Fixed in Time (Doctor Who Fanfiction)

Life as a non-time lord

The next couple of years were Doctor free. In late 1964 I finished my Chemistry and Physics degrees and started working officially as a scientist in a laboratory.

I worked in fluids mainly, researching sterilization, atomic structure, chemical reactions and more. I was fairly limited by the scientific equipment of the time but I think I managed alright.

That Christmas I helped take some boxes of Christmas presents over to children in Africa who normally would get none. It was a simultaneously heart-wrenching and heart-warming experience, seeing the wonder in these kids eyes as they received small parcels. Seeing the terrible conditions of their villages inspired me to start working on a filtration system for natural inland water sources as soon as I got home.

I proposed a complex system involving symbiotes and micro fibre technology to my advisor and he just shrugged and told me to do what I could. So I began work on it, and though I knew it would take a long while, I thought I was going pretty well.

And, as promised, when 1965 rolled around, in the middle of studying for a doctorate, I looked for Ian and Barbara. It wasn't hard to find them; they'd got right back into working as school teachers at Coal Hill once more.

Posing as an inspector, I waltzed into the classroom where they warily waited for me and placed on my most imposing stare.

"So," I began. "I heard you two were involved with the disappearance of Susan Foreman."

Ian held Barbara protectively as she snapped at me.

"Don't accuse us of that! We've already told you we were traveling at the time. How dare you try to insinuate we took her? We've had all sorts questioning us already and it wasn't us, alright?"

"Alright." I said, surprised by her instant fury. "I was just gonna ask what it was like traveling with the Doctor."

Her anger dropped like a millstone. "What?" She asked in dull shock.

"You know the Doctor?" Ian asked in awe.

"He's a friend of mine." I smiled. "I was just pretending to be an inspector for a reason to meet you two. So how are you guys going, you know, adjusting to life on earth again?"

Barbara smiled softly. "It's all become so alien to us. It's ironic."

"Yes." Ian agreed, amused. "After all the impossible things we've seen, fitting back into society has probably been the hardest thing yet."

I laughed for a moment. "So I assume the Doctor got you into all sorts of trouble, then."

Ian laughed too. "He wouldn't be the Doctor if he hadn't."

"Well, in any case it seems you've done him good. He told me to tell you how grateful he is for all you did for him, and he apologizes for all the trouble he caused you." I cut to the chase and delivered the Doctor's message as I'd promised.

Ian and Barbara nodded with fond smiles. I could tell they'd both been close to the Doctor and shared many adventures with him.

For the rest of my allotted inspection time they told me stories of their time with the Doctor.

"There was that one time we were miniaturized to the size of ants!" Ian told me emphatically at one point. "It was very interesting seeing the old Doctor fretting over that one."

"The Sensorites were so lovely." Barbara added in later in the conversation. "They were scared of the dark and loud noises, like children really. And they were amazing despite it all, and so alien."

Just as I was starting to tell them a story of the Doctor as a kid, the principal knocked on the door and I shut up.

"All done here, Miss Coche?" He addressed me tiredly.