Double Take (DW/HH crossover)

[ladydetemps]

This was the first ever piece of fan fiction I wrote its a Doctor Who, Hornblower crossover. I wrote this after a trip to London (Kit might recognize some of the places mentioned :-) )
This was written before I knew much about the DW world and had really only watched the TVM. I hope you enjoy it all comments welcome. There are 7 chapters.

Chapter 1 “Contrived escape”

The Doctor knew what he must do. He must insure that Lieutenant William Bush was kept alive. If the lieutenant were to be executed then he ‘The Doctor’ would never exist. A tragedy that would send ripples of chaos through time, space and alternate dimensions. The stark resemblance he bore to his ancestor was not uncommon among his people, although Bush was an ancestor on his human mothers side. The plan was perfectly simple, outlandish, but simple. When the coach carrying the lieutenant, his captain and his ‘servant’ next stopped he would carry out his plan.

***

When it was just turning light, but still dark enough for him to be disguised, he made his move. The Doctor walked up to where the coachman stood by the stable door.
“Excuse me, one moment or your time sir, if you please?” He asked the coachman.
“Er? What do you want?,” replied the coachman startled by the appearance of the stranger who, if his memory served him correctly bore a uncanny resemblance to one of the prisoners. But he persuaded himself, it could not be the same person as the prisoner was a cripple.
“Where is the town centre?” enquired the Doctor.
The coachman pointed in the general direction turning his back to the Doctor.
“Keep going strai-,” his sentence was cut short as he dropped to the ground.
“I'm sorry about this, but I’ve no choice,” muttered the Doctor apologetically to the unconscious coachman.
He quickly dragged the fellow into the stable and put on the large cloak and hat the coachman had been wearing, making sure that he covered as much of his face and hair so no one would recognise him. The Doctor hurried to the coach just in time to see the prisoners being loaded into it.

***

Later on in the journey after he had deliberately led the entourage off course the Doctor came down the road by the river.
“Hé, Hé, Hé!” he cried, reigning in the horses in just in time to prevent the carriage from ploughing into the icy river.
The gentleman in charge, Cailliard turned to the Doctor his face thunderous.
“A fine coachman you are, god knows! Why didn’t you drive straight into the river and save me the trouble of reporting you to the sous-chef administration?” he then turned to the gendarmes and yelled, “Come along you men, do you want to stay here all night? Get that coach back on the road you fools!”
The Doctor kept silent so as not to draw attention to himself. Calliard was now trying to get everyone to heave the coach back onto the road. To keep up appearances he tried to look as if he was pulling his weight. One of the gendarmes suggested that the prisoners help. Two of them stepped down to help - if he remembered rightly one was a captain by the name of Hornblower the other a coxswain called brown- but it was no use the coach wouldn’t budge.
“Coachman how far is it to Nevers?” bellowed Calliard.
“Six kilometres, sir,” replied the Doctor.
The commander then berated him for his ‘faulty navigation’ and lack of direction, and set him to work helping dig into the snow for shelter. Inside the Doctor smiled smugly at the thought of Calliard’s face when he realised the prisoners had escaped. If his timing had been correct the coach had gone off the road at the exact place he had left the boat earlier and it was dark enough so that the prisoners could slip away. The Doctor hoped that they would take Bush with them even though he was injured or he might be forced to interfere more directly.

***

He was able to slip away and watch as ‘the prisoners’ as they tied up the arrogant Calliard and bundled him into the coach. He chuckled to himself at that amusing sight. Fortunately they had decided to take Bush with them and his job here, for now was done until he was needed again. He hoped that they would be all right.

[ladydetemps]

Part 2 'out with a bang'

Again it was to be the Doctor's responsibility to get Bush out of danger. It was becoming rather tiresome. The man did have to keep putting himself in danger and volunteering for perilous missions. Anyone would think he wanted to die. This time his plan called for expert timing, for he would only have a minute at most to execute it. It was a murky dark night and the Doctor had hidden the TARDIS behind some bushes. He waited silently hardly daring to breath. Moments later he heard the boats coming down river, the splash of the oars as they progressed towards the spot in the river where a powder barge was moored against the side. The Doctor bounded quickly and stealthily across the grass closer to the riverbank, making use of the darkness to cover his movements. He crouched near the powder barge and checked his watch. There was still some time. The Doctor cautiously peered round the side of the barge to see what was coming, but his vantage point didn’t give him much of a view. He saw the silhouette of the boat full of sailors, the lieutenant standing at the bow, eager for glory. Suddenly there was a loud report of musket fire, the shouts of soldiers and flashes of light illuminating the night. The Doctor could see the boat containing Bush. It was close, right next to the powder barge. Now was the moment he had been waiting for, a seconds hesitation would mean success or failure, life or death. He could hear the orders being shouted by the lieutenant.
“Damn you Frenchmen! Quickly men! Handsomely, handsomely there-,”
As he came within reach the Doctor suddenly grabbed Bush by his collar and heaved him out of the boat. The lieutenant hit the bank with a flurry of blasphemy.
“You must come with me it’s for your own safety,” bellowed the Doctor, as he dragged the protesting Lieutenant Bush by his arm towards where the TARDIS was hidden.
“I won't leave my men! Get you filthy hands off me,” bellowed Bush, as he struggled to free himself from the Doctor's surprisingly strong grip.
He thrust the cursing lieutenant through the door who almost rolled down the stairs with the force of the shove. Then dived in after the lieutenant, slamming the door shut. Only a second after later they both heard a loud explosion coming from the direction of the powder barge.
It took a minute or so for the Doctor and Lieutenant Bush to recover their senses, both were breathless from the sprint to the TARDIS. It was in that moment of calm that Bush saw the face of the assailant who had dragged him from his boat with such force.

***

His mouth fell open, shocked and stunned at what he saw before him. As far as the lieutenant could judge the person opposite him, was him. Bush searched franticly through his mind trying to make sense of it. Did he have a twin that he hadn't been told about? How else could the man opposite him bear such a likeness?
The Doctor had been watching the lieutenant’s reactions. Firstly shock, then surprise at his situation, then disbelief and denial. Bush was staring at him as if he had just risen from the dead (which was technically right, not that the lieutenant knew of the Time Lord’s regenerative powers). After a few minutes the Doctor finally decided it was time for someone to speak.
“I do hope you realise that I have just saved your life,” he enquired.
The lieutenant stared at him his blue eyes growing wider.
“W-what do you mean? Who are you? Am I dead? Is this what heavens like?” replied Bush after a brief pause.
The Doctor laughed out loud, stood up then held out his hand to help the bewildered lieutenant up.
“Come on get up, you’re making the place look untidy. Oh, and don't worry all will be revealed in due course, but for the moment I think you could do with a stiff drink.”
Bush hesitated for a moment then slowly he reached out and allowed the Doctor to haul him up onto his 'feet'.
“I must get the TARDIS underway first, and then we will have a long chat.”

***

They were both sitting on plush chairs made of polished wood, upholstered with red velvet embroidered with gold. Next to them was a mahogany table on which rested a tray containing a silver teapot and two steaming cups of tea. For the past half hour Bush had been questioning the Doctor, briefly passing over the fact of how the outside of the TARDIS was much smaller outside than on the inside.
“So your telling me that I'm your-?”
“Great, Great, Great, Grandfather,” replied the Doctor.
“And that if I would have died back there that you-?”
“Wouldn’t exist,” finished the Doctor, “This is becoming rather tedious. I believe that it is the tenth time I have told you.”
“But it’s just all too fantastic for words,” said Bush enthusiastically.
“You know that history records that you died in that explosion. So…now you are free to go wherever and do whatever you want, within reason.”
Bush took a sip of tea. Then as the import of what he had just heard sunk in his face fell.
“Excuse me! Are you saying that I’m officially and legally dead?”
“Yes.”
“That’s impossible. It’s… so damn unfair. All right then you have done your part, and saved my life. So now you can let me go back out there and rejoin my men.”
“I'm afraid that’s just not an option,” replied the Doctor sympathetically.
“You can’t hold me here against my will. I want to go back, fight and die with honour, not runaway and hide like a coward,” protested Bush, as he headed towards the door.
“I wouldn’t open the door and go out there if I were you.”
“And why is that?”
“Well if you want to be lost in oblivion and spoil all my hard work. Then be my guest, walk out the door, but I wouldn’t recommend it. It’s rather an unpleasant experience.”
“Then take me back where I came from!”
“I’m sorry. I can’t do that, but there are alternatives you might consider,” chirped the Doctor.
“Alternatives? What alternatives would I possibly want to take,” asked Bush as he slowly turned to face the Doctor.
“Well, you could…let me see. Ha-h'm,” the Doctor paused for a second, stood up and casually walked to where the lieutenant was standing. “You could kind of go back, but to an 'alternative dimension'. It would be almost identical except for a few minor differences.”
“That proposition sounds ominously to good to be true. What’s the catch? What are these minor differences you speak of?”
“Nothing really…in this particular dimension you just happened to be - married with four children that’s all,” said the Doctor, rushing the last part.
“Married!?! With children! You call those minor differences,” exclaimed Bush raising his voice.
“You could consider them an added bonus.”
“Added bonus!”
“Kind of a family without the effort.”
“What kind of person do you think I am? Do you think I could blatantly lie, that I could love a wife and children that I do not know?”
“I assumed that you would like the idea as much as I did,” answered the Doctor.
“If you like the idea so much, maybe you should take my place and I yours?”
The Doctors eyes suddenly lit up and a huge inane grin crossed his face.
“That’s it! You won’t be so contrary when-,”
Bush looked at him mystified by what in the world this fellow was going on about. He ventured a question.
“What are you on about? Explain it to me?”
”What?” The Doctor suddenly snapped out of his daydream. “Ah, yes. I aught to explain my idea shouldn’t I?”
He started to pace up and down the floor as he described his plan.
“What I am proposing is an experiment. We would, for a set time parameter swap lives. I would take on the task of being a captain in the 'alternative dimension' and you would take my job of being a Timelord and altruistic hero. Of course I would teach you how to use the TARDIS, and there will have to be some alterations, but nothing to drastic. I’ll make sure that you have an able assistant to help you-,”
“An assistant,” interrupted Bush.
“Yes an assistant. You don’t think I run this bucket of bolts all by myself do you? Ah-and for my training I do hope you could oblige by refreshing my memory as to all things nautical?”
“Refresh your memory,” asked Bush searchingly.
“Yes refresh. As I know a little of everything clearly I would know something about sailing, but there’s no harm in going over the details is there?”

[ladydetemps]

If you want to read more I'll be adding it to my fanfiction.net account
www.fanfiction.net/s/3697585/1/Double_Take

[kinvoidstuff123]

ladydetemps you have a very good talent

[ladydetemps]

Thank you. My next HH story will be a crossover with Life on Mars....