Chapter 5

Guiding Sam through the streets of Rextar Seven, the Doctor asked, "So, where shall we go? I'd rather check up on Rose myself, if you don't mind. But I can't do that if I don't know where and when you come from."

"I wish I could help you. I simply don't know."

The Time Lord sighed. "Typical. Well, I suppose we'll just have to guess at that. We can't stay in the 43rd century forever, after all. Your annoying little friend will never find us that way. So..." He jogged the brief stretch left between him and the TARDIS, pulling out his key. "2007? North America? I'm rather fond of New York City."

"Al will be..." Sam trailed off as he considered the ramifications of where he was for the first time from his project's perspective. He could travel in his own lifetime but he'd never actually slipped into the future. He hoped this didn't mean he'd still be alive in the 43rd century. "Oh, boy," he whispered quietly.

Opening the door, the Doctor walked in, expecting Sam to follow him. After a moment, when he realized he was alone in the TARDIS, he stuck his head out and looked at Sam with concern. "Are you all right?"

Sam gave a weak smile. "We're in the 43rd Century," he said, his voice cracking just a bit.

"So?" the Doctor questioned.

Sam swallowed. "In my project, I can only travel within my lifetime." He paused. "Well, I guess Al's lifetime since we mixed mesons." He paused once more. "Unless there's a strong DNA connection." He considered that. "Is Rose Tyler related to any Becketts?"

The Doctor finished stepping out of the TARDIS, leaving the door open behind him. "No, I don't think so. And DNA or a person's lifetime doesn't make a difference with the TARDIS."

"How does this TARDIS work?"

The Doctor, seeing that Sam wasn't coming, grabbed his arm and guided him in forcibly. "Disappears there, reappears here, dimensionally transcendental... and you don't need to know the rest. Mankind isn't ready for this kind of technology. If I tell you and you decide to try to duplicate it, it could cause a serious paradox. I'm a Time Lord. I can't allow that to happen. Just accept that it works."

Sam understood from the Doctor's tone that he was annoyed with him. Still he kept on. "But I just want to..."

"It's something you don't need to know," the Doctor repeated, heading to the console.

Sam pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes at him. "Who are you to tell me what I need to know?"

"I'm the Doctor," came the blunt response in the same authoritative tone the Time Lord had used before, showing that he expected the leaper to accept his word as final.

For a moment the leaper's pride fought with the understanding that this wasn't a battle to fight, at least for now. After all, look what happened when he stepped into the Accelerator himself. At least he didn't trap anyone else in time. Somewhat dejectedly, for the whole idea really did fascinate him, he shrugged. "Fine."

"Now," the Doctor exclaimed with a smile, changing his mood drastically. "You haven't been formally introduced. This is the TARDIS. Stands for Time and Relative Dimension in Space. She is a Type 40 TT capsule, the last of her kind."

"She? The TARDIS is a computer?" Sam tilted his head. "My project works because of the computer I built. Ziggy's a she too. At least she is now."

A furrow creased the Gallifreyan's brow. "You have a computer that went through a sex change? And you named it Ziggy?" He started to flick buttons and turn knobs. "I'll have you know that the TARDIS is far more than just some rinkey-dinky 21st century transgender computer. She's a living timeship. She even has a heart... of sorts. Compared to the TARDIS, your computer is an antiquated plastic calculator."

"Well... Al was the one that named her back when she was a he. I called him Alpha and somehow... not really sure what happened since I wasn't there... Ziggy's personality just sort of changed. That's when she became she." Sam continued to defend his creation. "And Ziggy is much more than just a computer. She's integrated with my brain cells and Al's nerve cells. She has a living biological component as well. Al thought giving her a personality was a mistake but it makes her... well... her."

The Doctor smiled at that. "Really? Well, then, it's not so antiquated after all. But it's still not a TARDIS."

"I never said she was."

"Good," the Doctor replied in an almost sing-song like tone. "And, by the way... your friend Al? If he's naming computers Ziggy and then changing said computer's gender preferences... he either is in need of some serious help or is in good company with an old friend of mine."

"Al may be... well... he does have a serious appreciation of women. But he's not a pervert or anything and he didn't change Ziggy's gender. She just morphed."

"How do you know? You weren't there, remember?" the Time Lord pointed out with a grin. Before Sam could reply, he continued on quickly. "Anyway... anything else you wanted to know? Well... within reason."

Sam had a distinct feeling of deja vu, recalling an earlier time when his questions weren't being answered by the one person who had all the relevant facts. "There's a lot of things I'd like to ask but the answer would be 'I don't need to know.' Right?" He looked around, frustrated. "Isn't there any place where I can sit? Other than the floor?"

"You always sit by me," the alien stated with a frown.

"Excuse me?"

Looking on the leaper, the Gallifreyan exhaled with the realization of his error. For a split moment, he had only seen his companion rather than the man that now inhabited her life. The idea of sitting next to Sam Beckett... well, it just wouldn't do, regardless if the man was pleasant to be around. He pointed to the door behind him. "Through that door, two lefts, a right, a left, down two flights of stairs, two rights, third door on your left."

"Right," Sam answered with annoyance. "I just wanted a chair, not a tour." He left the room, seeking time away from the infuriating mad man. As he started down the corridor the Doctor had described, he found the directions didn't take him anywhere. He spent time wandering, finding locked doors and strange areas, corridors leading to dead ends while others returned him in a circle to where he'd been before. Finally, Sam, tired and sporting a headache, simply laid down where he was, curled up, and closed his eyes, hoping sleep would come and that he'd wake up finding it had all been a dream. A very strange dream. A very bizarre and strange dream.

The Doctor sat in the console chair, glaring towards the center column as if it were responsible for the frustration that ate at him. Of all the humans to wind up in his life - one he admired, no less - he had to find that Sam Beckett was the most annoyingly inquisitive, stubbornly irritating, overly talkative, hyper empathetic... He growled slightly in aggrevation as he found himself lacking further description of his new unwanted companion. He was simply too upset to think. Here he was stuck with this intruder and his proper companion was who knows when and where. What was truly making him irritated was that he should know exactly where Sam's project was - he remembered reading about it and wondering on how incredible it was for a 20th century human to come up with the concepts - but the details were eluding him.

As the TARDIS landed with a thump, he realized that Sam was only being the person he had read about and that he really couldn't blame him for the current situation, especially if Sam was indeed being guided by a mysterious force. Besides, treating Sam as he had been wasn't going to rectify the situation any faster. Standing, he decided that he should retrieve the wayward Leaper and start the relationship from scratch. He didn't expect to find him lying on the floor, snoring no less, just beyond the interior doors.

He crouched down and gazed at Sam for a moment. Humans need so much sleep. How do they even get anything done? Shaking Sam's shoulder, he waited until seeing the man's green eyes opening. "What are you doing sleeping in the corridor?"

Sam blinked for a moment and then reached up to tug at the crick in his neck. Nope, not a dream. "Um… yeah. Well, I followed your directions but never got anywhere. The corridors kept changing. I finally decided to just give up and sleep," he explained, not really sure how sane he sounded.

The Doctor slowly got to his feet, giving the ceiling a hard glare. "That would be the TARDIS. She gets temperamental sometimes."

Sam gave the lanky man a half grin. "Trust me, I can sympathize. I sometimes regret using Barbra's Streisand's personality in Ziggy."

"Barbra Streisand?! What possessed you?!"

"I don't know. I guess after six years with an average of two hours of sleep a night, I just wasn't thinking clearly? Al tried to stop me, but I wouldn't listen."

"It's a wonder you didn't go mad!" The TARDIS' pilot reached down his hand to help the still yawning human stand. "Well, you've sleep more than two hours this time."

Rubbing his back, the human answered, "Really? It was more than two hours? Sure doesn't feel like it."

"That's what you get for sleeping in the corridor."

"Well, it wasn't my first choice. I just felt I was going around in circles."

"You probably were. That tends to happen sometimes in a semi-infinite space controlled by a semi-sentient being."

Sam turned to the sound of the Imaging Chamber door opening.

"Oh, thank God, Sam! I wasn't sure I'd ever see you again!" Al looked at the Doctor and glared at him, his distrust of the man worn openly in his face.

The Doctor looked upon Al for a moment and then brightened suddenly. "Ohhhh… nice frowny face."

Al glared harder at the man. "Sam, I don't think you should trust this nozzle." While both Jack and Rose seemed to be willing to accept what this man had obviously told them, Al himself was going to be cautious. They might both be wrong.

Sam ignored Al's warning instead talking like a kid that had just been given the keys to a candy store.. "Al, I was on another planet! And boy, was that weird! We were in another time with a bona fide extraterrestrial! I've gotta tell you, this is pretty cool!"

The Doctor straightened like a peacock showing his colors, a very pleased look on his face. He started to respond to the quantum physicist's statement when Al interjected, "Sam, you don't know that any of that is true. Just cause he says it is doesn't make it so."

Narrowing his eyes and folding his arms, the Gallifreyan lorded over Al. "You don't believe it?"

Al looked at him with eyes that were trying to ferret out the truth. "I don't know if I do or not. Are you sure you didn't give him something? Or.. or... did something else to convince him of your story? Sorry, but that's not going to work with me," groused the Admiral with a gruff voice.

"Oh, come on, Al," Sam put in. "Don't you think I'd know if I'd been drugged or brainwashed? All I had was orange spice tea and turkey sandwiches."

Al nodded. "Yeah…but what the hell was the spice? Huh?"

The Doctor shrugged. "A little cinnamon, a little nutmeg, perhaps a bit of allspice… and a touch of Matagorian Flarnhentalmin"

Sam asked, "What is Matagorian Fla …Flarn..."

"Flarnhentalmin," supplied the Time Lord.

"Yeah. That."

"That's what I'd like to know 'Doctor', if you really are one," finished Al, still not trusting anything.

"It's a simple flavoring derived from orange like fruit from Matagornia on Rextar Seven. Completely harmless."

"Then why is he acting this way?" Al queried.

"Because it's really, really cool!" squealed Sam. "Think of it, Al. This is so much more than what happened with Max… um… Max… damn, I can't remember his name."

"Max Headroom, perhaps?" supplied the Doctor.

"If you're a real alien, then how do you know about an icon like Max Headroom?" Al asked with conviction.

"The whole universe knows about Max Headroom. It's one of the most enduring television shows of your time. It had the longest syndication run of any show. It's still being shown in the year 200,000!"

"Wow… I wish I hadn't missed it," groused Sam.

The Doctor turned his head toward Sam. "Don't worry. I have it on DVD."

Al threw up his hands. "DVD? That proves you're not an alien. Don't listen to this nozzle, Sam!"

"Why do you keep referring to me as a piece of 21st century Earth plumbing? I'm not spitting, am I?"

If Al could have hit him, he would have. "Nozzle, jerk, joker, buffoon, bozo, clown, conman… you choose the name, buddy."

The Doctor took a step closer to the hologram and, with an edge to his voice, answered, "Number one, I'm NOT a conman. Two, you're the one with the rather colorful clothing. But I love your color coordination. Haven't dressed like that since my sixth incarnation and your coat's so much nicer."

Sam stepped up to them. "Hey, come on you two." He turned to Al. "I'm not nuts and I'm not drugged. I've already considered that and I'm sure that's not it. What I've experienced just is. You would have loved it, Al. Lennon's lyrics came to life!"

The Doctor shook his head. "Not quite, Sam. More like life came to Lennon's lyrics."

Sam splayed his hands. "Whatever."

"I still don't trust him, Sam. Whatever happened when we lost you, Ziggy couldn't track you. We were worried. Ziggy almost had a meltdown."

The leaper answered, "Well, we're back now. No harm, no foul."

"That's still yet to be seen," Al continued. "I'm not sure that this guy isn't some kind of a Svengali. I've seen his effect on the girl you've displaced."

The Time Lord pushed Sam aside and stepped toe to toe with the Admiral once again. "I would never hurt Rose Tyler."

The Admiral, not backing down an iota, responded, "You wouldn't hurt her? Then what's a thirty-something year old man doing with a nineteen year old girl? Hmmmm?"

"Rose Tyler means more to me than you or anyone else could ever know. If you hurt even one hair on her head, I will find you. That's a promise," he finished ominously.

Al didn't miss a beat. "The same could be said about Sam from my point of view." The meaning behind his words were clear in his eyes. "As to Rose Tyler, she's about the age of my youngest daughter. What you're telling me better be the truth."

The Doctor understood at that moment that he and the little man in front of him shared a paternal instinct to protect the innocent. He knew without question that Rose would be safe with this man who showed such strong convictions of friendship and compassion. His estimation of Sam went up as well, knowing that his choice of friends reflected his character. Taking a breath, he took a single step away from the Admiral, knowing that being in a close proximity to him would only cause the tension to continue. "I swear on the memory of my people that I have told you nothing but the truth."

Al gave the man another deep look. Seeing the conviction in his eyes, he nodded. "Okay. I believe you about Rose Tyler." He glanced over at Sam, the physicist showing relief that the tension had ceased. "But what about my friend?"

The Doctor took a deep breath and exhaled. "I will protect him with all my lives," he assured. Giving him a firm look, he continued, "And I need the same assurances from you that Rose will be safe."

Al narrowed his eyes once more, trying to ascertain the truth in the man's words. He wasn't sure what was meant about the lives, but his gut figured that this Doctor wouldn't make the statement if he didn't mean it. He gave a short nod and then answered, "I swear before God, I won't let anything happen to her under my watch. You have my solemn oath."

The Time Lord's mood lightened instantly. "Right, good enough for me. Come along," he instructed the men, walking back to the console room. "Let's see where we've landed, eh?"