drooped as his voice trailed off,
"A-fir-ma-tive..."
"Oh!" Rose cried jumping as the robot dog continued to spark.
"Yup. That's state of the art all right." Amy said dryly.
Suddenly, a tall bald Aussie with a scar on his cheek popped out of the bushes and cried,
"Ah dang it!"
Everyone jumped as he stomped out to kneel next to K9.
"Isn't this how most horror movies start? Creepy bloke shows up out of nowhere?" Amy asked warily eying the man in a hat with ear flaps, flannel shirt, Bermuda cargo shorts and army boots.
"Took him on a walkabout, wanting to test how he'd respond to rough terrain. It scrambled the circuitry instead." Taggart said opening a side panel to examine the inside guts of the robot.
"Sorry. Who are you?" Clara asked cocking her head.
"Dr. Jim Taggart. Zoologist, Geo physicist, ecologist and local bio containment specialist. At your service." The man replied with a friendly smile.
"You built K9, didn't you?" Rose realized.
"Yeah. My entry for the Ultimate Whovian contest." Taggart answered.
"Ah!" Rose nodded.
"I was just a kid at university getting my first doctorate. When I met the Doctor. The Fourth Doctor. On the Telly. Oh he was brilliant!" Taggart told them.
"The Doctor always is." Rose said.
"Except lately." Rory sighed.
"There's someone at the door." S.A.R.A.H told the Doctors. They looked at each other in confusion.
"Can't be the Carters or the companions. S.A.R.A.H would have let them in." Ten said.
"Who is it?" Eleven asked.
"It's Dr. Fargo. Shall I let him in?" S.A.R.A.H asked.
Eleven looked at Ten and shrugged,
"Yeah I guess."
They got up as the door opened and Fargo walked in and said,
"Hello Doctors."
"Hello Dr. Fargo. Um, Jack's not here." Ten said.
"I know. I came to talk to you two." Fargo said.
"About what?" Eleven asked.
"We need your help." Fargo said.
"You have a town full of the world's greatest minds. I'm sure you can manage." Ten told him.
"Usually but that's when we have the right tools and computers to help us. Throw in Jack Carter's Everyman common sense and we can do anything. But our tools keep disappearing and Jack's not coming up with any leads." Fargo said.
"So why ask us?" Eleven replied.
"Because you're the Doctor! Both of you. You could probably save the world with a paper clip." Fargo said.
"A paper clip? That's silly. Ball point pen maybe." Eleven said leaning against the back of the sofa.
"Or that little staple remover gadget." Ten suggested.
"The point is you two always saved the day with nothing but your wits and a cheeky smile." Fargo said.
"That wasn't us. It was just a TV show! We never lived that life. We never traveled through time." Ten said tucking his hands in the pockets of his robe.
"The Doctor never existed. We're just an echo." Eleven added.
"But what about the three parter where you faced the Master and the Year That Never Was? You said that just because no one else remembered, you and Martha and Jack still remembered so it was part of your timeline. It was a reality that didn't exist but you remembered it so it was real. And what about Big Bang 2? When you had to step through the crack and erase yourself from existence? All Amy had to do was remember you and you existed again. And your Ganger from series 6. He didn't technically live through your memories but he was still the Doctor because he had your memories and emotions." Fargo argued.
"Memories and emotions that were written in a script. By writers! All our words, all those memories, all those relationships, all those feelings. Written by writers. No free will to tell us what's real and what's not." Ten told the young scientist. That's when a lightbulb went off in Fargo's brain.
"Feelings including those for Rose and Clara?" Fargo asked.
"Maybe. Suppose. Shut up." Eleven said with a telltale blush.
"Is that what this is about? You guys are afraid that how you feel about Rose and Clara isn't real?" Fargo said.
"You don't even know us." Ten said.
"Oh I've been through three regenerations of you. And I've got Doctors One through Eight on Blu Ray. I know you. And every Whovian knows that you almost said the words 'I love you' to Rose. And your Duplicate wouldn't have laid that big wet one on her at Bad Wolf Bay if you didn't." Fargo said pointing a finger at Ten. Then he pointed a finger at Eleven and added,
"And you noticed Clara's skirts are a little too tight."
Eleven blushed deeper and said defensively,
"Shut up!"
"Come on guys! 'I think therefore I am.' Truer words never spoken. And you guys are the Doctor. So what do you say? You want to help us? We really need it. In the wrong hands, those missing experiments could potentially blow up the planet." Fargo appealed to them. Eleven and Ten shared a look.
"Sorry Fargo. But we can't. We just can't." Ten said shaking his head.
Disappointed, Fargo sighed,
"Martha Jones was right. 'You never should meet your heroes.'"
The Doctors hard expressions dropped as Fargo pulled out his TARDIS key and tossed it to the coffee table. Then he turned and walked out the door, sadly ordering,
"S.A.R.A.H door."
The Doctors watched as the front door opened and shut, letting a now depressed Fargo out. They were silent a moment thinking about what he had said. Staring at that key as if it were mocking them. Ten looked at Eleven as he crossed over to sit on the couch,
"We're not heroes."
"Of course not." Eleven agreed flopping beside him.
"We're just characters on a silly TV show. We don't matter to anyone. Not really." Ten said.
"Right. We don't make people better. Which is what being the Doctor has always been about." Eleven nodded.
"I don't mean to interrupt, but I have to disagree based on the evidence." S.A.R.A.H spoke up.
"Evidence of what exactly?" Ten asked. S.A.R.A.H used the built in screen on the wall to display photos of all the Doctors with fans. Most of them children.
"The show wouldn't have been on for fifty years if the Doctor didn't matter. And the Doctor has even made people better. Inspiring them to be artists and writers." S.A.R.A.H explained showing various fan art and covers of Science Fiction authors like Neil Gaiman. S.A.R.A.H went on,
"Why even here in Eureka, the Doctor inspired entire generations of scientists to make ingenious inventions to further mankind. To make the dream of humanity exploring every star in the sky a reality. The Doctor also fights the monsters of a child's imagination."
S.A.R.A.H brought up a YouTube video of a little girl in a large audience asking the actor Matt Smith,
"Are you scared of the Weeping Angels?"
"Are you scared of the Weeping Angels?" Matt asked the little girl from his seat on the stage.
The Eleventh Doctor's lips quirked up as the little girl nodded meekly and Ten muttered, done in by the little girl's cuteness,
"Oh that's cheating..."
"Don't worry. I'll fight them off for you." Matt Smith replied in character. The video paused on the little girl smiling and thanking the Doctor.
"Well?" S.A.R.A.H asked. Ten and Eleven shared a silent look, a familiar twinkle in their eye.
"Well Doctor?" Ten asked.
"Geronimo Doctor!" Eleven said bouncing up to his feet.
"Brilliant! Allonsy Doctor!" Ten said jumping up and following Eleven towards the door.
"May I suggest clothes Doctors?" S.A.R.A.H interrupted.
"Ooh. Right...proper clothes." Eleven winced looking down at their tee shirts and lounge pants.
"And a shave might do us good." Ten added rubbing his beard.
"S.A.R.A.H did you clean our clothes?" Eleven asked.
"I incinerated them." S.A.R.A.H answered.
"Oh. Right then." Ten blinked.
"Allison took the liberty of getting you new clothes. Just in case." S.A.R.A.H said.
"Alright! To hell with the raggedy!" Eleven said as he and Ten headed upstairs. Neither noticed the key on the table disappeared. For it was like a montage of showering, shampooing, shaving, blow drying, styling, deodorizing and dressing. And neither noticed the key reappear with a flash as they came downstairs. Ten scooped up the key and both Doctors walked out the front door.
"And then the Doctor goes, "Now, take me to your leader." And he pops the jelly baby in his mouth. That is my all time favorite episode." Taggart said as he continued to fiddle with K9. The companions were seated around him.
"Sounds like the Doctor." Rose said.
"He once tried to fool the Daleks into thinking a Jammie Dodger was a self destruct button for the TARDIS. What is with him and using snacks as weapons?" Amy asked.
"Well whatever works right?" Came a familiar voice. They looked up to see the Doctors standing before them. The Eleventh Doctor was dressed in dark wash jeans, brown tweed jacket, pink oxford shirt, suspenders and a purple bow tie. The Tenth Doctor was dressed in red trainers with a blue pinstripe suit and a brand new brown overcoat.
"Doctor!" Clara cried getting up to rush into Eleven's arms.
"You got dressed." Rory said as he and the others got up.
"Course we did. Didn't want to get a tummy now did we?" Ten said giving Rose a wink.
"Don't ever scare me like that again." Rose told him. Ten pulled her into a hug.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Just had to sort things out a bit." He said.
"So you're sorted out now?" Amy asked arms folded.
"Perfectly. Are we good Pond?" Eleven asked letting Clara go. Amy smiled.
"Yeah. We're good." She nodded before jumping up into his embrace.
"Welcome back Doctor. Doctors. Um. This is going to get a bit confusing." Rory said shaking both of their hands.
"Yeah. Isn't it brilliant?" Ten grinned.
"Oh come here Sideburns." Amy said wiping the tears off her cheeks as she went to hug Ten.
"Sideburns?" He asked incredulously as Rose gave Eleven a hug.
"It's better than Sandshoes." Clara pointed out as she gave him a hug next.
"They're not Sand shoes!" Ten sighed.
"Oh this is brilliant! I knew everything would work out." Taggart interrupted giving the confused Tenth Doctor a hug.
He went to hug Eleven who smiled nervously over Taggart's shoulder,
"Oh yes. It is...strange Australian person...(who is this?)"
He had whispered the last bit towards Amy, but Taggart replied instead, stepping back to click his heels and salute,
"Dr. Jim Taggart Doctor!"
"Don't...don't...salute..." Ten sighed shaking his head.
"Dr. Taggart can you give us a lift to GD?" Eleven asked.
"It'd be an honor Doctor. I have to get back to fix K9 anyway." Taggart said.
"K9!" Ten and Eleven exclaimed with delight. They both knelt before the defunct tin dog.
"Having a bit of trouble with traveling over rough terrain." Taggart said.
"Aww...what's the strange Aussie done to you?" Ten cooed to K9.
"You know, this might be what we need to figure out what's going on." Eleven pointed out.
"How?" Clara asked.
"With fifty first century technology of course." Ten replied. Only for both Doctors to jump when K9 sparked again.
"As...interrupted by advanced twenty first century technology..." Eleven added with a cough as Ten waved off the smoke.