Ever the Same
Disclaimer: Doctor Who does not belong to me. I am just borrowing the characters for a bit.
Chapter 4: Blink
They watched though the black van window as the blue SUV pulled away with three women and a man inside. Sergeant John Rogers nodded the signal for his men to advance. His second in command pulled out his radio and passed on the message. A crossed the road two vans pulled up and ten men –five from each- stepped out, they are docked in black. Sergeant John Rogers's door opened and he along with his second stepped out as well. The ten men from the two lined up before them in single file lines. Sergeant Rogers smiled.
"You know the drill, men" He spoke. "It is a quick get in, place the bugs and get out with none the wisest. Got it?"
"Yes Sir!" Ten voices echoed and Rogers nodded once more. He was pleased.
"Alright get to work before you draw anymore attentions to us." He said though he already knew that all the people in the neighborhood had been told to leaved because of a unspecified threat. His men stepped up the two story brick house with the name plat above the side of the door that read "Jones-Milligan " and entered. He did know the reasons his higher ups had choose to monitor this home but that wasn't his job to know his job was to get his men to set up the system, watched and reported.
The blue SUV pulled up to a large flat and parked. Out stepped the Doctor, Martha, her sister and mother.
"Alright, here we are" Martha spoke as she headed for the building. The flat building belong to the Milligan's and whenever they visited the city from the country side were their homes resided, they always took up the top floor of this building on Portland place or the one on south Nothing Hill. They were visiting when the stolen earth incident had happen. "Portland Place, London W1B 5TR"
The three others followed her. She entered the apartment and headed for the front desk. Seated in the receptionist area was a young woman of Scottish heritages. Her name was Sophia Pond or so her breast plat said. She was new.
"Yes?"
"Here to see Tom senior and Julie Milligan," Martha said, took out her id and presented it. Miss Pond glanced over her id once and nodded.
"Right. Miss Jones you made go up. They have been awaiting your arrival." Then turned and looked at the three behind her. "Are they?"
Martha looked to where her eyes had landed and nodded. "Yes. They are with me."
"Name and relationship?"
"Francine Jones. I am Martha mother." Francine spoke.
"Tish Jones. Older sister." Sophia wrote something down and looked back up at the Doctor who had drifted a bit to stared at a painting on the wall. As if he had sensed her glanced he turned and looked the young woman way.
"Name and relationship sir?"
"Oh the Doctor." He said then paused looked Martha way and continued. "I guess you would say friend of the family."
"Right? But Doctor who?"
"Just the Doctor." He answered then returned to his investigation of the painting.
Sophia raised her eyebrows and looked toward Martha. The young black woman sighted.
"It's Doctor John Smith." She said. Sophia nodded once again and smiled. She understood the other woman feelings. Doctor John smith seems liked a hand full.
"Right. Go on up."
With that the gang headed for the elevator, Martha in the led followed by her mother and sister then the Doctor who casted one last looked at the painting before he followed.
Edward Blank, the new hire janitor, watched the group of four entered the elevator then placed his mop down opened his cell phone and quickly dialed a number. It took one ring and then a voice answered.
"Welcome to Unit or the united nations intelligence taskforce. Who might I ask is speaking and how may I help you?"
"Codename: Thunder and I would like to speak with Captain Matthew Winfred."
There was a paused then. "Very well please hold."
It was not long before someone picked up on the other end and answered.
"Yes?"
"Field report sir. " Edward said as he kept an eye on Sophia. The red hair glanced his way once but said nothing.
"Go on."
"You were right. He did came with her."
"So he was with them? I see." There was a paused. "Did you note anything of interest?"
"Yes." Edward paused. "He seems strange, a bit off."
"Strange? A bit off? What do you mean?" There was a paused. "You have read the files right? He is always strange."
"Yes I have" The blond hair said slowly. "It's just it seems like he was a bit more strange than usual. How do I put it this way…? He kept on looking at the painting on the wall."
"The painting on the wall?" Captain Winfred scoffed. "That is not strange maybe he like the painting or knew the painter"
"It wasn't like that sir…It seems like he was searching for something."
"I see." The captain said then." Keep up the good work agent."
"Yes. Sir." Edward said and hanged up.
The Doctor shifted where he stood near the doors of the elevator and waited like the other three for the moving box to stop. He listened to Francine and Tish make small conversations about something that happen earlier or something. He like Martha did not paid any heed. It was not his place anyways. Instanced he allowed his mind to returned to the painting on the wall down in the lobby. He did not know what it was but something about it seems -for a second - off.
Ding!
The elevator stopped and the doors opened.
The Doctor quickly stepped out, closely behind him Tish and Francine followed then finally yet importantly by Martha.
"This way," Martha spoke and he followed the three women as they headed toward a green door at the end of the hall to their right. As they walked, he noticed the many paintings of the same people lined the walls only at different ages. It is a painting of a family of five, a mum and a dad with two sons and a daughter. He assumed it is the Milligan because Tom or what look like him is among them.
Martha stopped and the groups stopped, she raised her arms and knocked. A few moments later, the door opened and a tall middle age black haired beauty answered.
"Oh Martha." Julie Milligan hugged her could have been daughter in law, her cheeks stained with tears. "Oh Martha."
Martha padded the other woman back and tried her best to comfort her but all she could uttered was…"I know. I know." Her voice trembled each time.
The Doctor watched the scene as his mind returned to a time when she had held him like that, like his mother under the two suns. He blinked, placed his hands in his pockets, shifted from right to left and looked away. At the sound of his shifted, Martha pulled back from her would have been mother in law and turned to introduced the rest of the party.
"Julie," Martha said. "You remember my mother and sister?"
"Yes," The rave haired woman said and turned to greet her would have been in-laws, her eyes filled with tears again. "Francine…Tish…."
Francine stepped forward and a looked passed between the two women. They hugged. Though she had not lost a child of her own, Francine understood how this other woman could feel. She had come closed to losing her children once upon a time not too long ago, in a time that no one remembered expected for a few. She understood.
She stepped back and Tish stepped forward to give Julie a hug as well. Once she stepped back, the Irish woman eyes landed on the Doctor then looked to Martha. Her eyes read. 'Who is this bloke?'
"And that is the Doctor." Martha said then as if an afterthought she added. "Doctor John Smith. He is a friend of the family been away for a while. Came back when he heard."
Julie nodded and slowly composed herself.
"Hello. The name is Julie Elizabeth Milligan." She shook the tenth Doctor hand. "I would say it is a pleasure but as you know it is not a good time for me right now."
The Doctor nodded, a half smiled on his face. "It is alright."
Julie nodded removed her hands from his and allowed them into the penthouse. Martha entered first then her mother and sister then the Doctor.
"Where is Tom Senior?" Martha questioned as they took their place in the room. She, her mother and sister took a seat in a brown sectional sofa while the Doctor choose to stand instanced. Mrs. Milligan headed for the kitchen to prepare a bit of tea for her guests.
"Oh he left. He got a call a few minutes before you knock. It seems quite urgent. "She explained then smiled sadly at them. "I guess you must have missed him."
"Yeah." Martha said and the Doctor tuned out the voices as his eyes landed upon the photo on the right wall. For a second it seems the like the man in the picture had reached out as if the photo frame was a portal to another dimension and something was trying to get out then he had blinked and everything was back to normal again just like the painting in the lobby. The Doctor made to move toward the photo when he felt a hand grabbed his own and he turned to see Martha looking back at him. She signaled to her right and the Doctor noticed the cup of tea Mrs. Milligan held toward him. He smiled a bit, took it and thanked her. As he drank slowly, he made a mental note to check out the photo frame before they left.
Author: Well here we are chapter 4. Um... For those living in the uk could you tell me if I got how the zip code thing work right or not because I am not sure.