AUTHOR'S NOTE

This one-shot story is based on the 'Tales Of The TARDIS' series on BBC iPlayer, in which past Doctors and companions meet up onboard a 'Memory TARDIS' to discuss old adventures.

I had this idea for a while of doing a story for the 60th Anniversary, in which Ian Chesterton met the Curator from 'The Day Of The Doctor', but before now, I could not work out an interesting enough reason for them to meet. However, when I heard about 'Tales Of The TARDIS', I realised that I could use the same plot device in that series for my own story idea.

This story features flashback scenes from the very first 'Doctor Who' episode, 'An Unearthly Child', by Anthony Coburn. No copyright infringement is intended in the use of those scenes.

November the twenty-third.

To most members of the human race, it is a wholly insignificant date. Indeed, historically speaking, it is the day before, November the twenty-second, that tends to be remembered, as the day that John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963. For most people of the world in that year, the twenty-third of November in that year was a day of great mourning, but otherwise quite uneventful.

For Ian Chesterton, however, it was a very significant date. For it was on the 23rd November 1963 that he and Barbara Wright had first encountered that mysterious traveller in time and space known only as the Doctor, and it was on that day that Ian and Barbara found themselves whisked off in the time-space machine called the TARDIS. For two years, the pair of Coal Hill School teachers had found themselves exploring strange alien worlds, as well as major historical events in their planet Earth's history, both in the past and the future. The adventures were many, but eventually though, Ian and Barbara were able to find a way to return to their own time and place, admittedly two years later than when they left, and were able to resume their normal lives together. They never regretted their decision to return home, but they would always treasure the memories of their travels with the Doctor.

That was a long time ago. Now, sixty years later, Ian had found himself back where it had all started. Earlier that day, he had been attending what has now become a regular meeting of some of the many people who had, at some point in their lives, travelled with the Doctor. Due to coming down with a particularly annoying cold, Barbara had been unable to come to the latest meeting, but she encouraged Ian to go without her and to pass on her regards.

Ian did enjoy those meetings, as it gave him a chance to talk about some of the many wonders he and Barbara had seen without the risk of someone thinking that they are both completely mad. There were similar feelings from the other members of the support group, with whom Ian became good friends, such as Polly Wright, John Benton, Jo Jones, Tegan Jovanka, Graham O'Brian and so many others. That day though, Ian left slightly early, explaining that there was a place he wanted to stop by on the way home.

The junkyard at 76 Totter's Lane. This was the place where it had all started. It had changed a fair bit over the last six decades, but the old gates were still there, with the name 'I. M. FOREMAN - Scrap Merchant' written in big white letters across them. Ian smiled to himself as he stood in front of the gates, a strange sense of nostalgia in his mind. He had passed this place occasionally over the years, much to the puzzlement of the people who lived and worked in the area. Ian did not really venture into the scrapyard itself. It was simply enough for him to stand in front of those gates and content himself with the knowledge that this rather special junkyard was, at least for the present, still there in some form, however unimportant the place may be now. Besides, it would not be the same anyway, without a blue Police Box parked in one corner of the yard.

Ian was about to turn around and continue his walk back home, when something quite bizarre happened. The air around him shimmered, there was a flash of light, and suddenly, he found himself standing in a small circular room, filled with all sorts of electronic clutter, such as some old television sets, and a number of differently designed control panels sticking out of various points of the curved wall. In the centre of the room were a couple of comfy chairs placed on either side of some kind of lit-up crystal-like structure on the floor, like a quasi-fireplace, while on the ceiling above was an upside-down version of a control console that looked very familiar to Ian.

"Where on earth...?" he managed to say in surprise. "Is this the TARDIS?"

"In a manner of speaking," came a deep, friendly voice from behind.

A little startled, Ian turned around and found himself facing an elderly gentleman, who beamed with a wide toothy grin as he balanced himself with a walking cane in his hand. He had baggy cheeks, a hooked nose, light blue eyes, and short white hair, and was attired in a olive green herringbone-tweed blazer, a beige and maroon tattersall shirt, mahogany-brown trousers and caramel brown slip-on shoes with ivory socks.

"Uh, good afternoon," said Ian slowly, as he took in the appearance of this seemingly unthreatening figure. "And you are...?"

"Oh, just a humble Curator," said the man with a dramatic wave of his hand. "And you are Mr Ian Chesterton. Welcome, welcome! Please do sit down, kind sir. You must have a lot of questions."

Keeping his guard up, Ian slowly sat down in one chair, whilst the man who called himself the Curator sat in the other. Ian peered closely at the Curator. There was something strangely familiar about that child-like, yet wise, twinkle in the man's eyes.

"You have me at a disadvantage," said Ian slowly. "You know who I am, yet I'm sure we've never met."

"Oh, but we have Mr Chesterton, in another life," said the Curator mysteriously. "And you and I have a mutual acquaintance."

"The Doctor," said Ian almost triumphantly. "I thought he must be involved somehow. And this is supposed to be the TARDIS? It's rather smaller and more cluttered than I remember."

"Ah, well that's because this is not quite the TARDIS you're probably familiar with," said the Curator. "This is a Memory TARDIS, a sort of monument to the Doctor's many travels. Here, some of the Doctor's past incarnations, and many of his friends, are summoned from various timelines, just as you and I have been, to reminisce about old times and to tell stories."

"What kind of stories?" asked Ian.

"About the many wonders and terrors we have all seen during our respective adventures in Time and Space. This TARDIS thrives on stories, and in return, it gives the storytellers an opportunity to look back on those old glory days, as well as a chance to catch up with old friends and perhaps deal with some loose ends along the way."

"So this place is a sort of den for the Doctor and his friends, eh?" remarked Ian wonderingly.

"Exactly!" grinned the Curator. "A place of nostalgia, and after all, who doesn't love listening to a good story?"

"Well, if it's stories this place wants, I've certainly quite a few to tell. But I will be able to return all right? To my own time, I mean? I don't want to keep my wife waiting you know."

"Oh, fear not, my dear Chesterton," smiled the Curator reassuringly. "Time is relative you know. When our stories are finished, you and I shall be returned to our own time and place. I, myself, have a museum to run, you know. But rest assure, like all others who come here, we can leave and return to this old TARDIS whenever we choose."

"That's a relief," smiled Ian, who did feel somehow that he was in no danger and that he could trust this strange man. "You know, it's funny that this place called me here at this time. I was feeling a bit nostalgic today. Do you know that for Barbara and me, it is exactly sixty years since we first met the Doctor?"

"Ah yes, and I suspect that is the story this old TARDIS wants to hear today," said the Curator. "To hear, from your perspective, how the Doctor's travels truly began all that time ago."

Ian looked a little surprised. "But... Surely it actually started when the Doctor and Susan first left their own world, long before Barbara and I met them."

"Well, technically yes, but we try not to talk about that part too much," said the Curator. "The timelines have gotten rather muddled around certain details regarding that point in the saga, and many still like to argue about the true nature of the Doctor's origins on old Gallifrey. Most say he was just a humble member of the Prydonian Chapter, while others try to say he was something more. A reincarnation of the legendary Other, a Timeless Child from another universe, or a half-human Time Lord. People tend to get a headache trying to separate truth from myth and legend."

He picked up a tin box full of sweets and held it out to Ian. "And besides, it was his first meeting with you and the charming Miss Wright that set him on the path of fighting the evils of the universe. Now, please, help yourself to a jelly baby, and tell your tale."

Helping himself to a jelly baby from the tin, Ian pondered for a moment. "Well, where do I begin? I suppose it all started with Susan Foreman, who had been at Coal Hill School for just five months. During that time, it had become clear that she was no ordinary teenage schoolgirl, as she displayed knowledge of history and science that surpassed her fellow students, and even us teachers. Yet she also seemed strangely unfamiliar with aspects of present-day culture. For example, Barbara told me that Susan mistakenly believed that the UK used a decimal currency, only to then realise that the decimal system hadn't started yet."

"Ah, yes, now that was a bit of a slip-up," commented the Curator. "Mentioning a monetary systems that would not really begin till 1971."

"Yes, quite," said Ian. "Anyway, things finally came to a head the day after Kennedy was assassinated. It's strange, but despite what had happened in America, life just went on as usual. The school day was drawing to a close, and most of the teachers and students were going about their business as though nothing had happened. I had just finished clearing up some equipment used for some chemistry experiments earlier in the afternoon, and was writing up some notes, when Barbara came in..."

"Not gone yet?" asked Ian, as Barbara Wright came into the lab through the door and closed it behind her.

"Obviously not," grumbled the History teacher.

"Ask a silly question," chuckled Ian, who was well used to Barbara's sharp tongue whenever she was worried about something.

Realising she was being rude, Barbara gave Ian an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry."

Ian returned the smile. "It's all right. I forgive you this time."

Barbara gave a weary sigh. "Oh, I've had a terrible day. I don't know what to make of it."

"What's the trouble? Can I help?" asked Ian, as he continued with his writing.

"Oh, it's one of the girls. Susan Foreman."

This immediately caught Ian's interest. "Susan Foreman! Oh, she your problem too?"

"Yes?"

"And you don't know what to make of her?"

"No."

Ian smiled, glad that he was not the only one who was mystified by this particular student at the school. "How old is she, Barbara?"

Barbara shrugged. "Fifteen."

Ian shook his head in wonder. "Fifteen... She lets her knowledge out a bit at a time so as not to embarrass me. That's what I feel about her. She knows more science than I'll ever know. She's a genius. Is that what she's doing with history?"

"Something like that," admitted Barbara with a sheepish grin.

"So your problem is whether to stay in business or hand over the class to her?"

"No, not quite."

Ian chuckled. "What then?"

Barbara's tone turned somewhat more serious. "Ian, I must talk to someone about this, but I don't want to get the girl into trouble. And I know you're going to tell me I'm imagining things."

"No, I'm not," replied Ian assuringly.

Barbara leaned over, almost conspiratorially, and continued: "Well, I told you how good she is at History. I had a talk with her and I told her she ought to specialise. Well, she seemed quite interested, 'til I said I'd be willing to work with her at her home. Then she said that would be absolutely impossible as her grandfather didn't like strangers."

That did sound odd to Ian. "He's a doctor, isn't he? That's a bit of a lame excuse."

Barbara nodded in agreement. "Well, I didn't pursue the point, but then recently her homework's been so bad."

"Yes, I know," said Ian, as he finished his notes, crossed to a basin and began to wash his hands.

"Finally, I was so irritated with all her excuses, I decided to have a talk with this grandfather of her and tell him to take some interest in her," said Barbara.

"Oh, did you indeed? And what's the old boy like?"

"That's just it," said Barbara in bafflement. "I got her address from the secretary: 76 Totter's Lane, and I went along there one evening... Oh Ian, do pay attention!"

"Sorry," said Ian apologetically, as he finished washing and drying his hands, and gave Barbara his full attention. "You went along there one evening?"

"Well, there isn't anything there," said Barbara, coming straight to the point. "It's just an old junkyard."

"You must have gone to the wrong place," suggested Ian pragmatically.

"Well, that was the address the secretary gave me," countered Barbara.

"Well, the secretary got it wrong then."

"No!" said Barbara firmly. "I checked. There's a big wall on one side, houses on the other, and nothing in the middle! And this nothing in the middle is number 76 Totter's Lane!"

Now Ian really was puzzled. "Hm. That's a bit of a mystery. Well, there must be a simple answer somewhere."

"Well what?"

Ian grinned. "Well, we'll have to find out for ourselves, won't we?"

Barbara smiled back gratefully. "That you for the 'we'. She's waiting in one of the classrooms, I'm lending her a book on the French Revolution."

"What's she going to do? Rewrite it?" joked Ian, to which Barbara gave him a sour look. "All right. What do we do, ask her point-blank?"

"No. I thought we could drive there, wait 'til she arrives and see where she goes," suggested Barbara, as Ian put on his coat and they both headed for the door.

Ian nodded. "Oh, all right."

"Well, that is if you're not doing anything."

"No, I'm not," said Ian reassuringly, as they both headed out of the science lab.

The Curator gave a small chuckle. "Bit of a naughty thing you both did there, wasn't it? Spying on a young schoolgirl at night? You're lucky a policeman didn't catch you."

Ian gave a sheepish shrug. "Perhaps it might have been better for us if one had. I suppose following Susan like that was a little unethical. I remember saying at the time that the honest truth was that Barbara and I were both curious about Susan, and wouldn't be satisfied until we knew some of the answers. Ha, little did we realise just how fantastic those answers would turn out to be, and what an impact they would have on our lives."

"Indeed so," agreed the Curator, as he munched on another jelly baby. "So, you waited outside the junkyard at 76 Totter's Lane for the mysterious Susan to make an appearance."

Ian nodded. "Yes, it was a particularly dark night as I recall. Luckily there was no fog, so we were able to find the place all right. So, we waited in the car, until Susan appeared, pushed open the gates and walked into the yard. After waiting a minute or two, we got out and followed her. But when we entered the yard, we were surprised to find there was no sign of her. There was no way she could have gotten out without us seeing her, yet she seemed to have vanished like a ghost. Even stranger was the object we found in the yard..."

"Ian, look at this," said Barbara, gesturing at a large blue cuboid-shaped object sitting in one corner of the cluttered yard. Ian came over to join her and was a little surprised when he saw what the object was.

"Well! It's a Police Box. What on earth's it doing here? These thing's are usually on the street..."

As he was speaking, Ian had pressed his palm on the side of the box and was somewhat startled as he felt some vibration coming from the box, accompanied by a faint hum. He turned to Barbara in shock.

"Feel it. Feel it!"

Barbara pressed her own hand against the box, and her own brow furrowed as she felt the same thing that Ian felt.

"It's a faint vibration," she said out-loud, utterly baffled.

Ian stepped back from the Police Box in some alarm. "It's alive!"

He quickly walked around the box, checking for any electric cables connected to it. But even in the dark gloom, he could see there were none.

"It's not connected to anything," he said at last. "Unless it's through the floor."

Barbara was beginning to get scared at this point. "Look, I've had enough. Let's go and find a policeman."

Ian agreed, but before they could leave the yard, there came the sound of coughing from outside, indicating that someone else was about to enter the junkyard. Quickly and quietly, the two schoolteachers hid behind a pile of old furniture and kept themselves out of sight, as the figure of an old man walked in, coughing into a handkerchief. He had flowing white hair and was unusually dressed in an Edwardian-style outfit, along with a long dark cloak, a scarf wrapped on his shoulders and a black Astrakhan hat on his head, all to protect him from the cold of the November chill.

Ian and Barbara did not know it at the time, but this man was Susan's grandfather, the Doctor. The man who was about to change their lives forever.

Unaware that he was being spied on, the Doctor calmly crossed over to the Police Box, and fished out a key from his pocket. He was just in the process of inserting the key into the lock of the door of the box, when a voice came from inside.

"There you are, Grandfather."

Barbara recognised the voice and could not help but exclaim: "It's Susan!"

Ian urgently went "Ssh!" at her, but it was too late. The Doctor had heard them and whirled around to face the spot where they here hiding. Like a naughty schoolboy who had just been found out, Ian guiltily emerged and came over to the Doctor, who regarded him with mild surprise and just a little annoyance.

"Excuse me," Ian awkwardly greeted the old man.

"What are you doing here?" asked the Doctor with a pleasant smile, but a slightly suspicious look in his eyes.

"We're looking for a girl," Ian began to explain.

"We?"

At this point, Barbara also came out of the shadows. "Good evening."

"What do you want?" pressed on the Doctor, his eyes blazing with a fierce intelligence.

"One of our pupils, Susan Foreman, came into this yard," said Ian, trying to justify their reason for coming to Totter's Lane.

"Really? In here? Are you sure?" asked the Doctor innocently.

Barbara nodded. "Yes, we saw her from across the street."

The Doctor considered this and quietly muttered to himself, "One of their pupils... Not the police then."

"I beg you pardon?" asked Ian in puzzlement as he just managed to hear those muttered words.

The Doctor turned back to Ian, and despite the pleasant expression on his face, there was some steel in his voice. "Why were you spying on her? Who are you?"

A little defensively, Ian replied, "We heard a young girl's voice call out to you."

"Your hearing must be very acute," chuckled the old man. "I didn't hear anything."

Barbara gestured to the Police Box. "It came from in here."

"You imagined it," said the Doctor a little sharply.

"I certainly did not imagine it," said Barbara crossly, somewhat annoyed by the man's attitude.

Changing tactics, the Doctor took Ian by the arm and led him away from the Police Box. "Young man, is it reasonable to suppose that anybody would be inside a cupboard like that? Hmm?"

Ian regarded the Doctor with some distrust. "Would it therefore be unreasonable to ask you to let us have a look inside?"

But instead of answering Ian's question, the Doctor's eye had caught an old picture frame sitting against one of the junk piles. Crossing over to the frame, he picked it up and began to check it over.

"I wonder why I've never seen that before," he said to himself. "Now isn't that strange... Very damp... and dirty. It'll have to be cleaned."

Persistently, Barbara tried to get this strange man to pay attention to her and Ian. "Won't you help us? We're two of her teachers from the Coal Hill School. We saw her come in and we haven't seen her leave. Naturally, we're worried."

But the Doctor just shrugged casually as he put the picture frame down. "Hm? Oh, I'm afraid it's none of my business. I suggest you leave here."

Ian was baffled by the old man's behaviour. "Not until we're satisfied that Susan isn't here. And frankly, I don't understand your attitude."

"Yours leaves a lot to be desired," retorted the Doctor smugly.

"Will you open the door?" insisted Ian.

"There's nothing in there."

"Then what are you afraid to show us?"

The Doctor seemed amused by this remark. "Afraid? Oh, go away!"

By Ian had convinced himself that there was some nefarious wrongdoing at work, and he turned back to Barbara. "I think we'd better go and fetch a policeman."

The old man seemed pleased to hear this. "Very well."

"And you're coming with us," Ian added, glowering at the Doctor.

"Oh, am I?" laughed the Doctor. "I don't think so, young man. No, I don't think so."

Again, he turned dismissively on the two teachers, and crossing over to another pile of junk, he began to examine a small jug. As Ian and Barbara turned to each other, the Doctor quietly listened in on their conversation, all while maintaining the pretence of disinterest.

"We can't force him," Barbara pointed out.

"But we can't leave him here. Doesn't it seem obvious to you that he's got her locked up in there?" argued Ian, turning his attention back to the Police Box. "Look at it. There's no door handle. Must be a secret lock somewhere."

Barbara agreed. "That was Susan's voice..."

"O course it was," said Ian, before turning to face the door of the box. "Susan! Susan! Are you in there? It's Mr Chesterton and Miss Wright, Susan."

With an amused expression, the Doctor spoke up. "Don't you think you're being rather highhanded, young man? You thought you saw a young girl enter the yard. You imagine you heard her voice. You believe she might be in there. It's not very substantial, is it?"

"But why won't you help us?" pleaded Barbara.

"I'm not hindering you. If you both want to make fools of yourselves, I suggest you do what you said you'd do. Go and find a policeman."

"While you nip quietly in the other direction," said Ian dryly.

"Insulting," said the Doctor in annoyance. "There's only one way in and out of this yard. I shall be here when you get back. I want to see your faces when you try to explain away your behaviour to a policeman."

"Nevertheless, we're going to find one," said Ian with steely resolve. "Come on, Barbara."

But before either teacher could make a move to leave, a impatient voice choose that unfortunate moment to call, "What are you doing out there?"

"She is in there!" cried Ian triumphantly.

Hurriedly, the Doctor rushed forward and cried "Close the door!" But Ian grabbed him, and Barbara dashed into the Police Box... and her eyes widened in disbelief as she found herself within a world of total impossibility.

"Even after all these years, I have never forgotten the sheer shock of seeing that control room for the first time," mused Ian, as the Curator listened on. "Such a huge room, inside such a small box. I can still picture it in my mind's eye. The brightly-lit white room, with those roundels on the walls, the large computer bank taking up a major part of the 'back' wall, and the console in the centre, with all its complex switches and dials. There was also things like an old-fashioned chair, an antique clock, and some statues and columns, along with various other forms of furniture from different periods in history."

"A few personal items to make the place more homely," remarked the Curator. "The Doctor was quite a collector, wasn't he?"

"Yes, he always did have an insatiable curiosity, which did tend to get us all into all sorts of trouble," said Ian with a small smile. "And I suppose it rubbed off a bit on the rest of us over time. Anyway, back to the story. There were Barbara and I, trying to take in this impossibility, while the Doctor came in after us and addressed Susan, who was standing by the console, regarding us with understandable surprise..."

"Close the doors, Susan," instructed the Doctor.

Susan did as she was told and flicked a switch on the console, which made the large double doors of the entrance close behind them.

"I believe these people are known to you?" said the Doctor to Susan, with a waving gesture to Ian and Barbara.

They're two of my schoolteachers," said Susan, looking at them both in bewilderment. "What are you doing here?"

"Where are we?" Barbara managed to say, as she and Ian tried to comprehend the large room they were now in.

The Doctor sighed and crossed over to Susan. "They must have followed you. That ridiculous school! I knew something like this would happen if we stayed in one place too long."

Susan was still trying to understand this turn of events. "Why should they follow me?"

Pulling herself together, Barbara spoke up. "Is this really where you live, Susan?"

"Yes," answered Susan.

"And what's wrong with it?" the Doctor added challengingly.

Ian's eyes were still wide and darting back and forth. "But it was just a telephone box!"

"Perhaps,' said the Doctor.

Barbara turned her attention to the Doctor. "And this is your grandfather?"

"Yes," confirmed Susan.

"Well, why didn't you tell us that?"

"I don't discuss my private life with strangers," said the Doctor simply.

Ian was still in a state of shock. "But it was a police telephone box! I walked all round it! Barbara, you saw me..."

But the Doctor just ignored the two teachers and walked over to his antique clock, which was sitting on a pedestal. "You don't deserve any explanations. You pushed your way in here, uninvited and unwelcome."

Fearfully, Barbara turned to Ian. "I think we ought to leave."

But Ian was determined to get some answers, and he strode over to the Doctor. "No, just a minute. I know this is absurd, but... I walked all round it..."

But the Doctor was not listening, as he was too busy making a fuss of his clock. "Dear, dear, dear, dear. This is very unreliable. It's stopped again, you know, and I've tried..." He then noticed Ian looking almost desperately at him for an explanation. "Hm? Oh, you wouldn't understand."

"But I want to understand!" Ian almost bellowed.

"Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes," said the Doctor dismissively, as he took off his cloak and scarf, and absently placed them on one of the chairs. "Oh! By the way, Susan, I managed to find a replacement for that faulty filament. Bit of an amateur job, but it'll serve."

Crossing over to the console, the Doctor extracted a small object from his pocket and proceeded to insert it into the controls, while the two unwelcome visitors continued gaping at their surroundings.

"It's an illusion, it must be!" insisted Ian in incomprehension.

"What is he talking about now?" asked the Doctor, as he concentrated on his work with the console.

Susan turned to her two teachers questioningly, still feeling somewhat alarmed by their intrusion. "What are you doing here?"

As he finished putting the component in place, the Doctor straightened up and finally addressed Ian's questions. "You don't understand, so you find excuses. Illusions indeed! You say you can't fit an enormous building into one of your smaller sitting rooms."

"No," answered Ian calmly.

"But you've discovered television, haven't you?"

"Yes."

"Then by showing an enormous building on your television screen, you can do what seemed impossible, couldn't you?" said the Doctor, as though this explained everything.

But this only left Ian more confused. "Well yes, but I still don't..."

The Doctor gave another amused chuckle. "No. Not quite clear is it? I can see by your face that you're not certain. You don't understand. And I knew you wouldn't! Never mind."

He returned to his work on the console. "Now then, which switch was it? No, no, no... Ah yes, this is it!"

He flicked the relevant switch, and after satisfying himself that all the controls were working satisfactorily, he turned his attention back to Ian and Barbara, his tone turning somewhat more serious.

"The point is not whether you understand... What is going to happen to you? Hm?" He turned to Susan. "They'll tell everybody about the Ship now."

"Ship?" echoed Ian almost in a whisper.

"Yes, yes, Ship. This doesn't roll along on wheels, you know," said the Doctor.

"You mean... it moves?" asked Barbara.

"The TARDIS can go anywhere," said Susan.

"TARDIS? I don't understand you, Susan."

"Well, I made up the name 'TARDIS' from the initials," explained Susan. "Time And Relative Dimension In Space. I thought you'd both understand when you saw the different dimensions inside from those outside."

"Let me get this straight," said Ian, trying to comprehend what Susan and her Grandfather were saying. "A thing that looks like a Police Box standing in a junkyard... It can move anywhere in Time and Space?"

"Yes," said Susan.

"Quite so," added the Doctor.

Ian could not believe his ears, anymore than he could believe his own eyes. "But that's ridiculous!"

A little hurt by Ian's denial, Susan turned to her Grandfather. "Why won't they believe us?"

"Well, how can we?" said Barbara pragmatically.

The Doctor put a reassuring hand on Susan's shoulder. "Now, now, don't get exasperated, Susan. Remember the Red Indian. When he saw the first steam train, his savage mind thought it an illusion too."

"You're treating us like children," said Ian accusingly, his confusion and disbelief changing to annoyance and anger.

"Am I?" said the Doctor. "The children of my civilisation would be insulted."

"Your civilisation...?" spluttered Ian.

The Doctor nodded, an almost distant look forming in his eyes as he spoke. "Yes, my civilisation. I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it. Have you ever thought what it is like to be wanderers in the fourth dimension, have you? To be exiles... Susan and I are cut off from our own planet, without friends or protection. But one day, we shall get back. Yes, one day..."

"Of course, Barbara and I stubbornly refused to believe a word of it," said Ian. "I think I can skim a little over the remainder of that first episode. The Doctor stated that if he let Barbara and I go, then he and Susan would have to leave Earth, as he was convinced we would tell people about his time-space ship. In response, Susan impulsively threatened to leave the TARDIS and stay on 20th Century Earth, prompting the Doctor to dematerialise the ship while we were all still onboard. Barbara and I both fell off our feet and lost consciousness for a bit, and by the time we woke up, we were astounded to find ourselves in the Earth's past, right in the middle of the Stone Age."

"That must have been quite a shock," said the Curator sympathetically. "I imagine you must have found those early adventures rather on the rough side."

Ian chuckled. "Yes, first the ordeal with the Tribe of Gum, then our clash with the Daleks on Skaro, followed soon after by the ship spinning out of control right back to the big bang. But you know, those events really shaped our characters, for the better I believe. We had started off as a mismatched group of people forced together, but eventually became friends who could trust one another. The Doctor in particular mellowed considerably from the crotchety, even selfish, old man we had first met at Totter's Lane."

"Largely due to your influence, Mr Chesterton," said the Curator. "In fact, during that adventure with the cavemen, I gather you prevented him from making a terrible mistake."

"You mean when I caught him advancing on the injured Za with a stone in his hand?" said Ian. "Yes, when I stopped him, the Doctor said that he was simply going to get Za to try and draw a map in the ground that could show us back to the ship. I let the matter drop, but I was still convinced that he was going to bash Za's head in, rather than let the caveman slow us down and risk all our lives. Mind you, considering that Za later held us all prisoner to make fire for his tribe, I sometimes wondered if I should have not interfered and let the Doctor do it."

"Oh no, yours was the right decision, Mr Chesterton," assured the Curator firmly. "You had helped the Doctor come to realise that the ends never justify the means. And when you arrived on Skaro, that particular adventure made such a strong impression on the Doctor, as he was so appalled and disgusted by the evil and callousness of the Daleks, that he made it his mission in life to combat threats similar to them. But that might never had happened, if you and Miss Wright had never gone to Totter's Lane. The two of you effectively shaped the destiny of the universe."

"Perhaps," said Ian modestly. "You know, I often wonder how the old boy is these days. I've met some of the friends he made and travelled with since Barbara and I returned home, and I learnt some more about him, how he could change his appearance, even becoming a woman once or twice I gather! And I've heard about all those other worlds he's visited, as well as all the monsters he's fought. He never seems to stop."

"Ah, but everything has to come to an end eventually," said the Curator. "Even the Doctor's travels. Perhaps at the end, he will retire himself, and settle down. Perhaps he will take up a modest profession, such as becoming a bookkeeper, or an artist..."

"Or the curator of a museum?" smiled Ian, certain now that he knew the true identity of the mysterious man he had been chatting to for the last hour.

"Oh, who knows?" said the Curator enigmatically, tapping the side of his nose with his finger as he got to his feet. "Who knows? But now, sir, it is time, I think, for you and I to return to our respective places in time and space."

The Curator crossed over to one of the control panels set in the wall, and took hold of one of the levers, ready to set the Memory TARDIS in motion. "How about it, eh? One last trip for old times sake?"

Ian chuckled. "Why not?"

The Curator beamed. "Then off we go."

The old man pulled the switch, and the Memory TARDIS dematerialised, carrying its two passengers through the wonders of the Time Vortex and back to where they had been picked up. For the Curator, that was the Under Gallery, while for Ian Chesterton, it was 76 Totter's Lane, where the adventure of a lifetime had first begun...