Theo
Joyce stumbled into the dimly lit TARDIS control chamber, rubbing her eyes and yawning. Nighttime on the TARDIS was when Idris decided her passengers were too tired to function safely and sent them off to bed. Romana seemed to ignore the enforced sleeping period, often staying awake for days on end. Joyce wasn't sure if Missy ever slept.
Sometimes, Joyce would wake up and find Romana where she left her hours ago. Some times she would have to ask Idris where Romana and K-9 had wandered off to. Right now she was scrolling through something in one of the screens on the console.
"What's going on," Joyce asked, leaning against the console, next to Romana. "And why is there a teddybear head there?" She cautiously poke the very worn, and old looking small stuffed head. "That isn't Winnie the Pooh, is it?"
"Mythical bear that lived in the woods?" Romana said, looking up. "With a donkey and a couple other creatures? No, it's not big enough. That is the head of a children's toy."
"How did it get here?" Joyce asked, grimacing. "And where is the rest of it?"
"Missy brought it back earlier," Romana said. "She didn't say where she got it, but I have my suspicions." She nodded at the console room view screen. It was showing a large sign, its' lettering fading, and a palm tree. A large 'M' and the word 'Studios' could still be read. The rest of it was too faded in the dim light.
"M Studios?" Joyce said, trying to puzzle the rest of it out.
"It's a little easier to read if you go outside," Romana said. "It's a sign for Matchless Studios."
"A palm tree in New Jersey?" Joyce said. "I didn't think they grew anywhere this far north."
"We're in California," Romana said. "Missy decided to go on a trip and convinced Idris to come here."
"Convinced Idris?" Joyce said, her eyebrow twitching. "Why does that sound unexpectedly nicer of her than normal?"
"Missy is still able to get past the travel lock," Romana said.
"And you, and Idris and K-9, haven't figured out how to stop her," Joyce said, nodding. "At least she didn't steal the TARDIS while we were gone, this time."
"Idris would have come back for us, eventually," Romana said. "Whatever Missy is doing doesn't prevent that from happening once she gets to wherever she wants to go. But I would rather she not be able to do that."
"Getting stranded wouldn't be fun," Joyce said. "She might do leave us somewhere that doesn't have a Starbucks. Though, when is this?"
"1930," Romana said. "Doesn't look like the best year for Matchless Studios."
"No, the double whammy of the Depression and the talkies almost killed it, according to my father. They ended up making cheap educational and propaganda films, and newsreels, through the thirties and early forties," Joyce said. "And then Grandma Darleen sold it and moved back East."
"So, it's run down, but still making pictures?" Romana said.
"Family lore has it that Grandma and her best friend kept it going for a few years with their own money until the war," Joyce said. "Not sure how true that is. They aren't around to ask."
"There must have been something here from the old studio," Romana said. "Something Missy wanted."
"A stuffed bear?" Joyce said. "I never got that tour of the studio. Want to go check it out? It's not the same as the Fort Lee studio but I'm sure it is just as interesting."
"Go change into something appropriate for the time period," Romana said. "That is likely to frighten the natives." She waved at Joyce's footies.
"They keep my feet warm," Joyce said, blushing. "But yeah, I'll go change." Turning, she hurries back to her room.
"Want to come along, K-9?" Romana said to the dog, sitting silently in a corner. "We should probably find out what damage Missy has caused."
"Yes, Mistress," K-9 said.
"They must have gone home early," Joyce said, looking around the empty parking lot. "Or it's a day off."
"K-9?" Romana said.
"This way, Mistress," K-9 said, leading them towards a small building off to one side. The door wasn't completely closed, and they followed K-9 inside. Opposite a receptionist's desk was a large display case. It looked like it had been violently pulled open.
"Well, this explains where that bear came from," Romana said. Some of the contents, awards, and plaques, had been knocked over by someone obviously searching for something. She pointed at a small sign that said 'Theo'. "I suspect that is where the bear came from."
"Yes," said a soft voice behind them.
"Caution, Mistress," K-9 said, getting between them and the voice.
"I'm sure they aren't a danger to us," Romana said, turning around. There were two young women watching them.
"Someone stole Theo," the taller one said.
"An explanation would be helpful," said the other. "He has sentimental value but nothing more."
"Without him we wouldn't have been able to keep the studio open," the other said. "But that was years ago."
"An associate of ours appears to have taken him," Romana said. "We were trying to find out why."
"If you could return him, that would be welcome," the shorter one said.
"We'll have to go get him, we don't have him with us," Romana said.
"We'll come with you," the shorter woman said.
"You're Daring Darleen!" Joyce said, as they walked across the parking lot. "And you must be Victorine Berryman."
"It's been years since anyone recognized us," Darleen said. "Who are you?"
"Your cousin," Joyce said. "You don't recognize us? We met back in Fort Lee years ago. Back when you were staring in movies."
"If you are, you haven't aged a bit," Darleen said.
"Well, it's hard to explain," Joyce said.
"Simple explanations are the best, I find," Victorine said.
They had just reached the TARDIS at that point. K-9 went in first, followed by the others.
"It's bigger on the inside," Darleen said, looking around the console room in amazement.
"And there's poor Theo's head," Victorine said. "Where's the rest of him?"
"We were hoping to find that out," Romana said. "This is all we have."
"This looks like something from one of those French fabulist talkies," Darleen said. "We don't have enough money to make one, and the bank won't lend us enough for more than one picture at a time."
"It's Romana's TARDIS," Joyce said.
"TARDIS? What does that mean?" Darleen asked.
"K-9, please get Missy," Romana said.
"Yes, Mistress," K-9 said.
"Time And Relative Dimensions In Space," Joyce said. "It's a time machine," she added at the confused look Darleen gave her.
"So, you're time travelers?" Darleen said.
"That sounds very exciting," Victorine said, looking up from Theo's head. "I bet you get to travel to all sorts of exciting places."
"Sometimes," Joyce said. "Sometimes they are dangerous places."
"So, are you really my mother's cousin, then?" Darleen asked, eyeing Joyce suspiciously.
"We are related," Joyce said, "though actually it's from another direction." She looked at Romana. "I can tell them that, right?"
"The timeline is fairly resilient," Roman reminded her. "Knowing that she'll have grandchildren in the future won't make any difference."
"Grandchildren?" Darleen said. "I don't have any children yet. Who did I marry?"
"She can't tell you that," Romana said, shaking her head. "You'll have to figure that out for yourself."
K-9 rolled back into the console room. "Missy is unavailable," he said.
"So we don't know what happened to the rest of the bear," Joyce said. "Why would Missy want it?"
"Grandmama gave Theo to me," Victorine said. "She said he was important but never explained why."
"That woman could certainly hold a grudge," Missy said, silently appearing in the console room. "Here." She thrust the flat empty body of the bear, no longer stuffed, at Victorine. Turning she stomped back out of the console room.
"That was Missy," Joyce said. "She's a bit rough around the edges, but she means well."
"Incorrect, Miss," K-9 said. "The Master never means well."
"She hasn't killed anyone on this trip, yet," Joyce said. "I think that shows improvement."
Pulling out her sonic, Romana examined the remains of the bear. She shook her head. "I don't recognize it. There was something in the bear. That must have been what she was looking for in the mansion."
"Darleen rescued Theo, before my grandmother's mansion burned down," Victorine said.
"Well, that explains why Missy couldn't find her 'trinket'," Joyce said. "You had it."
"Can you stay for breakfast?" Darleen said.
"We need to go," Romana said. "Whatever Missy is up to, it's better that it happens somewhere else."
"Are you going to come back?" Darleen said. "I'd like to see how this time machine works. And talk about things."
"I don't know," Joyce said. "We go where we need to be. But if we come back to Hollywood we'll look you up."
"Come along, Darleen," Victorine said. "Theo needs to be restuffed, and things put back to rights."
"Do you think we'll see them again?" Joyce asked, watching Darleen and Victorine disappear into the morning fog. "I still haven't gotten a tour of the studio. And what happened to her father and uncles? Are they still around? And what did she mean about the bear saving the studio?"
"It's possible," Romana said. "But first we need to deal with Missy."
"Right. Missy, and whatever was inside the bear." Joyce sighed, and followed Romana back into the TARDIS.