EVERYTHING HAS ITS TIME
Chapter Seven "Save me, Smith." Sarah Jane glanced at the Doctor while they were walking and saw a desperate look on his face. "Save you from what?" she said, amused. The Doctor jabbed his finger at the roller coaster. "Don't make me make Pond look bad, it would be bad form and I don't like bad form. Come up with a brilliant plan like you used to do when I was in a bind." "Um…well…AMY!" she yelled. Amy looked back at her. "Yeah?" she said. "Look, a clown!" Sarah Jane said, pointing off to her right. Amy looked and then laughed when the Doctor ran away from them yelling, "I'm freeeee!" as he ran. Amy shook her head and chuckled when Sarah Jane patted her on the shoulder. "He really doesn't want to ride the roller coaster, I suppose," Amy said as the Doctor jogged back to them. "Well, fine then, no one's forcing you to." "You are," the Doctor said as they walked along, "you have this witch power inside you and the moment I disobey, I turn into a toad. Ribbit! Sarah, might I have a bit more candy floss?" Sarah Jane handed him the bag of candy floss and he pulled out a bit and popped it in his mouth. On the way to the roller coaster, they spied Jack, Martha and Mickey and slowed down. Jack and Mickey were standing in the queue waiting to test their strength while Martha stood off to the side. The test of strength involved hitting the sledgehammer on a metal ball that would propel a smaller piece of metal up a pole. Written along the sides of the track the metal went up were things like weakling, average, heroic and at the top next to a bell, god. The idea was to send the metal ball to the very top. Martha saw them and walked over. In her hands she was carrying a plushie duck, bear, elephant and a miniature beach ball. "Jack and Mickey saw this test of strength thing and decided to see who was more macho," Martha said to them. "They've spent most of their time on friendly competitions at the game booths and I've been reaping the rewards." "Hey! Come back here and watch us, we need someone to verify the results," Mickey called to her. "Forget it, Smith, you couldn't get that weight up past weakling," the Doctor said. "And Jack will only get as far as average man, if he really applies himself." "Oh really? Care to back those words up?" Jack said. "Yeah, you're so manly, come over here and show us how strong you are," Mickey said. "And Rory!" Jack added. "Me? How'd I get pulled into this?" Rory said while they laughed. "You're a man and we wanna see who's the strongest. Now come over here and get in the queue," Jack said, beckoning to them. "What about us? We're not men?" Clyde said, gesturing to himself and Luke. "Come and try, if you think you're good enough," Jack said. "What are we doing?" Luke said in confusion as he followed Clyde to the queue. "Gotta hit that sledgehammer on the piece of metal and make that weigh go up to the top, show everyone how strong you are, mate," Clyde said. He looked past his friend when Rani got into the queue behind him. "I'm just as strong as any man," Rani said, lifting her chin. "Yeah, so am I," Amy said, getting in the queue behind her. They looked at the Doctor and Rory. Sarah Jane and Martha giggled when the Doctor looked at Rory. "Well, are we men or are we mice?" the Doctor asked Rory. "Look," Rory said, "I really don't care about this whole test of strength thing. I'm not so laden with testosterone that I have to go and break boards with my head just to prove I'm a man. You lot go ahead, I'll stay here with Sarah Jane and Martha." "Go on, Doctor, show them the Doctor I knew in the olden days," Sarah Jane teased. The Doctor raised an eyebrow at that and looked at the queue. He eyed Jack when he began to make clucking sounds while the others giggled. "Oh really, Harkness, you think I'm chicken?" the Doctor said. "I'm standing in the queue and you're not," Jack said with a shrug. "Oh…if I must, just to shut this lot up," the Doctor said. "I'll be back, Sarah, after I'm done making Jack eat crow. Excuse me." "Eating crow…as in losing at the dart game," Rory said to Sarah Jane while the Doctor walked over to the queue. Sarah Jane chuckled. "Yes, but the Doctor can't resist a competition, been like that for as long as I've know him. He loves showing others how brilliant he is. It's something you get used to," she said. "Yeah, tell me about it. Saw enough of that when I traveled with him," Martha said as she stood beside Sarah Jane. While they watched, they heard rock and roll music drifting from a nearby booth. Pat Benatar's Heartbreaker was playing and to their amusement, Jack began bobbing back and forth while he sang along. Mickey averted his eyes while the teenagers and Amy laughed. The Doctor looked over at Martha, Rory and Sarah Jane and pointed to Jack before he spun his finger around his ear. "Just watch, I'm sure the Doctor will be singing along any second now," Sarah Jane said to Rory and Martha. "I hope not but I have a feeling you're right," Rory said. Sarah Jane gazed at him for a moment. "You're a bit shy, aren't you? Easily embarrassed?" Sarah Jane asked him. "Sorry, I'm just making an observation." Rory nodded. "Amy's more outgoing than I am," he said to Sarah Jane and Martha. "The Doctor's personality matches hers more than it matches mine but I'm trying my best to break out of my shell and be a bit more outgoing." "I was the same way," Martha said. "Trust me, traveling with the Doctor cures you of shyness." "Yes," Sarah Jane said. "Especially when you have to stand your ground against others. Just give it time, Rory, you'll become the shining star you were meant to be, trust me." Rory smiled and Sarah Jane patted him on the shoulder. "Here goes Jack," Martha said as he stepped up to the pole. Jack rubbed his hands together to get the sweat off before grabbing the handle of the sledgehammer. He concentrated on the metal ball as he lifted the sledgehammer over his head. He slammed down with all his might and the ball shot up and hit the bell at the top, making it ring. Jack gave the sledgehammer to the attendant and chose a small duck plushie wearing a sailor suit. He turned and gave Mickey a smug grin as his friend came up to the pole. Mickey snorted and took the sledgehammer from the attendant while Jack walked a few feet away, turned and watched. Mickey gripped the handle, getting a feel for the heavy sledgehammer while he kept his eyes on the ball. Then with a groan, he hefted the sledgehammer over his head and slammed it down as hard as he could. He raised his hands triumphantly when the bell dinged and handed the sledgehammer to the attendant before choosing a small red bull plushie. "Well done, Smith, makes a change from the squealy girl days," the Doctor said as he watched from the queue. Mickey ignored him as he walked over to Jack. "See, I'm just as manly as you are," he said smugly. "Yeah, we'll see how manly you are when I put a big spider in your bed with you," Jack muttered as he turned and followed Mickey back towards Martha and the others. By now, David Bowie's Let's Dance was playing and Jack rocked back and forth while he sang while they waited for a middle aged balding man to get done so Clyde go take his turn. "Come on, Rory, sing with me," Jack said to him. Rory glanced at him and Jack nodded. "And if you say run, I'll run with you," he sang encouragingly to him. "Come on, Rory, who gives a damn what people think. Sing. When you're with the Doctor, you throw all caution to the wind and say who cares what people think. Rory sidled over to him and began to sing. The others laughed and began to sway as they joined in. A few people gave them curious looks but they ignored them as they sang. The Doctor and Amy shared a look and laughed while the teens tried to pretend they didn't know them. The Doctor grinned and joined in with them, singing while Amy danced in place and swayed back and forth. The man in front of Clyde only got to He-Man, one level below the top and received a keychain as a consolation prize. His friends cheered Clyde on as he stepped up to the attendant and took the sledgehammer. He winced when he picked it up. "Blimey, this is heavy," he muttered. He tried to get it over his head but he only managed to get it up to his face. He hit the metal bar and groaned when he only reached average man. "Tough luck, mate," the attendant said, handing him a key chain before taking the sledgehammer from him. Clyde looked downcast even though his friends were applauding him. "I think I'm gonna have to start working out," he muttered to Sarah Jane as she put an arm around him. They watched as Luke came up and took the sledgehammer. He stood there for a moment in thought while the attendant gave him an odd look. "You gonna try it, mate?" the attendant finally said. "Yeah, just making a few calculations," Luke said. The Doctor gave him a proud smile while the attendant gave Luke another odd look. Luke picked up the sledgehammer, testing the weight for a moment and then as hard as he could he slammed it down. Everyone cheered and Clyde's mouth dropped open when they heard the ding. "No…way," Clyde said as Luke selected a plushie soccer ball and gave the sledgehammer back to the attendant. "Mate, you're gonna have to teach me how to do that," he said to Luke as he walked towards everyone. "I just did a few simple calculations, weight of the sledgehammer, distance to the top, air speed, that sort of thing, it was very simple," Luke said to Clyde. "Yeah," Clyde said with a snort, "if you say so, mate." He walked over to his mother and Sarah Jane put his arm around Luke while they watched Rani. Clyde's mouth dropped open when she raised the sledgehammer nearly above her head and slammed it down, making the bell ding. She selected a white elephant and smugly walked towards her friends. "How come everyone's stronger than I am?" Clyde said. "I lift weights," Rani said. "Mum and Dad got me hand weights when I started helping Sarah Jane and I built up my strength. Maybe you should do the same instead of sitting in front of the Xbox all day, yeah?" "Yeah," Clyde muttered as Rani gave him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. Clyde looked back at Jack and Rory who were now singing Duran Duran's Union of the Snake. "Can you be any more embarrassing?" Clyde said to them while everyone laughed. "Actually, I can, Clyde," Jack said. "Come on, who cares what people think? Join in." "No thanks, I don't really know this song, you lot have fun," Clyde said while Jack nudged Rory. They watched while Amy stepped up and took the sledgehammer. "Come on, Pond, make me proud," the Doctor said as he stood behind her. Amy rubbed her hands together and gripped the handle. She tensed her body and with a yell, raised the sledgehammer up to her forehead and brought it back down hard. She grinned when the bell dinged and everyone applauded while she also chose the white elephant and handed the sledgehammer back. She walked over to the others and quickly turned when the Doctor stepped up and took the sledgehammer from the attendant. He smiled warmly when the attendant took in his outfit. "Nice bow tie, mate," the attendant said dryly. "Bow ties are cool," he, Rory and Amy said at the same time. The attendant rolled his eyes when Amy and Rory laughed and the Doctor saluted them. He gripped the handle of the sledgehammer, a fierce look of concentration on his face and then he swung it up over his head and slammed it down, easily making the bell ring. He chose a brown horse plushie and walked back to the others. "Congratulations, Professor," Jack said dryly, "didn't know you had it in ya." "Don't call me that, please. I had one companion call me that even though I kept asking her not to and it drove me batty," the Doctor said to him. "So…have I proven myself, Harkness? Satisfied that I have the muscles to back up my mouth?" "I don't know, your mouth is pretty big," Jack said. He and Mickey giggled as the Doctor gave Sarah Jane the horse. He turned, stared at the roller coaster and looked at Amy. Amy gave him a pointed look as she jabbed her finger at it. "Oh, if I must," the Doctor said, walking away with the others towards the roller coaster.
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