Alfie went back home around five, right after he went to meet with the Doctor. He unlocked the door and walked in, turning on the lights in the hallway.
"Hello?" He called out, putting the key in the bowl by the door. She shrugged off his messenger bag by the doorway and walked into the kitchen. As he turned on the lights, he saw neither of his parents.
"Alfie!" His mother called from the stairwell, dashing down the stairs. He turned around gave his mother a smile. She hugged him close and smiled. "It's about time you got home. And what was up not saying goodbye this morning? I can't believe you left without seeing me."
"You were asleep and I wanted to be early for my first day at school," Alfie replied, looking at his mum.
"Next time, you should wake me up," she informed with a grin. Alfie sighed and shrugged. "How was your first day at school?"
"Fine. Actually met a few interesting people," Alfie replied, making his mother beam.
"Like friends?" she prompted hopefully as he shrugged.
"Maybe," he whispered, thinking that he was glad to see his mum so happy for him. Unlike the people around the neighborhood, his parents were always proud of him and loved him dearly. They didn't care that he was super smart, and they knew that he wasn't showing off.
"What are they like?" she asked as Alfie opened his mouth before he realized something. He couldn't tell her that he had met a secret government agent and his super famous girlfriend. It would sound like he was lying. Instead he smiled and lifted his shoulders.
"They're very nice people. One girl actually sat next to me in one of my classes," Alfie answered, leaving the important details out.
"A girl? She must really think you're cute," she winked as he laughed.
"No, she told me that she had a boyfriend, but the gesture was nice. We talk for quite a while, actually," he continued, making his mother frown.
"And here I thought you had a lady friend. Oh well, I'm sure you'll find another girl soon," his mother teased as Alfie grimaced. He knew he wasn't ready for a relationship, mostly because of the lack of friends he had. That alone proved that he had no real social skills.
"What's for dinner?" Alfie asked, changing the subject.
"Not sure yet. Haven't checked the cupboards yet," his mum answered, walking into the kitchen. Alfie followed her in, putting his hands in his pockets. "You're father should be home, soon.
"I thought he should be home already."
"He had to work a little longer than he thought. He said he shouldn't be later than half past five," she explained as he nodded. His father was a surprisingly hard worker at a customer service office, so he often found it hard to ask for some time off. "How about some spaghetti for dinner? Or maybe some chicken?"
"Either one sounds good. I'm going to go put my stuff in my room," he informed, walking back into the hallway to grab his backpack. His mum acknowledged him as he walked up the stairs. He thought about his day and realized just how weird his day had been. If someone told him yesterday that he would be attacked by an alien statue that looked like an angel, he would have written him off as a psycho. He dumped his backpack in his room and turned on the light, looking around his room. Alfie leaned against the doorway, almost wondering he had dreamed up the entire day.
"Alfie! Your father's home!" his mum called from at the bottom of the stairs. Alfie turned around, thinking that it was fast. He walked down the stairs and found his father in the living room.
"Hey, Dad," he smiled as his father sat at the table.
"Hey Alf."
"Why are you home so early? I thought you were working late," Alfie inquired as he sat next to him as his mum leaned against the counter, wanting to know why, too.
"My boss went missing after I called," his father began with a confused look. "No one could find him. However, someone did find a statue in the hallway. Supposedly, anyway. No one else saw it."
"Where did you think he went?" Alfie asked patiently, trying to be calm.
"No idea. However, the supervisor told us all go home so they could try to find him. No one saw him leave the building, so they're currently looking for him," his father answered as Alfie nodded, understanding that the Doctor was right after all. "Anyway, how was your first day at school?"
"It was fine. I think I might actually made a friend," Alfie answered as his father beamed.
"I know you could do it," he praised as he clapped his son's back. Alfie smiled and laughed as the dinner timer went off. His mum turned around and opened the oven. "Sophie? What are you making?"
"Baked chicken," she smiled as she pulled out some burnt chicken breasts. Even she scrunched her nose when she caught a whiff. She opened the trash can and dumped the pan in. "Who's up for some fish 'n' chips?"
"I am," Alfie answered, raising his hand. His mum threw the oven gloves onto the counter and grabbed her purse.
"Coming, Craig?" she smiled as he nodded.
"Absolutely," he answered, standing up himself. Sophie smiled as she kissed his cheek.
"Good, because you're driving," she smiled, walking out. Alfie started to laugh as he followed his mum. Craig grabbed the keys and turned off the lights.
~~A~~
"Mum?" Rose called out as she opened the mansion door. She walked into the foyer with the Doctor behind her.
"Mrs. Tyler?" the Doctor added, turning on the lights as he found a note. He called Rose over as he read it. It was from Jackie telling them that she and Pete went out and that there was some food in the freezer that they could heat up. Rose sighed and rubbed her face.
"This is so Mum. So, we have nearly everything. What do you want?" Rose asked, placing a hand on her hip. The Doctor shrugged.
"Whatever fancies you, I guess. I don't really care," the Doctor smiled, starting to frustrate Rose.
"Really? What if I decided to have something completely disgusting?" Rose posed as he smiled.
"I trust your judgement."
"You just like being difficult."
"Oi! I do not!" he argued as she walked into the kitchen with him on her heels.
"Really? Then tell me what do you want?" Rose demanded, standing in front of the freezer. The Doctor sighed as he sat at the counter.
"Well, what do we have?" he asked as she opened the icebox.
"Well, we have beef tacos."
"Meh."
"Steak?"
"No."
"Lobster chowder."
"Like the soup?" he asked disgustedly, thinking of the taste. Rose rolled her eyes and looked back in the freezer.
"There's also Royal Osetra Caviar."
"What even is that?"
"Sea urchin, white Truffle, sablé, whatever that is, and Sicilian Pistachio. Sound good?"
"Not at all."
"Agreed. There's corndogs. Why we bought those, I'm not sure."
"Corn dogs sound good," the Doctor nodded, pursing his lips. Rose shook her head and laughed.
"You were always one for simple foods. Cookies, chips," she smiled as she pulled out the box.
"It's easier to be simple," the Doctor retorted as Rose placed two in the microwave.
"Probably true. Sometimes I think I could give you a cardboard box and you could have all day," Rose teased as the Doctor smiled.
"Why do you think I stole the TARDIS? A great big box? How could I resist?" he laughed, making Rose smile. The small oven beeped as Rose retrieved their dinner. "Now that looks delicious."
"You are so strange, Doctor," she chuckled as she handed him a plate with a corndog. He shook his head as he took the dish from Rose.
"Would you like me any other way?" he teased as he took a bite. Rose shook her head as she sighed. "So, what's the plan for tomorrow?"
"Accidentally find something of Alfred's and one of us needs to go to his house to return it," Rose replied as she started to eat. "So, who wants to do it?"
"I think you should," he answered as she choked.
"What? Why?"
"Because you're a student now. If you went to return something, it wouldn't look strange. If I go, Alfie might think something's up. We wouldn't be able to meet his parents," the Doctor explained as Rose frowned.
"I don't want to go, though. I don't want to meet his parents, you do. I think you should go," Rose argued as the Doctor shook his head, placing his food back on the plate.
"It would look weird if I went, Rose. If I went as a student, then I think it would be fine. No one expects a professor to come to their house unless they invited him or her. It would be too out of place if I went. You have to go," he answered, his voice sounding final. Rose rubbed her face and looked out the window.
"Fine, but you're going to come with me and wait in the car," she bargained as he closed his mouth and thought for a moment.
"Deal, but we have to make sure that they don't know what's really going on. I don't want any more people to know about this operation," the Doctor replied, making Rose smile.
"Understood. The executives at Torchwood would get touchy about it, too," Rose answered as she leaned on the counter. "Are you sure you don't want to do this?"
"You can do it, Rose. It'll be fine. And if anything goes wrong, I'll just be in the car waiting. I doubt anything's going to happen other than him being a bit surprised at you showing up at his house," the Doctor informed, touching her cheek.
"How about I get his number and then text him that I have his stuff? Then I'll ask for his address so it doesn't make me look like a stalker," Rose thought out loud as he smiled.
"Brilliant idea. Do you think he'll get suspicious?" the Doctor asked, a grin still on his face. Rose shrugged.
"Maybe, but this guy hasn't had any friends in years. If it's suspicious, it's not going to be about this," she reasoned as he nodded, thinking that it made sense. Rose leaned against the far counter, leaving her plate in front of her. "Why do you think the Angels are targeting him?"
"There could be multiple reasons. You say he's extremely smart, so he could be important in the future. Removing him from the time stream could be a huge time distortion. No one could say for sure though. It's not like we can just ask the Angels why. I'm sure we'll find out soon enough," the Doctor answered, thinking. He did want to know why Alfie was so special and why these Angels seemed to be only targeting him.