The Two Doctors and Hatters
The Second Doctor's TARDIS
"Off so soon?" the Doctor asked, sighing slightly as he stood in the door to the Hatter's TARDIS, watching as the Time Lady stood at her console, letting her hands drift over the controls.
The Hatter hardly seemed to blink at the sound of his voice, "I was planning to say goodbye first," she told him, glancing up from the controls, giving him a smile, "I was just trying to think of where to go next".
The Doctor stepped further into the large, steampunk style room, moving up to join her at her controls. He reached out to touch one of the controls, just to see what she would do, and as he had expected before he had even touched a single button she had already battered his hand away.
"Don't touch," she warned him, waggling a finger at him, almost as if he was a misbehaving child.
"I am perfectly capable of driving," he sniffed haughtily, trying hard to hide his amusement. He found it very funny how she didn't trust him with her TARDIS, refusing to let him even touch the controls without her permission.
She scoffed loudly, "With or without the brakes on first?" she questioned innocently.
"I happen to like the sound! It adds character".
"It certainly adds something. You would get around much faster if you only took the brakes off".
"I thought you were planning where to go next?" he said quickly and loudly, desperately trying to get off the subject of his TARDIS and his driving skills.
The Hatter laughed, not fooled in the slightest by his attempts to get off the subject, but decided to humour him, "Well, first I have to pick Max and Alice up," she informed him, shrugging as she leaned against the console, "They're honeymoon is over now, so I get to stop playing intergalactic taxi driver and start going on some proper adventures with them again".
"Won't it be uncomfortable travelling with a married couple?"
"Well, thing's will be slightly different. I'll have to remember to give them their space more often now, I suppose, but it's nice to be around two people who married for love, rather than by an arrangement. I've never really seen that close up before, it's lovely".
The Doctor winced slightly at that, never having really thought about that. His parents, while not openly affectionate with each other, had genuinely cared for each other, while the Hatter's parents had barely tolerated each other. It had never occurred to him before that she might not have witnessed what a proper marriage might look like.
"And what about the time differences?" he asked curiously, deciding it was probably best to stay away from the subject of love and marriage, less he accidently let something slip, "He's from the 90's and she's from the late Victorian time".
"I assume they'll choose to settle in Alice's time," the Hatter shrugged, not having thought about it before. That was between them, it wasn't up to her, "Alice has her family, while Max never knew his Father and his Mother died when he was nineteen. Max wouldn't want to take Alice away from her family".
"They seem like a good match".
"Oh, they are," she nodded, smiling fondly at the thought of her companion's, "Personally, I've always thought that marriage should be based on friendship first…" the Doctor almost chocked on air at that, but the blonde was completely oblivious as she went on happily, "I mean, yes, I'm probably not to the best person to be giving marital advice, but I think that friendship is important in marriage".
The Doctor broke into a wide smile, his eyes twinkling, "I couldn't agree more, my Hatter," he remarked quietly, highly amused and just a little bit pleased to hear that she thought that way. It certainly gave him hope. He cleared his throat, "Are you sure you don't want to stay a bit longer?" he questioned hopefully.
She gave him a small smile, reaching across to pat his cheek gently, "Not this time, sweetheart," she said, shaking her head, making her glasses slip down her nose, "You're always welcome to join me," she added cheekily, pushing her glasses back up her nose.
"And what about my TARDIS?" he raised his eyebrows playfully at her, lightly nudging her side.
"You couldn't possibly not bring the old girl with you, so I'm sure we could think of something".
"I thought you were going to say that I should take her back".
"Goodness, no!" the Hatter exclaimed, giving him an alarmed look, making him laugh at her reaction. Of course he had been joking, there was no way in the Universe that he would ever give up his time machine.
"I was only teasing, my dear," the Doctor told her, still laughing as she joined in.
"I ought to hope so, otherwise you will have quite an angry time machine on your hands," she smiled at him, and he winced at the thought how his TARDIS would react. It certainly wouldn't be pretty, "But in all seriousness," she began, her smile fading as she glanced at him, "Perhaps another time, Doctor, for now I'm content travelling the Universe with my own companion's".
He nodded, unsurprised. He knew how much she relished having her own independency now since leaving Gallifrey, "I understand perfectly," he assured her, smiling at her, and pulled her into a tight hug.
She happily returned the hug, once again feeling slightly amused by the fact that she was slightly taller than him in this regeneration. Oh, if only her first regeneration could see her now, she would have been so happy to see that she finally managed to be taller than the Doctor. They pulled apart, the Doctor kissing her forehead as they did so.
"You will take care of yourself, won't you, Doctor?" the Time Lady fixed him with an intent look, straightening his bowtie for him.
"Only if you take care of yourself," he replied cheekily.
She grinned and met his eyes, "I shall have to make sure to take care of myself, then".
The Doctor flashed her a wide smile and gave her a quick bow, making her laugh as she returned the gesture by pulling her hat off with a dramatic flourish before shoving it back on her head. She watched as he walked over to the door and outside, closing the door behind him.
"Right, then," she said to herself, clapping her hands excitedly as she spun on her heel, looking at the glass Time Rotor, "First, let's pick up the happy couple, then…next stop everywhere and anywhere".
And with that, she grabbed a lever and pulled it, setting off into the Time Vortex.
…
The Sixth Doctor's TARDIS
The Doctor stood in the doorway of the Hatter's bedroom, watching while the Hatter moved around the room, picking up the things as she went and moving them inside her TARDIS that she had sitting off to the side of her room with the doors wide open, this time disguised as a wooden wardrobe. She didn't seem to have noticed him, so focused on what she was doing.
He sighed slightly to himself, knowing what was coming next. She always did this before she left, she had even gone to the trouble of making her own bed, something she didn't usually bother to do in this regeneration, he had noticed, but today she had. She had even tided up some of the paper and books that she had left littering the top of her bedside table and desk. He should have known this was coming after how angry she had been at him earlier about Shockeye, but even still he couldn't help feeling disappointed. He hated to have to say goodbye and it was even worse when it was the Hatter.
The Hatter disappeared back inside her TARDIS and the Doctor decided it was time to get this over and done with now, rather than letting it drag out for another hour or so before the Time Lady eventually came to tell him that she was leaving. He slowly edged into the room and over to the Hatter's TARDIS, raising his hand to knock on the open door.
The Hatter jumped slightly, almost dropping a book she was holding from where she stood within the large, warmly lit console of her time machine in front of one of the large bookcases that lined the wooden panelled walls of the room. She spun around and fixed him with a slightly annoyed look, "You startled me, Doctor," she told him.
"Apologises," the Doctor said sheepishly, knowing instantly that she still hadn't forgiven, "May I come in?" he asked, waving a hand at the doorway.
A small smile crossed her face, almost seeming amused by how polite he was being, so obviously trying not to get on her bad side anymore then he already was, "Of course you can," she said, turning back to face the bookcase as she put the book away, missing the relieved look on the Doctor's face as he entered the room. She turned back around to face him, raising her eyebrows at him, "I should probably mention that I no longer feel like strangling you".
He blinked slightly, even for the Hatter that last remark sounded a little odd coming from her, "Well, that's a relief," he replied after a moment, relaxing slightly, "I'm rather fond of my neck, thank you".
She narrowed her eyes at him, pointing sternly, "But don't think I'll ever forget this," she warned him sharply, making him wince.
"I suppose I deserve that," he sighed, nodding warily.
The Hatter crossed the room and took a seat in her favourite armchair, waving a causal hand towards the second armchair positioned across from hers as she did so. The Doctor, taking the hint, moved across the room and sat in the chair, trying to work out what was coming next. She didn't seem like she was in the mood to lecture him or tell him off again, if anything, she seemed almost tired and for the first time all day he noticed that she had dark circles around her eyes, as if she hadn't been sleeping well recently.
"Yes, you do," the Time Lady agreed, crossing her legs as she absently toyed with the end of the left armrest where the fabric had started to fray after centuries of use.
The Doctor watched the movement before looking back up to her face, frowning deeply in concern, "What is it, Hatter?" he questioned, making her blink at him in surprise, "What's wrong?"
"What makes you think there's anything wrong?"
"Several things. You agreed to go fishing, for starters, something we both know you hate and find terribly boring. You didn't bring your companion…"
"Lily's spending time with her family," the Hatter cut in, shrugging, "And as for the fishing, I thought I would give it another shot".
"We both know that's not true," he shook his head at her, still frowning, "You forget, my dear Hatter, I know you just as well as you know me, and I know when you're hiding something," the Time Lady sighed heavily and looked away from him, only confirming his suspicion even more, "I'm worried about you," he continued, watching her intently, "It's not like you to act so secretive with me, which can only mean that whatever it is that's really going on is very bad".
The Time Lady finally looked at him, "I didn't mean to keep anything from you, you know I wouldn't initially lie or keep something from you unless I had very good reason to do so," she sighed again, suddenly looking even more tired than before, "I just…I didn't want to ruin our trip together and then everything else happened, and I didn't have a chance to bring it up".
"Just tell me".
For a long moment the Hatter remained silent, seeming to be thinking of how to tell him before she took a deep breath and meet his eyes, "For a few months now, I've felt like I've had a ticking clock hanging over my head," she began, "I thought I could ignore it, that if I pretended that it wasn't there I could avoid it, but I know now that I was being foolish. You can't run from something like this, not forever".
"Hatter, you're not making sense," the Doctor shook his head, listening closely to everything she said.
"Just let me finish. I've felt like this before, during my First body, just before I regenerated, so when I felt the same feeling again I knew what was coming".
The colour in the Doctor's face drained away as he stared at his best friend, grim realisation crossing his face, "You're going to regenerate," he said slowly, swallowing slightly.
"I believe so, yes," the Hatter nodded soberly, "I don't know when or how, I just feel like it's going to happen soon, which is why I took Lily home to spend time with her family. It's going to be hard for her, I would rather she have some time to…well, recharge herself before it happens so that she's more emotionally prepared".
"And that's why you agreed to the fishing trip," he remarked as everything made sense.
"Exactly," she confirmed, giving him a slightly guilty smile, "I wanted to make sure that I had one last trip with you before…" she trailed off, noticing the Doctor wince slightly at the thought. She reached across and took his hand, squeezing it.
"Surly there's something we can do…"
The Time Lady shook her head sadly, giving him a comforting smile, "I can't believe I'm about to say this, but I'm tired from running from it. I would rather get it over and done with now," she admitted.
The Doctor sighed heavily, "I can understand that".
Silence fell over them as the Hatter continued to hold his hand tightly, "I was going to tell you," she told him after a moment, looking slightly guilty again.
He raised his eyebrows at her, "Were you?"
She blushed faintly, avoiding his eyes, "Well, I would have tried to, whether I would have actually gone through with telling you is another story. I didn't want to worry you".
"Hatter," his eyes softened as he looked at her, giving her a small smile, "I always worry about you. Someone has to".
"I can take care of myself!"
"Oh, believe me, I'm well aware of that, but that doesn't mean you don't terrify me sometimes with how careless you are about your own safety".
"You're one to talk," the Hatter scoffed at him, letting go of his hand, crossing her arms across her chest.
He laughed and she quickly joined in, uncrossing her arms as their laughter lasted until they were both to breathless to go on, the Time Lady wiping tears away. The Doctor's happiness slowly faded as he looked at her again, "You're leaving, aren't you?" he asked, his voice quieter than normal.
She meet his eyes, her own smile fading, "I'm afraid so, yes".
"You could…" he paused, hesitating as he lowered his eyes, already knowing what the response would be, "…always stay and travel with me".
"And what about Lily?" she raised her eyebrows playfully, "I didn't think the two of you got along very well".
He smiled at her, recalling the less then pleasant first meeting of the Hatter's latest companion that had resulted in him knocking over the girl and snapping at her, "I'm willing to put up with her if it means you stay," he replied in a similar tone as her.
She laughed and shook her head at him, "As compelling as the idea is, I don't think I could do that to Lily," she said before growing serious, "One day, Doctor, you and I will travel the stars together, just as we always said we would, just not this time".
The Doctor tried to keep the smile on his face as disappointment washed over him, and he only just resisted the urge to ask just when that might be. They had spent centuries having the same conversation and he was quickly growing tired of it. He wanted to travel alongside the Hatter, not just on a couple of adventures here and there, but properly. Perhaps he would even find the courage to tell her how he truly felt about her then. He could only hope.
"One day," he repeated quietly, and moving to stand. The Hatter stood, too and threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly as he returned the gesture, knowing that it would probably be the last time he would see this version of her, "Are you sure there's nothing I can do?" he whispered in her ear.
The Hatter pulled back slightly, "Not this time, sweetheart," she gave him a weak smile, placing a lingering kiss on his cheek as he closed his eyes, enjoying the warmth of her lips on his cheek before she let go of him and stepped back. She cleared her throat and for a moment he thought he caught sight of tears in her eyes, "Be careful, Doctor," she told him sternly.
"You will contact me when…" he trailed off, giving her a pointed look.
"Of course," she agreed at once, nodding, "We'll have a picnic, or something to get to know the new me".
The Doctor swallowed, "Sounds lovely," he commented, forcing himself to walk across to the doors, the Time Lady following close behind him. As he reached doors, he looked back to her, giving her one last smile, "Goodbye, my dear, Hatter".
The Hatter returned the smile, giving him a mock curtsy, "Goodbye, my dear, Doctor".
And with that, he closed the doors and stepped back, watching with a heavy hearts as the Hatter's TARDIS started disappearing, the sound of the engines filling the room before it faded completely, leaving him staring at the blank wall. He sighed heavily and closed his eyes tightly, hoping desperately that what ever happened to her she would be okay.
And we've finished the Two Doctors and Hatters, I suppose I'll have to set up a poll soon about what Classic episode to do next, but it'll be a little while yet before I do that. Also, I suppose you're wondering when the main story will be updated, well, I'm hoping to get around to doing that very soon, I have been busy writing a different story that I hope to announce properly when I update the main story. It's not a Doctor Who or Sherlock story this time, in fact, it's a part of the DC Universe, a Universe that I have only just got involved in, but I am very excited about it. And yes, it does involve a new OC and time travel. I hope you liked the story and a big thank you to everyone who favorited, alerted, and reviewed :)