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“Y’know, Doc, I might not seem it, but I actually am a big fan of Elton John.”
The Doctor quickly turned her head to look at Graham standing against the console. She narrowed her eyes in his direction, curious for him to elaborate, but not actively judging his taste just yet. If she was being honest, she would say that she was also a fan of Elton John - or at least, she had been in the past - but Graham just didn’t seem the type. Though, she supposed, there was always something new to be learned about your friends.
Yaz and Ryan were less conspicuous with their reactions. They stood on either side of him, shooting him what could only be described as offended glances.
They had been discussing new ideas for places to go and somehow ended up on the topic of music and what artists they all liked. The Doctor had honestly forgotten about Elton John, of all people. Having traveled all through time and space, she had encountered lots of interesting extraterrestrial musicians that easily outranked the eccentricity of the man himself. He certainly set the bar very high, though.
“Makes me feel all nostalgic, that lad,” Graham began, a wistful tone to his voice. “Reminds me of when I was just a lad myself, all young and spry.”
She could see the way his eyes fell to the floor as he spoke, troubled by something that wasn’t just Yaz and Ryan’s judging stares next to him. It was like he regretted bringing it up at all. Something about the change in his demeanor made her worry that there was more behind this than he was letting on. She quickly cast the other two a disappointed glance.
“We can go to one of his shows, if you’d like,” she suggested, giving him a small smile to try and direct his attention away from what was bothering him.
His face lit up at the offer. She tried to ignore the way Yaz and Ryan looked annoyed. If anything, the Doctor knew when her friends needed cheering up, and this was definitely one of those times. Sometimes the people that need help are the ones right next to you, it’s not always about saving the universe.
“Really? Oh, Doc that would be brilliant.”
“Any specific performance you’d like to see? Any year?”
There were a few moments of silence where Graham thought over the question. If this meant a lot to him, she wanted to make sure he called the shots on everything. Personally, she would rather just pull the lever and let the TARDIS figure out when and where to go, but if Graham had any preferences, she wanted to honor them.
“I hadn’t really thought about that. Maybe something early on?” he said as if it was a question. “The 70s? I was a teen around then.”
“If that’s what you want, then sure. I think I should be able to pick out a few of his shows from then.” The Doctor turned back to the console to begin picking times and dates and locations. But she could still feel Graham’s gaze lingering on her as she worked.
“Shouldn’t we - I don’t know - change clothes and all that?” he piped up eventually.
“Graham,” Ryan spoke up now. “It’s not that far back, I think we’ll be okay.”
“No, no, no,” Graham protested. “We can’t go walking around looking all 2021. We’ve got to dress the part.”
“I am not dressing like Elton John,” Yaz interjected with a scoff.
“Never said you had to dress like him! Just look more 70s, s’all.”
Yaz and Ryan both turned to look at the Doctor to wait for her input. She had stopped working at the controls and instead had been watching this whole thing play out in front of her like some weird sitcom. She flashed a quick look towards Graham and couldn’t fully hold back the smirk that threatened to show itself.
“I think it would be fun to dress up a bit,” she said nonchalantly, with a shrug.
She knew it would rile Yaz and Ryan up, and that it did. The two of them quickly expressed their frustration with a chorus of groans and sighs. Looking over at Graham, she could see him give a slight chuckle at her teasing the younger two. A small laugh of her own bubbled up in her chest in response.
It was nice to take a moment and just have a little fun in between the chaos that was the life of the Doctor. But even the enjoyable moments came with their hardships. She was never good at discussing feelings, but she knew Graham would appreciate any attempt that she could make. She just had to send the others off to talk to him privately.
“Right, then,” she announced. “Wardrobe should be just down the hall somewhere, the TARDIS should lead you right to it. Go find something nice to wear, yeah?” She addressed the command to Yaz and Ryan, pointing a thumb over her shoulder towards the corridor behind her.
Graham began following behind them but the Doctor gently grabbed his arm to hold him back, sacrificing her own comfort with the contact for the sake of helping him. She hoped the others wouldn’t notice, but she had to make sure he was okay before the adventure unfolded. He turned to face her, his gaze nervously lifting to meet hers. His lips pulled into a thin line like a child who had just been caught in the cookie jar.
“Everything alright?” she asked, trying to sound as genuine as possible, even though her own nerves were threatening to show. She didn’t enjoy talking about things like this, and the thought alone made her want to run away.
“Fine, Doc,” he said after a long pause.
“You don’t seem fine. Tell me what’s going on.”
His eyes refused to meet her own now. She loosened the grip she had on his arm and she took a step back to give him some space. Her therapy skills weren’t the best, but she did know it was better to let the truth come out on its own than to force it. She wanted to allow him all of the time he needed.
To her surprise, he let out a small chuckle after many moments of silence had passed.
“I didn’t want to bring this up in front of Ryan, but…” His voice trailed off, and his gaze kept darting back towards the corridor over her shoulder.
“You can tell me anything,” she reassured.
“I’ve just been having a lot of...” he paused, visibly looking for the right term. His hands danced around in front of him. “Internal conflict... Recently.”
The Doctor gave a small nod, hesitant to interrupt.
“That Jack bloke - he kissed me when we met. He thought I was you and all.”
She raised an eyebrow. Captain Jack Harkness tended to have that effect on people.
“And then Jake and Adam…” Graham ran his hand through his hair, a nervous tic that he had never shown before. “Lovely lads, I uh… had a nice chat with them before we left that day.” He was stumbling over his words with a shaky voice and adding all sorts of ahs and ums to his sentences. “There’s just a lot I’ve had on my mind since then, y’know? And I didn’t know who to talk to or how to bring it up.”
It was becoming obvious what he was alluding to with his words, even if they were hard to understand with his nerves. Jack could make anyone question anything, but the mention of the couple they helped while investigating Praxeus made the Doctor think this was more than just that.
“And I’ve always been a fan of Elton John. That bit was true since before all of this. Him and Queen and Bowie and all that... I never knew why I was such a big fan when I was younger, but it’s all making sense now, I think. I just-”
“Graham,” the Doctor interrupted. Again, she wasn’t usually one for touch, but her hand had seemed to have made its way back to his arm without her noticing. “Just calm down for a second, everything’s alright.”
The hold she had on him and her interruption seemed to have brought him out of whatever nervous trance he was in, but she released it as soon as he was grounded. Perhaps sometimes interrupting was good, then. He took a deep breath and glanced back at her to meet her firm gaze before quickly looking away again.
“I’m thinking maybe I have some feelings for the other team? If that’s how people are describing it these days...” he said finally. "Not 100 percent, though," he added hastily. "Just some. Is that possible?"
A few beats of silence passed where the Doctor thought over how to respond; this was an unfamiliar situation for her. No other companion had ever come to her specifically for this moment; usually she just figured it out through context cues, if anything. Humans were always so obsessed with the idea of sexuality and gender; it was honestly exhausting. But she knew that moments like this were a big deal in human society, and she didn’t want to make Graham feel any more embarrassed or distraught about it than he already was.
He needed someone to support him, and it was her duty to do so. He trusted her and only her with this information. She should feel honored by this act of trust.
“Right,” she replied. “That’s good! And totally possible."
“That’s good?” Graham laughed. “That’s all you have to say?”
“Yeah, you know me - socially awkward and all that. But it is good, though! Brilliant actually,” she protested. “Nothing to be ashamed about.”
“Really?” Graham asked in disbelief. He let out a sigh of relief, followed by a small chuckle. “Well, then, this was easier than I was expecting.”
“Did you think I wouldn’t approve or something?”
“I don’t know! I was scared out of my wits about it, though,” he chortled.
“Nah, don’t worry,” she assured. “I’ve got plenty of wisdom to share if you need it. I’ve been told I’m good at giving advice! All of the gender nonsense means next to nothing for Time Lords, which of course means sexuality isn’t a bother either.” She waved a dismissive hand in the air. “You know about me being a man before and all that… but did I never mention I have a wife?”
“You what?”
“Oh, yeah,” she drawled. “Technically, I’ve had a few, but there’s only one actual one. Lost her a bit ago, ‘lot like yourself. Brilliant women, both yours and mine.”
Graham gave a small smile at her sentiments towards his wife. The Doctor’s lips pulled into a tight line in response as she tried to ignore the ache she felt in her chest at the memory of River. Supporting a friend sometimes meant sacrificing your own comfort, as she had learned from this whole situation. She squashed down her sadness to instead focus on making sure Graham felt at ease with this new knowledge he had about himself.
“Come on, we’ve got to go get dressed still.” She waved a hand to usher him along towards the corridor. “I’ll tell you all about her on the way.”
--
Returning to the console room after picking their outfits, it was obvious who was taking this seriously and who was just along for the ride. Yaz and Ryan had certainly picked some 70s inspired looks, but they were not nearly as flashy and eccentric as the Doctor’s own and Graham’s.
Yaz had gone for something not dissimilar to her normal rig out: a pair of jeans with a t-shirt and leather jacket. Though the trousers had more flare to the bottoms than her usual ones, and the hem of the shirt as well as the jacket were much shorter.
Ryan looked less like himself in his outfit of choosing. The 70s style was far from close to his own, and it was hard to not laugh at seeing him in such tight trousers with such a flashy button-down. She had never seen him wear such bright colors either; his top half was a stark contrast of orange to his typical color palette.
He must have been able to tell that the Doctor was amused by his ensemble, because he quickly flashed her an annoyed look at her entrance to the room. Looking up at Yaz, the Doctor could see that she had a similar opinion about Ryan’s clothing choices for the day.
Graham was also quick to judge his grandson’s fashion choices, letting out a huge laugh at the sight of him as if his own wasn’t even more bizarre.
He had gone for a more outlandish look than any of them, mimicking the man Elton himself. Graham was a flash of pinks and purples and blues in what appeared to be a regular 70’s style suit with some embellishments. There was a fringe on the shoulder pads that trailed behind him as he walked, and a smattering of sequins and gems all along the surface of the coat that reflected the light in all directions.
“Don’t you think you’re a bit overdressed there, granddad?” Ryan laughed.
“‘Course not, son,” Graham guaranteed. He pulled his colorful shades from his halfway unbuttoned shirt and placed them on his face as if it would help sell his point. “The Doc’s just as dressed up as I am; you guys are underdressed.”
He gestured over to where she was standing in her own sparkly outfit. She raised a challenging brow at Ryan, solidifying her alliance with Graham on this adventure once more.
The Doctor had gone a similar route to him, just with less of the bright colors and fringe and other three-dimensional adornments. Her coat was a dark blue, simulating the night sky with golden embroidered stars and moons all over. Matching the details on the outside, the inner lining of the coat was metallic and reflecting a yellow glow on the white button-up underneath - a button-up which had a large bow at her neck resembling something Victorian.
As she walked up to the console to begin their flight, her glittery platform boots sent a rainbow of light all across the floor. Her flared trousers covered the boots mostly, but enough of them still showed for the light to be reflected off of their surface.
“Right then,” she started. “Somewhere 70s? Elton John? Everyone get ready.”
Pulling the lever, the TARDIS around them came to life, and took off with its familiar groan.
--
Taking her first step out of the TARDIS, the Doctor frowned at the sight she was met with. They had landed in what appeared to be the backstage area of some outdoor venue.
Crew and musicians alike were bustling all around them and the blue box as she and the fam stepped out. No one had taken notice to them yet, the perception filter doing its job to hide them until they were ready to be seen.
“Doctor,” Yaz piped up, speaking a louder volume than normal to be heard over the noise. “I don’t think we’re supposed to be here.”
“I don’t think so either,” the Doctor replied. “Wherever here is.”
“It’s some sort of music festival, innit?” Graham was looking all around their surroundings, and the Doctor’s gaze followed, drawing the same conclusion.
Taking a second to focus on some of the people in the crowd around them, it was obvious they were in the 70s like they had planned. What was less obvious was exactly when in the 70s they were. Their location was also a mystery, the outside view being blocked by the equipment and walls of the surrounding tent-like structure. Though, listening closer to the many shouts and conversations nearby, it was safe to assume they hadn’t left the UK.
“Whatever it is,” Ryan spoke up now. “We need to get out from backstage. We ain’t performing.”
“Right,” the Doctor started. “Gotta find a way out of here. Assuming the TARDIS actually took us to a good place, we don’t want to miss what we came here for.” She shot a pointed look at Graham, to which he responded with a small but thankful nod. “Follow me and just walk around like you own the place.”
She led the way away from the TARDIS and could immediately feel eyes following them as they walked. The perception filter worked hard, but Graham’s outfit worked harder. She was silently hoping no one would stop them and ask who they were, that everyone would just assume they were another act and leave them alone.
It was terribly difficult to locate the exit with all of the commotion and noise around them. The Doctor was beginning to wonder if they were even going to be able to escape it all.
“My, my, my,” a voice rang out from behind them. “Now that is an ensemble if I’ve ever seen one.”
The Doctor turned to see where the voice was coming from, only to see two familiar faces coming up behind them. One was a mess of colors and patterns with massive sideburns embellished by colorful round glasses; the other looked much less extravagant and was pretty much just an average-looking guy for the 70s. His mullet could have used a bit of work, though.
Her mouth gaped open slightly in surprise, and she immediately looked over to see Graham’s reaction. She could see him fitting the pieces together, standing stock-still in his place. He glanced quickly back and forth between the two men and herself.
“See Bernie? I told you I saw something interesting walking around.” He shrugged his shoulder at the other man next to him and pointed a stubbly finger at Graham. “That is the level I wish to be on. I’ll have to get in touch with some people-”
“Oh, my God,” Ryan interrupted, his original annoyance now replaced with a genuine sense of disbelief. “You’re Elton John.”
The Doctor quickly narrowed her eyes at Ryan, a slight irritation seeping through at his statement of the obvious. Yaz did the same from the other side of him and nudged him with her arm, to which he replied by holding his hands up slightly in faux surrender.
“That I am, and this is my good friend Bernie,” Elton replied. “What’s it to ya? Are you lot performing too? You sure look it.” His eyes darted back to Graham, who still looked white as a sheet.
Turning her attention back to Elton, the Doctor ultimately decided it was probably better to lie than to tell him that they were just fans. They couldn’t risk being kicked out of the whole event, not for Graham’s sake. She felt a strong sense of responsibility for making sure he was happy after what had happened earlier.
“Yeah,” she told him, faking confidence in her familiar way. “We’re a band.”
She felt the fam’s eyes on her as the lie slipped from her mouth, and she desperately hoped they would follow along with it. Elton and Bernie looked them over, and she gave a sheepish smile to hopefully hide the nerves that were building in her gut.
“Oh, really?” Elton drawled, “And what do we call you, then?”
The Doctor was usually good at being put on the spot, but words failed her in that moment.
“Bennie and the Jets,” Ryan spoke before she could say anything of her own, a smirk on his face.
She quickly turned her head to shoot an incredulous look his way, and Graham did the same, obviously pulled out of his trance by the comment. She heard Yaz mutter his name under her breath in concern, as well. They were all thinking the same thing; he couldn’t just say that. It would be obvious that they were lying. Either that, or they would be expected to pay the man loyalties on the spot.
But Elton’s reaction wasn’t anything like she was expecting.
“Bennie and the Jets…” he hummed to himself. “Interesting name. I like it. What do you think, Bernie?”
“Hold on,” the Doctor interrupted. “What year is it?”
“Blimey! I’ll have what Bennie’s having,” Elton laughed to Bernie. “1972, love.”
Her shoulders released the sudden tension they had been holding at the fear of very obviously stealing the band name from one of Elton’s own songs. They had managed to narrowly escape disaster by showing up before it had even been written, apparently. Her timeline on Elton John history wasn’t necessarily extensive, but based on their reactions, Ryan was in the clear. For now.
The Doctor would have to have a chat with him about paradoxes after this, though.
“I do like their look,” Bernie said. “Very weird… but definitely wonderful.”
“Is this mohair?” Elton was taking a step towards the Doctor, gesturing to her coat.
She honestly had no idea, the TARDIS had conjured it up. She gave him a quick shrug in response.
“And this one, the most bold of them all.” His gaze shifted back to Graham. “Nobody normal would wear something like that.”
The Doctor had a sense of what Elton was alluding to with his comment, and she could see Graham quickly drop his gaze and instead focus on the ground beneath his feet. Her own hearts were racing, it was hard to imagine how he was feeling.
Yaz and Ryan stood right next to him, unaware of the identity crisis that he had had earlier. Elton more than likely didn’t have malicious intent with his comment, but the Doctor had a duty to safeguard Graham’s secret, and she wasn’t about to let him down. She had to do something before this was taken too far, and they found out before Graham was ready for them to know. She just hoped they didn’t catch on to what the conversation was actually about.
“Actually,” she retorted, raising her chin in Elton’s direction. “I’m sure you’ll find a few of us are not as normal as we appear.”
“Perhaps.” He considered her comment for a moment, before a small grin spread across his face. He glanced over them all once more, his eyes lingering on the Doctor the longest. He looked her up and down a few times before he turned back to Bernie. “I like her, she’s really keen.”
“That’s nice and all, Elton,” Bernie sighed, looking at his watch. “But you’re on in about ten.”
“Really? How time flies when you’re meeting new friends.” He flashed them another quick grin.
“We’ll catch your set, don’t worry.” The Doctor assured him with a small smile of her own. After all, that’s what they came here for originally. “Break a leg, and all.”
Elton gave a hearty laugh before turning to walk away, Bernie trailing behind him.
The Doctor glanced between the fam on either side of her. Yaz and Ryan had originally only begrudgingly followed along to go see Elton John perform, but even they seemed happy with the outcome of meeting him. Graham shot her a look that could only be described as gratitude for taking him on this journey in the first place, but she knew there was more to his recognition than the others knew.
He was thanking her for her support and understanding with his dilemma from earlier, and especially for her deflection away from the topic when they were speaking with Elton. She nudged his shoulder with her own, a silent and hidden way for her to show reassurance with the others present.
“That was…” Ryan mused.
“Interesting.” Yaz finished this sentence with a laugh.
“Certainly was!” Graham shouted. “How many people in the world can say they’ve met Elton John? And I just did it! Thank you so much, Doc.”
The Doctor shrugged. “It wasn’t exactly the original plan, was it? And neither was being the inspiration for one of the biggest songs in history.” She flashed a pointed look in Ryan’s direction before returning her attention back to Graham. “But you’re welcome anyway, Graham.”
“Well, we better get goin’ before we miss it,” Ryan piped up, ignoring her comment.
“Right,” she said with a nod. “Still gotta find the way out of here.”
She began leading the fam to what she assumed was the exit to the main festival area, where they should be able to join the audience. The nerves about being spotted and questioned from before had gone, and all that was left was a warmth of pride in her chest at making Graham’s day even better than he had imagined.
“Do you think we can maybe visit Queen next, Doc?”