Author's Note: Challenges of writing a double-Doctor story: how do I differentiate the Doctors in writing? "The Doctor" and "The Other Doctor?" AaRgH
Chapter 1
The wobble of two sonic screwdrivers sounded at once, and the lock clicked and then unclicked. The two Doctors both lowered their screwdrivers and sighed.
"Alright, we really need to come to an agreement on this one." The Doctor—her Doctor—motioned between them. "I lock, you unlock, something like that. Otherwise—"
The door opened and a middle-aged man stepped in, his face hard and determined. He froze, his hand on the doorknob, staring at the four of them, Rey and Laila standing in the attic, the two Doctors staring at him from the foot of the ladder.
"Otherwise that will happen?" the other Doctor said.
"Yeah." The Doctor gave a little wave at the man who stood frozen in the doorway. "Hello," he said lightly.
For a long moment the man just stood there staring blankly, as if the sight refused to register in his mind. He opened his mouth to speak and closed it, then opened it again, and then the color drained from his face and he turned, poised to flee.
He turned back, his hand still gripping the doorknob so hard his knuckles turned white. "Get out," he hissed. "Get out, now. Or I'm calling the police."
The Doctor—her Doctor—stepped forward, his hands in his pockets. "Oh, I wouldn't do that if I were you," he said, his voice light but his gaze sharp. "Considering what they'd find up there," he nodded to the attic, "I don't think that would end well for you."
"We just want to ask you a few questions." The other Doctor stepped forward, leveling a steady gaze at the man. "For example, why are there bodies in your attic?"
"Oooh, I had forgotten how straight and to the point you were." Her Doctor raised an eyebrow. "That's good, I like that." He nodded to the other Doctor, then turned back to the stranger in the doorway. "What he said."
The man edged backwards, shrinking away from the four pairs of eyes that were fixed on him. "Who are you?" he said, and his eyes darted across the room as if searching for a weapon. "Why are you in my house?"
As if on cue, both Doctors reached for their pockets. "Investigators," they said at once, whipping two sheets of psychic paper from their pockets and letting them fall open.
Laila stared wide-eyed. "Investigators?" she murmured.
Rey nudged her. "Play your part," she hissed. "And the paper's fake. Long story."
"Listen." The man's voice was low. "I have no idea how you found out, but I don't want this looked into. If my sister…." His voice trailed off and he muttered what sounded like a curse under his breath. "If you want money, I can give you that. Just name your price, and—"
"We should report you for that!" Laila tripped down the ladder and was standing in front of him in an instant, her arms crossed. "We don't take bribes, mister. You try that again, and any hope of leniency from us is gone. You hear me?"
"I don't know who you are or what you want, but I can assure you that every single person up there is up there by their own consent." He held his head high and met their gazes with a dark gaze of his own. "What I'm doing in that attic is nobody's concern but my own, understood?"
Rey narrowed her eyes. She had grown up as a scavenger, scrabbling for her life on a harsh desert planet. She knew—she had learned to know—when someone was lying.
"Oh, I don't think that's strictly true. What do you think?" Her Doctor raised an eyebrow at the other Doctor. "And I wouldn't cross us if I were you. We just want to know why you're keeping bodies in your attic."
"As any normal person would!" Laila burst out. She crossed her arms and met the man's gaze fearlessly. "Listen here, mister. I don't know who you are or what you're doing in my attic, but I won't have some kind of sinister experiments happening in my house. I don't know what you did to those poor people—"
"I didn't do a thing to them!" he burst out. "I found them! And I won't be bossed around by a teenager who looks like she dressed up in costume!"
"Dressed up…" Laila's cheeks turned bright red and she took a deep breath. "I'd say you're the one…"
"Now we're getting somewhere." Her Doctor stepped forward, seeming to tower over the man. "Tell us more."
He turned, edging away from the Doctor, and looked, again, as if he were about to flee wildly. At once, both sonic screwdrivers appeared again, and both wobbled at once.
The lock clicked behind him, and then unclicked.
The two Doctors looked at each other.
Her Doctor shrugged and lowered his sonic screwdriver. The lock clicked closed.
The man fumbled at the doorknob and tensed, his eyes fixed on the sonic screwdriver. He let his hand drop to his side and stared hard at the floor.
"I found them." His voice was low and hard. "I found them along Falling Star Lane. Unconscious. Like this. So I brought them back. I thought I could fix them." Rey thought she heard a waver in his voice, a crack in the hard mask. "Take them if you want." He seemed to be forcing the words out. "But don't report me, sir. I have a job and a—"
"There it is again, Falling Star Lane. You people keep mentioning that." Her Doctor raised an eyebrow. "Obviously that's the key to this whole mess. I want all the details. Tell me everything. How did you find them? Where? When? How long—"
"I already told you! I found them so—"
"So you did the obvious, logical thing and didn't call an ambulance, or the police, or anything," the other Doctor said dryly. "Seems we're dealing with a typical human here. Always trying to fix things themselves."
"Hey now, humans aren't so bad!" Her Doctor raised an eyebrow at him. "Ah, you've got a long way to go. Say, have you met Rose yet? Asked her to travel—"
Rey sighed and started down the ladder. "Take us to Falling Star Lane," she said firmly.