Watched Doomsday. Cried my heart out. Don't own any of this stuff.
After that short author's note, you know what we must say, don't you?
On with the story. ALLONS-Y!
[Last time]
"Nice to meet you, Doctor. Can I ask you something?"
"Ask away." The Doctor put his hands in the pockets of his trench coat.
Phineas swallowed. "How did you know my name?"
.
The Doctor studied Phineas' face with a serious expression.
"I know lots of things," he said. "However, I don't know exactly where I am. Danville, right? But what's with the corn?"
Phineas smiled. "This is our backyard. My brother - Ferb - and I made this corn maze so we'd have something to do today."
"You and your brother built this - for fun - in your backyard?"
The Doctor picked an ear of corn from the nearest plant and licked it. "It's real! How big is your backyard?"
"It's just a normal Danville backyard..."
The Doctor put a hand into his coat and brought out a glowing blue and silver tube - his sonic screwdriver. "And you fit a corn maze, big enough to get lost in, in this normal Danville backyard?"
He raised the screwdriver, and ran it up and down the piece of corn he had picked.
"Well, yeah," Phineas said uncomfortably. "Sometimes... well, I guess, sometimes, the yard seems bigger on the inside than the outside... but I guess that sounds crazy, doesn't it?"
"Insane." The Doctor switched his screwdriver off. "Phineas, can I ask you a favor?"
"Sure."
"Can you show me around? Give me a tour?"
Phineas hesitated, and the girl in the pink skirt cut in.
"I'm outta here," she said. "I'm going to... go see if I can find a way through the maze... see ya."
She shot the Doctor a look that was clearly apprehensive, then scampered away to the small elevated walkway that was built into the corn maze.
"Doesn't trust me," the Doctor said knowingly. "Don't blame her, of course."
He caught a flash of movement and looked over Phineas' head to the elevated walkway where the little girl was. He was just in time to see her slip on one of the steps and loose her balance -
"Oops!" He said, starting towards her as Phineas and Ferb turned and realized their friend had fallen.
Phineas sprinted over. "Isabella, are you okay?" he asked.
She sniffed back tears, obviously in some pain. One of her legs was sticking out from her knee at a weird angle. When Phineas touched it, she burst out crying, scrubbing at her face with muddy hands.
"Um... you're a Doctor, aren't you?" Phineas looked nervously back. "Can you help? Please?"
"Uh, n-no, I don't th-think so," Isabella stammered.
"I can, though," the Doctor said. "Don't worry."
He crouched beside her, and she flinched away. "You don't have to be scared," he said. "Look - I've got lots of college degrees for this sort of thing."
He reached into his coat and brought out a blank piece of paper. When Isabella saw it, she calmed.
"Okay then," she said, still a bit reluctantly.
"It's okay," the Doctor said. "I can understand - strange man, walks into your yard, freaks you out, shows you a paper that tells you he's a qualified pediatrician when he's actually ... one second - and there!"
There was a popping sound, and Isabella's leg snapped back into its normal position. "There we go!" the Doctor said, standing up and smiling. "Right as rain. Now do you trust me, Isabella?"
"You just... you just wanted me to trust you! Did you make me fall?"
The Doctor's smile faded to a small size. "No. It was just chance. I swear. There're are enough bad things happening in the world, I don't want to make more. Do you believe me?"
"I guess." Isabella hoisted herself back up onto her feet, wincing a little when she put weight on the leg. "Thanks for helping me."
"No problem. Now..." he looked at Phineas. "About that tour?"
Phineas' distress signal soon brought more of his friends, who led them noisily out of the maze. The Doctor walked behind the group, keeping quiet, with the green-haired boy.
"Hello," the boy said, when his friends were busy in their own conversation. "I'm Ferb."
The Doctor nodded slowly. "I'm the Doctor. But I suppose you know that."
"Nice to meet you," Ferb said. "I hope you don't mind me saying... well, it's nice to meet another quiet, English person, after living in America so long."
Ferb's eyes bored into the Doctor, but the Doctor didn't look away. There was something more to that sentence - like Ferb was testing him.
"I'm normally not this quiet," he said.
"Ah." Ferb didn't blink.
"Do I know you?" the Doctor said.
"Yes, I rather think you do."
"You remember, then?"
"Remember what?"
It wasn't a question so much as a denial.
The sonic screwdriver came out a lot during that tour 'round the garage. The Doctor couldn't resist scanning every last invention Phineas showed him - there weren't many machines, for, as Phineas explained, most of the brothers' work disappeared at the end of the day, but there were enough - enough to make any mouth in the universe gape with admiration.
Except for one.
The last Time Lord had seen a lot in his life, but he still usually let himself "ooh" and "ahh" over interesting human artifacts. It was something that kept him sane, kept him easy-going - appreciation of the beautiful details in the world.
But his jaw didn't drop as he surveyed the tables and boxes of thingamajigs and whatchamacallits. If anything, it grew a bit tighter.
Only when they were done did he show any sign of admiration.
"Phineas," he said, standing back and bouncing on the soles of his feet. "Phineas, you've - oh. And Ferb, too. Can't forget Ferb..." the Doctor looked down at the green haired Brit. "Where was I? Oh, yes... boys... brilliant. You're brilliant."
The edges of his mouth dragged across his cheeks in a reluctant grin, but he dropped it quickly. "Of course, you're messing with big things here... big things -" he popped the "b" on the word "big" - "But don't let that stop you. No, the thing that worries me here is much more troubling than a little thing like warping the history of the human race."
He looked down at the children's faces - some disbelieving, some amazed. Phineas, eager.
The Doctor knelt, so he was at that avid redhead's height.
"Can I do a brain scan?"
"What?" Phineas looked startled, but not wary.
"Of you," the Doctor said. "Can I enter your mind?"
"You can do that? Why do you want to?" Phineas drew back, but he still looked interested.
"I just want to know ... a bit more about you and your brother. I just want to know how you got so intelligent."
"Go ahead, then," Phineas said.
The Doctor put his hands gently on either side of the boy's head, and prepared to dive into his mind. Then he stopped, putting his hands on his knees again.
"It might be dangerous," he admitted. "You might get hurt."
"You're the Doctor, aren't you?" Phineas said.
"Yes."
"Well, then, can't you fix it, if something goes wrong?"
The Doctor looked down, then nodded. "I'll try - no. I promise I will."
"Well, okay, then," Phineas said.
"Why so trusting? I could be anyone," the Doctor said softly. "Any type of alien, just wanting to harvest your brain and extract your memories..."
"But you're not," Phineas said confidently. "I can just tell. Plus, I don't really believe in aliens."
"Well, that's alright, then," the Doctor said, and replaced his hands on Phineas' head. "Just, tell me if you feel uncomfortable..."
And he jumped in.
...Reviews are email-sunshine on a rainy (snowy!) day.
