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They were on one of those rocky, windswept beaches that Jamie liked very much, when the weather was right for it. As it was, the sky was grey and misty clouds clung to the sea, giving it a shrouded look, like a dusty sheet draped across unwanted furniture. A salty rain fell, barely there against their skin, dampening his hair and clinging to Victoria’s tweed in glittering droplets.
“What’s under that one?” They were crouched beside a rock pool, peering at the funny-looking shellfish. Jamie lifted the rock she’d indicated, and a crab popped out, scuttling away sideways into the shadow of a pebble. Victoria giggled, delighted. “I like the way they walk,” she said. “Like they’re sneaking somewhere.” Jamie reached into the rock pool and prodded at the pebble, sending the crab side-walking on, so that Victoria would laugh again.
“Oh, Jamie,” the Doctor’s voice rang out over the foaming of the waves. “Have a look at this.” Jamie looked at Victoria, who was contently watching the crab, and put down the rock.
Wiping his sandy hands on his jacket, he wandered down the beach to where the Doctor was standing over a rock pool of his own, hunched around something in his cupped hands. “What’s that?” he said.
“See for yourself.” The Doctor took Jamie’s hand, and pressed someone cold and slightly damp into his palm.
It was a slatey-blue pebble, big enough to sit nicely in his hand. It wasn’t till he held it up to the light that Jamie saw why the Doctor was so taken with it. It had a perfect hole through it, worn smooth by the sea and almost exactly in the centre. “Oh!” he said, as delighted by it as Victoria’d been by her crab. “That’s nice.”
“I thought you’d like it.” The Doctor was beaming, ever so pleased with himself. He cupped Jamie’s hand around the pebble and patted it. “It’s for you.”
“You’re givin’ me a rock?”
“Yes.” The Doctor withdrew his hands. He sounded slightly affronted, as if this was a perfectly normal thing to do and Jamie was the one acting oddly. He looked so consternated that Jamie began to laugh.
“You’re a strange wee chappie, you know that?”
“Thank you,” said the Doctor, even though Jamie hadn’t really paid him a compliment. He twisted his fingers together and bobbed his head in a slight bow, which only made Jamie laugh harder.
“Thank-you,” he said. “I’ll treasure it.”
“I should think so!” said the Doctor.
“I’ll just,” Jamie tucked it into his inside pocket, “put it in here.” The Doctor beamed so brightly that for half a moment he seemed to lighten up the whole beach.
“Oh, I’m cold,” said Victoria, walking up beside him, hugging herself. “Can we go back to the TARDIS?”
“Nonsense,” said the Doctor. “Nice bracing walk. That’ll warm you up.” Jamie gave him a firm look, and he softened. Leaning in, he said, “I think there might be a tea shop in the village.”
Victoria brightened. “That’s alright, I suppose.” She stamped her feet together on the firm sand. “What are we waiting for?”
“Quite,” said the Doctor. “Come along, Jamie,” he said, nudging Jamie’s elbow, “there’s tea to be drunk.” Jamie rolled his eyes, and fell into step beside them.
Later, back in the TARDIS, Jamie found a space in his room for the pebble, in between his clock and a ‘Views of the Highlands’ postcard he’d found at the back of a drawer, where he thought it looked quite handsome.