Sophia Holmes and the Duplicate Man (Sherlock's Daughter Fanfic) *Completed*

Chapter Sixteen - The Duplicate Man Part VII

"You're finally starting to look your age," I grin as the Doctor approaches, and I take in his tall frame and wrinkled features.

"Ah don't tell him that," the northern girl says, stepping outside of the TARDIS. "He still thinks he looks like a baby. I'm Clara, by the way, Clara Oswald."

"Sophia Holmes."

"Holmes as in Sherlock Holmes?" she jokes and I laugh.

"Yes, actually. Sherlock Holmes is my father."

Her smile drops, her eyes widening. "Wait, you serious?"

"Absolutely."

"We've crossed into a parallel universe," the Doctor explains, turning to her. "Which shouldn't have been as easy as it was. In this world, we're the fictional characters, not them."

"So what are we doing here? Do you do social calls now too?"

"I've always done social calls!"

I roll my eyes. This Doctor is going to be interesting to work with. "I asked the Doctor to help me out with a problem. I wasn't expecting you to actually come."

He shifts uncomfortably. "Yes, well, I ... er ... thought I should apologise for taking Sherlock away for two years and not telling you." Clara's mouth moves soundlessly at the idea of dad travelling around with the Doctor, and maybe also at the fact of the Doctor apologising. "And for ignoring your call when the Winchesters phoned."

Clara suddenly finds her voice. "Wait, you're not telling me Sam and Dean Winchester exist in this world too, are you?"

It's my turn to be surprised. "Sam and Dean are fictional characters too?"

"Yeah, it's an American show. Supernatural."

I snort. "That's inventive." But it makes me wonder how many other of the people I've encountered over the last few years have been fictional characters too. "I don't suppose the Avengers mean anything to you? Or Hogwarts?"

The Doctor narrows his eyes. "You have Harry Potter in your universe?"

"That's a yes then. Why do we have so many fictional characters in this universe?"

"More to the point, can I stay here?" Clara asks with a wide smile. "I bet you've got Robin Hood as well, haven't you?"

"Yes, actually. He's living in Maine with a load of other fairytale people. Now I did think that was odd."

"You shouldn't have so many universes converging into one," the Doctor says, slowly, interrupting Clara before she can even respond. "If you keep going any further, you'll be looking at a cataclysmic disaster. The whole universe might implode."

"The barriers between worlds must be weakening," I realise. "It's how you've been managing to cross between your world and mine. The first time you did it, the TARDIS was dead for days. Is that who Strange is, then? An alternate version of dad seeping through into this universe?"

"Possibly. Very possibly. You mentioned there had been other cases?"

"Just one so far that dad's working on. Case of Dennis Parkinson: murdered at his home, yet turned up to work the next morning."

"Parkinson?" He repeats the name. "Doesn't mean anything to me. He's not a character in any mainstream fiction, at any rate."

"Could he just be an NPC?" Clara asks and the Doctor shoots her a questioning look. "You know - like a background character. Someone to fill in the gaps so the whole world doesn't consist of main characters." She looks back at me. "How has this world not been destroyed yet?"

"Believe me, it's come close. So what - Dennis Parkinson is our equivalent to an extra? That actor who keeps turning up as a background character in everything you watch?"

"Mm," the Doctor agrees. "Now on that vein of thought, it's possible that the actor who plays Sherlock in our universe also plays Stephen Strange, rather than just being an alternative version of him."

"That's insane!" I remark. "So was dad right - do all of us have multiple versions of ourselves walking about? Each from different roles our actors played?"

Clara shudders. "That's scary."

"So how do we send everyone back to their universes? Can we even send them back? I don't think anybody actually knows they're from different worlds."

The Doctor shakes his head. "I don't know," he says simply. "It could be all the universes have merged into one, in which case there's nowhere to send them back to. And even if there were, I wouldn't have the faintest idea where to begin."

"But we have to stop it," I urge. "We can't just keep on taking on new universes. 'Cataclysmic disaster', you said."

"I can close up the gaps between your world and the rest. But then that's it - no more crossing over to your world."