OK, a quick note on Mickey Smith; I realized a bit belatedly that he had returned to his original reality. This is a fact. Let's pretend that his inclusion is completely purposeful. This will be resolved, somehow, at some point. Thank you.

Thanks to meermaid and scifigeekgirl for the reviews!

The door to Mr. Smith's office opened before Kaylee had a chance to knock. Kaylee suspected he had cameras watching the hall outside. Instead of Mickey Smith's dour face, however, she was met by a worried looking man she had never seen before. He was skinny, with brown hair and an apparent penchant for pin stripes. Kaylee wondered what his position was; he didn't seem much older than her, but his footwear (Converse) gave the impression he could do as he pleased.

He tacked a grin on his face when she entered the room.

"Ah! Miss Smith, now that you're here things can really get started," he chirped. Kaylee had always wondered how a person could chirp, and now she knew.

Then realization struck her.

"You're the Doctor."

"Indeed! And you are Miss Kaylee Smith of the Blue Wave, second in command under Mark Piper. You have hundreds of files concerning your history and missions, but not a high enough clearance in Torchwood to access half your own files."

Kaylee frowned at this summation. It was true and she had always been slightly offended by it.

"What about your clearance?"

"I was just reviewing your references," he replied cheekily.

She ground her teeth and was about to formulate a scathing reply when she was interrupted.

"Excuse me, we have work to accomplish, remember?" There was frowning Mickey.

"Sorry sir."

"Your impertinence is excused. The Doctor gets on everyone's nerves."

The Doctor actually appeared to pout at that. Who was this man?

"Nevertheless," Mickey continued, "it was he who requested that you return to Torchwood to resume investigating this case, which we shall refer to henceforth as Tyler Case #42." 42? How much trouble did this family manage to get themselves into? "Despite a vast difference in your ranks, he has requested to personally work with you and Thatcher. Palmer has declined to continue this particular mission and will be temporarily assigned to a different unit. Thatcher is on his way -"

"Thatcher is here," interrupted the Doctor as he opened the door to the office.

"Very well. Smith, Thatcher, please accompany the Doctor to his office. He will -"

"Yes yes, Mickey, you sound very important. Shall we go now kids? Be sure to hug grandpa Mickey before we go home."

Kaylee could see her look of shock laced with light amusement reflected in Thatcher's face. Their boss simply shot the Doctor an irritated glare. "Dismissed."

After they left Mickey leaned back in his extremely comfortable office chair.

"This could prove fun."

The small group reached the Doctor's office and he sat down, cross-legged on his desk. Thatcher and Kaylee faced him, standing upright but not at attention.

"Have a seat!" There was only one chair. She and Thatcher glanced at the chair, then at each other, then back at the Doctor. "Or not. So what shall I call you fine people?"

"Sir?"

"Why would I call you sir? I guess I could, but usually one refers to a female as Miss. Or Madame. Or Senorita." He grinned impishly. "I suppose it's fine to be a bit different though, Sir."

"Sir, this is Smith and I'm Thatcher," her teammate volunteered. The Doctor sighed, a sound that seemed slightly exasperated and disappointed at the same time.

"Yes, yes, Kaylee and Derek, I know. You may call me the Doctor."

"Sir, Doctor what? What is your surname if I might ask, sir?" Kaylee was relieved that Thatcher had asked the question she had been pondering all evening.

"Just the Doctor. And don't call me sir, please, just...don't. Okay? Now, we have a missing family, who may or may not be in their house still. There is something unidentified in the vicinity causing certain people to fall asleep and thus far, not wake up. It appears to have something to do with physical contact. What other information do we have?"

"The room, sir - Doctor," Thatcher corrected himself, "Rose Tyler's room was dark. Not normal dark, it was shrouded in darkness."

The Doctors smile faltered slightly and the crease between his brows darkened. "What else?"

Kaylee decided it was her turn to speak. "No life was visible in any room with a window to the outside. Pete Tyler is an important businessman. Jackie Tyler is involved in many important social engagements. There is very little information available on Rose Tyler, and the bulk of what exists is only available to those at top clearance levels. She appeared a few weeks ago. There is no record of her birth. There appears to be no paper trail that can discover or establish such a record."

"Very good," said the Doctor, "but that has nothing to do with this incident. Let's -"

"Beg your pardon sir," Kaylee interrupted, "but how can you be so certain?"

A look of surprise flashed across the Doctor's face before he smiled at Kaylee. His smile was somehow weary, and Kaylee wondered at it.

"I'm certain." She must have looked suspicious, because he continued. "I am quite intimately acquainted with the Tylers. Rose most of all. She and her family have a more complicated past than you might believe, but I am more than certain that Rose is not the cause of this."

The Doctor was completely besotted with the mysterious missing Tyler heiress. It was blindingly obvious, even while being laughably cliche. A normal person probably would not have noticed after so few references, but Kaylee was a pro. She tried not to calculate the probable age difference between the two. If she did she could have absolutely no respect for the man she would apparently be following for the duration of this mission.

"Is that all?" asked The Doctor.

"Yes," Thatcher replied.

"That is the limit of my knowledge," was Kaylee's response.

"Well then, just a moment while I contact the research facility to inform them that Derek is our liaison in matters regarding your missing teammates. If you want to start heading over there, I believe it is building B, floor eight, room 813. Something like that."

The Doctor picked up the phone and began almost immediately to converse with the person on the other end in his chatty, cheerful style. Thatcher sent Kaylee an almost pleading look before regaining his pride and leaving the room. Kaylee could sympathize with his discomfort, but offered no gesture or expression to soothe him. She had a feeling she was the one really getting the raw end of the deal.

As she thought this, the doctor hung up the phone. "Oh, has Derek already left? I suppose he can find out on his own that it was actually floor three, room 318."

Kaylee mentally wished Derek luck.

"Now, Miss Kaylee, you and I are going back to the Tyler estate!" She couldn't contain her look of concern. "Don't worry, we'll be extra careful! I never poke things with my fingers - sticks are much more disposable!"

Now Kaylee knew she was getting the raw end of the deal.

She was also vaguely concerned that in his mind her name might translate to something very close to stick.