Hi y'all, This is my first attempt at a This Time Round story, so apologies in advance if it bites. Copyright disclaimer: Dr Who is owned by the BBC. This Time Round was created by Tyler Dion, after Kielle's Subreality Cafe. Comments&criticism are, as always, appreciated. If you don't tell me what I'm doing wrong, I won't get any better, and you'll have to read crap. THIS TIME ROUND: CASTING CALL by WhiteDalek "Nyssa! Tegan! Guess what!" Adric called out gleefully, waving a piece of paper. Tegan, annoyed at having their discussion of the finer points of Paul McGann's anatomy interrupted, muttered, "Isn't he supposed to be dead or something?" Nyssa, always the diplomat, actually managed to fake a look of what could almost be considered interest as she replied to the Alzarian: "Ed McMahon told you that you may already be a winner?" "No, that was yesterday," he said. "This is even better than that. Yours Truly has been asked to co-star in a crossover fanfic series! Don't believe me? It's all right here in this letter!" He puffed up visibly as he spoke. "At last, someone has recognized my talents and given me a leading role." He preened for a moment as the two girls merely looked at one another and shrugged. "So anyway," said Tegan, "there's this one bit in 'The Rainbow' where I swear you could see his--" "I bet you'd like to know who my co-star is, wouldn't you?" Adric blurted. Tegan sighed heavily, seeing now that they were going to have to just tough this one out. "Yes, Adric," she said in a bored monotone that anyone but Adric would have taken offense at, "Please tell us so that we can all stew in our jealousy." "I knew you'd be envious! I, of course, will be the focus of the series, but I will be sharing the limelight with... Wesley Crusher from Star Trek: TNG! Can't you just see it now? It'll be _so_ fabulous!" Nyssa had been sipping at a Margarita when she heard the words 'Wesley Crusher'. She suddenly found herself choking as the drink went down the wrong way. Tegan slapped her on the back. She coughed a couple of times and swiped at her eyes. Adric looked at her curiously. "Sorry," she mumbled, "I sucked when I should have swallowed." She looked at Tegan in surprise. "Did I really just say that?" But Tegan's attention was on Adric now. "Crusher, eh? That'll be... interesting." "Oh yes," he said seriously. "The way I see it, with me bringing in my fan base, and Wesley bringing in his, we should double our pop- ularity in no time." 'Twice zero is still zero,' Nyssa thought, but smiled and said nothing. "Well, it sounds like you've got it all planned out," said Tegan. She was chewing at her bottom lip a little, and the corners of her mouth kept twitching. "Absolutely. This is going to be my big break! Oh, by the way," he added, holding up the letter and scanning it for a moment, "do either of you know what this phrase means? I've never heard it before." "Which phrase?" Nyssa asked. He pointed at the first paragraph. "This one right here. 'Slash-fic'." --WD