The Fifty-Year Delay (short story)

The Fifty-Year Delay was a short story published in The Official 50th Anniversary Annual. It told the story of Ryan Goodman's encounter with the Eleventh Doctor.

Synopsis
The Doctor has another fifty-year-old mystery on his hands...

Summary
Ryan Goodman is running late for work, so he quickly rushes to an Underground station. He looks up at the display which shows how long you have to wait for different trains. It says, "Kennington via Charing Cross - 50 years". Thinking this was a joke, he looks into the tunnel. The TARDIS suddenly lands, Ryan thinking it was the train, but to his surprise there was no train. Ryan is dumbfounded. The Eleventh Doctor comes out of the TARDIS, telling him to stay behind the yellow line.

Suddenly, another loud sound comes from the tunnel, which doesn't sound anything like a train. The Doctor informs Ryan that it was actually an ancient time bird who is a bit lost. He also states he was trying to help her, but the bird is causing all sorts of time disruptions, and that they're actually 50 years in Ryan's future. Soon enough, out comes a giant brightly-coloured bird, which shimmers as if it was on fire. It seems to fade in and out of existence and fly low over their heads and up and down the train tracks.

A familiar sound starts getting louder and louder; a train is arriving. The Doctor had to do something quick. The bird spots the TARDIS, and time slowed down. A train appears at the mouth of the tunnel. The bird flies out of the way, a split second before an impact would've occurred. The Doctor and Ryan run towards the bird in slow motion as time slows down. The bird starts flying towards them, flies over their heads and into the blue box. The ground shakes and time goes back to normal. The Doctor states that everything is normal, and she knows she's safe now. Ryan looks around. The station is now full of people, no one taking any interest in the blue box. Ryan looks up at the board, which now reads "Kennington via Charing Cross - 1 min". The Doctor tells Ryan that everything is back to normal, and that there would be slight delay on the Central line. The Doctor thanks Ryan for the help and goes into the TARDIS. People push into the train which recently arrived, and Ryan watches as the TARDIS fades.

Named characters

 * The Eleventh Doctor
 * Ryan Goodman
 * Time bird

Continuity

 * The Eleventh Doctor previously encountered a species of multicoloured birds causing mischief. Exactly like in this story, it was solved by luring them into the TARDIS and taking them back to where they belong. (COMIC: The Egg Hunt)