One Small Step... (short story)

One Small Step... was the fourteenth short story in the Short Trips anthology Short Trips: Past Tense. It was written by Nicholas Briggs. It featured the Second Doctor, Jamie McCrimmon and Zoe Herriot.

Summary
While the nation is held spellbound watching the exploits of astronaut Neil Armstrong as he makes the first Moon landing, the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe relax in the sun at Compton Bay, on the Isle of Wight.

Leaving his friends playing in the sand, the Doctor goes to buy some ice cream from a nearby van and meets a young boy; concerned that the child has sneaked out of his house to play without telling his parents, the Doctor tells the boy to back home.

However, as the boy leaves, he is hit by a car, and his legs smashed beyond repair. Wracked with guilt and remorse, the Doctor heads straight for the TARDIS; reaching a decision, he gathers his companions and then spends the next few months attempting to pilot the time ship back to just before he met the boy, so that he can change history.

Eventually arriving four hours previously, the Doctor resolutely stays on the beach with Jamie and Zoe, and is relieved when the time of the original accident passes without incident. He is then elated to see the boy and his parents arrive on the beach for a barbecue. The Doctor leaves, resolving never to cross paths with the boy again – although he does drop in to see the child one last time, just to make sure he is alright, and to dispel his fear of bath nights.

Characters

 * Second Doctor
 * Jamie
 * Zoe
 * Little Boy
 * Mum
 * Dad

Continuity

 * The Doctor mentions Quarks, (TV: The Dominators) Krotons, (TV: The Krotons) Cybermen (TV: The Invasion) and "deadly clockwork robots". (TV: The Mind Robber)
 * TARDIS is invisible. (TV: The Invasion)