Chapter 8

The two sojourners in 1987 did some on-the-road sightseeing as they journeyed through the streets of Chicago. The ride took about a half an hour but eventually the cab stopped in front of an elegant and historic bed and breakfast, the sight of which caused the Doctor to grin widely.

"Ah! Here we are! Smith's Inn," he announced as Sam paid the cab fare with cash the Doctor had given him. "Named after me, actually. Well... sort of. 19th century mansion converted into a bed and breakfast. Mind you, they really keep up the place." He started towards the door, not even worrying whether or not Sam was following.

Pocketing the change after providing a reasonable tip, Sam exited the cab. He saw the Doctor striding up to the door confidently. Sighing, he headed after him, doing his best to catch up.

Getting to the door, the Doctor waltzed in as if he owned the building, meandering to the front desk. Without waiting for the desk clerk to acknowledge them, the Doctor spoke up boldly. "Hello, I'd like to see the owner."

The desk clerk looked up. "You would? Who can I tell her is asking?"

"The Doctor," he announced with a genial smile. "Old friend. Haven't seen her in ages. She probably won't even recognize me. Well, not right away. I have changed quite a bit since I last saw her." He looked increasingly pensive. "Has it really been that long?"

The clerk noticed a young lady coming into the hall and smiled, obviously far more interested in the beauty than the man in front of him. "Well, hello, miss. I'll be right with you."

Sam looked over to the Doctor. "Um... I'm with him."

"So, she is!" the Doctor confirmed with a wide grin, giving Sam a wink.

The clerk called the owner's apartment letting her know a doctor who said he was an old friend was asking for them. After listening for a few moments, he turned to the lanky dark haired man. "Doctor who?"

The Doctor looked deeply offended. "Oh, come off! It hasn't been that long! Wait... is Harry around? Let me talk to him."

The clerk looked at the bright-eyed man in front of him, reaching for the phone once again, and didn't seem open to that suggestion. "Do you have some form of identification?"

The Doctor shook his head in frustration, reaching into his inside jacket pocket and pulling out a brown leather billfold, opening it to reveal the inside to the clerk. "There you are! Doctor John Smith, professor, Cambridge University. If he still has doubts, ask him if he remembers Sarah Jane."

The clerk looked at the paper and then asked to talk to his boss' spouse. He provided the information he'd discovered and was obviously given instructions. He turned back to the Doctor. "Dr. Sullivan will be right out."

A tall, distinguished looking gentleman walked into the lobby. He frowned slightly at the sight of two unfamiliar people standing there, one of them a young lady of about twenty years of age, the other a grinning maniac of about thirty-five years or so wearing a brown pinstriped suit and red Converses. "All right. Where's the Doctor?" he asked with a hint of annoyance.

Sam, seeing the interaction fidgeted. "Perhaps we should..."

"Harry! It's good to see you!" the Doctor said moving toward the man. "It's been ages! How have thing's been? This place is still magnificent!"

"Doctor?" the middle aged gentleman asked with a raised eyebrow.

"In the flesh!" Seeing the confusion, his visage softened. "I'm in my 10th regeneration."

"Regenerated again?" Harry seemed to berate. Gaining a shrug from the alien, he turned his head towards the young lady beside the Doctor. "And who is your companion this time?"

The Doctor turned back to Sam. "Rose Tyler. Had her around for a while now. When we found ourselves in Chicago, I knew right where to come."

"A pleasure to meet you, Miss Tyler," Harry greeted in return, a genuine smile on his face. She appeared to smile in return.

The Doctor turned to the table that graced the foyer across from the clerk. There was a bowl of fruit. "Bananas! You have bananas! Marvelous!" He grabbed one. "I love these things. They're good for you, you know."

Harry watched with a bit of amusement. "No jelly babies hiding in those impossible pockets of yours?"

"Jelly babies?" He patted himself. "I don't think... no, wait... yes... yes, there are! Can't remember how long they've been there though." He pulled one out, the sugar coating starting to crystallize.

The retired military man laughed in amusement. "Figured as much." He turned towards Sam with a hint of conspiracy in his voice. "I swear one of these days he'll pull out a kettle from his pockets and it will still be warm."

Sam gave a half grin. "Yeah. I've seen what those pockets can hold." He shuffled on his feet a bit, still not sure where this interaction was going. He decided that if he was going to learn anything they needed to be alone. "Um... Doctor? You were going to check on rooms?"

"Yes. Right." He turned to Harry. "Can you put us up for a few days? I think that's all we'll be here for. 'Course, never know for sure. But you know all about that."

"Of course, you are welcome to stay for as long as you'd like," Harry told them with a smile. "In fact..." He paused, a pensive look on his face. "There's a bit of a thing going on that would probably interest you, Doctor."

The Doctor's eyebrows went up. "Really! Perhaps we can talk about it over tea."

The clerk nodded and pulled out two keys to adjoining rooms and handed one to Sam. "Here you are, Miss," he stated with a twinkle in his eye. The other he handed to the Doctor. "Sir."

Harry, seeing that his guests had their keys, turned to the clerk. "Lawrence, would you ask Sally to prepare some tea and bring it to my study." He turned to the Doctor with a smile. "I'm sure she will be pleased to see you again, Doctor. Perhaps a half an hour to get you settled?"

"Yes. Just the thing. I'm looking forward to seeing Sally again."

Sam smiled nostalgically. "Tea. It's been awhile since I've had English Tea. Rextar Seven doesn't count."

"You took her there, I see," Harry commented with a smile. "I'll meet you in my study, then." With a small nod to both of his guests, he turned and walked back towards the door from which he came, clearly pleased that his old friend was in the house. He reached over to stop Lawrence from leaving just yet on his errand. "When you are done, why don't you take some time off... with pay, of course? I'll give you a call to let you know when I'll need you again."

"But, sir, what about the Martins coming next Tuesday and the Fabishers on Wednesday? Don't you want me to prepare for them?"

Harry hesitated for a moment, his clerk's words reminding him of the future guests. "We may have to arrange different accommodations for them. With what's going on in the basement, I'd rather not have our regular guests disturbed. Besides, Dr. Smith is an expert in such things. Hopefully he can get to bottom of the problem and the Martins and Fabishers will be able to join us as scheduled."

Lawrence nodded. "Of course, sir. I hope you're able to solve the mystery quickly." He got his things. "Just give me a call and thank you, sir." With that, the clerk left the building.

Heading up the stairs as they'd been directed, the Doctor and Sam took a turn to the left. A few steps down they came to their rooms.

Sam put the key into his door. It was an old skeleton key. "I haven't seen one of these since the last time I visited my Uncle Will."

"Aw, love this place!" the Doctor said for the third time in less than half an hour. "Mind you, we probably should pick up a few things for you from the TARDIS before the end of the day. That is, unless Sally can find you suitable clothing. I mean, you can't exactly spend the weekend wearing what you have on, can you?"

"Um, yeah. A change of clothes would be nice." Sam paused. "Doctor? How did you meet this man? He didn't recognize you at first, I'm sure of it. But then you started talking about knowing his wife and all. It's very confusing."

"Depends on whether or not you are referring to how long Harry's known me or I've known him," the Doctor replied with a grin.

"Huh?" Sam asked. "The riddles aren't helping."

"It's not a riddle. It's a matter of perspective. See, Harry's known me since my years at UNIT. That was in the late Seventies. Or was it the early Eighties? However, from my perspective I've known him for a much longer time."

"UNIT? What's UNIT?" Sam asked. "And it seems a little strange that you can't remember when you met him."

"You don't know UNIT? Well, given that it's a paramilitary organization financed by the United Nations with the intent on investigating extraterrestrial activity on Earth, I suppose it is beyond your particular field." Glancing at the glare he received, he added, "Or your memory's been affected by the time travel parameters of your project. UNIT is an acronym for United Intelligence Taskforce. Of course, back in the day, it was the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce but that's a different story. As for my own recollection ... well, call it old age."

"Old age, huh. You're younger than I was when I stepped into the Accelerator."

"I'm 901," the Time Lord told him confidently.

"Right," the physicist said skeptically. "I'm willing to accept you're an alien but really you expect me to believe you've been around almost 1000 years?"

The Doctor blinked at Sam's words. "Well... I may have shaved a few years off."

Sam rolled his eyes. "Fine. Don't tell me." He switched back to the previous question. "You were going to tell me about why Harry didn't recognize you."

"I regenerated. About half a dozen times over the course of knowing him. Funny... visited him a couple of times but I didn't visit Sarah Jane once. Saw her last month though. Relatively speaking."

"You mention that thing... regeneration. Downstairs with Harry. What's that?"

The Doctor sighed, rolling his eyes. "It's a discussion for another time. Harry is waiting for us and we haven't had a chance to wash up."

"Okay, but I'm still confused. Some of this stuff might be important to figure out what I'm here for so I'd appreciate an explanation later."

"There you go talking about changing history again," the Gallifreyan muttered under his breath. "Later. Now..." He motioned Sam to go into the room assigned to him before going into his own room, not waiting to see if Sam followed his unspoken order.

Sam stopped as he stepped into the room and regarded his surroundings. The room was appointed in clouds of lace and pink taffeta curtains. Roses sat on the marble top of the dressing table. Remembering a stage when his sister would have "died" for such a room, he sighed. "Oh, well... I guess it could be worse."

There was a door off of the main room and he figured that was the bath. Opening the door, he noted the heavily feminine theme continued. "It's worse. I hate it when I'm a woman," he groused out loud. He looked down at his clothes. "At least this one is mostly practical." Taking the time to get a good look at his host in the mirror, as it really had been the first time he could, he gave his reflection a critical eye. Rose Tyler was a short young woman, about 5"4' or 5'5" tall by Sam's estimate. Her shoulder length peroxide blonde hair was starting to show its dark-colored roots that matched her dark eyebrows. Bright brown eyes and rosy cheeks accented her oval face, showing a teenage innocence that hid a wisdom that was rare for a girl of her age.

Knowing that he'd seen the Doctor looking at her in a definitely non-paternal way, he mused, "I wonder how long she's been traveling with the Doctor." He figured perhaps that might have something to do with his leap in but somehow his gut told him that wasn't the case. Deciding he couldn't figure it out for now, he took a few minutes to clean up a bit before going over to the Doctor's room.

Before he could knock on the door, the door opened, showing the Doctor looking exactly as he had before with no indication that he had done much more than ran his hand through his hair in a vague attempt to make it set down a little. "Well, that didn't take you long," the Gallifreyan commented. "Allons-y, then. I smell tea!"

The two made their way back downstairs. The Gallifreyan appeared to know exactly where he was going. Popping in through a set of doors, the Doctor strode into the study confidently. "Ah, already set, I see. Marvelous!" Seeing a lovely woman already seated with a cup in hand, he went right to her. "Good to see you again, Sally. It's been a while."

"Doctor! Well, I must say, you're looking quite well. Younger I think than the last time." She sighed. "I did so like your dashing outfit then though."

"That thing? You know I stole it, don't you? But I suppose it did match my hair." He considered that for a moment. "Remind me never to have long curly hair again."

"But it was so nice."

"But I like my hair now," he protested. "And the suit. And the trainers..." Noticing Sam waiting in the doorway, he quickly changed the subject. "Come on, Rose. Meet Sally Sullivan."

Sam stepped into the room and moved over to the Doctor. He offered his hand to the woman as he stated, "Very nice to meet you, ma'am."

Sally took his hand. "Rose, is it? Lovely to meet you, my dear." Turning to the Doctor, she told him, "Such a young lady to be traveling with you."

"Oh, but Rose Tyler is an exceptional young lady," the Doctor proclaimed, giving Sam a slight look, a hidden reminder of his promise to the time traveler's partner in the future. "And she isn't the youngest person I've had with me." He looked around him. "So, where is Harry? He indicated that you have something amiss. Rose, do sit down," he instructed as he practically bounced into a seat next to Sally.

Sam smiled gamely and found his seat. Remembering he was a woman, he made sure to set his legs appropriately. "This is a very nice place."

"Thank you. It's what I like to do." She then smiled, "Rose, dear, would you please pour tea while we discuss the situation?" Refocusing on the Doctor, she explained, "Harry wanted to bring something up from the basement. He said you'd probably want to see it when he explained the goings on."

The Doctor nodded slightly at the explanation. "Well, I hope he comes before the tea goes cold." He gave Sam a slightly wary look. The last thing that they needed was for him to make some little faux pas. While Sally was raised in the United States, she'd adopted much of the practices that were still in place in Great Britain, especially when it came to the social art of tea.

Sam reached for the teapot in its cozy. Moving a cup and saucer into position, he used the strainer to pour out the tea, leaving room for milk and sugar should that be desired. Afterwards he picked up the saucer with his left hand and offered the straight black tea to the Doctor.

The Doctor gave him a genial smile, clearly impressed. "Thank you," he acknowledged.

After the Doctor took the tea, Sam repeated the procedure, returning the teapot to its spot before adding a bit of milk to his cup. He also added one lump of sugar. Taking a sip, he commented, "Ah, Darjeeling. My favorite."

Sally beamed. "Yes. Harry likes that as well. I'm so glad you enjoy it." She turned a surprised look towards the Doctor as he added three lumps of sugar and a hint of milk, gaining a slight stare from both Sam and Sally.

"I like it sweet," he protested. He forced himself to refrain from putting his feet on the coffee table, though the urge was clearly there from the way he fidgeted slightly. Before the conversation continued his old friend walking into the room with a box in hand. "Ah, Harry! 'Bout time. The tea's going cold."

Harry gave the Doctor a slight smile. "Sorry, Doctor. But I felt it necessary to retrieve this." He indicated the box in his hand, which he promptly gave to the Time Lord.

Sally smiled as Harry walked in. She poured out a cup of tea, waiting for her husband to sit before giving it to him. He smiled gratefully to his wife before taking a sip, straight without milk or sugar.

After the Doctor took the box from Harry, he placed his tea on the coffee table and then looked inside. There he saw a cast of a footprint unlike any he remembered seeing. "Where did you find this?"

Harry gave him a look that plainly stated he knew the Doctor wouldn't believe the answer. "In the cellar."

Looking rather concerned, the Doctor clarified. "This cellar. Downstairs. When?"

Sally confirmed. "Yes. We've been hearing things for the past three weeks. Harry found this two days ago."

Harry put his tea on the table in front of him. "A lot of odd things have been going on down there recently. Strange sounds I've never heard before, an odd bluish gel-like substance seeping through the cracks..."

Sam moved over to look in the box as well. When he saw what was in it, he asked, "What is it?"

"I have no idea. Never seen anything like it and that's saying something," Harry answered. He looked at his friend with questioning. "Doctor?"

The Doctor looked over to Sam. "This one is new to me as well." He turned back to Harry. "Any other evidence of the 'visit?'"

Harry shook his head slightly. "Very little." He looked unnerved. "More of... an uneasy feeling throughout the inn, as if someone or something was watching. Like those stories about haunted houses."

Remembering the many times he'd investigated these types of things, the Doctor smiled. "Now, Harry, you know there are no such things as ghosts. Supposed hauntings are usually just imprints of the past on physical objects. In this case, since you have physical evidence, it's probably something from another dimension seeping into this one or an odd temporal shift. Do you know if this inn is located on a rift in time and space?"

"I have no idea. I did try to pull some strings with UNIT but they're apparently occupied. They're still cleaning up the mess from the Mondas incident."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "But that was last year. And in Antarctica. And didn't involve UNIT. What are they doing up there?"

"Home of the Cybermen nearly drains the Earth of all its power? You take a guess, Doctor."

"Right," the Time Lord conceded.

"In any case, Sally thought the inn is haunted. See, dear, you have nothing to worry about. You have the Doctor's word that your inn doesn't have ghosts."

Sally answered. "Yes, but this current situation doesn't really sound much better."

The Doctor reached into his jacket to pull out a pair of thick-rimmed glasses. Slipping them over his eyes, he peered at the casting in the box. "Well, it can't be Gelth. They're made of gas and I honestly don't think this inn sits on top of a rift. I think I would have noticed it by now if it did." He bit his lip. "No... whatever this thing is, it's nothing I've ever encountered before."

Sally looked even more concerned. "If you've never encountered this before, how will you discover what is going on?"

The Doctor raised his head. "Oh, I've encountered things I've never encountered before before." He gave a manic grin. "Before before! Almost lyrical, that."

Sam, infected by the Doctor's grin, smiled back. "It does have an interesting ring." A vague memory hit Sam. "We could set up cameras, sound devices. Set the system to trip if the physical manifestation occurs again."

"Not bad. Bit like 'Ghost Hunters'. All we need now are Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson." Seeing the confused look from his three companions, he sighed. "The dangers of time travel... others around you have no knowledge of future television shows." He looked at Sam with a bit of surprise. "I thought you would know."

"I've never heard of it, not that I ever really watched much television, at least since I was a kid."

"Oh, it's a great laugh. Of course, our little set-up is going to be far more logical. How'd you come up with the idea to use cameras and sound devices?"

"I seem to recall a crypt with that set-up. It was..." He paused. "...before I leapt into your life."

The Doctor looked a bit confused for a moment before taking a deep breath, the hidden meaning suddenly clear to him. "Right," he said slowly.

Harry laughed. "Leapt into the Doctor's life! That's brilliant. Although I'd say it was more the other way around. Never know when the Doctor will show up."

The Doctor gave him a look. "As if you would know. You pushed your way into my life. I didn't need a doctor to tell me I was in good health."

"I was ordered into your life. There's a difference," the physician contradicted.

"You didn't have to step into the TARDIS, you know."

"But then you wouldn't have had nearly as much fun. We were great... you, Sarah, and I."

"With me stopping you from blowing up a whole planet, taking all three of us with it," the Doctor countered with a friendly glare.

"I already apologized for that several dozen times, haven't I?" Harry said in defense.

Sam interrupted gently. "Umm... back to the subject of this not haunted inn with strange things going on?"

The Doctor rubbed his hands together. "Right... we need to start planning this little operation. I'll go back to the TARDIS and bring her here. We'll probably need equipment from her for this. Sa... Rose," he started. "Go with Harry to the cellar and take a look around for anything and everything out of the ordinary."

Sam nodded. "Sure."

"Harry, can I borrow your motor?" the Time Lord questioned. "Promise I'll bring it right back."

"Of course, Doctor."

"Good man."

The group, composed of old friends and new, disbanded to their various tasks. While the Doctor took off to bring his faithful TARDIS to the house, the humans went about their tasks with a feeling of anticipation and a bit of trepidation. As the Doctor drove through the streets of Chicago, he thought about the fact that he had once again been thrust into the role of a detective. He couldn't help but wonder what they would find.