David Tennant and the Multiverse of Insanity

Chapter 1: Reliving the 80s

   London, England, 2024. Harold Pinter Theater was sold out. David's performance of Shakespeare's Macbeth captivated audiences from around the world along with his amazing co-stars. Sheryl was at the forefront of the audience, getting a front-row view of the entire thing, even feeling very light spray from the actors at times when they'd gotten thrown around or had a horrible aim with their spitting scenes. The sight of her favorite actor of all time being right in front of her was a dream come true. David was on his final scene of Macbeth, wowing the crowd with the final act. After the completion of the story, he gathered on stage with the other actors, standing by the wonderful Cush Jumbo, and taking his bows with the audience to the sound of applause for their hard work. It wasn't an easy life, even for a hardcore fan of Shakespeare. 

   David heads backstage and begins to clean up from his stage outfit, changing into a fresh set of jeans, shirt, sweater and a light overcoat. He dons his glasses, now finally able to see clearly and says his goodbyes to his fellow actors, even giving a little hug to young Casper on the way out. After leaving, he sees the crowd of fans gathering, wanting to sign a few autographs and briefly speak with a few. Who knew that one of those fans would change his life forever! Sure, some were simps, wanting to be close to their celebrity crush... Some were also fans of Shakespeare... Some genuinely admired and looked up to the man before them and wanted a once-in-a-lifetime experience. He was happy to speak with them all though, keeping a good light when in public. He was always seen as a kind and caring individual to his fans.

"So, ye enjoy the show?" David asks as he got to Sheryl and begins to sign a Macbeth program.

"Yes sir. You were all amazing. Well-worth the trip from America." Sheryl replies, a bit star-struck at the tall Scotsman before her.

"Well, thank yeh very much an' safe travels to yeh. I hope ye'll have time to do a bit of travelin' before ye have teh leave here." David returns as he finishes the signature and hands her the program back.

"I certainly will. Thank you for everything you do for us. I really appreciate it and I hope you're giving yourself time to rest in between. Please don't burn yourself out for our sake." She continues. Being a former medic, she knows the price of overworking yourself personally, and wouldn't want to see her favorite actors get hurt.

"Oh, thank ye for yer concern. I assure you that my wife makes me take breaks. Take care an' thanks for comin' by teh see us." David finishes with a smile and walks away to finish up with his fans. 

   The Scotsman eventually finishes his fan interactions, now ready to drive home and enjoy some fresh cooking from his wife, Georgia. He gets into his car, ready to drive home and spend time with his family, but when he inserts his key to turn on the ignition, nothing happens. Nothing is turning on in the car, and he hadn't even noticed the dome light that didn't turn on when he initially entered the vehicle. "Oh, come on! Not now..." He says to himself, trying to start the car again, but failing. "Well, this is utter shite." David pulls his phone out, ready to phone Georgia and calls her. "Yeah, something is wrong with the car. I hate to ask, but can ye have Ty watch the kids and come pick me up? I'll phone for a tow in the morrow." He asks his wife. "Sure, I'll be right down. Hang tight." She replies, but before they can finish their talk, David sees something in the distance.

"Georgia, I think I see somethin' in front of me..." He says over the phone, leavin' his wife a bit concerned.

"David, just stay in your car, I'm comin' right over." Georgia returns, grabbing her keys and begins to head out to the car.

   Suddenly, the light David saw got closer, and closer, until it finally crash lands right in front of the car. The streetlights go out, along with the electricity to all the nearby buildings of the West End. David's heart is pounding in his chest as his curiosity begins to peak. He looks around, noticing that not too many people were around, but returns his gaze upon the mysterious object. He cautiously approaches, testing out the saying of 'curiosity killed the cat' with each step. He looks into the small crater in the middle of the street, seeing a feint teal glow. It was almost as if his time as The Doctor was, for now, a reality in his head. Of course, The Doctor himself would want to investigate if this happened in the show. 

"Babe, what's goin' on? Talk to me." Georgia speaks up, worried about the lingering silence over the phone. "I thought I heard a bit of a crash. Are you alright?" She was beginning to panic slightly, pressing a tad harder on the acceleration pedal. 

   David reaches the object, crouching down, not feeling any heat radiating from it. Many scenarios from Doctor Who are running through his mind, wanting to investigate further. Suddenly, he's surprised from behind. "FUCK!" He yells out, falling onto his ass from the surprise, still clutching the phone in his hand, but accidentally pressing the hangup option. "Babe? David?.... Is everything okay? David? David!" Georgia frantically calls out, hearing her husband shout and then suddenly disconnect. Her nerves were really shot now as she gets closer to the Harold Pinter Theatre, the car's tires now screeching into turns.

"Shit, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to scare you. I thought you were hurt from...whatever this thing was." Sheryl says, holding a hand out to help the actor up, though David didn't see the hand, simply looking at his phone and realizing he hung up on his wife.

"Shit, she's goin' teh kill me for that." He says, breathing heavily and his heart is still pounding, though beginning to slow. He puts his phone into his pocket, figuring Georgia was due in at any second and begins to look at the object, now on his hands and knees.

   Sheryl crouches down at his side, wanting to know more about this object, crystalline in appearance and about the size of an American football. "What do you think it is? This is almost like it's right out of Doctor Who or something? Definitely something I hadn't planned on experiencing during my stay here..." 

   David extends his hand towards the object slowly, still not detecting any heat. "DT, I don't think you should do that..." Sheryl says to David, having seen enough sci-fi movies and shows to know it's a bad idea to touch something like this. "One lil' poke shouldn't hurt anythin', eh?" David responds, finally lightly touching the object. "It's... It's cold." He says, poking it a bit more firmly, deciding to do something rash and pick it up. "And light too." He continues, standing with the object in his hands. Sheryl looks at the object, feeling something a bit off. "DT, I got a bad feeling about this. Put it back down and we'll call London Metro. They'll know what to do or can call someone that can handle this." Sheryl goes on, feeling like her hair was standing up on her body, almost like static electricity. David could feel it too, even feeling a bit tingly on his hands.

   Georgia arrives in the other family car, but her car also dies as soon as she gets close to them. Frustrated that she too will now need a tow, she gets out of the car and begins to approach David and Sheryl, her face concerned, but glad to see David is okay after the scare. "Babe, are you okay? What happened?" Georgia calls out as she begins to carefully navigate all the cracks in the street to approach her husband. Suddenly, the object begins to glow a bright blue color in David's hands. "David, put that down! NOW!" She shouts, but before David could suddenly release it, it begins to crackle with electricity, spreading to both David and Sheryl, who was still standing right beside him and briefly distracted by Georgia Tennant's arrival. Both David and Sheryl begin to tense and shout from the current being sent throughout their bodies, and then a bright light suddenly flashes, stunning Georgia and lighting up the entire street. As quickly as the light appeared, it disappeared, along with both David Tennant and Sheryl Silverman.

   Georgia finally regained her senses after a couple of seconds, suddenly not seeing the presence of David, nor the mysterious woman that was beside him. Panic was now really setting in. "DAVID! DAVID!" She calls out, desperately looking for her husband. She pulls out her phone, wanting to use the flashlight feature, but her phone was now dead too. "SHIT!" All that remained was a darkened street and silence in the immediate vicinity. Her husband and this mysterious woman had now disappeared before her eyes.

   Cotswalds Region, England, 1987. David and Sheryl suddenly appear on the streets of a beautiful countryside, both people briefly collapsing from the sudden pain of the shock and the transport, laying on the ground and the object falls in between them both. Groaning and finally moving after a couple of seconds, David is the first to rise to a sitting position, looking at his surroundings and then to Sheryl at his side, still out of it. "Shit..." He says to himself, leaning over to press a couple of fingers to her neck, checking for a pulse to see if she was still alive. Finding a pulse, he gives her a light shake. "Hey, wake up." He says, finally stirring Sheryl awake. He then looks back at the object, which isn't emitting a glow anymore and he's no longer feeling the static-like feeling around it. Sheryl rises to a sitting position as well, looking down at the object and then back at David.

   "DT, what happened? Did we seriously get... transported???" She asks, once again scanning her surroundings. She has a strange feeling that she's seen this exact scene before. "This area looks... strangely familiar." She continues as David rises to his feet, extending a hand and helping Sheryl stand as well. Both individuals dust themselves off, then David looks at his surroundings. "Well, this area is certainly familiar to me. I was here when I filmed the Rivals series." He says, thinking back to his time in this area of the UK. "Rivals? Yes, that's it. This was supposed to be the Cotswalds region, right?" Sheryl mentions, recalling scenes and locations from one of her favorite shows. "Heh, maybe we'll run into Rupert Campbell-Black or somethin'." She jokes, trying to find a little light in their situation. 

   David was a bit unimpressed, giving her the "Alec Hardy" glare, but then finally lets out a light chuckle himself. "I ken you may be correct. At least I'd have an easier time if this be truly the Cotswalds region." He then continues, leaning down to pick up the object, inspecting it. "This thing sent us here, but I ken whatever energy it used was spent by the transport." He continues, beginning to sound like he was The Doctor. "Hmm, maybe you're right." Sheryl responds, hearing something in the distance. A car is seen in the distance and pulls up. It was an older car, but had a ginger man driving it. He definitely looked familiar to me as he rolled his window down. 

   "Tony? What in the blazes are you doing out here? Did your car break down on you?" The man asks. Sheryl looks at David, then back at the man. David looks just as confused. "Antony? Is that you?" David asks, thinking the man was his Rivals co-star. "Who the hell is Antony?! Get in the car Tony, we got a situation at the station. I'll run you by The Falconry so you can change." He says, giving me a look of confusion. "Who's this?" Ginger asks. "Erm...she's... my new station medic?" David replies, looking not totally confident in his answer, but he plays along for now. "Fine, get in." Ginger replies, letting both David and Sheryl into his car. It was the exact car from the show too. Sheryl listens in on the music playing on the radio, noticing it was definitely dated. She pulls her phone slightly from her pocket and sees it's still dead and will be completely useless. She leans back into the backseat, looking at David on the passenger side.

   "Erm... Is there something going on that I don't ken about? This has to be a prank..." David says to Ginger, his expression clearly one of surprise and confusion. David looks around, thinking he's being taken to a set location, knowing Rivals Season 2 was due to be filming soon. "Bloody Alex or Aiden. Maybe even Claire. This has to be one of them." David continues, Ginger looking even more puzzled at the names. "Tony, are you okay? And when did you start having a bloody Scottish accent? Maybe I should cancel this meeting and have Joyce reschedule it." Ginger continues, shaking his head in disbelief. David looks at Sheryl in the backseat a bit wide-eyed, shrugging at her. "Okay?... Umm, I was just trying it out, I guess. My...son gave me this stupid dare. Just get me home and I'll see how I feel after I change." David says, now using his English accent from the show. 

   As they approach the Falconry, David and Sheryl exit the car with Ginger opting to remain inside the vehicle. David looks around at the familiar setting, entering through the door as if he truly had been living there. "It's... like I'm playing him all over again. This can't be real. That thing killed me, it did. I ken it did." David says as he runs a hand through his hair, going up the stairs to Tony's room with Sheryl following behind. The entire time, David was hoping this was all just a prank from his Rivals co-stars or that he truly was just dreaming, and he'd simply wake up at Georgia's side in bed. He still can't get the image of her panicked face out of his mind, even in the very brief moment he'd witnessed before the shock took him over and he slammed his eyes shut. 

"DT, is everything okay?" Sheryl asks. 

"This is... all just unbelievable. I feel like I'm on set again." David responds, pulling out one of Tony's suits from the closet. He's trying not think about his family, though he was considering the possibility that he may be trapped here in this wild world of his latest show. "These even feel like the ones I've worn on set."

"Well, just play along for now. Who knows? Maybe everyone will surprise you in the end. I'm honestly just excited to be here. I've always wanted to be a part of the show." Sheryl returns, smiling and heading for the door. "I'll be having a look around. I am wondering where Lady Monica and the dogs are?"

   David was curious as to where Claire was with the dogs he remembered from the set. Even his on-screen son. After Sheryl had left the room, he took another look at the dark blue suit with the pin stripes, the red tie. Even Tony Baddingham's gold ring with the red Corinium logo on it. He shook his head and slipped it on, now taking on the role of Tony Baddingham once more. David walks downstairs after donning the attire of the Corinium Television station manager, his hair now done up and styled as such. Sheryl was just re-entering the main lobby from the living room, looking David up and down. "Wow, it's like I really am on set. And to think I had only just seen your Macbeth performance tonight. Now I'm watching a live performance of Rivals." She says, crossing her arms and was clearly starstruck. 

   "If this was Alex pulling another prank, I'll make sure to pay him back later. Well, let's head to the station then and see what Antony's up to." David says, adjusting his cuffs and tie one last time and exits. "When we get there, I'll see about having some Corinium attire delivered to you." Sheryl nods and they both get inside Ginger's car and head off to Corinium. The ride there felt awkward, and the two oddballs scanned the town for all the 1980s and earlier vehicles there. The fashion was also definitely of the 1980s and the music as well.

   As the car pulled into the car park of Corinium Television, David exits the car, noticing Tony's familiar red car already in his parking space. Ginger heads inside as both David and Sheryl look at the giant slow-spinning logo on the front lawn. David looks between that and the front entrance to Corinium Television, his heart pounding and sweat beginning to form on his brow. "You got this DT. You're Lord Tony friggin Baddingham! The King of Corinium! Just act like Tony, like you have before. We'll see what's up later. Maybe I could help ask around and gather some answers? Also, where did you put the you-know-what?" Sheryl asks, trying to help give David a peptalk, seeing his anxiety beginning to emerge. "Uhh, it's locked inside my...Tony's room. It's safe." He answers, opening the door for Sheryl, but Sheryl quickly takes a hold of the door almost in an emergent manner.

   "Tony is a misogynist, remember? Plus, he's the boss. You first." Sheryl instructs, reminding David of Tony's mannerisms from the show, especially when he's at the office. "Right. Thanks." David replies, heading inside, being greeted by the front receptionist with Sheryl following close behind, heading into the elevator together. "So, where do the set medics hang out?" Sheryl asks. "Usually on the main floor, down the hall from where the various shows are filmed. Just wait for me in Tony's office until I come to find you." David replies just before the elevator door opens, and the all-to-familiar set of the main Corinium offices appear before them with the giant "CORINIUM" sign hung high, overlooking the employees. Sheryl heads towards where Tony's office is, trying to look like she belongs there. Joyce, Tony's secretary, looks up briefly and greets her, just assuming it was Tony's next meeting showing up according to her schedule book.

   Meanwhile, David heads to the conference room just down the hall, Ginger waiting with an envelope in his hand. "Right, so, what's this situation you've dragged me all the way back here for?" David asks Ginger, using Tony's tone and English accent as if he were acting in the role again, trying to look annoyed. "Well, you sent me out to spy on everyone, remember? I got some information you might want to see." Ginger says, pulling out photos of Cameron Cook and Rupert Campbell-Black walking into Cameron's flat together, hand-in-hand. "Campbell-Black and Cameron have been seen together on multiple occasions. She's working with those Venturer swine, Tony..." Ginger continues. David chuckles and rolls his eyes. "Okay, tell me what's REALLY going on. This is all just a prank, innit? I don't remember this being in any script." David answers, being dismissive about the situation. "Tony, this isn't a bloody script! Cameron is fucking Rupert." Ginger sternly reinforces. "Thanks Ginger. I'll take it from here." David simply replies, taking the pictures from Ginger's hands. "Anything else? Also, I'll need a set of station medic attire delivered to my office for the new hire." He finishes, a stunned Ginger simply nodding his head and departing the room. "David shakes his head, looking at the pictures again, thinking these were just unused pictures of Alex Hassell and Nafeesa Williams from the set that were never used. He sits in a nearby chair, looking around the room. The feeling of being back on the Rivals set hadn't yet fully sunk in. "Well, one scene down, I suppose. But where's the bloody cameras? Where's the lighting equipment? The production crew? This is all wrong..." David says to himself.

   Sheryl waits in the char in front of Tony's desk, looking across at the Corinium ram head model on the counter. She then turns her attention to Tony's desk stuff, noting how it looked exactly as it did on the show. Suddenly, she hears a familiar voice outside the door, and then the sound of the door opening. She turns and stands to see David standing in front of her, but he wasn't wearing the same attire he was when they arrived at the station. He had his coat off and was sporting his white undershirt, his gold arm cuffs, dark blue tie, and his red suspenders. Even the hairstyle was slightly different. "Oh? Changed, have you?" Sheryl says to him, giving the man a smirk as she crossed her arms.

   "Who the bloody hell are YOU? You aren't my next appointment?!" Tony scoffs, especially at the obvious disrespect she was showing to Corinium's main boss. The realization hit. The REAL Tony Baddingham was standing before her. This wasn't David Tennant. "F-fuck..." She thought in her head. "I-I'm Sh-Sheryl Silverman. The new head Station Medic, sir. I guess HR thought I should meet the main boss, and well... I thought I had seen you earlier." Sheryl replies, trying her best to fix the situation she was now in. "Get the fuck out of my office and just do your bloody job. Preferably NOT in whatever the fuck you currently got on. Welcome to Corinium." Tony snarkly replies, gesturing for her to leave. "JOYCE, bring my ACTUAL next appointment in!" He shouts to his secretary as I promptly left the office, running into Ginger as I exited, who handed me a uniform to wear. Ginger looks at Tony confused. "Tony, did you change?" He says, Tony looking not at all impressed at his asking the same question as the new girl. "You too? I swear, has everyone gone bloody mad today?! This isn't the correct time for such stupid fucking questions. I need to have a little chat with our Director of Programs, so have Cameron Cook sent to my office, NOW." He commands Ginger quickly departing to look for her. Tony was clearly having one of those days, though he did feel a bit odd. 

   As Sheryl departs the office, she quickly spots David down the hall. She runs to him, dragging him into a nearby storage room. "Bloody hell woman!" David shouts at the sudden grab as Sheryl flips the light switch on. "Whatever happened to playing along?" He continues, his brows raised in surprised and slight annoyance. "DT, you're not going to believe this... I just ran into Tony! TONY BADDINGHAM! The REAL TONY!" She loudly whispers as she locked the door to avoid interruptions. "I swear, it was like a carbon friggin copy!" She continues, though David didn't look amused. "There's no way yeh ran into me in that office. I was just on me way back." David replied, back in his Scottish accent for the time being. "Look, new set photos of Nafeesa and Alex." He says, holding the photos up with a dorky smile on his face. Sheryl takes the pictures, flipping through them and looks back up at David as if she were making that "....really?" face. "This is nothing new. We both know her and Rupert been messing around on the show. Heck, who HASN'T Rupert been with at this point?" She continues, to a chuckle from David. "I suppose you're correct about that. Quite the wanker. Antony's REALLY into his character today, along with everyone else in here. But I haven't seen one single set camera, boom mic, nor any production staff. I ken there's something more to this." David continues, in a thinking gesture with his hand on his chin, his thumb brushing over his freshly shaved skin. "How was the real Tony then? Does he... really look like me? Like voice, face an' such?" He asks, genuinely curious if he had a twin in the same building as him. "He was an asshole, just like he was in the show. He gave me some strong words before kicking me out of his office, but Ginger did give me a uniform. I suppose now I can look legit and begin going around to ask questions. But everything in my gut is telling me that this is the REAL world of Rivals. Keep your head up and stay aware. We can't let you and Tony see each other." Sheryl continues with David nodding his head.

   "Right, like those paradoxes I always mentioned in Doctor Who. Oooo, this means ole Sylvester McCoy is currently The Doctor!" David continues, a bit more enthusiastic about this potential that they actually time-traveled. "I guess, but we got bigger problems, like how to get back to our own universe and you can get back to your family." David's heart shrunk at Sheryl's words. Now reminded that his family is currently without him, and Georgia was left traumatized by what she probably witnessed that night. His wife, his five kids, and their two dogs were definitely worried about him. Surely, even the media could be reporting David Tennant being missing by now, probably making national headlines due to his popularity around the world. "You're right. I apologize. So, we just work through this day, and at the end of the day we simply get back to my...erm...home, and figure out how to get the crystal to send us back?" David asks. "That's the spirit. We can handle this. It's just one day right?" She replies, the two seem to be in better spirits and more confident about the situation. "Right. Back to bein' ol' Tony then." David says, now back in his British accent as he straightens out his attire. "Umm, the real Tony is in different attire though. Just be careful." Sheryl reminds him as David nods and opens the door to leave, leaving Sheryl alone in the storage room to change into her new Corinium medic uniform. 

   The gossip was spreading like wildfire. That there was something up with Tony, and that he'd seemed more aggressive than normal today. Even poor Joyce was confused at seeing her boss in multiple areas of the office and in different attires. Eventually, it came time to air another round of How to Stay Married with James and Lizzie Vereker and David's world was about to collide. 

   David enters Cameron's office to use her computer after she'd left to go handle the show. He was really confused about how to operate a 1987 based operating system. "Well, this is utter shite. And me own phone isn't even werkin'." He says to himself in his original Scottish accent, pulling out his phone, still not seeing any signal on it and decides to turn it off to save battery. He definitely wasn't finding one in this timeline. Suddenly, Cameron Cook appears through the other side of the door, seeing her shadow walk up through the window. "Shit..." He whispers to himself, quickly getting out of the chair and hiding his work, just before Cameron enters. "Tony? What are you doing? It's time to begin the show." Cameron says, wearing her form-fitting red blazer with red skirt. "Right, let's go then and get this over with. I might be leavin' a bit early tonight anyway." He says, strolling out of the door with Cameron following close behind, trying to remember how to get to the set's control room.

   David casually lets Cameron walk slightly ahead of him to avoid being caught. But as they entered the control room, his gut felt like it gotten punched. Tony Baddingham was already inside the control room, smoking his cigar when he glanced over towards Cameron. "About fucking time Cameron. Let's begin." Tony commands, only seeing Cameron initially due to David's quick reaction and stepped back out of the control room before Tony could notice him. "Wait... Tony?" Cameron says, looking at Tony with a surprised look and then back towards the doorway where David once stood. David quickly ran into a nearby room and closed the door behind him, hiding from sight right before Cameron looked outside the control room, scanning in each direction before popping back into the room. "That was weird, I was just walking with you..." Cameron says as she re-entered the control room with Tony looking perplexed and then he let out a huff. "Cameron, what the fuck are you on about? Do your job, we have the committee watching in the crowd tonight. We need this to run flawlessly." Tony instructs, folding a leg over his other as he sat back in his chair, taking another drag.

"Shit, that was close." David says to himself, his clutched hand over his heart and beginning to sweat from the near-miss.

    He leans against the wall and closes his eyes, trying to steady his breathing. Fatigue was starting to set in now, and David was beginning to feel the effects of it. His body was getting weak from lack of sleep and food after being yanked into the 1980s after his Macbeth performance and he needed to at least grab something to snack on. Realizing that he was very much trapped in the fictional world of Rivals, he carefully peeks outside the door of his room, wanting to be more cautious, especially after his near-run-in with the real Tony. David then heads back to Tony's office, passing by a still-confused Joyce as she took another double-take at her boss. This was basically like being back on set, right? This was something he asked himself in his head. He was a professional actor; he could handle this. At least this was also a recent show too, so it wasn't like he was out of touch with Tony's persona. When he sat by Tony's desk, he saw a file that he recognizes as the Corinium file to keep the television license for the region. Today was the big day of the arguments between Corinium and Venturer. Meaning, Tony was definitely going to be in quite the mood today. It also meant the confrontation between he and Cameron would be happening soon too, something David was not looking forward to experiencing for real. 

   He now has the timeline of events he's mixed up in, and he was sure Sheryl had probably figured it out by now. David gets up from the chair and heads to his secretary. "Joyce. I need my new station medic up here to have a little chat." He instructs with Joyce quickly pulling up the phone to make the call. He shuts the door and returns to his seat and stares at the little Newton's Cradle on his desk, flipping two of the balls out to get it going. He scans the office, noting how extremely accurate everything was. The reality was beginning to sink in even more. Even the local newspaper had the year set in 1987. His face flushed pink at thinking where he was in 1987, and suddenly recalled his anti-smoking ad he'd done for the Glasgow Health Board. He even sported a rad mullet during those days. God, if only he could see his 16-year-old self again. David shook his head and laughed at the thought. He sees Tony's remote and decides to turn on the telly, seeing the live filming of Vereker's show. "I cannae believe this is actually the REAL Corinium. I have teh be dreamin'..." David says to himself, leaning an elbow on the top of the desk and resting his head in his hand. He was thinking back to filming on the set of Rivals, trying to recall every bit of detail.

   Suddenly, Sheryl comes into the office with a big smile on her face. "What are you lookin' so happy about?" David says as he straightens himself out in the chair. "I just met your wife... Well, your on-screen wife that is..." Sheryl says. "She was quite nice. She's definitely known about your...I mean, Tony's little affair for quite some time. We got into quite the girls talk." She continues, sitting in the chair in front of the desk. "Ooooh, you should've seen her! It was like meeting Claire Rushbrook herself! And to think I've seen her work with you in Doctor Who before..." 

   "So, I nearly ran into the real Tony." David interrupts, wanting to get her back on the issue at hand. He was starting to become a bit restless, having not slept in quite some time now. "We need teh find somewhere to crash for now. I'm not sure I can keep me eyes open anymore." He continues, pinching the bridge of his nose and closing his eyes tight, trying to shake off his fatigue. "Right, well, we can always crash here. I can go get us some food as well, since no one really suspects me here. Too busy deep into their work to notice" Sheryl says. "Also, I might have nicked a few pounds from Penny's bag earlier while he was in the loo." David was surprised and raised his brows at Sheryl. "Ye did what???" He says with a shocked, but almost stern tone, not at all impressed with Sheryl's thievery. "Relax DT, the old bastard deserved every bit of this after what he did in episode 5. At least Declan gave him a bit of that Irish punch..." She responds, rolling her eyes. "Oi, it's still wrong. Even in this false reality we're currently stuck in." David harshly says, leaning forward and giving a stern point in Sheryl's direction, almost as if he were to scold one of his own kids if they ever did the same thing. "Fine, I'll find a way to give it back. But know that we'll need currency from this timeline if we're to get some food." She responds, crossing her arms and furrowing her own brows in his direction stubbornly. Suddenly, David looks up at the telly and notices the show is over and his jaw drops. They got distracted in this heated moment that he'd completely lost his attention to the filming. "Shit! The filming has wrapped!" He says, rushing to the door, leaving Tony's chair pushed away from the desk. Sheryl gets up as well, following David. Then David opens the door and is suddenly frozen in place. Sheryl looks around David's skinny frame and sees none other, than Tony Baddingham himself. "Oh, fuck..." 

   "What...?! What the fuck is this?" Tony says, looking David up and down, almost as if he were looking at his own self in the mirror. His heart was skipping beats, and feeling light-headed. Tony looks at Sheryl for a split second with his jaw slightly dropped and then returned his gaze back to David. "Who are you?! And don't tell me my fucking twin brother." 

   "Erm... uhh..." David starts out, trying to find the right words to say. "I'm... your... body double?" He responds to Tony, using his posh English accent again, though with a bit of a shaky voice. Sheryl pinched the bridge of her nose, closed her eyes and shook her head behind him. Tony didn't look impressed at the answer once again, enters the office, sizing David up as he walked around, closing the door behind him. "Don't lie to me you bloody lanky matchstick wanker!" He shouts, getting into David's face. David could practically feel Tony's spit hit his face as he yelled those words out. "Hey, don't speak to..." Sheryl was about to interrupt before Tony immediately interrupted her. "No one was talking to you, darling! So be a good girl and shut the fuck up while us men are talking!" Tony immediately shouts, his finger pointed at her, his gold and red ring visible on his finger. David wasn't going to stand for Tony's misogynistic shit though. He firmly grasps Tony's blazer lapels with his hands and shoves Tony against the wall. His eyes fiery and his gaze resembled that of an angry time lord. "Listen here yeh right lil' piece of shite! You do not get teh speak to her like that again, I dinnae care who the fuck ye are around here!" David snarls at Tony, while Tony's eyes widen at the sheer audacity of this copycat in front of him. "And who the fuck do you think YOU are? You forget who the real boss is around here? I'm Tony fucking Baddingham!" He snaps back, smacking David's hands off him. "You and that fucking bitch of yours need to get the fuck out of Corinium... NOW!"

   It didn't take much, but Tony fucking deserved it, in David's mind. He had been awake far longer than he expected to be, he was hungry, and he wasn't putting up with Tony's shit. David angrily clenched his right fist and swung hard at Tony, connecting square at Tony's left temple, sending him staggering to his side and to the floor. "Listen here, ye right cunt! I'm not here to start trouble! I'm stuck in this world, and I very much would like to return to my own, and to my own family!" David angrily shouts at Tony as he crouched down to Tony's level. Tony rose his hand to his temple his vision blurry at the punch from the angry Scotsman in front of him. He looks up at David, not at all impressed, and seemingly more angry. Sheryl definitely wasn't going to stop David from kicking Tony's ass, finding it amusing, though she stands by the door and listens for anyone approaching. "Well, I don't remember this happening in Rivals..." She says to herself as she watches the two men in front of her. 

    "How fucking DARE YOU!" Tony shouts, swinging at David, but David manages to lean back just enough for Tony to miss completely. David quickly rises to his feet, shoving Tony forward with a foot to Tony's ass in his brief moment on his hands and knees. Tony falls forward, but quickly rose to his feet. David was ready for Tony's next move, ready to throw hands if Tony came at him again. "Dammit Tony! I didnae come here teh fight with you!" David shouts. "You fucking twat! You're with Venturer aren't you?! Those bastards have finally done it! They will NOT win this fucking license! I've already ensured that!" Tony snaps back, his face red with anger and his normally well-groomed hair was a mess, some of it hanging in front of his face. "Let me guess... You swiped Eddie's copy of the Venturer application?" Sheryl says to Tony, her arms crossed. Tony looked at Sheryl in surprise. "How... How the fuck did you know?! You're the mole I've heard about, aren't you?!" Tony scoffs at Sheryl, looking at David and then back at her. "No, Tony. David's right, and I'm getting a tad impatient myself." Sheryl says and then David relaxes his stance. "Right. We both ken to your plans an' we want no part in it. Only to return to our own homes." David adds as Tony slowly heads to his chair behind his desk and slowly sits in it, still covering his left temple. Sheryl sees the two men beginning to relax and she leaves the office, wanting to go fetch an ice pack for the Corinium boss. "I'll be back. You two behave, for your own sakes." She adds right before she closes the door behind her.

   "So, you're not with Venturer." Tony says as he continues to inspect David, feeling like he's in a bad dream. He reaches into a drawer of his desk and pulls put a cigar, lighting it and taking a drag. "So, you're obviously not with that Irish traitor, Declan. Who are you, and what are you doing here?" Tony continues, puffing out some smoke from his mouth. David sits in the chair opposite from Tony in front of the desk, folding one of his legs over his other and rests his intertwined hands in his lap. "I am you... sort of. I'm David Tennant, an actor." David answers, his demeanor now calm, though guarded. "An actor? I've never heard of you, heh." Tony snorts and takes another drag from his cigar. "You may look...a TAD like me. But that doesn't make you me." Tony continues dismissively. "Aye, it sounds quite mad, but it's the truth. I'll even prove it. I ken ye've been shaggin' up with Cameron Cook." David says, and then Tony chuckles. "Who at Corinium doesn't know at this point. People here don't think I'm not aware of the office gossip? Ginger tells me everything." Tony says, nonchalant about Davids...proof. 

   "Yeah? Well, how about you nickin' Venturer's application at ol' Freddie's place? Or how ye've been plannin' teh leave Monica to marry Cameron? OR even how ye covered up what happened teh Daisey?" David saying that last part with a flare of anger. Even recalling acting during that part disgusted him greatly, but he knew he had to get through to Tony somehow. Tony definitely looked ticked at that last bit, pausing his cigar smoking and angrily glared at David. "Oh, that last bit got to ye, eh?" David says with a smirk. "Now, you listen teh me. I need yer help. I have this...thing. It sent me and that wee lass crashing inteh here. We'd very much like to return to where we came from, and then we'd be out of yer hair." David finishes.

   Tony ponders David's words, taking another drag from his cigar and puffing it off to his side. "You seriously expect me to believe you? Especially after your pitiful attempt to blackmail me? I didn't get to where I am from letting others get the higher ground, so let's get that straight." Tony snarls, snuffing out his cigar and leaning forward on his desk. "You need help getting back to wherever the fuck you came from? Well, I want to take down those twats at Venturer. Maybe we can come to a sort of arrangement? I might even forgive your little outburst too." Tony says with a devilish smirk. David knew Tony's character though. Tony was definitely not a man to trust. "Oh... and does your situation have anything to do with...this?" Tony says, pulling out the mysterious object that David thought he had hidden back at the Falconry. David's eyes grew wide at seeing it in Tony's hands. "Oh? Now, who's struck a chord?" Tony sneered. "One of my dogs just happened to pay special attention to the location in which you hid this in MY house. Now, I know where you've nicked my clothing."

   David's heart was pounding. How could Tony have possibly discovered this? Unless he sent that rat, Ginger, to his estate to go looking for evidence of a break-in, since Ginger probably told him about their first meeting. Tony definitely had his way with finding things out, but now the jig was up. David's growing fatigue hadn't helped either. It was probably around 0400 back in London, he thought. All the years in playing The Doctor, he never thought he'd wind up in timey wimey shenanigans himself. 

   "Oh, you can have yer bloody clothes back once I figure out how teh restart the bloody thing in yer hands." David responds. "Beware, that does give a rather good shock teh yer system." Right about now, David was hoping the thing would just spring to life and send Tony away, just as it did to himself, though he couldn't subject his wife to Tony Baddingham, not for real. It was a risk, he didn't want to take.

   "This looks expensive. You nick this too?" Tony asks. "What's stopping me from changing my mind and calling the coppers on you? Especially when you're wearing evidence of your earlier thievery." 

   "Because ye would've done it already. Now, if ye'll be requirin' me help, then I'll be needing that back." David says with a stern glare, not at all wanting to make deals with the likes of Tony Baddingham.

   "Very well. But, only AFTER you do something for me first. I might even let you have your own private room to figure your shit out too. I don't know how you know about everything I've SUPPOSEDLY done, but I want you to put those nosy fucking skills of yours to use and be my second spy." Tony says with a stern and unforgiving tone. David rolls his eyes. There's always something with Lord Baddingham. "Now, I've seen some rather interesting footage of my Director of Programs and Rupert Campbell-Black while watching the raw unedited reels of Great Gardens. I want you to observe her movements and take as many photographs as you can. She's probably taken off to meet up with him already." Tony writes down Cameron's address onto a sheet from his notepad and rips it away, sliding it across his desk to David. "I trust you can find your way around here." 

   "Aye, you need more pics teh wank off to, is that it?" David scoffs back. "And what if I say no?"

   "Then I'll have you escorted away in shackles. And don't worry about your pretty little companion. I'll ensure she's well taken care of." Tony responds with a smirk and a wink. That seemed to anger David once more. "You had better not lay a single finger on her. Oh, I'll get some pictures for you. When I get back, I'll be takin' back me rock." 

   Sheryl finally arrives with the ice pack for Tony right as David stands up. To her surprise, she noticed Tony with the mysterious rock on his desk and looked between Tony and David. "Well? Is my station medic going to tend to her boss' injury or not?" Tony snarkily says, knowing it'll piss of David even more. Sheryl looks disgusted, but cautiously approaches the seated Tony as she positions by his bruised left temple and presses the ice pack to his injury. Tony gives a light hiss and wince at the sharp initial pain, but returns to his usual disgruntled look. "Not so fucking hard, damn." He scoffs. "I've got to run a bit of an errand. I will be back though, it won't take long." David reassures to Sheryl, but Tony clearly has his own plans for David's absence. "I can handle myself. Stay safe. I'll try to figure out this thing while you're gone." Sheryl replies, giving a light intentional shove to Tony's ice pack as she steps away. David gives her a nod and Tony, a stern glare, flipping the two fingers Tony's direction as he walks out of the office, leaving Sheryl to solve the mystery of the rock, hoping Tony doesn't do anything stupid while he's away. 

   As soon as David disappears from sight and closes the door behind him, Tony couldn't help but eye his new station medic up and down. Obviously frustrated from what's been happening, and now he has to deal with two potential invaders to his war with Venturer, wanting to squash that bug before it even has a chance to emerge from the ground. But Tony's current thoughts were on a new potential mistress he could use to his advantage. "So... You want to study this special rock of yours? You know, I got something more interesting to study. You might enjoy it more too." Tony says with a smirk, leaning forward and resting his elbows onto the desk as one hand kept the ice pack help against his left temple. "Ugh, really, Tony? That's got to be the lamest pickup line I've ever heard." Sheryl replies, not at all impressed with Tony's attempt as she looks over the rock, giving it a light touch as Tony looks on, obviously looking in places one's boss shouldn't. "Don't you have a station to run?...sir." Sheryl says, clearly feeling Tony's predatory gaze. "What is this thing... REALLY?" Tony asks. "I have no clue. It just sort of showed up from the sky. It landed in front of David, and then it lit up, shocked us and sent us here. I have no idea why and we had just left the theatre too." Sheryl replies, still inspecting the rock, picking it up and inspecting all angles of it.

   "HAH! You're even more mad than I had initially thought. You're sayin' this thing's a fucking space rock? What a load of rubbish..." Tony scoffs, rolling his eyes in disbelief. "And an actor, eh? Well, he's also rubbish at trying to be me. He may...somewhat... look like me, but he certainly does not have my sharp wits and forward-thinking strategy. The Scottish wanker has no backbone, and he won't go very far in this industry." Tony continues. Sheryl looks at Tony with a smirk. "He literally IS YOU, you idiot. You wouldn't be you without David, so you can either help me or shut it." Sheryl sharply replies back. Tony chuckles, enjoying getting to her head. "Is that any way to speak to your boss? After I've so kindly allowed you and my...body double, to remain here and work on finding a way back to wherever you came from? Maybe someone should teach you some fucking manners." Tony deeply scoffs as he slams his ice pack onto the table and quickly rises to his feet. Sheryl flinched and briefly lost control of the rock, dropping it to the floor and then suddenly it began to glow a feint teal color again, making the lights in the office flicker. Tony quickly scans around and then back at Sheryl. "That thing better not blow up on me, darlin'." He continues, walking to Sheryl's position. He very lightly brushes Sheryl as he walked by, positioning behind her to her right, leaning in to where he was lightly pressing against her right side. He raises his hand to brush her hair from her shoulder and leans in, his breath hot on her neck as he looked down on the rock. "You know, you could do MUCH better than that kilted twat. I'd reward you well for helping me with those traitors at Venturer." He whispers into her ear, but Sheryl quickly realizes what Tony was doing and quickly got away from him, now standing opposite of Tony on the other side of the rock. "No, thanks. Plus, you're BOTH married. I am not about to ruin such a 'happy relationship' with you and nor David either. Lady Monica deserved way better than you." 

   "Oh, so you're David's mistress then? His bit on the side? Maybe my alter ego does have some taste after all." Tony snickers back, crossing his arms. Sheryl couldn't help but very slightly enjoy it, but she was never going to let the REAL Tony know. Which Tennant fangirl wouldn't be even SLIGHTLY aroused at the thought of most of his characters coming onto them like that? "Umm, NO! I'm not David's mistress! I do respect his marriage and I want no part in ruining it. I'm also sure his wife is probably panicking up a storm right now, and he has five kids to take care of!" Sheryl scoffs back. "Bloody hell, FIVE kids?! The slag certainly puts his time in with the lady I see." Tony responds, looking up at the ceiling and shaking his head. "At least I learned when to..." 

   "Oh my fucking god, enough of THAT talk!" Sheryl quickly interrupts with a raised hand. "Now... IF you don't mind... BOSS... This rock has glowed like this before... right before it suddenly transported David and I to this world." She sharply continues, crouching down to the rock, running her hand on it. It was cool still, not glowing as brightly as it had before. Sheryl tries to recall the conditions surrounding them the last time this thing activated. "Hmmm, it lands roughly in the ground, surrounded by city lights and cars, blacking out the general vicinity... But nothing is powering down now? Maybe there's not enough power in this room for this thing to charge..." She hypothesizes. 

   "Charge? We do have our own little power station behind the Corinium main building here. Go give it a bit of a shock, but if you get fried, well, I will refuse all liability." Tony says with a smirk. "And you will owe me for this later." He continues, giving Sheryl a wink as he headed towards his door, opening it and standing outside the doorway. Sheryl picks up the rock and heads towards the doorway. As she reached the doorway, Tony briefly grabs her arm firmly, leaning into her ear once more. "I'll be in my office later awaiting your return. If I don't see you get back here in the next two hours, I will come find you... and David too. And trust me, David will be having it rough, but not as roughly as you when I eventually find you." Tony puts extra emphasis on that last bit, releasing her arm and giving a kiss gesture with his lips as Sheryl scoffs and walks away. "Keep up your shit, Tony... and someone will eventually do something about it." Sheryl finishes and then disappears down the hall. Tony simply chuckles and shuts the door behind him, then flips the telly sets on in his office and begins to review footage from the big debates between Corinium and Venturer.

   Eventually, David returns to Corinium, now dressed in his original attire with his glasses on, and seeing Sheryl outside with the rock. He was quite surprised to see she had left with it, worrying Tony had done something to make her "earn it". He quickly approaches, a brown folder in his hands. "Sheryl, lass, are ye okay?" He asks. Shery smiles and nods her head. "Nothing I couldn't handle." 

   "He didnae hurt you, did he?" Tony asks, concerned.

   "No, he was being...well, he was being Tony. But no, nothing went THAT far." Shery responded, walking towards the gate to the power station with David following. "So, what did Tony have you do for him?" 

   "Oh, he thinks I went to Cameron's house to take photographs of Cameron and Rupert. But he doesn't ken to what I've really got in this folder." David says with a wide grin as he shows Sheryl the actual pictures and Sheryl's eyes widens and then she bursts into laughter. "DT! That's hilarious! I can't wait to see Tony's face after you give this to him." Sheryl says as David closes the folder and giggles like a child pulling a prank on their teacher. "So, what did you figure out with this rock?" David asks.

   "I'm testing out a little theory. That this might just need some charge. It seemed to glow again after Tony made me drop the darn thing. It made his office flicker, and then I think he just wanted it out of his office after that, thinking it might blow up." Sheryl replies, though this was the 1980s. Sci-fi was just that... Science FICTION. But she knew her and David could figure this out together and he could get back to his family. "I reckon you're tired as all hell right now. Have you even eaten yet?" Sheryl asks David with a concerned look on her face.

   "Aye, I feel like utter shite right now. Sometimes, I swear I hear the voices of one of me kids. Ye know, I thought I heard Georgia right when the shock happened." David says, looking at Sheryl as she approaches an electrical panel, hearing the buzz from the currents going through it. "But, at least I got something teh eat while I was out. Speakin' of..." David pulls out a wrapped object from his coat pocket. "Fish and chips?"

   Sheryl smiles and sets the rock down, taking the food from David. "You sure? I did eat right before your play after all, so I could go a bit longer. And you'll be back with your family soon enough. I have a good feeling about tonight. Plus, Tony didn't give me much time out here."

   "You need to eat too. Tony's arse can wait." David playfully scoffs, giving that wide smile through his beard stubble. Sheryl rolls her eyes and sits, opening the wrap to take a bite of the fish, giving a soft hum as she chews. She gives a satisfied sigh after, looking at David appreciatively. "Thanks DT. This is pretty good."

   "Aye, well, Colchester had a nice place teh eat. It's so weird, it even looks just like the real village of Tetbury where we filmed those town scenes." David says, recalling more of those days. He was definitely very shocked to see this real world, drawn up from the brilliant and saucy mind of Dame Jilly Cooper, in a real-life setting. Sheryl was clearly starving, having eaten half of the food by the time David looks back at her. "Blimey, I knew you were hungry, but damn." David says, looking at her in surprise. He sees her smile and shake her head, keeping in silence with a full mouth and he then looks up at the darkening sky. "Shit, I've been up for a bloody day and a half at this point." 

   "Take a nap then, while I eat. I should be able to figure this out for myself. Don't worry, I'll cover for you." Sheryl says, finishing up the food and tossing the wrapper into a nearby rubbish bin. "And thanks for the food. It was delicious." 

   "Aye, you're very welcome. I suppose I could shut me eyes for a tad." David says, looking around and getting into a decently covered position before finally leaning his back against the building, crossing his arms and shutting his eyes. "Thanks lass." He finishes, then it doesn't take him long to begin snoring.

   Sheryl rolls her eyes and shakes her head while smiling, picking the rock up and holding it by the electrical panel. Suddenly, the rock seems to glow brighter, starting to get warm. Of course, she wasn't going to make direct contact with the rock and the panel. She looks inside a nearby storage locker, and inside, she sees extra cable. The exposes the ends of each side of a piece she cuts off, letting some of the copper be exposed. She wraps one end of the cable to the live portion of the panel with gloved hands, and holds the other end over the rock. She looks over at David, seeing he's still passed out, and she looks at Corinum's main building, seeing few lights turned on, and employees beginning to leave for the day. It was now or never with the shift being over now. She then touches the other end to the rock. As soon as the coper hits the rock, a spark flashes before her and then it's followed by many more from the entire panel. She backs away from the sudden reaction, tripping over David's leg in the process and startling him awake.

   "Bloody hell!" David shouts, rubbing his eyes, and then looks at all the sparks before him. "What did ye do?!" David shouts again to Sheryl, quickly standing back up and pulling Sheryl up with him. He looks over at the main building, seeing the power flicker in the main building and then a small explosion happens, sending both David and Sheryl flying back, and then suddenly... everything stops. The power is on a generator to the main building, and the rock is glowing brightly. David and Sheryl rub their heads, rising to a seated position, looking at each other, and then back to the rock. "Did... Did it work?" David says. Sheryl shrugs and gets to a standing position, slowly approaching the rock. "I... think it did. It's even brighter now. Like the other night." Sheryl replies. She looks back at David with a confident and hopeful smile. "I think we just might be able to go back home tonight DT!" 

   David's eyes widen and he too rises into a standing position, his hands running through his hair as he reaches Sheryl's side. "Oh, thank heavens. I'm goin' to tell Georgia that she's havin' a day with the kids, because I ken I'll be out an entire day after this." David says, his tone relieved and excited to get back home at the earliest convenience. David then hears something in the distance, looking back towards the main building, seeing what looked to be Cameron Cook and Tony in one of the rooms, probably Tony's office. Tony seemed to have his blazer off and Cameron was in her red dress, and looked rather distressed. "Oh shit... I think I know what's about to happen." David knew this moment all too well, and so did Sheryl. This was the final confrontation from the season 1 finale. Sheryl quickly approaches the glowing rock and picks it up with the electrical cloth she'd taken from the storage locker. "Come on, we need to get back inside." Sheryl says to David and they both began to run back inside the main building.

   But when the elevator opened, Cameron was waiting at the elevator opening, in obvious distress. She took one look at David and her eyes widened, letting out a strong gasp. "It's okay Miss Cook. Just leave, we'll handle this." Sheryl says to Cameron, gently leading her to the elevator. The traumatized woman then let the doors close after she entered and disappeared from sight. David and Sheryl then quickly reach Tony's office, seeing the Corinium boss on the floor, laying on his right side, with blood on the floor below his head. "Shit, she's whacked him with the TV award." Sheryl says, handing the rock to David and leaning down, checking on him. She runs outside quickly to fetch a first aid kit and promptly reenters to begin treating Tony's injury. "Fucking prick deserved it, but I can't just leave him like this."

   "Umm, lass? This thing is glowing brighter again." David says as Sheryl briefly looks up, keeping Tony's posture properly supported, while holding pressure on Tony's gaping injury. The rock is steadily getting brighter and brighter. It makes the lights in the office flicker again with each bright flash. David then begins to feel it buzzing. "Do ye think it's trying to activate again?" David asks, crouching down beside Sheryl. As Sheryl begins to wrap some roll gauze around Tony's forehead, she feels a strong flinch and hears an intense gasp of air from Tony. His hand twitches up and knocks the rock from David, making him drop it. The rock then begins to spark wildly, enveloping all three people in Tony's office. David grips Sheryl's right shoulder, while Sheryl grips onto Tony's hand. Her other hand still pressing the soaked gauze to hold pressure against the wound. "Shiiiiiiit!" Sheryl shouts, with David yelling out beside her. Suddenly, a flash is seen with all three individuals disappearing along with the rock. It left Tony's office vacant, and with a pool of blood where Tony once laid. 

British Countryside, England, 2023. David and Sheryl land in the backyard of a home. David is the first to regain his senses once more. Once his vision clears after rising into a sitting position, he looks up and sees a VERY familiar sight. "No bloody way!" He shouts, hearing Sheryl moaning and slowly coming around. David hears the clanking of silverware and plates to his right, and when he looks right, a VERY familiar sight appears before him. "...WHAT?!" He hears from a very familiar face, sitting next to a ginger woman with long red hair. The same sideburns and ruffled hair as he had on that very day. This was his very last moment as The Doctor on TV.

To be continued with Chapter 2!