Author's Note: Sorry it's been a bit- we really need to get our act together when it comes to this story!
Thank you all for following and favouriting and Reviewing!
The blue suited Doctor paced back and forth in the alleyway. Boredom ached at his hands and feet, never in his life had he felt like he had nothing to do.
Should he check the vitals of the growing TARDIS again? He wondered. It would be the third time today, and he doubted much would have changed in a measly twenty minutes.
The Doctor could feel his past regenerations glaring at how he was acting. He was The Doctor, he was the sort of person that believed ten minutes was always enough time. Now he had as long as Torchwood took to rebuild itself, and the entire parallel Earth to explore.
The Doctor ran back into the growing TARDIS, grabbing the one belonging that he left strewn on the floor. His exploration stethoscope that was great for , he would go exploring.
"I've never been this out of practice before," He mumbled to himself, stuffing the stethoscope in one of his bigger-on-the-inside pockets. How did he even begin exploring? What was he supposed to do? Look for clues?
"There's got to be something semi-interesting to investigate," he reasoned, emerging from the alley with a determined smile upon his face. His fingers combed through his hair as he walked down the city streets, his eyes hungry for signs of anything peculiar.
There were children well on their way to school, that seemed fairly normal. Parents were rushing their kids out of doors and running to hand them forgotten lunches. Cars honked irritatedly at the traffic in front of them preventing them from doing boring work at their dull jobs. There was just nothing out of the ordinary. The Doctor wondered if becoming human caused him to lose his ability to seek out the unordinary. This thought was contradicted quite quickly when a nagging feeling grew inside him that he was missing something. He combed through the past twenty second of his memory, remembering the face of every child and the agitated honks of every car.
The lights were dimmed in the house across the street from him, and no little boy was rushing outside with a brown bag lunch and an overly heavy back pack. The Doctor remembered quite clearly that a young boy lived there, with his mother and his dog Byran that he often took for evening walks. The Doctor knew of him because the boy had grown accustomed to throwing dog biscuits at him, under the false pretense that The Doctor was homeless.
Truth be told, the boy and his family could just be on vacation, but why would they have left their dog in the small fenced in yard at the side of their house? He could also be feeling under the weather, but that still wouldn't count for the fact that his mothers car, normally parked right outside the house, was nowhere to be seen.
Something was off. The Doctor was sure of it. Maybe it was just a wild accusation, but it was something odd, and he may as well investigate it. Confidently, The Doctor made his way across the street in a few long excited strides. This would be his first house- interrogation-for-information in forever!
His knuckles collided with the wood of the door in a way that would make any outsiders believe he was slightly nervous(he definitely was not- he would assure you of that). His ears picked up a springing sound from the other side of the door, as if someone small was jumping to get a look through the peephole on the door.
The knob of the door clicked and the door swung open, revealing the small boy. He was dressed in a pair of blue jeans and a loose crimson t shit, unkept blonde hair spilling from his head. The Doctor inferred from his expression that the boy was overall uneasy, and that his mother had taught him terrible stranger danger skills.
"Dog treat man!" The young boy shouted, perplexed. "Why are you on my front stoop?"
"Dog treat man?" The Doctor questioned, slightly offended.
"You're the guy from the ally right? That looks like a puppy and was seen licking a dog treat once!? You're the dog treat man!"
"That wasn't a dog treat! That was a piece of the TARD- whatever it doesn't matter! I'm here to do a home inspection Mr... What's your name?" The Doctor bent down to look the child in his bright blue eyes kindly.
"Byran," the boy said.
"Ohh she was talking to you not the dog," The Doctor realized, talking to himself. "Okay Byran, is your mother home?"
Byran's eyes downcast, and The Doctor realized immediately that he had struck a chord. Byran shook his head.
"She should be home soon though... She said," he inhaled and exhaled deeply, as if he was trying to keep it together. "She said she loved me and that she would be home soon."
"Of course she loves you Byran, and I'm sure she's trying to come home," The Doctor comforted, patting Byran's head. "Now, do you mind if I come inside, to do the inspection? Byran?"
"Mum says never in let strangers in the house, sorry Dog Treat Man," Byran said, clearly feeling a little nervous, but also sympathetic.
"Well... I get the feeling your mother hadn't been home in a little while to tell you that.. I'm here to find out where she is," The Doctor said, hoping his conjecture about the boy's mother being missing was correct. He noticed Byran's eyes light up before him with hope.
"You know where she is? Really!?" He was smiling, tears welling in his eyes.
The Doctor took this as a cue to enter the house, shutting the door firmly behind him. The house, minus the boy, was definitely empty.
"No I don't," The Doctor said, his hearts aching at the crestfallen look of the boy. "But I'm here to help you find out." The Doctor made his way to a small round wooden table in the kitchen, plopping himself down and levitating his shoes to rest on the table top. "When did you last see your mother, Byran?"
Byran sat across from The Doctor, the question distracting him. His eyes moistened. "I think it was three days ago," he uttered, uncertainty dripping from his inflections. "Before she went to work... But- but" he was struggling to get words out now, his voice shaking. The Doctor reached across the table to clasp the boy's hand comfortingly, looking into Byran's shimmering eyes, trying to commune his intention to help.
"She called the house, last night... She couldn't talk long, she said she was okay, she said she would be home soon and not to leave the house."
"Do you know where your mom was going the day of her disappearance?" The Doctor wondered, his tone nurturing. The boy sniffled, trying to recompose himself.
"She was... She was going to work... And now she's gone..." Byran answered tearily, The Doctor noticed a glimmer of hope in his eyes... He couldn't let this little boy down...
"Where does she work Byran? Do you know?" The Doctor felt so close to making a discovery, he could almost taste it.
"Yeah," Byran said in a small voice.
"Deep breaths Byran, deep breaths," The Doctor coaxed.
"She works at the store... Between the sandwich shop and the nail place. Maybe she's just working late? Do you think that's it Dog Treat Man?"
But The Doctor was distracted by Byran's words... The sandwich shop... The nail place.. The store in between...
"That's where Rose works... And Amy..." His heart rate sped up for a moment, realizing that there was a possibility that his love and his new friend were in danger.
On top of this new found fear, and a voice telling him that the job probably wasn't the reason for the disappearance, was a layer of disgust. Because despite the fact that evidence Byran had gave him pointed towards Rose and Amy being in possible danger, The Doctor couldn't help but feel a little excited about his new mysterious adventure.
And he should never feel excited for Rose's possible danger.
The Doctor stood from the chair, feeling heavy on his human feet. He stretched out an arm to lift the home phone off of it's stand on the wall. Fiddling with the weird Alternate Universe layout, he maneuvered his way through the technologies call log.
The last number to call, which he assumed was the mother's call to her son, was a number he recognized all too well.
It was Rose's mobile phone number.
Now, he was scared.
The fear felt good, which didn't exactly make The Doctor feel too great about himself... This was all just so interesting and mysterious. Sometimes The Doctor forgot that you don't really need the entire universe to have an adventure, although it sure does help.
"I will do my absolute best to find her Byran, I promise," The Doctor said, squeezing Byran's shoulder sweetly. He made his way to the front door once again, opening it slowly.
"I'm coming with you," Byran demanded. "I want to help find my mother!"
The Doctor frowned. "It might be very dangerous Byran, I think it might be safer for you to stay behind.
Byran looked crestfallen, but for once, The Doctor did not change his mind. He was out of practice, having rarely done any exploring recently. He did not trust his skills enough to allow himself to possibly put a little boy at risk for the sake of adventure.
For someone so very old in reality, the human Doctor felt at that moment, extremely young.
"But Dog Treat Man!" Byran shouted after him, but The Doctor had already begun his sprint to the shop, and was fading from view.