Disclaimer = The Doctor & his companions are the property of the BBC, all over characters in here are works of fiction and any similarity to persons living or dead is purely accidental.

With My Own Eyes by James Parkin

Had Gemma not been so anxious to find a good hiding place then she might have given some thought to the question of why an obsolete police telephone box was standing on the waste ground that had once been the site of a factory that made wooden clothes pegs, especially as it had not been there a couple of minutes ago when she had passed this spot on her way to the shopping arcade.  As things stood she was simply grateful to find somewhere that Patrick O’Farrell wouldn’t see her.  It would be a tight squeeze between the police box and the wall against which it stood but she was sure that there was just enough room for her.  She darted into the space, just in time as the boy whom she was trying to evade came into view. 

Gemma decided that it would be wise to wait for at least five minutes before she emerged from her hiding place, just in case Patrick had decided to hang around the area.  However, it was not very comfortable where she was standing, cramped between the wall and the police box, and it was difficult for her to look at her watch in her present position.  So it was less than two minutes before she cautiously climbed out of the space and starting edging her way around the blue box, watching in all directions, making sure that the danger was well and truly past.

            “Looking for somebody?” asked a voice.  Gemma’s blood froze for a microsecond thinking that Patrick had spoken, until her brain registered that the voice was female.  She slowly looked up as the figure now standing in front of the box spoke again.  “Or are you running away from someone?”

            The speaker was a girl not much older than herself.  Long brown hair framed a friendly and attractive face.  Gemma felt sure that this girl could get boys to take her out, but probably not the boy she really wanted.  Maybe she’d get on better if she ditched that leather jacket with all those badges on.  It looked so 1970s.

            “So which is it then?” asked the girl.

            “Oh, I was, er, hiding from someone,” Gemma said, hoping that this reply didn’t make her sound like she was seven years old rather than seventeen.  “Patrick O’Farrell.”

            “Bullying you, is he?  You don’t want to run away, you want to stand up to him.  What’s your name, anyway?  I’m Ace.”

            “Gemma.  And Patrick’s not a bully, he’s gorgeous.  And funny.  And he hasn’t got a girlfriend at the moment.”

            “Sounds like he could be quite a catch.  Why are you hiding from him?”

            Gemma looked at Ace, thinking the girl must be mad.  “Are you crazy?  Look at my face.  I don’t want him to see me like this.”

            Ace stared at Gemma’s face.  It seemed perfectly normal to her.  “Like what?”

            “Are you blind?  Look at this spot.”  She pointed to a pimple on her forehead.

            Ace shrugged her shoulders.  “It’s not really noticeable, is it?  Rearrange your hair a bit and no-one will see it.”

            “It’s not just the zit,” continued Gemma.  “My teeth are all crooked and look at my boobs.  Look how small they are.  How am I going to get pulled with boobs like these?”

            Ace snorted.  “Your boobs aren’t that small.  Anyway, if a boy’s main concern is your bra size he ain’t worth bothering with.”

            “Fine, I’ll just go out with some geek who can recite the synopsis of every single episode of Star Trek then.”

            “Better than a Neanderthal who’s just looking for the first opportunity to get inside…”

            A very promising argument was interrupted by the emergence of a figure from the now open door of the police box, which Ace more commonly knew as the TARDIS.  Carrying an umbrella, even though it was the middle of June and there was no rain forecast at all that week, and wearing an eccentric ensemble of apparel including a pullover covered by question marks, he announced his presence with an “ahem.”

            “…your bedroom,” Ace concluded her sentence.

            “Good morning,” said the newcomer, raising his hat to Gemma.  “I’m the Doctor, and you are?”

            “Gemma,” she replied, staring at the Doctor in his extraordinary get-up.

            “I’m very pleased to meet you, Gemma.  I wonder if you could tell me if Devonia Square is within walking distance.  You see, I was hoping to visit one of my fellow members from the Royal Geographical Society and I’ve been checking my map but unfortunately…”

            “You see!” Gemma shouted at Ace.  “You see what I mean.  He’s looking at my face.”

            “I do beg your pardon,” said the Doctor politely.  “I usually look at people’s faces when I’m talking to them.  But if you’d prefer me to look somewhere else…”

            “You’re a man, you’re supposed to be looking at my boobs.  I read it in a magazine, men’s eyes automatically focus on a girl’s boobs, they can’t help it.  But all the boys I know always look at my face.”

            “Gemma is worried about the size of her boobs,” explained Ace.  “Afraid she won’t get a boyfriend.”

            “Ah,” said the Doctor, smiling.  “I understand.  You’re over half way through your teenage years, should be about on male companion number six by now, but you’re still waiting for serious boyfriend numero uno.  You’ve read about it in the magazines, the joy, the tears, the exhilaration, the heartaches, and you want to be part of it, like any other girl, like every other girl, because everyone is in a relationship apart from yourself.  Every day you wake up and realize you’re another day closer to becoming like that book on Egyptian architecture down at the local library and as you walk into the bathroom and look in the mirror you see the reason before you, the reason why the eyes of the male of the species are immediately drawn to the girl sitting next to you on the bus but never to yourself.”

            “Yeah, my boobs,” said Gemma.

            “Well, this is most fortunate.  You see, I happen to be a doctor specializing in body enhancements and I’m visiting this area with my mobile hospital offering my services.  Free of charge, it’s all on the NSH and…”

            “NHS,” corrected Ace.

            “Yes, of course, NHS.  Well, I have no other appointments right now so I would be delighted to perform a simple operation to increase the proportions of your, er, breasts.”

            “Professor…” began Ace.

            “Sorry, Nurse, I’m not trying to belittle your involvement in the procedure.”  He turned to Gemma once more.  “Nurse Ace will, of course, be present throughout, assisting me with the operation.  Would you be interested?”

            “You bet!” replied Gemma.  “Where is this mobile hospital?”

            “It’s right here.”  The Doctor indicated the entrance to the TARDIS.

            Gemma’s face fell.  “I thought you were being serious.”

            “I am.  Go inside, I think you’ll be surprised.”

            I must be mad, thought Gemma, but there was something about the Doctor that suggested he was being serious even though he was talking rubbish.  She walked through the door the Doctor had pushed open for her and found herself in an impossible situation.

            “Impressive, isn’t it?” said the Doctor as he and Ace followed her into the TARDIS.  “It’s dimensionally transcendental.  This allows me to put hundreds of wards and operating theatres into one small box.  This is the reception area, all the other rooms are through that door.”  He indicated the door leading out of the console room. 

            Gemma looked around herself with the same feelings of astonishment and bewilderment that most people felt when entering the TARDIS for the first time.  This truly was an amazing hospital.  Fortunately the white walls and bright, harsh lights did convey a clinical feeling, giving Gemma no reason to believe that she was actually standing inside a ship that could travel anywhere in time and space.

            “Now,” continued the Doctor, “Nurse Ace will show you to the operating theatre.”  He beckoned Ace towards him and then said in a low voice, “take her to Turlough’s old room, then go and find an appropriate costume from the TARDIS stores.”

            Ace looked the Doctor straight in the eye.  “If this is all just an excuse to get me wearing a nurse’s uniform then I’ll make sure you’re struck off the register.”

* * * * *

Ten minutes later Ace was standing in what could pass for a nurse’s uniform, in the bedroom that had once belonged to Turlough, a former companion of the Doctor.  Now it was largely empty save for a single bed and large mirror on the wall.  On the bed lay Gemma, now looking slightly more nervous as the time of the operation approached.

            “Have you done this before?” she asked Ace.

            “Oh yes, hundreds of times.  Made them bigger, made them smaller, changed their colour, you name it.”

            “Do I need to get completely undressed?”

            “Er…” Ace wondered how the Doctor would react to walking in and finding a naked girl on the bed.  “You’d better ask the Doctor when he arrives.”

            “Don’t you know?  You said you’d done this hundreds of times.”

            “I meant the hospital, not me personally.  I’m, er, normally involved with paediatrics.”

            “Oh.  That’s something to do with feet, isn’t it?”

            “Ah, good,” said the Doctor, as he walked into the bedroom, wheeling a trolley on which was placed various surgical instruments.  “If you’re ready we can get started straight away.”

            “Gemma was wondering if you wanted her to get completely undressed,” said Ace.

            The Doctor looked shocked.  “Why should I want her to do that?  Oh, I see.  No, no, no need to her to take any clothes off at all.”

            It was Gemma’s turn to look shocked.  “You’re going to do a boob job on me while I’m fully dressed?”

            “Yes, this is a very advanced technique.  Very non-intrusive.  No scarring, no restrictions on what you can do afterwards.  I just need to put you to sleep and when you come round you’ll feel as correct as precipitation.”

            “Are you going to use gas to put me to sleep?”

            “Heavens, no, we’re not living in the Dark Ages.  Venusian lullabies I find to be most effective at inducing slumber.”  He reached into his pocket and pulled out a strange looking instrument.  “Now if you will just concentrate your eyes on this, please.”

* * *

“Doctor, are you sure you’re qualified to do this?” asked Ace, looking at the now sleeping patient.

            The Doctor was bending over the trolley he had brought into the room.  “For the procedure I’m about to perform you don’t need any qualifications, just a steady hand.”

            Ace looked down at her own chest.  “Don’t even think about it, Ace,” said the Doctor without looking up.  He ignored all the surgical instruments and instead picked up what looked like two small pieces of plastic off the trolley.  He walked over to the bed, holding them carefully.  “Now, Ace, if you will just hold open the patient’s eyes, one at a time, please.”

            “Her eyes?”

            “Yes, we’ll start with her left eye…there it goes…now the other eye…perfect.  Right, I think we can bring the patient round now.”  He clicked his fingers.  Gemma immediately opened her eyes as if woken by an explosion.  “Right, Gemma, how do you feel?”

            “I feel fine,” she replied.  “Have you done it?”

            “Yes, I’m pleased to say that the operation was a complete success.  Perhaps you’d like to take a look in the mirror.”  He indicated the full-length mirror.

            Gemma climbed off the bed and went to look at her reflection.  “Brilliant,” she exclaimed.  “They’re much better.”  She continued to stare at herself in the mirror.  “You’ve removed the spot from my forehead as well.”  She opened her mouth.  “And my teeth aren’t crooked anymore.”

            “Yes, well, I decided we might as well get everything sorted out while you were here.  I hope that’s acceptable to you.”

“Acceptable?  It’s fantastic.  I can take my pick of the cool boys now.”  Suddenly she flung herself at the Doctor and gave him a hug.  “Thank you so much.”

Ace watched amused as the Doctor tried to disengage himself as diplomatically as possible from the teenager.  After he had finally got himself free he said, “Well, I’m glad you’re so happy with how you see yourself.  Now, I don’t think you need stay here any longer.  Nurse Ace will show you the way out.  Goodbye.”

Ace returned to the bedroom a few minutes later after showing Gemma out of the TARDIS.  “Okay, Professor, what did you put in her eyes?”

“Primary Saraxogean contact lenses.  A vital tool in enabling life to be sustained on Saraxogy.”

“And what do these Saraxy lens things do?”

“Well, you see, the inhabitants of Saraxogy have to be one of the ugliest species in the known Universe.  They can’t stand to look at themselves or each other in their natural form, it makes them want to expel the contents of their rather large stomachs.  The primary contact lenses enable the wearer to see herself or himself exactly as she or he wishes to be seen.  They also use secondary lenses to see each other in a more favourable light as well, but it wasn’t necessary to use these in Gemma’s case.”

“So when Gemma looks in the mirror from now on she’ll see herself as a teenage beauty queen.”

“Not quite, because she doesn’t particularly want to be a beauty queen.  She’ll see herself as an attractive teenage girl, which is how she wants to be seen.”

Ace nodded.  “And everyone else will see her exactly the same as she was before.”

“Precisely.  But that wasn’t the problem, was it?”

* * *

Gemma looked at her watch and was surprised to see how little time had elapsed since she had hid from Patrick.  Well, she certainly wasn’t going to hide from him now.  It was just gone twenty to four and she knew that he always went to the gym on Saturdays at four o’clock.  If she hurried she should just have time to meet him outside when he arrived.  She walked quickly and confidently, certain that she would have a date for this evening.  Now the only problem was what to wear…