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A Night Time Visit

Summary:

One night Wilfred and Sylvia are visited by a certain time traveler, who has changed a lot since they last met.

Notes:

in Memory of Bernard Cribbins
1928-2022

I do not own Doctor Who or its characters as they are owned by the BBC and their respective creators.

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Work Text:

It was a dark clear night in Chiswick, London. Wilfred Mott was looking out window into the front Garden.

"Dad, are you coming up to your bedroom?" his daughter Sylvia asked.
"I think I will sleep down here again tonight" Wilfred replied.

The last few years have really turned the lives of everyone upside down. First there was the spread of Covid and the endless social isolation for a whole year.

It would have been easy to blame Covid entirely on a alien menace, but for once the threat came from Earth itself.

Now when Covid is finally dying down, there is news reports of a fleet of Sontarans invading Sheffield.

It feels like no matter what year it was, there was always going to be an alien invasion one way or another.

"Dad, What are you doing?" Sylvia said while standing in the middle of the stairs.

"Looking for any Police boxes" Wilfred replied.
"What makes you think that The Doctor is coming?".
"He has to, we're friends remember?".
"Dad, the Doctor hasn't visited us in a decade!"
"I know Sylvia, but you know how adventurous the Doctor can be"

Sylvia had a hard time putting up with Wilf, but she still cared deeply about her dad. Any other person would have put him away to a retirement home, but Sylvia just didn't have the heart to do that to her poor dad.

The Noble household had also been quiet for the last few years. Donna have moved out years ago with husband Shaun, and living elsewhere in London.

Just when Wilf was about to grab a book, he heard a very familiar sound. Sylvia could see a smile form on her dads face.

"I knew he would be back, didn't I tell you!" Wilfred said to Sylvia.

Sylvia opened the front door and the pair went outside with their coats on.

They then saw the familiar Tardis materialize right in front of them, with its trademark wheezing sound.

The doors then opened and a figure stepped out.

This figure wasn't a man, but a woman. She was a blond haired woman wearing what appeared to be mismatched clothes.

Sylvia wasn't surprised if the Doctor just whisked away another woman to join him, like what he did to her own daughter.

"So I assume your the current companion? Sylvia asked.

"Hello you two, long time, no see"

"Who are You?" Wilfred asked.
"Come on Wilf, I may have changed a bit, but I'm the same person". The Doctor replied.
Wilf and Sylvia exchanged looks at each other, and back at the woman.
"Doctor is that you?"
"Now you've got it!" The Doctor asked.
The Doctor had previously told Wilf that Time Lords can regenerate into a new appearance. However Wilf had no idea that genders can change too.

 

The group then went inside and sat down at the table. The Doctor was twiddling away at a napkin.
"So are you the Doctor?" Sylvia asked.
"Yes I am, Time Lords can change appearance and gender when we regenerate" The Doctor answered her question.
Prove it?" Sylvia asked.
"Well I first met you and your daughter Donna, when she vanished from her own wedding"
"And?"
"Robot Santa's crashed the wedding reception" The Doctor replied.

That was all the proof Sylvia needed. This was the same individual who whisked Donna away, and gave her a happier outlook on life.

"How many has it been?" Wilf asked The Doctor, referring to how many times her body changed since they last saw each other.
"Two, since we last met"
"What I don't understand, is why are you visiting us now after all this time?" Sylvia asked.
"Well, I am always busy being a Time Lord and all that" The Doctor replied
"You see" Wilf said to Sylvia, proving his earlier statement.
"Even so, Why" Sylvia asked.

The Doctor fell silent for a few minutes before replying.

"Well something has happened and i want to share my thoughts with someone"
"What happened Doctor?" Wilf asked.
"A while ago I found out a massive truth about myself".
"What truth?" Wilf asked.
"That before my current identity as The Doctor, i was The Timeless Child"
"Timeless what" Sylvia asked.
"Timeless Child, I am the reason my people are, what they are" The Doctor paused for a few seconds.

"They stole their powers of regeneration from me and wiped my mind clean!"
both Wilf and Sylvia were in shock of this. Wilf previously saw a glimpse of a Time Lords power, when Rassilon turned every human back from being a clone of The Master.

"And during a recent adventure, i was given the opportunity to look at my undiscovered past lives" Wilf could see the worry in The Doctors face.
"Anything else" he asked.
"Time itself told me that i am destined to die"

It was almost like History was repeating itself. The Tenth Doctor told Wilf the same thing years ago.

"What do i do? The Doctor asked.
Wilf then put his hand on the Doctors shoulder. "Do what you do best Doctor, fight"
"How"
"Do you have Companions?" Wilf asked.
"Yes but-"
"I understand you have a moral code about putting people in danger, but let your friends help you" Wilf asked.
Ever since The Doctor came into Wilfs life all those years ago, the time lord had been a beacon of hope.
Wilf though he had lost everything when his wife passed away from illness. But upon knowing theres life out there in the universe, he got a new lease on life.
Now it was his job to put The Doctor on the right path and the the right choice. It was his way of saying thanks for being a positive influence on his and his family's life.

Notes:

The reason I have brought Covid into the story was because i like the idea of the Earth in Doctor Who, being generally the same as our own world, albeit in a world of Science Fiction.