(no subject)

[tardis-lord.livejournal.com]

Time: Morning, July 26^th, 2000
Place: the Doctor's room and corridor outside
Status: Public (the Doctor, Wensleydale)
Summary: An extremely unfortunate event

The Doctor yawned widely, stretched, and clambered out of bed. Wow, he’d slept a long time. A very long time. Usually Time Lords needed very little sleep. He supposed it was something to do with the stress he’d been experiencing recently, or the really strange dream he’d had last night.

He tried to remember it, and failed. There had been something… familiar. Things he knew. Cardiff?

He shook his head. It was just a dream. Of course it didn’t make sense; that was the point of a dream.

He showered and changed, folding his striped pyjamas neatly and making the bed. He glanced at his reflection and ran a hand through his hair, messing it up satisfactorily. There. Now he could go out.

He put the sonic screwdriver and his psychic paper in the pockets of his suit (ever since Christmas 2005 he’d slept with the screwdriver close at hand on the bedside table; you never knew) and was just running a quick inventory check when he noticed something was wrong.

Very, very wrong.

On the verge of panic, the Doctor looked through the room and his trench coat. It wasn’t there.

Oh no. He couldn’t have lost it. He couldn’t. It was just… something you didn’t lose. It was his key, for heaven’s sake!

He flung open the door and raced out into the corridor, eyes wide and face ashen. He spotted someone and tapped them on the shoulder.

“Excuse me,” he said, breathing a lot faster than necessary, “but I don’t suppose you’ve seen a key anywhere on the floor? I’m the Doctor, by the way. But have you seen a key?”

That was the important thing. Finding the key. The key to his TARDIS.

Comments

[dearwensleydale.livejournal.com]

As he was tapped on the shoulder, Wensley turned to face a wide-eyed man. He seemed very distressed, and...did he say he was a doctor? He didn't know they had a doctor at the Manor.

"No, I haven't," he replied to the Doctor's question. "Do you remember where you lost it, perhaps?"

[tardis-lord.livejournal.com]

The Doctor made a noise like a strangled scream and cradled his head in his hands. "No," he groaned, "please no."

He went down on all fours and checked the floor, peering closely at the carpet. "I don't know where I lost it," he said unhappily. "I don't know if I lost it here or in the lobby or at the barbecue. But I do know that I need it back."

[dearwensleydale.livejournal.com]

Wensley recoiled slightly as the Doctor let out an unearthly howl. "Sir, please calm down," he said, kneeling down next to the other man. "If you lost your key in the lobby, you might want to talk to someone at the front desk. I think they have a lost and found there."

[tardis-lord.livejournal.com]

The Doctor sent the young man a slightly annoyed glance. Here he was, his world ending, and all this man could say was 'calm down'!

Then again, he was human. They were usually fairly wonderful creatures, but had a bit of a blind spot when it came to stress. They either panicked, failed to deal with the situation, or stood there saying, "What?"

"I don't think I did lose it in the lobby," the Doctor said. "I went to the TARDIS to get Ruby's gun, and I know I put it back in my pocket afterward."

The idea of the TARDIS key in a lost and found box was a fairly worrying one. Though not nearly as powerful as the TARDIS herself, the key had some power by association. The thought of someone else learning how to harnaes that was not a good one.

[dearwensleydale.livejournal.com]

"Well, even if you didn't lose it in the lobby, if someone else found it they would turn it in there. It might be the best place to start, instead of searching the floors on your hands and knees."

[tardis-lord.livejournal.com]

The Doctor paused and raised an eyebrow. Then he sighed and sat back on his haunches.

"You're right," he said wearily. He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. "I'm panicking. I shouldn't do that. You can never think straight when you're panicking. Of course," he added, "maybe crawling around on the floor is a good place to start. You never know."

He looked at Wensleydale and put his head on one side. "What's your name, by the way?"

[dearwensleydale.livejournal.com]

The Doctor did have a point. The Them had always found the most interesting things while crawling around after Dog.

"Uhm. My name is Wensleydale." Wensley wasn't sure whether to stick out his hand to shake or not.

[tardis-lord.livejournal.com]

"Wensleydale," the Doctor repeated, enunciating each of the syllables (and, frankly, being a bit silly). "Your parents were Aardman, were they? Do you mind if I just call you Cheese? Wensleydale's a bit of a mouthful."

He sighed and stood up, dusting off his trousers as he did so. "Thank you for your help, Cheese. Could you put the word out that if anyone finds a key lying around to tell me? Thanks, you're a star."