[Memory TARDIS]

(A mash-up of various TARDIS themes and contents. A display box of TARDIS keys. A book titles A History of the Time War. Dorothy McShane picks up a snazzy panama hat and puts it on, then spots a baseball bat in the umbrella stand with a sword. A voice with a penchant for rrrrrrrolling his Rs speaks.)

DOCTOR [OC]: That Dalek got quite a beating, if I remember rightly.
ACE: Professor!
DOCTOR: Ace!

(They hug.)

DOCTOR: Ah-ha-ha. Mine, I believe.
ACE: Last time I saw you, you were a hologram.
DOCTOR: Mmm.
ACE: But you're here. You're real. You've got old.
DOCTOR: Time streams are funny things. In some, I regenerate. In others, I don't. It's all a matter of perspective.
ACE: I was in the middle of a meeting and then I was here.
DOCTOR: This is a Memory TARDIS. A special place where old friends come together to share stories, to remember. And to confront difficult truths.
ACE: Did you ever think of me?
DOCTOR: Oh, Ace! I thought about you every day.
ACE: Sometimes I wish I'd never left. That I'd stayed with you forever.
DOCTOR: Ah, well, that's the thing, you see. This place, this is forever. It's kept alive with memories, and we stoke its engine with our stories. And we can return here whenever we like, with a wish.
ACE: That's how I met you, remember? With a wish.
DOCTOR: Mmm.
ACE: I wished I was somewhere else. Somewhere that wasn't Perivale. And then I was halfway across the universe.
DOCTOR: Iceworld. Brr.
ACE: Except it wasn't my choice, remember? I was taken there by Fenric. I was just a part of one of his games.
DOCTOR: A game of traps.
ACE: I don't think I want to remember.
DOCTOR: Maybe you should. Maybe we both should.
ACE: It's too much!
DOCTOR: Our pain comes to define us, Ace. Alongside the joy.
ACE: Good people died that day. So many lives were ruined.
DOCTOR: Others were set in motion.
ACE: Dangerous undercurrents.
DOCTOR: I taught you to dive beneath the surface, to be unafraid. So... let's dive together this time. Into the water.

The Curse of Fenric

DOCTOR: We never talked about it. What happened that day. Hmm. It was all my fault. I was always on the run. Always eager for the next adventure.
ACE: Hmm, wasn't just you. That was my life. Keeping my head down, bottling things up inside. Maybe if we'd talked, we wouldn't have fallen out.
DOCTOR: Yes, well, I did things I'm not proud of. I used you, manipulated you, kept secrets. No wonder you abandoned ship.
ACE: Walked off in a strop, you mean. Cos I just kept seeing their faces. Sorin and Mike. Kara and Bellboy. So many people died for us. I needed someone to blame. By the way, that wasn't West London where you dropped me off.
DOCTOR: Really?
ACE: No! It was London, Ontario. Had a right palaver getting home without a passport.
DOCTOR: Oops. Well, er... well, to be fair, we did have a very busy day, as I remember. Yes. Oh, yes. The Rani was up to her old tricks.
ACE: I'm sorry I left you like that.
DOCTOR: No, but you had to go. To become the person you are today. To save the world. That is your destiny. That you set in motion.
ACE: I went back to see her. Kathleen Dudman. My nan. After I left you I went to the care home every Tuesday. She never said much. She was so ill. We just sat together, holding hands. But before she died, I think there was this moment where she realised who I was. How we'd met before, when she was young. And her eyes changed. They sparkled. And she smiled like she'd never smiled before. Like she knew.
DOCTOR: She would have been very proud of everything you have achieved.
ACE: You know about that?
DOCTOR: Yes, well, I check in from time to time. And do you want to know a secret? The best is yet to come.
ACE: I loved you, you know. Like the dad I never had. I've never said that before, but I did. I still do.
DOCTOR: And I love you.
ACE: We made a great team.
DOCTOR: We were wicked! Oh, by the way, where is that jacket of yours?
ACE: Oh. On a hanger in my office. Pride of place, but officially retired.
DOCTOR: Hmm.
ACE: I think it's time to grow up. Does this thing fly?
DOCTOR: Of course it does.
ACE: How about a trip for old times' sake?
DOCTOR: Where do you want to go?
ACE: I don't know. Anywhere? Everywhere? (7th Doctor) Somewhere there's danger. Somewhere there's injustice.
DOCTOR: And somewhere else the tea's getting cold.
ACE: Come on, Professor, we've got work to do.
DOCTOR: Ah!

(He prods the Time Rotor into life with his umbrella. Ace finds a pair of dessert spoons and he plays them along her arms, finishing with their heads.)

DOCTOR: Ow!

Transcript originally provided by Chrissie. Adapted by TARDIS.guide. The transcripts are for educational and entertainment purposes only. All other copyrights property of their respective holders.