| Date: 8 January 2008
Characters: The Tenth Doctor, Susan Foreman Location: library, a shop Link to IJ: thread #27698 |
 Having made up his mind that by landing him here someone up there was telling him he needed a rest after what had been one hell of a year, the Doctor had decided to make the most of his enforced holiday from saving the world on a regular basis.He ended up at the library and pottered around a bit before selecting a battered old human text on theories of time-travel and settling down in a squashy chair with his feet up on another one for a good laugh. |
 "Mind if I join you?" Susan asked, grinning at the unfamiliar figure behind a book on theories of time travel. "Oh, that one's quite nice. Very funny. It's really a shame when Hollywood can get closer to the truth than all of the theoretical and quantum scientists put together." |
| "Isn't it?" The Doctor lowered the book, something about the voice sounding very familiar, and looked over it at the young girl. His eyebrows flew up. "Susan?" |
| "Yes?" Susan asked, noting the surprise in the voice but deciding just to go with it. She smiled over her book at him, tilting her head to the side curiously. |
| The Doctor snorted with exasperation, swinging his feet off the chair and leaning forwards. "Susan, it's me! Your grandfather!" |
| "Oh, I figured," Susan said, grinning over at him before reaching out and poking his nose. "I'd heard there were more than one wandering around, and the exasperation in your voice just solidified it." |
| "You are an imp." He got to his feet and held out his arms. "Come here!" |
| Susan beamed at him, trying really hard not to laugh as she bounced to her feet as well and threw her arms around him, "I do try." |
| "You don't have to try," the Doctor said gruffly, holding her close. "It comes automatically. Think it runs in the family." He hugged her like he'd never let her go. A part of his world he'd thought lost forever and here she was in his arms. This place was fantastic! |
| She did laugh that time, squeezing him right back with a wry grin on her face, "Deviousness is in the blood," She said, turning her head and resting it against his chest, listening to his heartbeat as she settled in for what had the feeling to be awhile. "Oh, I have missed you," Susan said softly, all of the sincerity in those words that there had been the first time and even as she vaguely wondered how many times she would be doing this. |
| "I've missed you too. More than you could possibly imagine, lately." He held onto her for a long time, and then finally stepped back, holding her away from him, smiling. "Let me look at you." |
| "What for? I look the same as I always have," Susan said, grinning up at her Grandfather. "Unlike some people that I know." |
| "Yes, but it's been a really long time since I've seen you," the Doctor smiled, drinking in the sight of her, just as he'd remembered her. "Obviously not very long for you, though." |
| "About a year, Grandfather," Susan said before reaching out and prodding his ribs, her nose wrinkling as she Eyed him. "You, mister, left me." It seemed like this one wasn't quite as fragile as the other. She could probably poke at the issue. "You left, and I haven't heard even a word since." |
| He grimaced. "I'm sorry, Susan. I'm so sorry. If it's any consolation, I've been regretting that a lot recently." |
| "Well, no reason to dwell on it now," Susan said, grinning up at him. "Not when we're both standing right here. Besides, I don't really feel like lecturing right now. Not that it would do any good." |
| "Well, it's nice to know you've realised that at last!" the Doctor grinned, rather relieved that she was apparently going to let it go. He knew he didn't deserve to be forgiven so readily for leaving Susan behind. |
| "What? The lectures never get through that thick skull of yours?" Susan asked, grinning as she turned and flopped back down in her chair, having snatched the book she was looking at out from under her a split second before she hit the seat. |
| "Another thing that runs in the family," the Doctor agreed wryly. He sat down and leaned forwards, elbows on his knees. "So how are? Everything all right?" |
| Susan nodded with a bright smile, "I'm coping well enough, Grandfather. I can't say I care much for the country, though. But it makes David happy, so I don't complain." |
| "Oh, yes, David! How's he? You two married yet?" Gosh, it was all so long ago, he'd all but forgotten about Susan and her life on Earth. Humbling to have her turn up here like this. |
| "Not yet," Susan said, grinning at her Grandfather. "You know I never wanted to be a teenage bride," She said, chuckling a bit. |
| "What's so funny?" |
| "I don't think I've ever seen you this...bouncy before," Susan said, giggling again before reaching out and adjusting the leather jacket before shaking her head. "But those doesn't suit you at all. Not at all. Far too dark." |
| "You know, people keep telling me that," he said, looking down at himself mournfully. "I might actually start believing them soon." Then he grinned. "I'm bouncy 'cos I've just regenerated. Well, couple of days ago now, but it was a really big regeneration - lot of Time Vortex involved and it's still kind of buzzing through me. Rather nice, actually." He sat back and beamed at her. |
| Susan laughed, "Only you would think that getting dosed with the Time Vortex was nice," Susan said, resisting the urge to roll her eyes before slipping her arm in his and nodding as she looked over the outfit once more. "Definitely doesn't suit you. You need something more proper. Something dressy, but just enough to get the idea across." |
| "What idea?" he asked, curious. He rather liked the idea of Susan helping him choose his new outfit. She probably had better fashion sense than Jack, anyway. |
| "The idea of dressy," Susan said, chuckling. "It's not like I'm suggesting that you wear a tux all the time or something like that. No, no, that wouldn't be right at all." |
| "Oh, but a tux would look great!" He imagined it, and grinned. "Jack was saying something about a suit, I think - I was a bit distracted - but anyway, something fitted..." He looked up at Susan from beneath his lashes. "Don't suppose you fancy going clothes shopping with me?" |
| Susan couldn't help but laugh as she leans against his shoulder, giving his arm a hug, "Never something I expected to hear you say, but... I would be delighted." |
| "Great!" The Doctor bounced up and offered her his arm properly, with a delighted smile. "Let's go!" |
| Susan laughed as she happily took his arm, lifting her chin proudly as she tucked the book that she had been reading under her arm. It was one that she wanted to keep on with, after all. Later. "Lead the way." |
| The Doctor escorted his grandaughter out of the library. "There's a shop just round the corner, actually. I was looking earlier - there's a suit there that might just work, but I'm not sure - need you to tell me what you think." He smiled down at Susan as they walked. "You seem very at home here. Been here long?" |
| "Relatively speaking, not long at all. Just a few weeks," Susan said, blushing a bit as she leaned against his shoulder. "I haven't really been looking for an exit." |
| "Weeks?" His eyebrows shot up and he looked down at her in a vey grandfatherly way. "Why aren't you looking for an exit, young lady? Don't you want to get back to David?" |
| "Of course I do," Susan said, grinning up at him. "But no time passes here, so I've heard. And Rassilon knows I have plenty of time to spare before I actually start looking any older. Does it really matter whether I rush or not getting back, especially when I'm not sure how long it would take me to get back here?" |
| The Doctor gave her a long look, wondering if there was more going on here than she was saying. Then he shrugged. "WEll, I'm making the most of this to have a bit of a break, so I don't see why you shouldn't too!" They rounded the corner and he guided Susan over to the shop opposite, the one with the pinstripe-suited mannequin in the window. "Here we are! What do you think of that sort of thing?" |
| Susan grinned as she studied the suit, glancing back over at her Grandfather and then back at the suit, "Hmmm. Yes, yes, I think that might do. But, you know, there's only one way to find out for sure." |
| The Doctor groaned. "I suppose you want me to go and try it on, don't you? Missing having someone to mother, are you?" |
| Susan grinned innocently up at her Grandfather, "Well, we've got to make sure that it fits, don't we?" |
| He made a face, even as he headed through the door of the shop. "I hate shopping," he muttered to no-one in particular. |
| "Big baby," Susan said, reaching out and poking him in the ribs. "It's not like the clothes are toxic or anything. It's not going to kill you." |
| "All right, all right!" He held up his hands in surrender, walking backwards into the shop and looking round vaguely for a shop assistant. "Do they have people to help in these places? Or do we just have to get everything ourselves?" He sounded like the idea was outrageous. |
| "Self serve. It's the best way to do things," Susan said, bouncing over to the rack and pulling the suit jacket down off of it, holding it out to him. |
| "Oh really, we have moved with the times, haven't we?" the Doctor grinned. He pulled off the heavy leather jacket and hung it over the end of a nearby rail, then took the suit jacket from Susan. "It's going to look silly with jeans!" he grumbled, sliding his arms in and humping it up his shoulders. He looked round for a mirror. |
| "Oh, it's not going to look that silly. Besides, this is just to make sure it fits," Susan said, grinning as she crossed over to him, smoothing out the back of the jacket as she motioned to a mirror near the back of the shop. "Over there." |
| "Oooh, you know, it might not be too bad, at that!" he said excitedly, as he neared the mirror and got a good look at himself. He posed this way and that, pulling the jacket closed and then letting it swing open, checking what it looked like with his hands in his trouser pockets. "Well, I think everyone else knows what they're talking about!" he declared. "And it's lovely and light after that heavy leather thing." |
| "It's very you," Susan said, grinning as she stood at his side. "Geek chic." |
| "I'm not a geek!" he protested instinctively. "I've never been a geek! If anyone was ever a geek it was Ko-" He stopped abruptly, turned back to the mirror for another look. "Geek chic could work," he said, face and voice gone distant. |
| Susan settled a hand lightly on her Grandfather's arm, peering up at him softly before giving it a light squeeze and leaning over toward him, "He's here, you know." |
| The Doctor swallowed, very still. "Koschei?" he said, his voice cracking. He didn't look away from the mirror. |
| Susan nodded slowly, "He's going by an alias, but it was easy enough to tell that he was Gallifreyan. And I ran into someone else who told me who he was as part of a warning to keep my distance from him." |
| Shit. And he'd been having such a lovely, carefree holiday. "Good warning," he said vaguely, still not looking at her. "Which alias?" |
| "Harold Saxon," Susan said, frowning softly. She didn't like the sound of that question. |
| "Harold Saxon? Don't know that one. Although..." He turned his head at last but looked through her rather than at her, running his hand through his hair. "It does sound sort of familiar. Harold Saxon. Saxon, Saxon, Saxon... Think. Where have I heard that before? Saxon. Oh!" He whirled right round, mouth open in a big O, eyes wide. "Minister of Defence. Bloody hell. The Master is the Minister of Defence!" |
| Susan tilted her head to the side in confusion, "You mean, Britain's Minister of Defense? On Earth? How could you not know he was there?" |
| "Yes, yes, and good question. Very good question. Extremely good question." The Doctor frowned. "But he can't be. He's... He can't be." He shook his head, then looked up again and beamed at Susan. "Well! That'll give me something to look into when I get back! Can't do anything about it here, though." He looked about him. "Right, where's the rest of this suit? And what do I wear with it?" |
| It probably was better not to worry about the issue. He was right. Nothing that could be done about it here. "Still on the rack. Patience," Susan said as she took the rest of the suit down and handed it to him before studying the ensemble curiously. "You know, it almost makes you look like some sort of modern day Sherlock Holmes. There's got to be a good coat to with it here somewhere." |
| "Sherlock Holmes, eh? I think I prefer that term to the geek thing." He bounced off round the shop, searching for coats. "Oh! Need a shirt too. And a tie. And shoes and socks. Complete new outfit for the new me!" He spike a rack of coats and slithered between the other rails of clothes to get to them. "Hmm. Got to be something fairly formal, hasn't it, to go with that suit. What d'you think? Long or short? Jack said something about not hiding my arse." |
| "Oh, he would," Susan said, snorting slightly. "Long would work better. Short would just seem odd since you'd already being wearing the suit jacket. It isn't like you'd have to wear it all the time, after all." |
| "You know it's a good thing I've got you with me," the Doctor said, looking through the coats. "I'm sure I'd make all the wrong choices. I wasn't even going to go for the suit till everyone started telling me I should! Aha!" He tugged a long black trenchcoat off the rack. "What about this one?" |
| Susan lifted her eyebrow at him, "Do you really think the colors would go together?" |
| "Hmm. Maybe not. More brown, maybe? That'd go, right?" |