"Wow! I've never seen a ride like this," Susan said, a look of awe on her face as her gaze swept around the TARDIS console room. "Is it new?"

"Well, yes, you could say that," the Doctor replied with an enigmatic smile. "But only a limited run. You see, we're not sure how it will stand up against some of the most popular rides."

"Are you kidding? This thing is unreal!" a young man named Josh exclaimed, eyes boggling. "Looks like a small closet on the outside, but huge on the inside!"

"Yeah, I bet there's all kinds of cool secret passages in here," Chad agreed.

The Doctor shifted uncomfortably. "Erm, well … I'll pass along that idea to the developers." He set to work manipulating the TARDIS controls and she was soon in flight.

Several seconds later, the familiar sounds of dematerialization filled the room.

"Ah! There we are," he announced with a smile after checking the scanner. "Well, this concludes the ride experience."

The group leveled a series of 'boo's in protest as he opened the doors, directing them all outside back to the fairgrounds.

"Come on. Time for you all to get back home."

Josh's face contorted in confusion. "'Back home'?"

"Yes, yes, we're very pleased you enjoyed the ride," the Doctor said hastily as he shooed them out of the TARDIS. Firmly shutting the doors behind them, he puffed out his cheeks in a sigh of relief.

Duggan stood in the middle of the room, appearing lost. "I'm still trying to find my way 'round here," he mused. "You just dropped that lot right back on the grounds? After they were left in the tender mercy of those scoundrels? Surely they're going to have quite a bit of trauma to work through, not to mention lots of unanswered questions—"

The Doctor cut him off with a shake of his head. "They'll be fine, Mr. Duggan. As soon as I got them all safely inside, I used a sort of mind technique on them."

Zoe's ears perked up. "Mind technique?"

"Yes, a basic memory manipulation to block out their experiences so they won't have any recall of what had happened to them. They can now get back to their lives as they were before."

"Well, that's … that's remarkable." Duggan still appeared skeptical. "But they'll still have a lot of explaining to do to their families."

"Oh, I shouldn't think so. I dropped them off at a point before they disappeared. It will be like they hadn't gone missing at all."

The detective's jaw dropped. "How did you do that?"

"I simply punched in the coordinates, and she got us there." With a smile, the Doctor gently patted the TARDIS console.

Jamie turned to Zoe with a grin. "Nae often tha' happens, is it?" he said as he nudged her.

Zoe grinned back with an amused shake of her head. Her grin quickly faded and, as she looked fleetingly at Jamie, her mind wandered back to a certain earlier event and refused to budge. In a desperate move to push past it, she tried thinking of the mind manipulation the Doctor had just mentioned, how exactly he had done it and what long-term implications it had, if any.

But no matter what she'd done, her thoughts swiftly returned to that one instance in time. She gazed at Jamie longer than she had meant to as her mouth opened and closed with un-begun words. She was about to give up when Jamie, sensing her eyes on him, turned to look back at her, forcing her hand.

"Zoe?"

"Jamie, I …" she began nervously. She took a few steps closer but froze at the sound of approaching footsteps.

"Not to worry, I'll drop you off just a short stroll from your HQ," the Doctor assured Duggan.

"Oh, no, that's quite alright. A good walk will do me good. Need to keep this body toned and in optimal shape." The detective grinned as he flexed his biceps.

The Doctor nodded. "Ah, yes, I see." He then eyed the man gratefully. "We are very much obliged to you, Mr. Duggan, for helping us facilitate a quick escape."

"Yes, well, I very much doubted they would believe could have been quite embarrassing." He then looked around the room conspiratorially. "I've seen a few … strange things before myself, things I couldn't even begin to explain."

The Doctor's eyebrows shot up to his hairline. "Oh, really. How interesting."

"So, what happens now, Doctor?" Jamie spoke up.

Duggan's eyes narrowed thoughtfully as he watched the Doctor's two friends converse with him. "'Doctor'..." he muttered.

"Well, I don't know about you two but I think after all the excitement, a holiday is in order."

"A holiday? We're at the seaside, Doctor."

"Yes, I know, Zoe. We could do with a change of scenery, don't you think? I'll have to have a think." He suddenly whipped out his recorder.

Jamie rolled his eyes. "Och, there he goes," he grumbled to Zoe, hooking his thumb at the Doctor.

The Time Lord ignored him, happily playing a few bars of 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.'

He suddenly stopped and sighed, a content smile on his face. "Ah, much better."

Duggan continued to stare at him. There was a keen sense of familiarity tied to the other man's eccentricity, despite the detective never having encountered him before.

Or, had he …?

The Doctor had apparently noticed. "Is something the matter, Mr. Duggan?"

"Yes, I … I think I finally understand why I've had this odd feeling of deja vu almost throughout this whole business."

"How d'ye mean?" Jamie asked.

"Well …I remember meeting another man called 'the Doctor' who traveled in a police box."

The Doctor froze. "Oh?" he uttered after a long pause. Duggan did not notice his reaction, but Jamie and Zoe certainly did.

"Yes. And he did much of what you do … I think I know who you are," Duggan said slowly, his pale blue eyes boring into the Doctor's swiftly paling face.

"Oh, yes?" The Doctor tried to sound casually curious but his voice came out in a croak. He darted a glance at Jamie and Zoe. They were staring back at him with twin looks of bewilderment.

"It makes me think of a quote from my favorite detective story," Duggan continued. "'When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth …"

The Doctor was now visibly sweating. "Ah, yes. Sherlock Holmes …"

"You're a member of a sort of 'time police', aren't you?"

The Doctor blinked at him then sagged with relief against the console; he shakily pulled out a handkerchief to mop his brow.

"And your time machines all look like police boxes, like the regular police have their standard cars. Am I right?"

The Doctor gave a breathy chuckle. "You got me, Mr. Duggan. I can't put anything past you."

Duggan beamed with self-satisfaction and thumbed his nose. "Well, that's why I'm in high demand as a private eye. Although, I still haven't figured out one thing …"

A hint of alarm crept back into the Doctor's face.

"Yes?"

"Why are you all called 'Doctor' instead of 'Officer' …?"

The Doctor relaxed. He shrugged his shoulders and smiled. "Oh, well … we're sort of 'doctors of time', you see. We fix things that go awry in history …"

"Ah, I see," Duggan mused. "Interesting."

The Doctor found his two young friends now gazing at him with keen interest, which left him unsettled once more.

"Jamie, what time is it?" he hastily asked.

A frown of confusion briefly furrowed the Highlander's brow before he peered down at his wristwatch. "Oh, it's, uh .. a quarter to two."

"Oh, we're way past lunchtime. Let's have something to eat, shall we? After we drop off Mr. Duggan, of course."

Jamie nodded. "Aye, 'm fair famished. I hope the food machine's been filled up agin. Weel, I'm away tae have a wee freshen-up first." He disappeared into the corridor.

Zoe, however, hadn't moved.

The Doctor could feel her eyes on him but instead concentrated on setting the correct coordinates to drop Mr. Duggan back at the fairgrounds after their short ride through the time vortex.

"Ah! There we are," he announced with a satisfied smile.


Having stepped outside, Duggan turned back to the Doctor. "Well, it's been an experience, Doctor. An experience I shall never forget." He snapped out a salute. "The best of luck to you and your friends."

"And you, Mr. Duggan," the Doctor returned just before shutting the police box doors.

He watched in stunned surprise as the structure began to fade, accompanied by a loud wheezing sound. He stood for several moments in thought before shrugging and going on his way.

He'd only walked several yards when he noticed a difference in the scenery which left him puzzled.

"Wait a minute … wait a minute … there's something wrong about all this … Isn't there supposed to be a giant wheel ride just about … there?"

In its place was a small chip shop, and several yards beyond that, a Dodge 'Ems ride … And just beyond that, a large sign …

"Blackpool?! How did I get to Blackpool?!"

His eyes widened in realization and he let out a frustrated growl. "Wrong amusement park by the sea, Doctor!"

He roughly scrubbed his hands over his face before taking a moment to calm himself. "Oh … oh, well … not much we can do about it now." Duggan turned back to look at the Dodge 'Em pavilion and a small smile lifted his lips.

"Might as well …"


The Doctor checked the scanner and reviewed the coordinates to which he had dropped off Duggan. "Oh, dear," he said with slight dismay, but soon a mischievous grin spread across the Doctor's face. "Well, I suppose he can phone in his report. Perhaps it's high time I make some adjustments to those circuits." He then checked his watch and frowned. "Then again … it has gone past lunchtime and I am feeling a bit peckish …"

Ten minutes later the Doctor was in the Power Room, half of a sandwich in his left hand, a series of wires held up in his right, and, between his teeth, a small screwdriver type of instrument.

He frowned in frustration as he replaced the small tool and took a quick bite of the sandwich before returning it to the small plate on the floor beside him. He reached once more for the screwdriver and grabbed a box of nuts as he attempted to switch out the circuits he'd just removed with the ones in his right hand.

Out of the corner of his eye he witnessed a familiar, petite figure entering the room.

"Doctor?" Zoe called.

"Hm?"

The Doctor bit back a groan as she drew closer and he caught her usual, highly inquisitive expression. "What Mr. Duggan was talking about earlier … is there anything to it? I mean, it's quite possible it was the eccentric deduction of a person of mere average intelligence—but was he actually right?"

The Doctor remained silent, trying to concentrate on his work.

Undeterred, Zoe leaned closer, trying to force herself into his line of sight. "Are you a member of a sort of 'time police' race of travelers, each called 'the Doctor'?"

The Doctor, startled, dropping his small tool and the box of nuts, which scattered all over the floor. "Oh, Zoe, look what you made me do!" he cried.

"What? Oh, no. I'm sorry, Doctor!" She kneeled down on the floor, proceeding to help him collect the nuts and place them back in their box. Once they were all accounted for, she handed the box to him.

"Thank you, Zoe," he said with an impatient nod, hoping she'd catch on that he was very busy and not to be disturbed. "Now, if you don't mind—"

She remained on the floor. "You still didn't answer my question. I'm not as easily distracted as Jamie."

"Yes, I know …" the Doctor said, almost ruefully, then muttered, "almost to the point of single-mindedness sometimes." Desperate to divert her, a sudden idea hit him. His lips twitched as he tried to suppress a wicked smile. "Speaking of questions, I've got one for you, my dear."

She blinked. "Oh?"

"What exactly happened between you and Jamie in the 'Office' caravan?"

Zoe froze, her eyes widening.

Before she could even attempt to formulate a reply, Jamie entered the room. He'd changed his shirt and was rubbing his damp hair with a towel. "Och, tha's mich better," he declared with a smile.

Zoe took one look at him and then quickly scurried out of the room, leaving a bewildered Highlander in her wake.

Jamie turned to the Doctor, a frown knitting his brow. "Wha's wi' her?" he asked, hooking his thumb toward the doorway through which she'd just left.

The Doctor didn't reply, but turned his attention back to his task, a small, wicked smile hidden from view.

"Och …" Jamie muttered in frustration before turning to leave the room in pursuit of Zoe.


Zoe sullenly traversed one of the familiar, long TARDIS corridors, unable to get past her frustration over the Doctor brushing her off so blatantly. Yes, he did appear quite busy, but surely he could have spared a few moments to answer her questions? What was so difficult about them?

She then recalled his startled reaction and his subsequent evasiveness. Her brain furiously tried to process the reasons why, even to the extent of formulating several theories … but was firmly halted as his sudden attempt at deflection came to the forefront.

Her thoughts now swiftly returned to what had occurred between her and Jamie in the 'Office,' and a realization hit her.

That was my first kiss.

The rush of feelings made her knees go weak and she stumbled.

Jamie suddenly seemed to materialize by her side, reachin out to steady her with his strong hands.

"Zoe! Are ye alreeght?!"

She turned and gazed at him in surprise. "What? Oh …" Stepping back, she slowly stood straight, trying hard to pull off an air of confidence "Yes, I'm fine, Jamie," she replied with a lift of her chin. "I think I'm suffering from an imbalance of electrolytes."

Jamie stared at her as if she'd grown a second head.

"Dehydration. I haven't been drinking enough water recently. I'll rectify that at once."

But her feet weren't listening. Instead she just stood staring at Jamie, an awkward silence stretching between them.

"Zoe?" Jamie's concerned voice snapped her out of it. She cleared her throat; her blue-gray eyes were focused and resolute.

"Jamie, I-I apologize for grabbing and kissing you while we were hiding in that storage cupboard in the 'Office' caravan. I know it was quite impulsive, but I felt there was no other way. They outnumbered us, and I—"

"Nae, it's alreeght. It was nice." Zoe's eyes widened, shocked by his frank admission. Jamie looked equally shocked himself, but pressed on. "I-I-I mean … I … ye dinnae need tae apologize. Tha' was quick thinkin', Zoe … Aye, quick thinkin'..."

Jamie looked away and rocked on his heels a moment, then turned back, two points of color appearing on his cheeks. The corner of his mouth tugged into a slight grin. "If ye ever have anether quick thought, lemme know."

Zoe blinked at him a moment then flushed to the tips of her ears as his meaning sank in. She nervously licked her lips then replied, "I-I may have a few." Then, with a small coquettish smile, Zoe turned and walked away.

Jamie stared after her a long moment before a smile of his own spread across his face and he followed after her.

THE END