Tales Of The Tardis – A Foardman Reunion
One blink, two blinks, perhaps even a million blinks. The young old time lady truly didn't know how many times her flickering pupils took her before she came to understand where on earth she was.
A small but (more than probable) ginormous inner console room which beheld her. Susan breathed in an cold eternal gasp while reviewed her surroundings. Instead of the default console room her grandfather opted for during her travers. This Tardis interior was quite different compared to her Grandfather's original tastes.
Back in her days. At least with the first incarnation of her Grandfather. The man seemed to be more than happy with the white circled wallpaper and silver floored techno 1950's design. For personal touches he simply had a pined polished Victorian chair and a bistro coat stand.
This interior was a far cry out compared to the design she was currently gracing. If anything this console room resembled Christopher robins playroom rather than a typical type 40's. This memory Tardis was a sunny amber and navy blued decor composed a heavy mish and mash of various console room designs. Along with toys, books, cloths, and even video games ranging from 1960 to the 1980's.
She noticed a baseball bat and ball as she passed. A old white flute, a pair of car keys, a umbrella with a red question mark tump and a buzzard designed coat Susan thought was a clown tent for a brief moment.
Despite this series of Time and relative estrangement. Susan found the one piece of reembrace which reaffirmed her she was safe. She was home. The new decor didn't deter her.
The actual white console machine standing gracefully dead middle in the ship. Looking exactly as she remembered it. The beating beautiful coo's emitting from its glass vizor. Still sent down blissful chills down Susan's back.
How could she ever be putt off by her bestest friend in the entire cosmos?
"So, what you think?" A gruffly sly but carefree kind voice preached out from a corner.
Susan could only smile as she bashfully closed her eyes. She should have expected a new voice. She knew he wouldn't be able to maintain a regeneration for long. After all he was on his eight-life by the time he was 850 years old.
Yet she couldn't be anymore happier to hear him.
Turning around. She braced herself to the new incarnation of her grandfather. One far younger compared to the kind cricket player she met in the dead zone or the Mr. Darcy look a like she reunited with on new earth.
"Hello Susan."
Such simple two words somehow both eased and unnerved the unearthly child vigorously stimulatory. Almost as if she wouldn't be able to breath until he commanded her to. His voice was different but his seniority still found a way to dominate her even when it was not even his intention to do so.
This new Doctor. This new grandfather. Was one of the more youthful looking incarnations, He had softer features than his previous incarnation, with green eyes, a big nose, a noticeable scar atop his forehead, and a large chin. had dark brown hair, which was initially long and combed back. This new incarnation as predicted adopted new attire, featuring an eggplant purple cashmere frock coat that reached mid-thigh with a corduroy collar, wearing it with a violet bow tie and braces, dark jeans and a new pair of brown leather boots with a grey waistcoat, complete with a double fob chain with a watch medallion.
"Well?" The new Doctor asked his Granddaughter. Almost imitating a purple mollycoddling poodle begging her owner for a ruffle on the hair. "What of you think of the relaunch look?" He smiled. "Personally not entirely sure if I like it?"
Susan eyed her former guardian with a mischievous twitch "You haven't called?"
The Doctor mumbled delicately "Well, you see em my work schedule was a bit overstuffed."
"Pray tell may I ask?" Susan smirked. "Courting Queen Elezabeth? Going on tour with snoop dog? Or that time a witch hunter tried to drown you?"
"No spoilers Susan. I know you have been reading on me but… You know laws of time and all that cowboy baloney" The Doctor warned "In my defence that last one hasn't happened to me yet."
"Spoilers." Susan joked medley. She didn't know why but somehow that certain word could arguably be their families absolute defined motto. "Spoilers." Susan whispered again.
How could life ever be a spoiler for one like her Grandfather.
"Yes Yes." The Doctor chastised rolling down towards and squalling his hands franticly like a school boy. Excited being allowed to pick a new toy in the toy store in front of his mother. "Still I must ask. Something very seriously of you Susan."
"What is it Grandfather!?" Now concerned. "Is it the Monk? The Zygons…oh god is it the Daleks?"
"None of the above Susan." The Doctor affirmed stoically "What I am going to ask is important. One of the most important things I could ever possibly ask you right now."
"What is it?" Susan gaped.
The Doctor's sternness settled and he beamed a serene smile "Could you give your old gramps a hug?"
In a instant all concern vanished from Susan's light grey detective jacket and she just flown in. Embracing her Grandfather fiercely. Ensnaring his hair and back into her motherly arms. Not bearing to let him go.
She then heard a sniffle. A small sniffle. Upheaving he head she saw the new but familiar eyes in the Doctor. His face pink and his nose slightly drippy. She could have sworn he was trying not to cry. The man faced nightmares and rouges his entire cycle with a brave front but somehow now he seemed so vulnerable. Somone who just needed someone to care.
"Grandfather. What happened?"
He deepen a heavy sigh. She could hear the conjoint moans of the other Doctors follow him in his tiredness.
"I got old Susan."
A Year Later.
The pair were now sitting on sunchairs pawned from the white guardian, drinking earl grey from the UNIT mugs the Doctor's third self-enjoyed in his exile and eating Jelly babies from a Chinese sushi plates.
"So there you have it Suzzie." The Doctor casually finished off. Dipping his jelly baby into some prawn sauce "And there you have it. Me, me and me got the rest of me's to band together and put Galifrey into a pocket dimension. Time Lords turns out are still alive and well and probably still pissed at me and the Time War…."
"Is truly over." Susan emphasized with relief.
"Yep." The Doctor confirmed.
"So Grandfather?" Susan asked "How are we here? I already heard tales about the war back home but they still quite early on my front."
"They would be." The Doctor agreed "For me the war has been over for a jolly good long time but for you in your timeline. The battle is just brewing." The Doctor sipped glumly "It won't be long before you hear Exterminate echo throughout existence."
"Ohh." Susan sadly understood. "Your past my future deal." She concluded.
"Yep." The Doctor agreed. Rounding his arm around to show the memory Tardis interior better the Doctor continued his explanation better "What you are seeing is and isn't the Tardis Susan. Rather you are watching the Tardi's snooze mode."
"Snooze mode?" Susan quizzed.
"Yep. When your sleeping your brain plays tricks on you. Your subconscious is randomly recounting things from when you were seven or even four. Things you haven't thought about the last couple of centuries. Pulling together a story built on fragments from your past. Well my past." The Doctor timidly chuckled motioning the prized possessions his past self's had once used.
"The Tardis like us Time Lords and Time Lady's is capable of telepathy. Recently the old girl has been over dreaming the camp fire trope for me. Me being here in a past face bumping into one of my mates back then and sometimes me just seeing my old gang by themselves. Just chatting away and talking about the old days." The Doctor concluded taking a stronger tea sip.
"I see." Susan omitted understanding. "So I guess its my turn." She motioned.
"Guess so." The Doctor finished his tea. Putting the cup back onto the table. Clapping his hands and pushing them down he grinned "So what do you want to talk about?"
"Eh?" Susan asked blinking a few times.
"Come on. You must have something to say to me. Ace, Tegan, Jo, Jaimie, Vickie, Peri, Clyde all the old gang wanted to say something to me. So what do you want to say to me?" Pushing his finger up with a light bulb clicking into his brain "What about that time we me the Aztecs? Or about that time Ian was framed oh no no what about we all had memory loss? Kinda like now. Come on Susan give me something." He smiled wildly.
Susan kept her eyes down. Looking at the brown spirals rotating in her cup.
"Why did this. 'you' meet with me Grandpa?" She asked.
Abrutly the Doctor's enthusiasm died down. His face down casting immensely. A sallowness darkening his features. "I don't know Susan."
"Come off it Grandfather." Susan chided pushing her cup down forcibly onto the table. Hearing a slight crack screech upon impact "The first rule you ever taught me was never to believe your words. You know why this regeneration wanted to me. Why?"
The Doctor kept his face down. Ashamed to look at his Granddaughter's face.
Susan's exterior gentled as she proded on "Why Grandpa?"
"Susan….I don't….I don't have long yet." The Doctor confessed sorrowfully.
"What do you mean?"
"Susan I'm done." The Doctor bubbled out warily. "I don't have any more regenerations to fall back on. The Doctor, the grandfather your are currently meeting right now and right in this moment. Your right I did lie again. I pretended to bear the title of the eleventh one but really…" The Doctor faced her gentle pupils "I am really number thirteen."
Susan's tea cup swiped down from the table. Slowly falling downwards before finally smashing onto the floor. A million lifetimes and stories flaking away in the dust.
Susan's hand covered her mouth. The fear and anxiety taker over her. "Oh my god." She cried out with hot tears forming in her eyes "Oh my god. You don't have any more left do you? You ran out? You have nothing to fall back onto your going to."
"Die." The Doctor stopped her. Getting up and walking to a shelve. "I think that's why the Tardis paired us together Suzie." He turned swiftly to face her "She wanted me to say goodbye to you. Before it's…"
"Don't say that!" Susan demanded strolling up to him fiercely "You don't get to say it's over. You have no right to say it's over ever. Your my grandfather." She teared out. "You always figure a way out of this! You always find a way to fix everything."
The Doctor felt a small tear trek down his cheek "But I don't fix anything do I? If I did Alex and Lucie would still be here. You would still have your son with you? My Great Grandson wouldn't have died because of me."
"Alex." Susan squinted her eyes remembering her beautiful boy. Her wonderful good boy before the Dalek Time Controller stole him from her. "What I said to you that day. I was angry. I was grieving. I shouldn't have lashed out on you. I."
"You had every right Susan." The Doctor stopped her. "Near the end of my life. I start to analysis so much. So much more. I bring death with me Susan. I bring change. When people stay too long with me. Truly stay long enough with me. They soon are cursed with my sorrow."
"That's why I left you with David. I didn't want your life to ruined. I didn't want you to become like me. I wanted you to be people's impression of me. Wonderful, amazing and just fantastic." The Doctor answered taking her cheek into his hand.
"Susan. I owe so much to you. Back when I was young and grumpy. I tried to make you more timelord but you did something far greater for me. You made me more human. You made me understand the value in not being alone. Not being closed off. Taking you to that school. Was the best thing I ever did."
"My Granddaughter made the Doctor."
"Oh Grandfather." Susan gasped taking his check. The two forever relatives eyeing each other. Just listing to the rhythm of the cloister bells.
"Now as your grandfather I have one last wish." The Doctor used his free hand to take out a old 1960's radio. Susan's gaped from the item. The aerial instrument before her. She owned that device once upon a time. She played the radio none stop back in her days at Coal Hill School.
"Would you do me the honour of giving your gramps one last dance?" He asked.
Susan smiled taking the stereo. Turning a switch for the Beatles nowhere man tune vibrating off its speakers. "I would be honoured."
Placing the radio down on the shelf. The grandfather and his little time lady where hand in hand dance the night away to vast songs from the 1960's. They danced to every tune until the pair would awaken from this wonderful dream.
Before then though the Doctor still wished to chat with his Granddaughter.
"let me tell you about the Ponds Susan."
THE END
