The Orphan and Her Family

Chapter Sixteen

She points the weapon toward the waves, as they get bigger and bigger. As quickly as the waves started, they end leaving a person in their wake. As Sophie registers who's standing in front of her, she lowers the sword. "Kilt boy?"

Jamie MacCrimmon, who had been staring at the sword looks up to her eyes, "Sophie," he asks, sounding relieved.

She tosses her sword onto the table. "What's going on? How did you get here? Where's the Doctor?"

"I donnae know. This beastie nabbed me, and I found myself travelling about time, but without the TARDIS. I don't know where the Doctor, or the TARDIS, is. All I know is I ended up here, wherever here is." He's standing awkwardly in her main room, looking around in confusion.

"This is my flat. Welcome, I guess. Feel free to make yourself at home. I'll try to get a hold of the Doctor." She turns to leave the room, then stops, turning to face the Scotsman, "Hang on, any idea why you keep time jumping?"

Jamie, who had stepped toward the sofa stops, "I donnae really know. I do know that the beastie shoved this in my hands." He opens his clenched fist, revealing a small stone, with ruins carved into it's surface.

"Then drop it!" The Scotsman immediately releases it, the stone rolling across the floor. "That's probably why you were time travelling."

"The Doctor is going to want to see that stone."

She rolls her eyes, "Yeah, yeah." She walks back into the main room, looking around the couch. She tosses a couple cushions aside, and grabs her phone. She holds the phone up in triumph.

"What do ye have, Sophie?"

"My phone...I was planning on calling the Doc.

He nods, sitting down in the arm chair, a bit awkward, "Right, of course."

She turns from Jamie, dialing the Doctor's number. She leans against the wall, tapping her foot impatiently as the phone rings.

"Hello?" the Time Lord says, sounding worried and irritated.

"Doc-"

"Sophie? I don't exactly have time for this right now.

"Doctor-"

"There's a crisis on my hands, and I'm dealing with some other matters right now as-"

"Doctor!" she shouts, cutting him off, "Shut up and let me talk." He immediately goes silent. "Thank you. Now, you didn't happen to lose a Scotsman, right?"

"You found Jamie!" he shouts, and Sophie pulls the phone away from her ear.

She glances back at the Scotsman, where he's in the arm chair, spinning his sgian duph between his fingers. "It's more like he found me."

"Where are you?" he shouts, concern filling his voice.

"My flat..."

She's barely done saying the words, when the wheezing, groaning of the TARDIS fills the room. She hangs up her phone, tossing it back onto the couch. The Time Lord walks out of the TARDIS, "You hung up on me."

She rolls her eyes, "Nice to see you, Doc."

He twiddles his thumbs a little bit, and meets her eyes, "Yes, yes, Sophie. It is nice isn't it." He turns away from her to look at the Scotsman, "Oh, Jamie." The Scotsman pops to his feet and the Time Lord pulls him into a hug.

Sophie just smiles, "As adorable as this bromance is, I do have things to do."

Both the Doctor and Jamie roll their eyes, looking at each other. "Do you want to help us?" the Time Lord asks.

"More than anything else."

Jamie smiles, "Well, c'mon then." He gestures at the TARDIS.

"Hang on, we need the Doctor look at the stone, see if he can figure out what the f*ck it is."

The Doctor tosses a glare in her direction, "What stone?"

She points at the rock on the floor. "Don't touch it with your bare hands, it sent Jamie hurtling through time."

He looks up at her, as he crouches over the stone, "I'm not Jamie." He proceeds to use his handkerchief to pick up the stone. He turns it over a few times in his hand, inspecting the stone. "Hmm, seems as if Jamie was handed a time stone."

"Like, in the Marvel comics?"

He looks up at her, "No, very different, and far more dangerous." He turns quickly to the TARDIS, and seems to ignore the other two, striding into the ship. Jamie and Sophie gaze at each other, but follow the Time Lord into the ship. He mutters quietly to himself, walking deeper into the twisting maze of corridors.

Sophie stops following him after the fourth turn, Jamie continuing forward, until he realizes that Sophie stopped. "Are ye okay, Sophie?"

"Yeah, I just don't see much of a reason to follow the Doc. He knows what he's doing, and I doubt he'll want our help."

Jamie shrugs, "I donnae know what he's doing, that's for sure."

She nods, turning back toward the nearest kitchen. She swings into the room, and Jamie follows her easily. Sophie swings open the fridge, grabbing some soda, and a packet of crisps. She flops down at the table, Jamie taking the seat opposite her. "So," she starts, taking a swig of her soda, "What've you and the Doctor been up to lately?"

"The Doctor and I recently stopped a group of aliens that could copy faces. Ben and Polly left us as well."

"So just you and the Doc mucking up history now, eh?"

"Oh, aye. And you, what have ye been doing?"

The highlander leans back in his seat at the table, his legs spread apart a bit more, but his kilt drapes down. Sophie smiles at him, "Oh, mucking up history with the Doc." She glances around, trying to confirm that the Time Lord is still out, and she leans toward the Scotsman, "I probably shouldn't tell you this, but, the Doctor that I've been with is Scottish."

Jamie's eyebrows raise toward his hairline, "Oh?"

"Yep," she leans back in her own seat, "Course, he sounds a bit more Glaswegian than you do."

The Scotsman makes a face like he's smelled something sour, and shakes his head, "Glasgow," he snarls, "Why is it always Glasgow?"

Sophie just smiles, laughing at his reaction to the news. Outside the room, the duo hears shuffling footsteps, as the Time Lord looks for his companions. She meets Jamie's eyes, and leans toward the doorway, "We're in here, Doctor," she calls.

The Doctor sweeps into the kitchen, "Ah, there you are, Jamie, Sophie. What are you doing in here?"

She raises an eyebrow, "Chilling. We were waiting for you. So, what'd you find out? Was it a time stone?"

The Time Lord huffs, "Well, you would know if you were there."

"Hmm," Sophie muses, "You're right, we would, but we weren't there. So, was it a time stone?"

He sighs, "Yes. Now we must get back to the future to figure out how the alien got the stone."

Sophie and Jamie climb to their feet, and she meets the Time Lord's eyes, and grins, "Maybe you should try the fast return switch."

The Doctor glares at her, and she just continues to grin, as the trio head for the main console room.