Note from author: Hey, guys! This is my first attempt at an all-out fanfiction story, so please be kind. I really hope you enjoy it. Just a few notes before we go on: There will be Sherlolly. Sorry that I am terrible with summaries. Story gets better as it goes. Also, at the moment this is meant to be the Ninth Doctor, but it will eventually be Ten, then it will be Eleven. I will add the character thingies when I get there. WARNING: Plot twist ahead. ;)
The Doctor rushed into the TARDIS as quickly as he could without tripping over his own feet, and pulled the doors closed behind him. Despite his speedy use of the door, smoke had drifted into the large, futuristic room as well as dust and some terrible musty smell from the planet he was currently leaving.
His nose wrinkled in disgust at the smell but moments later, a snarky smile replaced his grimace. "Maybe next time, if it isn't too much to ask," He said using his sweetest, although irritated, tone as he tried to even his heavy breathing and calm his racing hearts, "you could take me somewhere nice and sunny?"
Obviously, there was no response but he knew she had heard him. "Don't be offended, but the Dark Planet was not very fun. Full of adventure? Of course, but also very damp and… dark!"
When he finished complaining, there was a banging at the door behind him. The Doctor took this as his queue to move over to the control panel and begin carelessly pressing buttons. "Come on, you sexy thing, let's get a move on."
He left the panel for a moment, and went around searching for something. "Ah-ha! There you are."
The hammer, which he had found on the opposite side of the room, seemed to move all around the ship, making it nearly impossible to find half the time. It was absurd how he, the last Time Lord in existence, could so easily forget where he last sat the bloody thing.
He laughed to himself as he walked back towards the panel, "Here's to hoping for somewhere, well, not here." Then he slammed the hammer down onto the panel, and within moments, the TARDIS was off.
It was not long before they landed again, this time they were back on Earth, and it was in fact sunny.
When the Doctor stepped out of the police box, he noticed that it was summer, there was a warm breeze and the sunlight almost blinded him for a moment. He continued walking away from the box, all the while grumbling about the Dark Planet and its lack of light and overall dampness, eventually rambling off onto a different topic.
Once his eyes had adjusted, he found himself in a quaint little subdivision. "Why would I be brought here? Everything seems as it should, but then again," There was barely anyone around to notice the strange man talking to himself, and the men out mowing their lawns were not paying him any attention, "it always begins that way."
He sighed deeply and whipped out his sonic screwdriver, beginning his search for anything potentially troublesome. Nothing serious reared its ugly head at first, but when he did catch the trail of something, it led directly to one of the smallest houses in the neighborhood. There was an old car in the driveway, and you could hear people moving about inside the building.
Someone definitely lived here.
Casually, he walked up to the front door, lifted his fist, and knocked. This doctor was very accustomed to house calls.
He had to wait quite a while before someone answered the door. And when it did swing open, he was met by a tall, lanky woman with brown hair and brown eyes who was holding at least five boxes. As she struggled to hold all the packages in her arms her appearance screamed average, but for some reason the Doctor found her to be extraordinary.
Average people were always the best heroes in the end, and she just seemed like the type to save the entire world by simply smiling at someone.
"Can I help you?" She asked as she tried to keep all of the boxes from falling, "Terribly sorry, but would you mind?" Her question came fast, but luckily the Doctor was ready when she handed the large box to him.
Through the clear plastic on the top, he could see a large cake inside the box. It was simple, and obviously store bought. In large curly-q letters the words, "Happy Birthday Molly!" were scrawled across the top with purple icing.
"Not at all, ma'am. Glad to be of assistance." The Doctor replied easily before the woman began to walk off, around the house, and towards the backyard, "Would you mind bringing that back here?" She asked again as she glanced back at him with a hopeful yet apologetic smile.
"Course not, might as well be helpful since I've obviously interrupted something important."
The brown haired woman laughed softly, the noise carrying through the air and ringing out like a bell, "Well, at this age, birthday parties are the most important thing, you know. Little ones've got to show off for their friends and all."
He grinned and simply nodded as they reached the backyard, which was where the party was being held. Children were everywhere; some were running around, others sat at the plastic tables, and the rest were cheerfully climbing on the one tree that sat in the middle of the yard.
The Doctor followed his orders, and set the cake down on one of the tables, and the woman carefully placed all of the other boxes she was carrying on another table, "There we go!" She said with a prideful grin, "Now what was it that you wanted before I dragged you back here and forced you into helping me set things up?"
His eyes continued to glance around the yard before actually responding to her question, in all that time he had not remembered to think up a nice story to tell her, "I'm an officer, ma'am. There have been rumors of attempted robberies on this street, and I was just keeping an eye on things."
While he was talking, his hand had slipped into his pocket to retrieve his psychic paper.
She appeared to believe him after glancing at what he could only assume she saw as a badge or some kind of identification. "Oh," Her smile faded away and was replaced by worry, "really? I haven't heard anything from the neighbors. I hope no one's been snooping around the house. Oh, dear."
Her eyes glanced over to a group of children who were sitting in the grass and picking little flowers to make into necklaces. He followed her gaze and found one of the girls in the group was wearing a party hat that said "Birthday Girl!" on it. That must be Molly, he thought to himself.
She was very small, almost the smallest child at the party. Her light auburn hair was pulled back in two braids, each with a purple ribbon at the end, which matched her dress as well as the icing on her cake. It must be her favorite color, he thought again aimlessly before his mind returned to the adult standing in front of him.
"Well, I could stay around the party for a bit longer to make sure all the kids are safe, if you'd like?" He offered with a friendly smile, in a way he was telling the truth. Something had to be wrong here, or else the TARDIS would not have brought him here, meaning the children did need protection.
"Oh, that would be terrific! Thank you, mister…" She paused for a moment realizing she had not read the name on his I.D., badge, or whatever it was that she had seen. Her eyes glanced back to the blank paper, "Toby Davis. I knew a Toby once; he was a good mate of mine. I'm Sydney Hooper. That's my girl Molly over there." Sydney pointed towards the girl the Doctor had spotted earlier with the party hat on. He had absolutely no idea why she had seen that name on the paper, but as long as she believed that it was real, it didn't matter.
"This is her party, she's turning six today." Her brown eyes seemed to brighten when she spoke of her daughter.
"Well, Mrs. Hooper, it is 'Mrs.' isn't it?" Sydney nodded and tapped the ring on her left hand, "Mrs. Hooper." She agreed before he went on, "Mrs. Hooper, I'll do my best to make sure it's a safe one."
"Please, Toby, call me Sydney."
"Sydney," He began for the third time, "I'll do my best to make sure it is a fantastic one." This made her laugh, and she thanked him again, before leaving him to attend to his business.
There was still no sign of whatever it was he was looking for by the time they had cut the cake, and the Doctor was getting impatient. He eventually grabbed a chair from one of the plastic tables, and dragged it out into the yard so he could sit and think.
His eyes stayed focused on the grassy ground as he rummaged through his brain. He must be missing something; there had to be something out of place, something that could trigger an idea in his mind.
"What are you doing?" His head shot up from the ground when he heard a small voice in front of him. It was the birthday girl herself, little Molly Hooper.
"I'm looking after your party." He replied a bit too defensively.
As he watched this little girl, a strange feeling began to rise up inside his chest. She seemed so familiar, although he was positive that they had never met before.
Molly's little face tilted slightly to the side, "Why?" she asked curiously.
A short chuckle escaped him, "Your mother asked me to make sure everything was safe, I'm a police officer."
Her eyes grew wider for a moment, before she forced herself to become very official and serious, "Do you have a badge? Can I see it?" She held her hand out for it expectantly.
The Doctor nodded and handed the psychic paper to the six-year old. She appeared to be inspecting it, but he bet she did not know what most of whatever she saw meant. "M-hm. I see." She mumbled to herself, trying to make him think she knew what she was doing, then she handed it back to him, "I'm Molly Hooper, what's your name?"
Apparently the badge had earned him her trust, "My name is… Toby." It seemed only proper that everyone at this party think that he was the same man.
Molly's lips stretched to form a smile before she took a seat on the ground.
"Molly, do you know that feeling you get when you meet a stranger, but you feel like you've known them for a very long time?"
Her face tilted off to the side again at his question, "You mean like when you meet a new friend, and you know that you're going to be the very best friends for a very long time?"
His brows furrowed a bit at the child's response, she seemed extremely clever for her age. "Exactly, and you know what Molly Hooper?" She sat up a bit straighter when he said her name, and leaned forward as if he were about to tell her a secret. "You are the most familiar stranger I have ever not met."
Molly burst out into a fit of giggles, and was about to reply when her mother called out that it was time for presents.
She stood up, and right before she ran off, she looked back at him and smiled her stretched little grin again, "Does that mean we are going to be best friends, Toby?"
The Doctor stood up from his chair and nodded, "I think so."
The little girl laughed again, then ran off to open her presents. He watched her quietly, and saw a man come out of the house.
Sydney quickly scurried over and gave him a tight hug and a kiss on the cheek, and when Molly saw him, she ran over and jumped into his arms. He knew that it must be Mr. Hooper.
After checking the sonic once more, he decided that the TARDIS had made a mistake, and with the father back home from work, or wherever he had been, everyone would be perfectly fine. Without saying a word to anyone, he left the party and returned to his box. "Well, old girl, we all make mistakes sometimes. Onwards and upwards."
Well, there's the first Chapter. I would like to thank you for reading my story! Never fear, for there is more to come!:D xoxox