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Some days, the tedium got to Jo, as the jargon the Doctor didn't bother to explain went in one ear and out the other. Other days, of course, were characterized not so much by dullness as by deadly danger. But there were days that she knew made this life of hers special—days that made up for the boredom and the peril alike.
Today, for instance; today was a good example, she reflected. The Doctor, insisting as always that he was in perfect control of his ship, had as always landed them somewhere completely unexpected. She was beginning to suspect she'd be best advised to dress for the opposite of wherever he told her they were going.
At first, when she stuck her head out the door, she wasn't sure they'd actually travelled in time. They definitely weren't in Britain in January, it was true, but all she saw was warm sand—rippled by the tide near the shoreline, knotted with dune grasses further inland—seabirds wheeling in a blue sky, exactly what she thought she'd have seen if she went on an ordinary tropical holiday.
She threw aside her winter coat and ran out of the TARDIS, laughing. "If this is the Ice Cliffs of Vanatron," she called out, "I admit I was a little dubious, but I'm sold!" Her feet slipped slightly in the sand, and she turned to see the Doctor coming out to join her with a lofty expression.
"Don't get ahead of yourself," he replied. "This could very well be a very dangerous planet."
"It's clearly the Caribbean," she said, "or the Pacific or somewhere. It's lovely!" She slipped off her shoes, holding them in one hand, and rolled up the hems of her smart new jumpsuit.
"Seriously, Jo," the Doctor replied, quickly catching up with her on his long legs. "How would you like it if a—a giant alien shark came up and bit you?" He mimed what was presumably meant to be an impression of a giant alien shark. Jo thought it probably could catch on as a new dance move.
"If you see one, let me know!" But she immediately felt bad at the sight of the genuine concern on the Doctor's face. "You're right," she said, "I won't touch the water until you give me the OK." And she waited in an attitude of such eager attention that he pulled a gadget from his pocket and waved it at the sea, the shore, the sky, then frowned at it for what felt like minutes.
"Ceyama," he said at length.
"Which is?"
"Right the other side of Mutter's Spiral. Humans won't get here for... oh, a millennium after your time."
"So is that when we are? A millennium in the future? Are there human colonies around here somewhere?"
He shook his head. "Never colonized. Can't remember why."
"Well, it's beautiful," she said again. "Can I get in the water?"
"Just be careful," he said.
Jo waded into the water, which felt fresh and pleasantly cool. She noticed that rather than being salty, it had an almost sweet smell, and as she dipped her feet in it felt surprisingly buoyant. She splashed through the shallows, enjoying the novel sensations. I'm on an alien planet, she thought—the delight never got old. She stopped and waved to the Doctor, but he had become distracted by some of the plants on the dunes.
Soon she noticed—thankfully, in time—that while she was still in the shallows, just ahead of her the ocean floor dropped off very suddenly in a sort of underwater cliff. She gazed thoughtfully into the lovely blue color of the deep water, much darker than the gentle waves that lapped at her feet.
Then she saw something move in the deep water.
Remembering the Doctor's flippant comment about giant alien sharks, she instinctively jumped backward, stifling a small scream. But then, realizing that most things large enough to hurt her would hardly be able to follow her into the shallows, she backed up more slowly, tentatively watching the ripples on the water's surface. It looked like a thrashing tail underneath. Perhaps some kind of dolphin?
"Doctor, look," she called, but he was nearly out of hearing range by now.
Then a woman's head popped out of the water. She had very dark smooth skin, observant eyes, and her thick hair gleamed iridescent in the sun. She smiled beautifully, and despite her caution Jo couldn't help but smile back.
"Are you lost?" she said. "You must be almost dried out!"
"I'm—I'm all right, thank you," said Jo, startled but polite. A particularly intrepid swimmer? A diver? The Doctor had said there were no humans here, but he'd been known to make mistakes....
The other woman propped herself up on the edge of the underwater cliff, leaning on it the way Jo might lean on the edge of a swimming pool, swaying lightly in the current. She was wearing what might have been a bikini top, if bikini tops were crocheted from vibrantly green seaweed.
"But you must be so uncomfortable," she said. She lifted one hand and splashed Jo, who squeaked and leapt backwards. "There, doesn't that feel better?"
"That's my new jumpsuit!" said Jo indignantly, and then wondered with a faint sense of unreality if she had just committed herself to explaining Earth fashion to someone who must surely be some kind of alien.
But the woman merely stared for a moment, then broke into another infectious smile. "Ohh, your landwalker costume! It looks so realistic! Did you make it, or how does it work?"
Landwalker. Uncomfortable outside the water. Jo's mind started putting pieces together, and then, in a particularly energetic movement, the woman splashed the water behind her with what was unmistakably a tail.
"No," said Jo, "I'm a real—landwalker. And you're a mermaid! You're a real mermaid!"
The mermaid looked thoughtful again. Jo lifted her feet, one at a time, in a silly little dance that exhibited the separate operation of her legs. "See?"
"Landwalkers are real? Hah!" the mermaid said, delighted, and turned a backflip underwater.
When she re-emerged Jo said, "I'm from another planet, you know."
"Oh that makes sense!" said the mermaid. Did it? Jo thought. "Is everyone there a landwalker?"
"Yeah," said Jo. "Are all your people mer—mer-people?"
"You mean do we swim? Of course! What a shame you can't swim, though," she said.
"But I can," said Jo. "I mean, not very well—not like you, I imagine—and I can't hold my breath for very long—but I can swim."
"Then you should come and visit us," said the mermaid.
"Can I? I'd love that," said Jo. "Wait. You should meet my friend first. He's also a... landwalker... but a different sort than me. DOCTOR!" she shouted over her shoulder.
The Doctor appeared over one of the more distant dunes. "Are you all right?" he said, already at a run.
"I'm fine!" Jo answered at the top of her voice. "Come and be properly introduced!"
When he reached her and met the mermaid, he put his arm about Jo's shoulders. "Honestly," he said fondly, "is there anywhere I could take you where you wouldn't make a new friend?"