"The Benevolent Doctor"
12. What Can You Trust?
Sometime in New New York
Rather than going back to the General Twenty-Four and potentially searching to find the Brannigans for hours and days, the Doctor had returned to their house with Martha and Santana in tow. They had first gone and found the TARDIS again, relocating it to their friends' home. The Doctor had been forced to take off again and redo the landing after he had opened the door and his knees collided with the sofa before be tipped over it. Santana had laughed, Martha had kept herself from joining in, and the Doctor had climbed back over the sofa and into the TARDIS.
But now everything was settled, and when Brannigan, Valerie, Allen, Abigail, Alice, and Alexander returned, they found Martha and Santana waiting, sat on the sofa, while the Doctor was inside the TARDIS, looking into some things.
The children had been impressed with the ship, having never seen it but having heard tales of it their entire lives. Martha had been glad to lend herself as tour guide, the better to allow the Doctor to speak with the parents.
"It's him," he told Brannigan and Valerie. "Dr. Benedict, he has the children, your two and my stowaway, down at his mansion," he declared. Valerie made no sound; her husband hissed. "You need to trust me this time," the Doctor gave Valerie a look and she turned her eyes back to him.
"You're not leaving me much of a choice, are you?"
"Would Agnes and Alfred disappear off like this, really?" the Doctor spoke to her reason, and for as much as she'd defended Benedict, with what could only have been valid reasons at the time, there was just too much proof stacked up now to tell her she needed to readjust her stance.
"What will you do?" she finally asked before moving to sit. It had finally properly hit her that her children were missing and possibly in danger.
"I'll get them back," Brannigan spoke first, and they would have been hard-pressed to find a better way to describe him other than 'feral.' "No one touches my family." The Doctor moved to him, pressing a hand to his shoulder.
"Brannigan I know how you feel, I really do. That's why I'm going to tell you to stay here, with your wife, with the children you still have under your roof. I'll get them back for you, you know I will. Do we agree?" It took some time more, but finally the cat man consented. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a door to go and knock on."
He'd only meant to take Martha with him, but once Santana had found out what they were doing, she had insisted on coming. The Doctor would have wanted to fight her harder on this, but the truth was he felt more secure by having her where he could see her. He'd never wanted for those girls to end up where they had, and he'd be damned if he lost this one, too.
Walking up to the gates to the doctor's mansion, the Doctor could see what was happening on the other side of it, even without seeing it. The guards would have spotted him and the girls coming, informed the doctor inside, who would then see them for himself and even before they had time to ask if they could see him, he would have told his guards to let them through and escort them in. As the gates opened, the Doctor turned a look to Martha: Whatever you do, don't let the girl out of your sight. His companion gave a discreet nod, and they walked through the door.
Their escorting guards brought them into a polished lounge, where they were told to take a seat. They did this, though when Dr. Benedict walked in, the Doctor stood to shake the man's hand.
"Thank you for seeing us on such short notice," the Doctor took out all necessary courtesies, the better to let the other man think he was being respected. "You have a lovely home."
"I am a man who likes his comforts, I'll admit it," Benedict laughed jovially. "Please, sit," he motioned, and the Doctor sat back down with the two girls, while the doctor sat across from them. "Now, what may I do for you?" he asked, folding his hands in his lap. The Doctor could practically feel Santana's wish to pounce on the man, and his voice went up and down again when he spoke to reply.
"We were hoping, that is… We come on behalf of the Brannigans. They speak so highly of you, and they are in dire need at the moment," the Doctor went on.
"Oh? What has happened?" Benedict asked, sounding compelled already.
"Their children, that is, two of their children have gone missing. One of the girls, Agnes her name is, and the boy is Alfred. You are so known to the people of New New York, and you know them in return, we were hoping perhaps you might have seen something? Heard something?"
The Doctor never looked away from the man's face as he said his words, wanting to see how he would react at every turn. They were both appealing to his connection to the city and presenting themselves as not considering him complicit at all. Even then, the Doctor could see several levels of caution underneath.
"That is terrible news, absolutely dreadful," Benedict carried on his benevolent doctor act, though by now the Doctor did see if for what it was: an act. "I'm afraid I haven't heard a thing, but you tell the Brannigans now I will keep them in my thoughts and I will keep an eye and an ear out for any information whatsoever. With any luck, those poor dears will be returned to them in no time."
"Yes, one can only hope." Silence fell heavily on all of them, and though no one moved at first, the longer the silence stretched, the clearer it became that the conversation was over. "Well, we won't take any more of your time, you have been so kind to welcome us into your home tonight. You have a good evening, doctor." And they left.
TO BE CONTINUED (FRIDAY)