holy cow, freaking short chapter! haven't put one up this short since Tales of Old. anywho, short, sweet, and simple. perfect way to end anything. i think
"I still don't think it's right!" the Doctor said for like the millionth time.
"We'll be fine" Samuel assured him, again. "We've managed like this for years, we don't need you to save the day."
"I just wish I could do something to help"
"We don't need your help. In fact, I don't think that there's anything you can do to help. We're fine!"
Alice, who was standing right next to the Doctor, suddenly grinned. "What?" he asked, turning to look at her.
"You don't feel it?" she replied. The Doctor frowned, waited a second, and then grinned also.
"Samuel, I think I can help" he said.
I'm surprised to find you here, little one, a voice at the back of Alice's head said.
Hey Shyfire! Alice called back you think you can land near us? I think the Doctor's got something to ask you.
Oh dear, I should be worried, shouldn't I?
Within a minute or two, the dragon had landed nearby. Samuel and the rest of the kids seemed pretty shocked at first, but everyone calmed down quickly.
"Hello Shyfire!" Alice said, reaching up and patting the dragon on the nose.
"Hello, little one" Shyfire replied
"I thought you said it was all telepathic"
"Back there it was, I am back home now, it doesn't need to be. Now, what did the Doctor want?"
"Well," the Doctor said "I was wondering if you could look after these kids…"
"They're not yours are they?" Shyfire asked
"NO!" the Doctor and Alice both shouted at the same time.
"Just teasing, of course they aren't. I would have been able to tell. Any particular reason why?"
"Umm, hi" Samuel said "I'm Samuel, leader of the group, I guess. We've got an evil organization hunting us. I'm assuming that the Doctor is asking you to uhh… protect us."
Shyfire smiled. "Sounds like fun" she said, a glint in her eye.
"That was an easy fix" the Doctor told Alice later when they were in the TARDIS. "A bunch of stubborn kids who didn't want help, and what did we do? Threw a dragon in their midst and solved the problem like that!" He snapped his fingers to emphasize the 'that'.
Alice took a sip of her hot chocolate and leaned back in the chair. "You don't have this much luck often do you?"
"Not with stubborn people"
Alice yawned. "Is it just me, or are you really tired for some reason?"
"Yeah, actually, I am" the Doctor said, yawning also.
"I'm gonna go to bed then" Alice said, standing up and putting the hot chocolate aside. "Night Doctor!"
"Night Alice."