[001].

[bonnypiperlad]

[And once again, there is a newcomer to the Plane. This one appears to be a fairly short man with dark brown hair, who is wearing a black shirt that laces at the collar and a red kilt - one Jamie McCrimmon, by name. He stumbles for a moment, caught in mid-stride, then stops dead in his tracks.]

Hey! Where did that wee shop go?

[He glances around in bewilderment.]

Och, where am I?

[Scratching his head as he tries to figure this out, he turns and finds himself face to face with a strange building with the word 'Information' printed on a sign. He stares at it for a moment before reaching forward, taking one of the brochures, and starting to read.]

An "out-of-your-universe-experience." Not that again. A brico...what?

[This is all too confusing. He crumples up the brochure and throws it away, then sets off from the kiosk.]

Maybe if I can find the Doctor...

[Looking around, though, that seems to be an impossible task.]

Aye, well. Someone with some sense has to be around here somewhere. I'll just ask them.

Comments

[not-theman-iwas.livejournal.com]

And was she determined about anything in particular?

[bonnypiperlad]

Aye, but...

[A bit sheepishly] It's a wee bit embarrassing.

[not-theman-iwas.livejournal.com]

Is it?

[SHE HAS AN IDEA OF THE ANSWER TO THIS.]

[bonnypiperlad]

[Jamie gives her a look that says very clearly that yes, it is, then takes a deep breath. Might as well get on with explaining.]

We were supposed to be trying to find these...I guess ye could call them crystals, almost. They were about the size of a lump of sugar and the color of a robin's egg, and they had some big long complicated name. Kryal...something. [He doesn't really remember what it was called. The Doctor knew the name, which was good enough for Jamie.]

Anyway, I had just knocked out the guard and was trying to find a wee safe or something it might be in, and that's when Maggie showed up. She said she'd not tell her father that I was rummaging around in his room, but I had to do what she said. Well, not exactly those words, but ye get the idea.

[not-theman-iwas.livejournal.com]

[...]

And... what did she ask that you do?

[Does the Doctor have to smack a bitch?]

[bonnypiperlad]

Well, it was raining, ye see, and she wanted to go riding...so, I had to fill in. For the horse, aye?

[dryly] For such a wee lassie, she was heavier than she looked.

[Maggie may be a bit of a spoiled brat, but smackings are probably not necessary in this instance.]

[not-theman-iwas.livejournal.com]

[........]

How old was this girl?

[bonnypiperlad]

Four.

[Beat.]

Why do ye ask?

[not-theman-iwas.livejournal.com]

- No reason.

[She guesses that's fine for a four-year-old. Or. At least understandable. Maybe not so much acceptable.]

[bonnypiperlad]

[Not so much, no, but again, brat. With a powerful, rich father. Jamie wasn't particularly inclined to argue.]

It gave ye time to find the crystal-thing, anyway.

[Although his back hurt something fierce by the end of the evening.]

...That's not something ye remember doing, though, is it?

[not-theman-iwas.livejournal.com]

[Poor Jamie. Three still doesn't approve of him being used as a substitute horse.]

No. I haven't been approached by the CIA, so none of this has happened in my timeline.

[bonnypiperlad]

[On a scale of one to being paralyzed by an Ice Warrior, playing horsie with a four-year old isn't so bad, really. But he's not about to argue the point with Three.]

Oh. So what have ye been doing, then?

[not-theman-iwas.livejournal.com]

Oh, the usual. Rattling around the universe. I'm a little stuck on Earth at the moment, but that's not likely to last long.

[...It had better not.]

Now with less fail!

[bonnypiperlad]

Stuck? Ye mean to say the TARDIS has gone and broken down again?

[He can't really say he's surprised, all things considered.]

[not-theman-iwas.livejournal.com]

Not... exactly.

[Er. Let's see.]

More... one of the parts has been stolen.

[bonnypiperlad]

I mean, it's not like...wait. Ye said stolen?

[Have a 'what happened?' sort of look, Three.]

[not-theman-iwas.livejournal.com]

It can't last much longer, really - and I've a bargaining chip of sorts to get it back.

[Ahem.

Vaguely avoidant.]

[bonnypiperlad]

And I don't suppose ye would care to tell me what the bargaining chip is, either.

[It's not a question, merely a statement of fact - he definitely picked up on the fact she's avoiding the issue.]

[not-theman-iwas.livejournal.com]

The dematerialization circuit belonging to the thief in question, in fact.

[bonnypiperlad]

[Dematerialization circuit. He knows what that is - well, the simple version of it, anyway. And he knows there's a limited group of people who would have access to one. There's a moment while he thinks things through before he responds.]

So what ye are saying is that another one of your people stole a part from the TARDIS, and ye stole their dematerialization circuit in return?

[not-theman-iwas.livejournal.com]

- Something like that, yes.

[Vaguely shifty. It may not have happened in quite that causality order.]

[bonnypiperlad]

[...]

Why don't ye just meet up and give each other the parts back, then?

[not-theman-iwas.livejournal.com]

That is approximately what I hope will be happening.

[bonnypiperlad]

It would be a bit daft if they refused, if ye ask me.

[Not that she did, but he's giving his opinion anyway.]

At least ye can come here if ye want, aye?

[not-theman-iwas.livejournal.com]

[A quick smile.] Yes, I can.

[And that helps, a lot.]