Chapter 4

Traveling and Learning

They didn't go right away- all travel requires preparation. The first thing that the Doctor did was take Scully back to her apartment (she gave him the address), so that she could pack a bag of things to take with her. Once she had done that, the Doctor removed the TARDIS from their location into something called the Time Vortex, which he explained allowed the TARDIS to travel in and out of timelines and planets.

Scully finally decided on going a century forward, to the year 2094. Despite the Doctor saying it was "a bit boring", she shrugged him off with the argument that she wouldn't live to see it, which made it interesting enough to her.

They wandered through the streets of an almost unrecognizable New York- for some reason the TARDIS had landed them there- while the Doctor filled her in on nearly everything that would take place between her time and the current year they were in- or, at least, he tried. He talked very fast and tended to rush through topics. But she caught on to some of it. Humans growing more suspicious about alien life in the early 20th century, and finally accepting the existence of it around twenty years later. Technological advancement, climate change, and political turmoil. Normal parts of history.

He treated her to a meal and even bought her a necklace he saw her eyeing in a storefront. When she asked him why, he shrugged and said he wanted to make her first trip memorable. Scully laughed at that- going 100 years into the future was memorable enough.

After a few hours, they found themselves running. A group of intimidating-looking people tried to rob them, and so they fled the scene after the Doctor's attempts at talking down the muggers proved ineffective.

"There's going to be a lot of this," he warned as they took off down the sidewalk. "I've been running my entire life, no matter where or when I am. If you want to travel with me, be prepared for a plenty of running."

"Well, it's a good thing I'm in shape, then," Scully replied, grinning. I'm going crazy, she thought to herself. This is completely insane, and yet...I'm enjoying it.

When their pursuers finally gave up, the Doctor and Scully found themselves laughing breathlessly in the middle of the sidewalk, which earned them a few odd looks from passersby. Filled with adrenaline, exhilaration, and the sheer excitement that came with being in the future, Scully realized she couldn't keep herself from smiling, even when she tried. "That was...fun! I mean, I know we were being chased, but...I still enjoyed this."

The Doctor grinned at her- she was beginning to notice he grinned a lot. "I think that you and I have a lot more in common than either of us have realized," he said, and she nodded, replying, "Well, for starters, we're both doctors." When he gave her a confused look, she explained, "I went to med school. I just chose to study forensic medicine, which is one of the reasons why I'm an FBI agent."

"Ah, that explains it," he replied, raising an eyebrow at her. "Just so you're aware...I'm not that kind of doctor. It's just a name I chose. But we do have the title in common."

As they walked back to the TARDIS, Scully brought up something she suddenly remembered- she wanted to know what he meant when he had said he "died and came back to life." In turn, he explained regeneration to her- new body and face in order to cheat death. When he was done explaining, she said, "So that's how you've lived this long." He shrugged. "That and...other reasons."

He was silent the rest of the way, and as a result, so was Scully. She only broke that silence when they were safely back in the Time Vortex. A heavy mood had hung in the air, so she tried to make light of the situation.

Chuckling, she said, "You know...you bought me dinner and a necklace while accompanying me on a trip. Where I'm from-" she paused, smirked at him. "You could almost call it a date." Then she realized what she said could have been construed as something other than a joke. "Not that I am, it's just..." she shrugged. "I'm not flirting with you. Just joking around a little."

The Doctor smiled for the first time since he told her of regeneration, though Scully could see a flicker of pain in his eyes. Then he chuckled. "Good. I, ah...I don't do that. Flirt, I mean."

"Or date, I'm guessing," she replied, and he nodded. That was the one thing she resolved not to ask why about- some questions were too personal. It was none of her business. "Yeah, me neither. I'm kind of married to the job."

He grinned. "That reminds me...you never did tell me about what you do in the FBI."

Scully raised an eyebrow at him. "You really wanna hear about that?" When he nodded, she continued. "Okay, but I'm warning you, you might find it a little boring."

"Well, it's not something I do for a living, which...makes it interesting enough to me," he replied, giving her a knowing, mischevious grin.

The Doctor was right- they had more in common than they knew. So she started talking.

"Wow, so...there was really a half man, half fluke worm, eh...thing, in the sewers? That's equal parts fascinating, terrifying, and plain disgusting." From her place directly across from him on the console room floor, Scully could see a mix of all three of those emotions on his face.

She chuckled. "Yeah, it was. But, anyway..."

Her words were cut off when she yawned. "Man, I'm tired," she said, rubbing her eyes. "Mind if I go get some sleep and finish this story in the morning?"

He shrugged. "If you need sleep, you need sleep. Go on ahead; the TARDIS should have a room ready for you. And don't worry about me- I can entertain myself for a few hours. I don't need to rest as much- superior biology. I'll probably be out here when you wake up."

She nodded, rose to her feet. "Okay. Well, uh...goodnight."

When she was alone in her room, sleep about to overtake her, the last thing Scully thought was, I could almost get used to doing this.

Scully walked into the console room, phone in hand. She barely heard the Doctor's cheerful, "Morning, Scully," as she messed with her cell phone's antenna. "No service. Guess I should've expected that."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow at her, then crossed over and took the phone out of her hand. "Hey-"

He shook his head, silencing her protests. "Hold on, I'm fixing it." He removed the battery from its case, and pulled a metal object out from his jacket. It lit up green and made a slight humming noise as he ran it over the cell phone. "There. Just a bit of tinkering is all it needed. You should be able to use it no matter where we are now."

"What is that?" she asked, focusing on the tool in his hand. The Doctor smirked. "It's called a sonic screwdriver. Does a lot of things for me- it can open doors, sort out technical issues, and shut down machines, to name a few functions. It's good to have."

Scully's eyes widened. "So it's not just a screwdriver." When he shook his head, she continued. "I'll bet I could really make good use of one of those."

He chuckled. "Well, as of right now, this is the only one in existence, but maybe I can arrange something. It was never a very common device to begin with, though. Mainly because I invented it."

She raised a brow at him. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were bragging. But thanks for fixing my phone. I should probably-"

She was cut off when her phone suddenly started ringing. Sighing, she pressed the button to answer it and brought it to her ear. "Scully."

"Scully, it's me. Listen, Skinner wants us both to come in right now. Says there's something important he needs to talk with us about."

Scully let out an annoyed huff. "Mulder, what did you do this time?"

"I don't know, Scully. But he wants both of us in by 8:30 this morning, so you better be ready. You've got an hour."

She sighed. "Alright. See you then." With that, she hung up. Then she turned to the Doctor. "Well, I think we may have to cut this short. I know the time travel aspect would keep me from being missed, but my boss needs me at headquarters by 8:30 AM. It's supposed to be important."

The Doctor nodded in understanding. "All right. Well, I won't stop you from doing your job. Have you still got my number?" She nodded, and he kept talking. "Good. If you like, you can keep your luggage here until you get back. Once you're not busy, just give me a call and I'll come get you."

Scully smiled. "There might be a lot of this, too. Running back home to deal with work."

He shrugged. "That's alright. Now, let's get you home, shall we?"

Scully kept her head up as she walked towards Skinner's office. When she was almost there, Mulder caught up with her. "Hiya, Scully," he teased, grinning. She rolled her eyes.

"Mulder, if we're in trouble because of some crazy stunt you pulled, I swear to God-"

Mulder smirked. "Promise you won't hate me forever if we end up getting drawn and quartered?"

She gave him a stern look. "I make no promises, Mulder."

He held the door open for her as she went in, still grinning annoyingly at her. She ignored him.

When Scully entered her superior's office, she was greeted with a surprising sight.

Skinner wasn't the only one in the room. Standing in front of his desk, looking both serious and apprehensive, was a blonde woman she'd never seen before. She was dressed like any other agent- simple business suit and flat shoes. Her long hair was tied back in a bun, and small silver rings hung from her ears. She smiled warmly at them, though she was biting her lip- a nervous tic, Scully could tell.

Skinner spoke up once they had entered the room and clicked the door shut. "Agents. I'd like you to meet someone." He gestured to the blonde girl. "This is Rose Tyler, former intel analyst turned special agent." He glanced at Rose, then motioned towards Scully and Mulder. "Agent Tyler, these are Special Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully."

Agent Tyler smiled. "Hello. Lovely to meet you."

Odd, Scully thought to herself. She's English. Has the accent, anyway.

Even so, she nodded and smiled in what she hoped was a friendly manner. "Nice to meet you too, Agent. You're new here?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Officially got transferred yesterday."

Skinner turned to them and spoke up again, nodding in agreement with the agent's words. "Yes. Agent Tyler here did very well, so I'm told. She requested from her former superior to work in the X-Files division, and he granted that request. So, as a result, you both have another partner. I wanted to introduce you." He glanced over at Agent Tyler again. "There's a new desk for you in their office. Everybody head downstairs," he ordered. "You've got a new case to work on."

(A/N: Yay for double updates [sort of]! This chapter is kind of short, but the cutoff point was appropriate. Next chapter will be longer, I promise. It's a rewrite of the episode Firewalker. I hoped that you liked the whole bit with the Doc and Scully, by the way- they'd be great friends, and I plan on writing that. Platonic relationships are actually really fun to write. And, best of all, Rose Tyler is undercover as an FBI agent now, working to unearth a conspiracy! [Good for her.] The real question is, how long before Scully gets suspicious?)