Doctor Doctor

"Okay, I give up. Who are you supposed to be?"

Charles grinned as he turned around for inspection. "Han Solo ... Captain of the Millennium Falcon!"

"Why?"

"Because he has the coolest spaceship, by a long way."

"Although not a great deal of integrity, if I remember correctly." Making use of his height, William looked around the crowded room. He had never seen so many odd sights in his life—both human and non-human. "Whose idea was it to have a sci-fi costume party?"

Charles nodded his head towards the corner, where Caroline was holding court in a skimpy little outfit and thigh high boots, surrounded by a number of drooling admirers.

It was his worst nightmare, come to life. "Oh God, no! Barbarella?"

"She wanted to show off those new implants."

"Well, she’s certainly doing that. What about Louisa and Hurst?"

Charles started to laugh. "You’ve got to see them. George and Jane Jetson!"

An image of the mismatched pair flashed before his eyes. He shuddered. "I’ll give it a miss, thanks. I suppose, as usual, you’re looking for your perfect partner. Funny, I don’t see any six foot females with a facial hair problem."

Shrugging off the sarcasm, Charles looked hopefully around the other guests. "No, there’s no Wookie, but I am hoping for a Princess Leia."

"You wouldn’t say that if you’d seen her."

His gaze swept eagerly around the room. "There’s a Princess Leia here?"

"Well, there’s something resembling a female in a flowing white dress, with what looks like a bagel strapped to each ear, but she’s not your type."

"How do you know my type?"

"Trust me, experience has taught me the attributes you go for."

"That’s rich, coming from a man who assesses every woman he meets on the basis of whether she’d make a good secretary."

"Don’t mock. Decent secretaries are hard to find these days. Besides, I do have some female friends, you know."

"Really? So, when was the last time you went out on a date?"

"Last week ... to the opera."

"Little sisters don’t count." His friend looked him up and down. "You’re so predictable, Darcy. I knew you wouldn’t bother dressing up. Would it hurt so much to have a bit of fun?"

"For your information, Mr. Solo, I am in costume!"

Charles studied him. "A brown suit? That’s hardly sci-fi! You wear a suit to the office every day. I don’t think I know any spacemen who save the planet in a shirt and tie ... unless you’ve got tights on beneath your boxers."

"Do not flaunt your ignorance, Bingley. I’m the Doctor."

"Doctor who?"

"Exactly."

"Oh! Dr. Who! So, where’s your scarf?"

"Wrong Doctor. You’re way behind the times. Tom Baker was the fourth doctor. I’m the tenth doctor."

"There’s ten of them? I can still remember when ..." But whatever Charles was going to say was lost in the void of deep space as he spotted a particularly bright star in orbit around the bar. "You’ll have to excuse me, Doctor ... I think I’m in love."

"Take two aspirin and call me in the morning. I can guarantee it will have worn off by then." William recognised the signs straight away. Next, Charles would swear that an angel had fallen to earth. He followed his friend and found him talking to a young woman. It was most definitely a woman. No man would have been able to fake it in that lycra one piece that hugged her curves like a car running on Michelins.

"And you are?" Charles prompted.

The young woman’s smile was serene. "I am Seven of Nine, Tertiary Adjunct of ... of ..." She turned to her companion. "Oh ... what was it again, Lizzy?"

"Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix Zero-One," replied the girl in the shapeless black combat clothes.

"And I could have sworn you were an angel that had fallen to earth," Charles said, a dreamy smile on his face.

William groaned silently. Now who was being predictable?

The blonde’s smile never wavered, but there was a hint of concern in her eyes. "Angel? I thought we were meant to dress up as a science fiction character, not a vampire."

"I don’t think he means that kind of Angel, Jane," her friend whispered.

Assessing the other woman more carefully, William could not guess who or what she was supposed to be. Her costume covered more than it revealed, although he could see she had a light, pleasing figure. On first glance, he had thought her hair was also blonde, but closer inspection showed it to be a wig. Ignorant of the conversation flowing between the two young women and his friend, he reached out and tugged at a loose chestnut brown lock of hair peeking out from beneath the blonde.

"Hey! What are you doing?"

For a few seconds he just stood there, unable to respond. As a blonde, she’d been of marginal interest, but seeing that little bit of brown hair had prompted an insatiable curiosity to see what she was hiding. "You’re a brunette," he accused.

She raised her eyebrows. "Are you sure? I would never have known if you hadn’t told me." She laughed, pulling off her wig and shaking out the rich brown curls that had been tucked up within it. "It was making my head itch anyway." Returning his stare, she looked him up and down. "So, where did you park your TARDIS?"

"How did you guess I was the Doctor?"

She shrugged. "You have an aloof, otherworldliness about you. Like you’re better than everyone else in the room."

"Should I take that as a compliment?"

"Only if it’s an act. Otherwise I’d probably feel sorry for you."

William turned away, embarrassed. Georgiana was always telling him that he was too stuffy in unfamiliar company. He looked for Charles, but Han Solo was participating in some interspecies relations with the half-Borg on the dance floor. He turned back to her companion. "It appears that Bingley has commandeered your friend. So, who have you come as?"

"Captain Samantha Carter ... from Stargate SG-1." William had to admit that he’d never heard of it. "I chose Sam Carter because she’s smarter than your average space-bimbo." She threw a disgusted glance over her shoulder, towards Caroline, who was now dancing on a table. "She’s qualified in astrophysics, and knows everything there is to know about spatial anomalies." Her eyes shone brightly in the semi-darkness as she warmed to her subject.

Running a finger around his shirt collar, William tried to calm his fast-beating heart. He felt like he’d just run a marathon. Seeing that her glass was almost full, he steered her to the side of the room, where he could sit and talk before his knees gave way. "So, when you’re not dressing up as a space-travelling astrophysicist, what do you do?"

"I’m a doctor ... but not of the Time Lord variety. Just one of the regular kind."

He was intrigued, in a way he couldn’t remember being before. The woman in front of him was still talking about her work at the local hospital, but all William could think of was how much he wanted to kiss her. He’d never met a woman who had captured his attention so completely, and with no manipulation. Perhaps if he kissed her the feeling might go away; like appeasing a craving for ice cream with a midnight raid on the freezer.

Her voice broke through his reverie. "Are you okay? You spaced out for a minute there."

William managed a smile. "That’s what Time Lords do, isn’t it?"

The music changed in the background and she grinned. "I’m going to dance. Will you join me?" She held out her hand to him.

William Darcy never danced. He was about to refuse, but then he imagined her dancing the night away with some pimpled idiot in a skin-tight green suit with deely-boppers on his head. As much as he might not want to dance himself, he could not bear to see her spending time with anyone else either.

The music was slow and romantic, and all the others on the dance floor had their arms draped around their partners. The brunette doctor moved closer, swinging her hips and resting her hands lightly on his shoulders. After a moments pause, William placed his hands on her waist, moving in time with the music. She looked up into his eyes and smiled. "Doesn’t that feel better, Doctor?"

William sighed, relaxing a little. "I don’t usually dance."

"Well, it just goes to show that you can teach an old Doctor new tricks." Her hands moved from his shoulders, down to his chest, before slipping inside his jacket; tracing the curves of his muscles as she pulled him closer.

The music changed, and William was relieved when the tempo remained slow and sultry. They rocked together slowly, and he marvelled that he was actually dancing, and with a beautiful, intelligent woman who appeared to fit him perfectly.

He felt something in his chest; like a pain, but not. It was almost as though the final piece of a jigsaw had just clicked into place, filling a space that had always been hollow. At that moment, she lifted her chin again, and before he could stop to think he brushed his lips across hers. They were soft and sweet and they parted with a sigh; drawing him back to her mouth like matter to a black hole, teasing her with his tongue before plunging into the abyss as she welcomed him; allowing him to drink deeply from her very soul.

It was hard to imagine anything more innocent, or more erotic.

He considered himself experienced, but the sweet intimacy of their kiss almost floored him. As they explored the mysteries of their shared universe, William felt a peace descend, the like of which he had never known. Had he been the religious sort, he might even have called it heaven. As her soft, supple lips fused with his, he flew past the moons and stars and out of the galaxy, finally returning with a serene awareness that the kiss they had shared transcended anything he had previously encountered.

Reluctantly, she broke away; her chest rising and falling beneath her black costume. He waited, wondering what she would say to a virtual stranger who had taken such liberties. He couldn’t bring himself to regret what he’d done. No sane being could lament a circumstance that had resulted in such an exquisite and intimate surrender.

"That was ..."

"Amazing."

She smiled. "I was going to say surprising, but amazing works very well too." She held out her hand. "I’m Lizzy Bennet. I’ve always wanted to be the Doctor’s companion."

He took her hand, but instead of shaking it, he turned it around, inspecting each crease and crevice of her long, shapely fingers. Finally, he shook it. "William Darcy. It’s a pleasure to meet you."

"What were you looking for?"

"Blood. I seem to have lost my heart, and I wondered whether you might have surgically removed it while I wasn’t looking."

Her smile grew. "Well, as the Doctor you do have two hearts, so you can probably afford to lose one, but if you’re worried, I could give you a thorough physical ... back at my place."

The malfunctioning muscle pumped faster, giving lie to the suggestion that he might have misplaced it. "That sounds like fun. My car’s just outside."

"I’ll grab my coat and let Jane know I’m leaving. Oh, and Doctor? Don’t forget to bring your sonic screwdriver."

"Why would I need that?"

Her grin turned suddenly wicked and her eyes sparkled mischievously. "To better probe the mysteries of my quantum singularity, of course."