When The Doctor Was Me (Frerard Doctor Who AU)

Shock Blankets & Upgrades

Frank and the Doctor both peaked into the empty hall, looking both directions before slipping out.

"So... How did you figure out that wasn't the same Dallon?" Frank asked, quietly.

The Doctor straightened, slipping out of the room and gesturing Frank along. "It wasn't only the twitch, bit there was a noise he made as well."

"I didn't hear anything."

"Well, maybe you listen to your music too loud, Frankie."

"Alright, mom."

The Doctor shot Frank a look that said, "you little shit", but audibly said nothing. They simply snuck down the hall. They were nearing the end of it, when a door ahead of them opened.

"Over!" The Doctor whispered, pushing Frank over to an indent in the wall. Frank felt his face heat up with his closeness to the Doctor. Their bodies were pressed closely together, to make them both fit into the small space. Frank was so busy with that aspect of the situation, that he almost didn't catch the voices in the hall.

"Will he be okay?" A fearful voice asked.

"He should be back to you quickly." A different voice replied, "He's just going to take a quick visit to the infirmary."

"Alright..."

"Go back to bed, ma'am. It will only be an instance."

"Wonder what's happening..." The Doctor mumbled. He didn't seem to be nearly as affected by the closeness as Frank was. Frank couldn't even respond.

Footsteps began to move down the hall, away from the time lord and human. After a moment, the Doctor slipped back into the hall. Frank let out a breath of air as the Doctor slid away from him. That was possibly more nerve wracking than the reason they were hiding.

"Come on then, Frankie, before we completely loose them!" The Doctor whispered, gesturing the shorter man along.

Frank did as instructed, following the Doctor down the corridor. As they reached the end of the hall, Frank caught sight of a hooded figure leading a man through the discarded vender booths.

"That looks like a guy that nearly ran into me earlier." Frank remembered out loud, "After we spoke to Dallon, he was rushing to that direction..."

"Then we've got our man." The Doctor grinned at Frank before a questioning look crossed over his face. "Our alien? The universe is always throwing different things at us, it could be a cat for all we know..."

"Doctor, we're loosing him." Frank pointed to a spot across the large room, where the hooded figure was disappearing into a small elevator with the man.

"Right." The Doctor nodded as the doors pulled closed, "Come on!" They hurried across the room until they reached the elevator. The Doctor pulled out his sonic, holding it close to the door as Frank watched the path they had taken to this point.

"What do we hope to accomplish through this?" Frank asked, lowly, listening to the buzzing of the sonic screwdriver.

The Doctor hummed, letting out a soft 'aha!' before turning to Frank. "Figuring out what these lower levels are, as well as finding the real Dallon! He seemed like a nice fellow."

The Doctor ushered Frank to the opening elevator door, stepping inside and holding his sonic to the elevator buttons. Frank watched the doors close before turning back to the Doctor.

"But what if there never was a Dallon?" He asked, "What if it was always whatever that thing was?"

The Doctor tilted his head at Frank. "It very well could be." He nodded, "At the same time, however, Dallon could still be someone we can save. Not every case turns out like Brendon and Ryan."