There was no time for more questions, as Amy joined them in the garden just then.
"Where's he got to now?" Amy asked, coming up and shaking her head. "She, I mean. What a day."
"Oh, I think we were about to go- Doctor?" Yaz circled the TARDIS. "Doctor, where are you?"
"Just checking for a way to get in. My key doesn't work. It always works!" A voice above complained. The two women looked up to find The Doctor lying out flat on a tree branch, stretched just over the top of the TARDIS. "It's the same me. I don't see why it shouldn't work!"
"Just like your sonic works on everything except wood?" Amy called up to her.
The doctor scowled. "Dunno why you have to remind me, Pond. I was always very good to you." They watched her attempt to pull herself across, tapping on the light fixture at the top of the box. "If I can just get the right frequency"-
"I know she's not our Doctor, but- does she seem funny to you?" Amy asked, watching her squirm. Yaz followed her gaze.
"Kind of. She's always a bit funny, though."
"Couldn't have said it better myself." They chuckled together.
"I just mean.." Amy folded her arms. "The way she hugged Rory and me earlier… it felt like it had been ages for her. The Doctor's never been good with time."
"I know. Drives me mad." The doctor had eased into a sitting position, feet touching down onto the blue box. Yaz frowned. "But every time I try to ask"-
"They have that in common, too," Amy confirmed, digging into her pocket, "Always up for questions as long as they're the ones asking." She strode forward.
"Doctor? Should I also remind you that there's another if your key doesn't work?" She dangled a blue lanyard from her fingers. The doctor was still gaping when Amy let them in.
"Right then. We just need to figure out what I was doing before I turned short. Amy, you saw me change; you said that." The Doctor was examining the console with great care and a set of tools besides a partially opened hatch.
"Yeah, you- he'd shown up suddenly, and we came out to see him." Amy agreed. Pond and Khan trailed behind her, Yaz kneeling to get a better look at the tool tray. "He came stumbling out of the TARDIS, clutching his middle like he'd eaten one too many sweets. Then he collapsed in this light, and when it was gone, so was he. He was small."
"Doctor, I think he was working on fixing something. Look here." Yaz moved over to make room for her friend. "Where does this hatch lead to?"
"It's one of the coils that leads to the engines." The Doctor explained, trying to pull it open. "They convert time matter into energy for the TARDIS to travel on. Could be that there was a flare, and we were caught up in it."
"So, how do we turn him back?" Amy asked anxiously.
"Oh, that's the easy bit. We just stick him in another flare." She grabbed a hammer from the tray. "Once I get this panel open, we start her up, dunk him in like biscuits and tea, and there you have it!"
"You want to dunk your head- HIS head, into time? Sorry but do you hear yourself right now?" Amy demanded.
"It'll be fine; we just need one good flare to turn him back to normal." The doctor rose and went to the console, lovingly stroking it. "Hello, you gorgeous thing."
"Would you like us to give you some privacy? Maybe if you make another wish-" Amy began before the Doctor shushed her
"A wish? What kind of wish?" Yaz glanced at the blushing timelord and back to Amy.
"Oh, so she doesn't know about you and sexy…" Amy's sing-song tone was cut off by the Time Lord's hand slapping over her mouth.
"Have I taken you to Acadiana yet?" The doctor asked Yaz, still keeping her former companion quiet. "They hold a festival during a meteor shower with millions of shooting stars, and if you time your wish just right, it comes true! We'll have to go when we're done here, eh? Now if I can just- did you just lick me?!" She yanked her hand back while Amy made a face.
"You bit me; I licked you. We're even Raggedy man."
"I only bit you once to save your life! That's a perfectly acceptable situation to bite someone in"
"Guys, about the flare?" Yaz cut in before their squabbling could go on. " How do we know which flare to stick him in?"
Still glowering, The Doctor turned her attention back to the console, pulling a screen down for them to take a look. "The TARDIS already scans for flares in the time stream. That's how we know when there's an anomaly or storm brewing. So it must have recorded the flare that turned past me small."
She pulled a lever, tapped something out on a keyboard, and pushed four colorful buttons. "I can use the scanner to search for a similar anomaly, and then we'll dip him in through the coil."
"And he'll be himself again? Right size, right everything?" Amy tried to peer over her shoulder to see what the Doctor was up to.
"Yeah, probably. "
"Probably?" The companions asked together. Still typing and button pushing, The Doctor shrugged.
"If it doesn't work the first time, there's bound to be another flare-up in a few days." She brightened. "Ooh! Or we can go to Dachuna! They've got a fountain of youth, a fountain of wisdom, and the best dachshund circus
In this galaxy!"
"But if he gets any younger-" Yaz began.
"Dachuna has age stabilizers for that exact issue, in case someone takes one too many dips in the fountain of youth. But they're very tight-lipped about it to most outsiders. It'll be easier to find a flare anomaly." Fingers flying over the console, she frowned at her screen. "I think."
"Doctor, I can't just have a baby timelord running around the flat. I don't know the first thing about-"
Amy tried, but the Doctor shushed her, head cocked and listening.
"Sounds like a leak somewhere. Bet you anything, that's how I came into contact with the flare." Her eyes landed on the partially opened panel. "Trying to fix it."
"So we change you- him, back. And everything's good?" Yaz prodded.
Picking up the tools, The Doctor began to remove the rest of the paneling. "He'll still have the time leak to deal with, but usually, we just need to turn the spanner left instead of right. We'll be fine."
"Don't you think you ought to be careful? It already turned one of you into a kid-" Amy cautioned, even while The Doctor continued to unscrew things
"I didn't know what I was doing then. Now I do!" With a groan, the panel peeled back. "I stop the leak, track the flare, dip me in, and we're back in bus"- A loud groan sounded from somewhere deep in the TARDIS. Pure light shot out from the newly opened hatch like lightning. It crackled through the air and hit the Doctor square in the chest. Smoke poured from the console.
"Doctor!" Coughing, Yaz tried to fan away the worst of the smoke while Amy fumbled her way to the door to let the rest out. "Doctor! Can you hear me?!"
"Can you see her? Bloody smoke, burning my eyes-" Amy coughed.
"Ooooh, you're getting a time-out!" A little voice crowed. The smoke began to clear, revealing a little blonde preschool-aged girl giggling into her sleeve-covered hands. Her striped shirt and overcoat hung like a dress, and her pants puddled onto the floor, burying her feet. "You said a naughty word!"
Amy blinked. "I've got worse ones."
"I can think of a few for you," Yaz said.