Chapter 11: "Welcome to the TARDIS."
"Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore." Andre Gide
The Doctor headed immediately for the door, stopping only to urge the boy to follow him.
Keeping his attention on the sonic screwdriver, he and Anthony walked slowly through the back door, down the corridor and left towards the kitchen. As they drew closer the Doctor observed the signal getting stronger and stronger.
"We're getting closer," he told Anthony in a low voice. "When we go inside, I want you to act as naturally as you can, alright? If I'm correct, we don't want to do anything that'll give away that we're on to them."
"On to who?" Anthony whispered.
The Doctor held a finger to his lips, giving the boy a meaningful look that said it was time for quiet now, with explanations to follow later.
When they walked into the kitchen, the signal peaked at the highest level. The Doctor made an adjustment to the screwdriver as he turned in a slow circle, refining its detection strength.
"Where does your mother keep the Jammie Dodgers?" he asked in his usual voice even as he pointed triumphantly to the framed photo Amy had on the side bench – one of the few that featured the Doctor and River, with Amy and Rory also there. A family photo from a time when everything seemed much simpler.
"She never lets me eat biscuits between meals," Anthony replied, doing a credible job at normal.
The Doctor gave him an encouraging nod. "Yes, but she's not here is she? As my host it's your job to keep me happy, and right now what would make me most happy are Jammie dodgers and hot tea."
He reached for the kettle with his other hand, making enough noise to cover lifting the photo so he could get a look at the back. Half of his attention was on tea making, the rest on turning the frame around.
"Clever," the Doctor mouthed silently. There, in the groove where the backing met the edge of the frame, was a small, square component, barely noticeable but one he recognised immediately. A listening device, one far too sophisticated to belong to 1953. Thankfully it had short range detection – at best their listeners would hear what went on in the kitchen and the hall outside but not much more. Of course, there could be other devices around the house to cover every area – he'd have to check in a moment. For now he was more interested in using the one he'd found to track back to the source.
"What's this? No biscuits?" the Doctor feigned disappointment, hoping Anthony would know to play along.
"Dad must have eaten the last one," Anthony grinned, enjoying his role even though he probably didn't yet understand specifically why they had to be so secretive. The Doctor wasn't sure his young friend realised his actions were real and not just an elaborate game to entertain him. "Mum's always complaining he does that."
"Well then, I expect we better hoof down to the local, pick up another pack before your parents get back," the Doctor suggested, holding the framed photo away from his body as he moved carefully towards the door. "Keep your Dad out of the dog house for another night."
"We don't have a dog," Anthony offered, following along as the Doctor led the way from the kitchen.
"No dog? I thought a boy and his dog was one of those unwritten rules of childhood," the Doctor commented in a lower tone as they walked back down the hallway.
"Maybe you could tell my Mum about that," Anthony suggested hopefully.
"Perhaps," the Doctor agreed.
When he judged they were far enough away for anyone listening to expect performance to drop away, the Doctor stopped, holding a finger to his lips so that Anthony would know he had to be quiet now. Taking out his sonic screwdriver, the Doctor widened its range and slowly scanned in a circle around them. Glancing at the display he nodded. There was at least one other device located inside the house but they were outside it's listening zone, meaning he was free to move forward with his plans. He picked a new setting on his screwdriver and aimed it at the bug all in one smooth motion. There were no sparks or smoke but he gave Anthony a satisfied nod.
"That should do it," he told the boy with a grin. "It's okay for us to talk now - quietly though, okay."
"That should do what?" Anthony asked. "What is that thing?"
"A listening device, more commonly known as a bug," the Doctor revealed grimly. "Someone is very interested in our conversations my young friend."
"Who?" Anthony asked. Clearly he didn't really understand the implications, but because of the Doctor's manner he looked worried, sending the Doctor immediately into feeling guilty. Amy and Rory had left Anthony with him for one morning and already he was frightening the boy.
"I don't really know," he answered the question, his tone jovial in a 'nothing to worry about here' manner. "We can find out though, if you're game."
"You mean like an adventure, like my Mum and Dad used to go on with you?" Anthony asked, shifting to intrigued and eager to hear more.
"Exactly like that, although hopefully with less running," the Doctor replied. "I'll probably be in trouble with your parents when they find out I took you with me, but the thing is, there's only a small window in which I'll be able to use the TARDIS to locate where the listening station is. It won't take them long to work out we've discovered and disabled the kitchen bug so time really is of the essence and I can hardly leave you here alone … can I?"
He looked at Anthony quizzically, not completely sure he'd got that right. Nine seemed young for the responsibility but he hadn't really interacted with a lot of Earth children, so perhaps he was wrong.
"Mum never lets me stay home by myself," Anthony confirmed. "Besides, I want to come with you."
"Of course you do," the Doctor agreed. "Who wouldn't, eh? Come along then Master Williams," he headed for the back door, making his way across the lawn to where the TARDIS sat, cloaked because Amy had insisted she didn't want her son asking every five minutes if he could see inside. Maybe he was showing off just a little when he snapped his fingers decisively and was rewarded with the TARDIS door swinging open silently, the warm light of the control room welcoming them.
"Welcome to the TARDIS," the Doctor said expansively, opening his arms wide.
"Neat," Anthony breathed out in wonder, his eyes wide as he looked around. "It's bigger on the inside."
"Everybody says that," the Doctor felt ridiculously happy that another Pond offspring was aboard his TARDIS.
Heading around the console he pulled out a drawer from the side wall, rummaging around looking for something. "I'm sure it's here somewhere," he muttered, throwing aside a few items before spying some familiar wiring near the bottom. "Ah, there you are old friend," he smiled, pulling his find free of the drawer and holding it up triumphantly.
"What is it?" Anthony moved closer, already over his initial TARDIS induced surprise. Kids, always so adaptable and accepting … some of the Doctor's fascination with what some would argue were childish pursuits was directly related to that facet of youth he'd always strived to emulate. Adaptability was often the difference between disaster and finding a viable but not predictable solution.
"It's a bug catcher," the Doctor announced, "only it seeks out electronic bugs rather than living ones. Now, if we connect up our little friend here," he put the bugged photo frame on the console and then gently removed the device, plugging it into a small slot at the top of his machine and carefully connecting the wires, "and give it some power," he added, placing the machine on a special panel on the TARDIS console below the display screen, "we should get some interesting results."
The contact alone would not only power his bug catcher but enable the TARDIS systems to track the listener and pinpoint where on Earth they were located. "Here goes," he smiled across at Anthony, enjoying himself perhaps a little more than was appropriate. It had been too long since someone new had been inside the time machine and he realised abruptly that he'd missed sharing the wonder of new discoveries, missed seeing his sexy blue box fresh through new eyes.
It only took a few moments for the device to work. On the screen overhead a map of New York appeared but it didn't stay static. Instead the view zoomed out until it was a map of the United States and then further still until all of Earth was visible.
A blue dot appeared in space, hovering over their location, pulsing silently and ominously.
"Oh, that is interesting," the Doctor exclaimed.