Don't get your hopes up [closed, bendytimed to before shore leave]

[celery-brooch.livejournal.com]

It took a lot to contain the Doctor’s excitement, and they hadn’t even started looking inside the Hangar yet.

The first time he and Jamie had passed by here, they hadn’t ventured far enough inside to warrant any definite recognition of proximity towards his ship. Now that he was here again, of course (and he had his suspicions well fueled), the TARDIS was giving off clear, if not somewhat distant, locating signals. Her distinct signature flitted about his brain like a fly around his ear, making him anxious, energized. She was symbiotically connected to him, after all. Finding her even nonfunctional would be like meeting a long-lost twin sibling, albeit one of a different species that could travel through space and time.

For fear of taking this analogy too far—overuse of extended metaphors can be hazardous to one’s health—the Doctor focused again on the many rows upon rows of impressive looking space fighters, mechas, motor scooters, etcetera, waiting patiently (or not so patiently) for the others to receive his message over the comms. Part of him was worried that Jamie might not make use of the established network as readily as some other crewmembers, but frankly he’d been here long enough to understand how it worked. Besides, the Doctor probably drilled the time and location into his brain while he was pacing around the room the night before, muttering the notice and possible formats to himself as he distractedly took apart his omnicom, put it back together, took it apart again, rearranged some components…

No sleep for weary Time Lords, so the saying goes. Or something like that.

[[ooc: Mainly for the designated Who crew DW characters and those that know about the TARDIS (Kaylee, Billy, Renne, anyone else I haven't mentioned), but if you want to pop in, let one of us know and we'll see what we can do. :3 ]]

Comments

[rejenny.livejournal.com]

"Five months," Jenny repeated to herself. Such a long time to be stuck in one place. "You know other people here, yeah? What's the longest you've heard of anyone being on the ship?"

Just then, a blond woman entered the room. Jenny could see a change in her dad's demeanor instantly, as if the woman's presence alone was enough to make him happier. Since she'd found him again, she'd noticed that he'd been a bit...darker. As if he had an extra shadow following him about. But there was something about this woman, some connection between her and her father. Jenny, of course, couldn't wait to learn more about her, to learn about everything in her dad's life.

So grinning at the woman, she said, "Hi, Rose. It's nice to meet you. How do you know my dad? Seems like so many people here do." And then she simply nodded at Jamie, taking the torch from him, completely unaware that the Doctor had been trying to save the conversation with Rose about their relationship for another time.

[burntlikethesun.livejournal.com]

Rose waved at the other group, resolving to introduce herself properly to the two she didn’t know at some point—preferably when they found the TARDIS. Frankly, she was glad to have some time away from the other Doctor to get over the fact that they met while both were naked and slimy; that had to be the most awkward first impression she’d ever made.

She joined her designated group, returning the Doctor’s bright smile with a dazzling one of her own, before turning her attention to the others. “Hi, Jamie. Nice meetin’ you, too, Jenny.”

At the word ‘dad’, she turned to the Doctor and arched an eyebrow. She didn’t start barraging the Doctor with questions, of which she had many, such as ‘weren’t the rest of the Time Lords killed in the Time War?’ and ‘if she’s your daughter, why hasn’t she seen the TARDIS before?’. However, her expression promised that, some time in the future, she would get him alone and ask for an explanation.

She turned back to Jenny to answer her question, feeling rather sillily relieved that Jenny wasn’t another of those pretty young women that fell in love with him he had a tendency to pick up. “I traveled with him in the TARDIS for a couple of years. Least, I think it was a couple; surprisingly hard to keep track of time in a time machine.”

[thatsortofaman.livejournal.com]

The Doctor winces as soon as the word 'dad' comes out of Jenny's mouth. Well, so much for avoiding that little revelation for a while...

He catches Rose's eye and shakes his head a little. It's not what you think. Then again, when is it ever? But as long as he doesn't need to explain right now... He spins his screwdriver around in his hand before pointing it into the depths of the hangar and starting up a scan. It's as good a reason as any to pretend not to be paying attention to Rose and Jenny's conversation.

"I'm not getting a response," he says after a moment, frowning at his screwdriver. "Which means, if the TARDIS is here, it's either out of range of my sonic or... shut down." Not a pleasant thought. Not one he really wants to dwell on for long. He glances toward Jamie. "If the smaller vehicles are further in, stands to reason that that's where we'll find the TARDIS. Probably somewhere no one's likely to stumble across it - whoever's in control of this ship, they'd want to keep that technology away from most curious wanderers. So. Far in the back and out of the way - think you can get us there?"

[bonnypiperlad]

There's a little twitch of Jamie's lips when Rose responds to Jenny's question, but it doesn't manage to develop into a real smile. He knows the feeling of trying to tell time in a time machine, which is why he tends to be relatively unconcerned by not really knowing how long he's been here. Despite that, he does try to answer her as well. "I've not met everyone, but I do know a few people."

His expression turns thoughtful for a moment as he thinks about who he knows that might have been here the longest. "I think that's Xander. He said it had been several months for him at that point, but..." He shrugs. "I don't know exactly how long ago that was for me, except that it was after the zombies. He did say he was with the ones who woke up first, though."

Not that that likely helps, but it's really the best he can come up with. When the Doctor cuts in, he turns towards him, lifting his chin ever-so-slightly and says boldly, "Aye, of course I can. It's this way."

Once again he takes off in one direction, only to return a moment later with an expression that's half-chagrined and half-annoyed. This time he seems to be annoyed at himself.

"Uh, that is...I mean this way."

He jerks his head in the exact opposite direction of the one he took, and is very careful to avoid eye contact with the others as he starts walking again.

[rejenny.livejournal.com]

Jenny's eyes lit up, "Oh, you were one of his traveling companions! Like Donna. I'm so glad to have met you, so excited. I would love to hear stories of the adventures you've had with my dad. When we're not busy looking for the TARDIS or stuck in the middle of a war, of course." She offered her a cheeky grin.

Jenny nodded at Jamie's response to her question. Months. Months, or possibly even longer, in one place. It was pretty hard for her to imagine. The longest she had ever stayed on a planet during one of her adventures was a few days. A week at most. ...What did one do during such a long period of time? Obviously, there was the issue of the war she was caught up in. But still, there was down time. And without adventures, without the constant exploring, what was she supposed to do?

Jenny forced the thoughts from her mind. They would help her dad find the TARDIS, and that would be the end of it. Off to explore the universe with him!

"Uh, that is...I mean this way."

Jenny simply shrugged and followed Jamie. She wasn't sure why he was embarrassed; the ship was huge, it was amazing that anyone could ever figure out where they were going.

[shewaslost.livejournal.com]

Rose considered the bit of information about Xander’s stay. Really, she didn’t mind being stuck on Stacy for however long it took to stop the Ohm. And though none of her family or friends were awake, the Doctor was here and in the end that was all that mattered; she’d been willing to give up everything for him before, and she still was.

She hid a smile, watching Jamie get himself turned around, before her expression turned into one of curiosity. “Zombies? Like, the walking undead?”

Jenny really did take after Ten, didn’t she? The energy and gob, at least; she must’ve taken after her mother (or another regeneration of her father) in hair and height.

The mention of Donna had Rose’s questions multiplying exponentially and she cast about for something to turn her attention to before she exploded with questions that shouldn’t have been asked in public. Her eyes landed on the Doctor and filled with mischief.

No doubt he’d been regaling his daughter with tales of how impressive he was. Well, Rose couldn’t very well let that stand, now could she? She was going to break out her most embarrassing stories for Jenny and Jamie. Sure, her own reputation was going to take a hit, but that was nothing; she’d been tabloid fodder for years now.

“We’d get nothin’ done if we did that.” Once this war was over, Rose would be returning home (if it was restored) to finish her own battles and it didn’t seem like they’d be meeting again. “Tell you what, though; when we find some downtime, I’ll tell you about the mad life I had with ‘im, especially the stuff he doesn’t want you to hear.”

[thatsortofaman.livejournal.com]

The Doctor looks a little alarmed at that, though maybe he should have expected it. Now he remembers why his companions getting along is almost more worrying than when they're fighting. Not quite, but close.

"And anything she tells you," the Doctor says firmly to the other two, "is bound to be a complete fabrication. Honestly, Jenny, she'll only lead you astray."

He glances to Rose and gives her a mock glare, shaking his head at her a little, but whatever disapproval he was going for is completely ruined by the beginnings of a broad grin tugging at his lips.

[bonnypiperlad]

"Aye, walking undead. We had to fight them here once. It...look, it's a long story, but if ye want me to tell ye about it sometime, I will. They're gone now, though."

Speaking of stories...

"Don't listen to him," Jamie says over his shoulder to Jenny at that point. "He's just worried we're going to make him look bad. Remind me to tell ye about the time he nearly let the TARDIS get swallowed by lava. That's a good one."

Telling embarrassing stories sounds like an excellent plan, he thinks. He turns his head to give Rose a rather lopsided sort of smile. Oh, he definitely approves of her.

"I'm glad to see ye at least have sense when it comes to who ye let go with ye in the future, Doctor."

As they make their way through the ships in the hangar, they are getting smaller in size, and are at a point now where they seem to be personal craft, holding only a few people at best. Jamie pauses for a moment, looking to see if he can spot anything from where he's at, popping up on his toes to try and get a little more height.

"Maybe ye should try a scan again?"

[thatsortofaman.livejournal.com]

The Doctor rolls his eyes a little at Jamie, but he decides not to argue the point further. The only thing he'd get out of that would be looking... flustered. Which he is not.

So instead, he sweeps his screwdriver around the hangar in a slow scan. He doesn't pause while he's scanning, but there's something faint in the response he gets from the screwdriver that makes him try a second go, brow furrowed and head cocked to listen to the buzz of the sonic.

"Something's not right," he mutters, possibly just to himself, and sweeps to the lead of the group. He's not quite running, but walking about as quickly as possible without breaking into a run, and he glances up from his screwdriver as he walks to search the vehicles around him.

And - there, peeking over the tops of a few other vehicles, is that so-familiar blue, drawing his gaze immediately. The Doctor's expression lightens a bit, though he still looks vaguely troubled - he should've been able to sense the TARDIS from this distance, and it's barely registering on the screwdriver.

"Call the others," he calls as he hurries toward the TARDIS. Maybe it's just powered down in his possibly very long absence, and maybe as soon as he steps through the doors, it'll be fine... "It's here."

[bonnypiperlad]

Following the Doctor's gaze, Jamie also catches sight of that familiar blue box, and his heart lifts. He had been afraid that they weren't going to be able to find it, that Stacy wouldn't have been able to save it. And while Jamie thinks that he, personally, would have learned to get by, he's not at all sure the Doctor would have been able to. So he's very, very glad to see it's there.

Before the others can reply, Jamie says impulsively, "I'll go and get them." Hopefully they won't blame him for wanting to be the one to fetch the others, considering the majority of the other group contains his friends.

He runs off in the direction of where he last saw them headed, cupping his hands around his mouth to amplify his words as he goes. "Doctor. Doctor! We've found the TARDIS!!"

((OOC: dunno if anyone specific wants to start the finding thread at this point? Assume for this one Jamie is off fetching the others so he's out for the moment.))