DOCTOR WHO:

MOUNTAINS TO CLIMB

WRITTEN BY ZARIUS

(Contains spoilers for "Kerblam!")


In the holographic park of the home zone situated at Kerblam! retail, The Doctor had reunited with her friends to discuss the mysterious disappearance of Dan Cooper, who had been covering for Yasmin.

"So, just to be clear, you found Dan's scanner crushed?" she asked.

"I heard him yell, and now there's no sign of him anywhere. If it weren't for him, that could easily have been me. We have to find him so I can thank him"

"The robots that converged on you, they were delivery bots like the Kerblam! man? Not the teammates? That's peculiar" The Doctor noted.

She turned to Graham, intending to request his assistance.

"I need you to find out the history of the company and acquire some plans of the complex"

"And how do I go about doing that?" Graham asked.

"You're a cleaner, you're perfectly placed. You have unrestricted access" The Doctor replied.

"Yeah, and chronic skin irritation" Graham remarked.

The Doctor folded her arms, raising an eyebrow.

"Don't be cheeky" she said

"Well, it's true, I've had a few turns around here and you won't believe the slop that needs mopping up"

"At least it's not you making the mess" she said

"I'm sorry; does that imply I've made a mess of things before?" Graham asked, slightly annoyed.

The Doctor lightly turned her head half way, attempting not to meet him directly in the eye when she answered.

"No, no I never said that, you've been a model companion. I just meant you never really make a mess...not an important one anyway"

"What kind of mess do I make then?" Graham said.

"Uh oh" said Ryan.

"What warrants the 'Uh-oh?'" asked Yaz.

"She's having a go at him again, reminds me of the scraps Graham got into with my nan"

"What? Your grandparents fought?"

"Just a little, it was always over nothing, and she knew that. Nan always did love teasing him when they got married, it made her come alive, it drove him nuts though"

"I think that's rather cute" Yasmin answered, looking on at the quarrelling pair with excited eyes.

"Look Doc, this is a bit of a thankless job, so I'd appreciate it if you could give me a little consideration and thank me for this effort. This well could have been your job if you hadn't used your sonic wotsit to exchange places with me, I could have had your job"

"I'll have you know my sonic is not some packet of crisps...you may have a point, but would you have gotten to the bottom of things the way I have?" The Doctor asked, again keeping her eye contact to a minimum as she felt awkward.

"Yeah, of course I would. If Yaz came to me with her situation I'd be right on top of it as well as the bottom. I don't think it matters what position we are on just beneath the tip of the mountain, so long as we climb right up it and make sure everyone makes it to the summit"

These words finally managed to get The Doctor to simmer down slightly, and she met Graham in his warm and kindly eyes again.

"Well, good to know where we stand with each other" she said.

"Where we stand is always pretty firm" Graham said.

"Get on with it then, find those plans, we've got some mountains to climb" The Doctor replied, giving Graham a tug on the cheek before dashing off with the others.