The Doctor's Shadow

Chapter Three

Chapter Three

London Docks June 10TH 1660

Tegan held the girl tightly to her continuing trying to keep Daisy calm.  The pretty brunette ran once the man turned round.  Tegan just looked at her and smiled.  When the brunette reached them, her cheeks red from the exercise, Tegan could see kindness in her.  The pretty brunette gently rubbed the girl’s back with her hand.  The girl felt the light touch of the woman and turned her head round.  

“What’s wrong?” the girl asked.  Daisy furrowed her brow at the strange accent but, like the one that called herself Tegan, she seemed friendly enough.  “What’s with all the tears?”

“My... My...” Daisy hiccoughed.

“Her sister and all her friends disappeared,” the elder woman said.  “Look at the beating her ratbag father gave her!  I could kill him!”

The brunette tilted her head whilst brushing aside some of the child’s hair.   Scowling as she noticed some straight belt lashes running parallel across the girls shoulder blades.

“Ouch, that’s brutal!” the brunette winced.

“Who... Who... are you?” Daisy sniffed.

The pretty brunette offered a dazzling smile.  “My name is Peri, and yours?”

“Daisy!”

Peri turned to the elder woman leaving the question hanging in her eyes.

“Tegan.  Tegan Jovanka!”

Suddenly Tegan felt herself swamped in a pair of big red arms with black and yellow striped buttons pressing heavily onto her face.  

“I THOUGHT YOU WERE FAMILIAR!” the man boomed.  “Well, well,” the man held her at arms length, “Tegan!  You look fantastic!”

“Get off me!”  Tegan exclaimed pushing him away.  “Guessed who you are!  Only one man I know would wear a coat like that!”

Peri snorted.  Holding a hand over her mouth she eventually gave into laughter. The Doctor in his sixth form drew himself up indignantly.

“Yes, well,” The Doctor snapped.  “Pleased to meet you, Tegan again!” then he twirled on his heel the coat flaring as he nimbly stepped over a mud pile, “Come on Peri.  We have to go!”

“Why?” Peri asked.  “We’ve only just got here.”

“If Tegan is here there can only be one way she could have come,” he saw Peri’s puzzled frown, “ME, in my previous form, is here.”

“Actually,” Tegan said slowly.  “It is your next form!”

The Doctor scowled placing his thumbs inside his bright yellow waistcoat.

“Sorry,” Daisy said, “but who are you?  Some kind of clown?”

“CLOWN?” The Doctor puffed.

“Well, you look like you’re dressed for the circus! and that blonde wig is fairly clownish!”

“WIG? Child, this is my hair!”  he went into a sulk mumbling to himself.  “Impertinence of the human race.  Honestly, break my neck for you people and all I get is ridicule!”

“Well, you do kind of invite it!” Tegan exclaimed sweeping her gaze over his eccentric colourful outfit.  What was he thinking when he chose that bright red coat, yellow and black stripy waistcoat and trousers with the polka dot tie... the colours of the dots all different.  About the only sensible thing were his dark green shoes.  A cat brooch adorned one of the lapels of his mish-mash garish coat.  The only thing the same with this Doctor’s outfit, the previous Doctor’s and, when it came to that, the one Tegan was with now, were the red question marks sewn onto the points of the wide white collar of the shirt.