Time Frame: A decade or so after both BtVS & AtS finales.

Rating: T-Mature (cuz Faith still curses like a sailor)

This story contains several gay relationships, consider yourselves forewarned.

Legalities: All B:tVS characters are that of the Mighty Whedon and his glorious intellect & Doctor Who is owned by the BBC. This work is meant only in celebration and nothing ulterior.

Chapter 1 - Old Friends

Oxnard was dusty and stupid Xander Harris had decided. The same went for this car. He kicked the broke down thing that might have once been his ticket to Beat Generation enlightenment. Smoke erupted from the hood like an angry volcano god. Things were looking less On the Road and more Broke Down On The Side of the Road. The summer sun was low and the highway was bare. The slowly setting sun would normally be cause for alarm, but he was far enough from Sunnydale that he wasn't scared of walking off alone into the coming night. He had passed a diner a few miles back and there was enough in the travel budget to call for a tow and get his old rust machine running again.

The walk was longer than he liked. His jeans and Spider-Man t-shirt afforded him little protection from the elements and his preferable walking distance was from the couch to the television. This was much farther than that. He was almost used to treks like this though, after years of cavern crawling with the Slayer and running for his life alongside friends, walking down a highway didn't seem that bad really. Sometimes Xander felt like all he ever really did was run away, though he had yet to decide if that was really a bad thing.

The teenager approached the diner as the moon sat high into the night. The bright fluorescent lighting and the honky-tonk blaring from a jukebox could be heard even before nearing the door. The hustle and bustle of the eatery was almost jarring and Xander hesitated a moment before entering. Barely twelve hours into his man-making road trip and the world was already taking a hard swing at him. He took a tentative step and opened the door to the diner. At least there wasn't anyone here to see him at yet another low point of his life. Upon entering, a bell rung overhead and the young man received the last thing he had expected in the establishment, a warm and loud greeting.

"Alexander Lavelle Harris!" cried a jovial voice from the row of stools in front of the counter. Xander saw a trio of heads perking up, two of which, a sandy haired man and a red headed woman gave each other surprised looks. The final head was the owner of the voice, and what a head it was. His hair curled impossibly over his forehead and his chin was pronounced, even more so with the giant smile over his face. He was tall and lanky, there was an energy exuding from him that almost caused him to vibrate with positivity.

The similar hiking clothes that the man and the woman wore marked them a couple, Xander assumed. The happy man dressed in a fashion one Rupert Giles would absolutely approve of. His tweed jacket over a light-blue button down, slacks a bow-tie ensemble gave Xander sudden memories of so much time poring over dusty tomes.

"How have you been, old chap? Hellmouths still givin' you the ol' one two, eh?" His accent was British and his tone was friendly and knowing. He laughed and pantomimed throwing punches as he spoke, which made Xander put up his own fists in reflex. This only caused the Englishman to laugh again.

"There's the Sunnydale spirit!" He announced, gaining the attention of waitress's and patrons. He also seemed to be the sole person with any sense of familiarity. "Something's different though." He gave a quick once over to the still speechless teen. "Have you done something to your hair?"

The couple got up and stood besides the doctor. The sandy haired man, who sported a proud nose, tried explaining the tall man down. "Doctor, this guy does not look like Xander Harris" His accent matched the happy man's.

"Yeah, Xander's way bigger and meaner and…" She hesitated with the last description. "and you know!" the redhead offered, a Scottish brogue to her voice. She was slim and pretty, freckles dotted her face and skin.

"What?" was all Xander could produce. His total confusion him robbed him of his speech.

"No, no, no! Look!" The tall man squirreled his way around the teenager and covered his left eye with a hand. "See? Xander!" The couple simultaneously went "Ooh" in recognition.

Xander jumped regaining some coherence. He clawed away the hand over his face and stood away from the trio. "Hey crazy people, I don't know how it works over the pond but you don't just touch a stranger's face."

"You people starting trouble here?" demanded a burly fry cook from within the kitchen.

"No, no! We're old chums!" The lanky man declared putting his arm around Xander's shoulders his smile plastered on his face. "We just haven't met yet." he explained. The fry cook gave him a threatening look. The couple were the only ones who seemed apologetic. Xander deftly escaped the arm draped over him and did his best to put space between himself and the weirdos from the U.K. The tall man's intense friendliness continued unabated.

"Well go on then, have a seat!" He ushered the teen onto a stool besides his own. "Order what you like, it's on me." The couple made a face as they sat down at on right of Xander. "Well, they'll take care of the money part." The skinny man said shooting the couple behind him a thumb and took the stool to the left. Xander allowed himself to be settled in, his tired body sank into the plush chair. It was a long walk and the teen's stomach registered the free food being offered.

"Well at least you're generous." He flipped open the menu on the counter before him, though indignantly.

"Then dinner for a conversation! I'm the Doctor and these are The Ponds." The skinny man declared hurriedly. The redhead besides him gave a look to the man on her other side, he simply shrugged. "But that's not important, what's important is you're probably on your road trip by now! I promised you some old faces, didn't I?" The Doctor announced enthusiastically to the couple, who nodded between forkfuls. Xander decided on country friend steak and eggs with a coke only half listening .

"Yeah, that's what I told the gang." He conceded carefully, as he eagerly received his soda and started sipping it through a straw. They didn't seem outright evil or dangerous yet, so he'd play it cool for a while to figure out who these people were. The redhead leaned in low towards Xander and spoke in a conspiratorial tone.

"Was Faith really your first time?" the teenager spit his soda all over the counter. Playing it cool, check.

"I swear to god, if you people keep messing around I'm gonna throw your asses outta here!" the large fry cook threatened the four embarrassed people, even The Doctor looked sheepish.

"Americans, eh?" he said with a wide eyed but amused warning on his face as he and the other three took napkins and tried to lessen the mess.

"Well, was she?" the redhead pressed. Xander was besides himself, his mind could only produce one coherent thought.

"Who the hell are you people?"

"Told you, we're chums, allies, compatriots. And you'll say those exact same words to me the first time I met you." The Doctor quickly explained.

"But I never said that." Xander quickly pointed out.

"No, this is the first time you meet us." The male Pond corrected.

"The first time we met you will be the second time you meet us." the female Pond supplied.

"None of that made any sense." Xander replied perplexed, he couldn't follow their words at all.

"Doesn't matter!" The Doctor interjected giving the teen a roguish grin. "What I want to know is how you faced down Angelus and made him back down."

"You can't know that." Xander gave the bow-tie clad man and unbelieving look. He never even mentioned what happened when Angelus appeared at the hospital when Buffy had gotten sick to anyone. The details these people knew staggard Xander's thoughts. "How could you know that?"

"You told us." The Doctor replied evenly. Xander tensed. "You told us because you trust us. Will trust us." he corrected. Xander looked like he was going to make a break for it. These people were insane and knew too many things that they clearly should not know, Xander decided. The Ponds read his body language and spoke to each other solely with looks. It seemed The Doctor noticed too and spoke more urgently.

"Alexander Harris, you are the bravest man I have ever encountered. One of the few everyday average men in this universe that can go toe to toe with evil. Actual heartbreaking, blood drinking evil." The graveness of his tone sent shivers down Xander's neck. A nod was given to the sandy haired man by The Doctor. "Men like that are hard to come by and you'd be lucky to have him on your side." A pause and Xander let out a breath he did not know he was holding.

"Which is what we are by the way." The Doctor continued. "On your side." Xander saw sincerity in those eyes, heard it in the spoken words. They stayed quiet until the male Pond broke it.

"Where were you planning to go?" Xander took a moment longer before answering.

"L.A., maybe meet up with Cordy. Then further down south, see Mexico." He was surprised at the ease of speaking, but he made his decision.

"You should see Utah, it's really pretty." the redheaded Pond suggested. Xander only nodded in quiet contemplation. He did not feel threatened after The Doctor's words. Maybe a charm spell, he mused. Just a quick bite to eat while he chats up crazy people and one that might be something else. The food came and he gave a polite nod to the waitress, who gave him a baleful look in return. He was too embarrassed to ask for another soda.

"Never thought about going out that far east." Xander murmured as he began digging into his plate. The hot greasy food felt good going down and the lady Pond asked for another soda for him seeing his hesitation. He gave her a thankful look. "Wouldn't matter anyway, my car's kaput and I'm gonna need to get it towed to a mechanic somehow." His mind returned to his most immediate problem.

"Well if it's a lift you need, we can more than provide that." The Doctor offered. Xander grimaced.

"Uh, sorry folks. My mom told me to never take a ride from strangers." The teen replied wryly. A rolling of The Doctor's eyes showed a slight annoyance.

"Oh, please! We're not going to eat you. None of us are she-mantises and you're no virgin." he said, being cheeky. Xander blushed, these people knew way too much about him.

"God, that's really uncool. It's like you guys got the cliff notes to my life. I'm feeling like there's a real power imbalance here." He pointed as he tore into his food in annoyance.

"Well, okay what do you want know about us?" the female Pond asked with a raise of an eyebrow.

"Why are two called something ducks swim in." He replied pointing his fork at the couple. The male Pond reached past the female and extended his hand to Xander.

"Rory Williams, this is my wife Amy Williams." Was his late introduction, they shook manfully. The redhead next to him gave a little wave.

"Formerly Amy Pond." she added.

"Met her first, then Rory. Since they got married, it's just easier to call them The Ponds." The Doctor finished. Xander gave a long "Ah" in understanding.

"Now that formalities are made, we're not strangers any more and you can accept a ride from us." Xander looked over to the Englishman measuring his words.

"You'll like it, you did last time you were there." Amy rolled her eyes at his hesitation.

"See and then you guys say crazy stuff like that." Xander exclaimed, a bit of food flying from his mouth. "It's really off putting."

"How about this then, accept a ride from us and we'll explain whatever you like." An excited twinkle in The Doctor's eyes only added to Xander's hesitation. Amy looked at the lanky man disbelievingly.

"Doctor, can we? I mean, I thought there were rules." She asked with a worried tone.

"Oh, pish to the rules." A dismissive wave with his hands was The Doctors rebuttal. "And it only bends the important ones." An eye-roll led to a more self-questioning tone. "Well I guess it breaks some other rules." He condescendingly made quotations with his fingers. Rory and Amy both gave him distressed looks. "But those are the stupid ones, nothing to worry about." The Doctor added with a rush. Xander watched the exchange between the three. Rules? Just add that to the giant pile that was Xander's growing confusion.

"This talk doesn't help your sales pitch, Doc." the teen piped up.

"Don't call me that. It's either The Doctor or just Doctor." A look of annoyance flashed over his face then dissolved to a smirk. "And you haven't heard my real pitch yet, old boy. I've been saving it 'cuz it's a real doozy. And once you hear what it is, I grantee you," he alleged, an arrogant knowing tone covering his words like fudge on a sundae. "you won't say no."

"Oh, yeah?" Xander challenged leaning into The Doctors face, his gaze unwavering.

"Oh, yeah." The Doctor answered without hesitation.

"Okay smart guy, hit me." was the teens opening gambit, confidence overpowering his gut instinct of playing it slow.

"I offer you knowledge of the future, Xander." The Doctor stated as all elements of easy lightness disappeared from him and was replaced by an intensity that he seemed to wear heavily on the man. "The knowledge of yours and the Scooby Gang's future. Buffy's, Willow's, even Giles's."

Xander's face shifted to a controlled anger. "No deal." and pushed his plate of half-eaten food away. He looked down and away from the three people he had just met and shook his head. They stayed quiet for a moment, even The Doctor for all his fast and easy words was silent, though his gaze never left the teen.

"God, you people." Xander huffed in near disgust, his head snapped back up and he gave The Doctor a hard look. "You think you can just dangle something like that in my face and I'll jump to bite at it?"

"I don't know, will you?" It was as though Xander's previous smugness had transferred to him. The Ponds gave the two concerned looks, it was like watching a matador face down a bull.

"Isn't this what you've always wanted? Think of it, this knowledge could ensure the people you love are safe and protected." The Doctor continued. Xander rolled his eyes.

"Of course it could and I'm still gonna say no." the teen was steel, he did his best to imitate Willow's resolve face.

"Why?"

"'Cuz there's a 'but' in there, a consequence. What you're offering me? There's a price to pay for that knowledge and I'm broke." Xander declared, his eyes narrowed with returned suspicion. The Doctors face split into a wide grin. He turned to the Ponds with giddy amusement.

"See? This is why I love this man." Looking back to the Sunnydale native he continued happily. "Oh, Xander Harris, you are truly a man among men." he spoke with an amicable laugh. "Offer him power and the first instinct is to ask what the cost is." Then, The Doctor reached over with both hands and and enthusiastically squeezed the teen's cheeks like an old aunt with her young nephew. "You beautiful, beautiful man you." he added with another laugh. Xander shook off the happy man's hands from his face.

"Stop that!" Xander demanded, more than a little annoyed.

"Sorry, old boy. Had to make sure of a few things before I made the real offer. The last time we met, you had a bit of an issue in regards to power."

Xander's growing confusion began feeding his anger. He dd not like being toyed with. The teen's emotions were brimming at the surface and he looked like he was about to get up and leave for the second time during the conversation. The Ponds made no move to stop him, more than little embarrassed over The Doctor's words.

"We. Never. Met." Xander forced the words out through gritted teeth.

"They told you," The Doctor gestured to The Ponds, "this is the first time you meet us. This is the second time we meet you."

"And that still doesn't make sense!" The teen quietly exploded, his words were hushed, not wanting to be thrown out of the diner, but they were vehement and showed his anger clearly. The Doctor only smirked.

"Think about it for a moment, you'll get it." The tweed clad man offered. Xander's scowl remained.

"First time I meet you, second time you meet me." Xander muttered and his scowl turned into a thoughtful one. "Second...time. Time." His eyes widened and his jaw became slack."No way." Both Rory and Amy turned away from the teen's gaze, not wanting to confirm anything he was thinking. The Doctor's smirk grew wider and became full blown smile.

"Oh, yes."

"You mean you're from..." Xander hesitated.

"Say it." urged The Doctor.

"The loony bin." The teen finished. The Doctor's smile grew broader and then barked out a loud laugh drawing attention to himself from the other patrons as well as the diner's staff. The Pond's both let out a breath neither realized they were holding.

"Have I told you I love you yet?" The Doctor asked Xander cheerfully. The teen grimaced at the trio surrounding him.

"You guys really know how ruin a perfectly good Chicken Fried Steak and Eggs, y'know."

"Listen, we know you've broke down, we can at least offer you a lift back to your motor and we'll be off." Rory reasonably offered, Xander softened to him. Something in the Englishman's tone made him relax and he wasn't relishing the walk back to his vehicle.

"Yeah, Doctor gets a might pushy when he's excited." Amy offered the explanation as a weak defense to her companions behavior.

"Pshaw to pushy," The Doctor said happily, "I'm just happy to see the bloke!"

"You two? You guys are swell, this one?" The teen gave a violent point to The Doctor. "He's kinda freakin' me out." Xander gave an exasperated sigh.

"He's just really excited to see you." Amy sighed. "He considers you a friend, he doesn't have many left." She finished quietly.

"And then right back to crazy-talk city." Xander moaned in his hands covering his face. Amy grimaced an unseen apology.

"Well, if it makes you feel better, how about these two go and escort you back to your vehicle and I stay here" The Doctor offered with a childish pout, "if I freak you out soo much!" He wagged his head and made a face with the last sentence, petulance covered his words like the gravy in Xander's meal. "Give me a mo and I'll pull the ol' antigrav bike to the front for you." The tall thin man got up and left waving his hands dismissively as he stalked out the diner's exit. Xander relaxed in his stool and the Ponds frowned at their son-in-law now stalking out the diner, into the arriving night.

The three ate for a few awkward moments longer before a loud motorcycle engine made them perk their heads up in attention.

A/N: Added disclaimer and edited sentence creating wrong inference on 9282015.