Rose is resting atop the Doctor's chest on the sofa when she gets a call. She props herself up by her elbows and mouths "Torchwood" when he gives her a questioning glance. Her eyebrows furrow, then her eyes widen as she hears whatever then are telling her. He silently presses her for information. She almost drops the mobile on the floor and sits up suddenly.
He presses her for information. "Rose? Rose what's going on?"
She swats at him and leans forward. "Yeah, Ok we'll be right in." She hangs up the mobile and her voice shakes slightly as she fills in the Doctor. "Torchwood… they…" She furrows her eyebrows as she tries to collect her thoughts and form a coherent sentence. "They found a child, supposedly alien, in a spaceship crash. They've rescued it but they don't have a clue about what to do with it. They want us to come in."
He ruffles his hair. "A child? That's odd." He can't help a little excitement and hope escape in his voice even though Rose is most clearly distressed.
They drive over to the Torchwood tower and meet Pete in the front lobby.
"This kid was just stuck in the wreck. He looks human enough, only one heart and all that. He can't remember what happened or where he's from, probably had his memory wiped in the crash," Pete informs them as he leads them to a bolted door. He enters the passcode and they all descend ten flights of stairs. "We haven't… couldn't scan him. He wouldn't let us. We can't scan someone without consent. So we don't know whether he is actually alien or not. We were going to put him in an orphanage, but none of the homes around here will take him because he could be an alien. Even if he isn't they don't want him because he was in that wreck." He pauses outside another heavy looking metal door that must be a few feet thick.
This door opens without Pete doing anything. It swings inwards and Pete motions for the Doctor and Rose to step inside. The room is divided in two by a large piece of glass. The side that they are on is white and bare. The side that the boy is on looks like a typical room.
"One way glass, the other side shows them whatever scene they want. We found it on the ship that crashed before this one," Pete says.
Rose walks over to the glass and presses her hand against it. Her heart aches for the little boy inside. He has brown floppy hair and brown eyes. He looks to be only five or six. He is curled up on the bed with his back against the wall. Rose turns to face the Doctor and he rubs his hair at the nape of his neck.
"Can I go in?" he questions Pete.
Pete shrugs. "If you think it's safe enough. Put your hand on the glass in the corner and a door should appear." He points to the right side of the wall.
The Doctor walks over and does what Pete says. He places a hand on the doorknob and Rose makes a move to follow him.
"No Rose. If this boy is an alien, he could be dangerous. I don't want you getting hurt."
She folds her arms and glares at the Doctor. "Fine, but don't you get hurt either."
When the boy hears the door open he lifts his head. Rose watches the Doctor through the window. He walks over to the bed and goes down on one knee to talk to the boy. Rose can see his lips moving but can't hear their conversation.
"Hi, I'm the Doctor. What's your name?" He smiles at the boy and the boy half smiles back.
"My name's Brody. Are you going to do a checkup?"
"Just a little one. Don't worry, it won't hurt." He takes the sonic screwdriver out of his pocket and scans Brody.
Brody laughs at the sound it makes as the Doctor checks the readings on him. The Doctor squints his eyes and scans Brody again. This time he takes out his glasses to read the report.
"Do you know where you're from?"
Brody scrunches his eyes in concentration. "…No."
They hear someone, most likely Rose, knocking on the door.
"I have to go now Brody."
Brody looks dejected. "Do you have to go?"
The Doctor raises his eyebrows. "Welllllllllllll… Yeah, I do. But I'll visit you again, I promise."
Brody's face breaks into a smile. "Yeah! I like that!" He sits forward and throws his arms around the Doctor.
The Doctor hugs him back and then slides out of his grasp. Rose opens the door for him.
"So… what did you find out?" Rose asks anxiously.
"Well it looks like he, his name is Brody by the way, it looks like he's human. He has a low level telepathic field, but it doesn't seem like it will develop into much. Definitely not an alien though." He takes a breath and smiles at her.
They turn to Pete.
"How long has he been here?" the Doctor asks him.
"About a week."
"And no contact from any alien parents?"
"We tried sending a message out into space, but didn't get a reply. There hasn't been any missing child posters out anywhere either."
"He's not alien then. I don't know how he got on the spaceship, but I think he's human. I don't think anyone is missing him either."
"He's really adorable," Rose comments almost to herself.
Pete and the Doctor exchange looks.
"I have an idea." Rose leans into the Doctor and whispers something in his ear.
His eyes widen and he smiles big. This time it's Rose's turn talk to Brody. She leaves the door open though as she walks over to his bed. She sits down next to Brody.
"Hello. I'm Rose, the Doctor's…wife…" She looks down at her hand and smiles, then returns to the conversation with Brody. "Do you have a mommy or a daddy?"
Brody's face falls. "No."
"Would you like one?'
He nods his head vigorously.
"Would you like me and the Doctor for a mommy and daddy?" She holds out her hand to him.
He looks at it for a second before putting his hand in hers. "Yeah. Yeah yeah yeah!"
She pulls him into a bear hug and the Doctor joins them in the room. He places a hand on her shoulder and smiles down at them with a goofy grin.
"Welcome to our family Brody."