"Okay, how do we find them then?" Sophie inquires.
"Great question!" The Time Lord exclaims.
"You don't know, do you?"
"I have a plan. It just happens to require the TARDIS."
Sophie shakes her head, "So, to my flat then."
The Time Lord decides to not verbally answer the question, rather choosing to turn in the direction of the aforementioned flat. Sophia shrugs, offering an apology with her eyes to the Torchwood team. Jack offers her the crook of his elbow, not hesitating to follow the Doctor into potential danger. He raises his other arm, pointing two fingers forward as a signal to his team to move out.
"Actually, sir," Toshiko starts, causing the Doctor, Jack, and Sophie to freeze in their tracks, "I would still like to search the crater, just to see if there's possibly any clue. If that's alright."
The Doctor glances at Jack, who nods, he turns around to face team Torchwood "Sounds fine, smart plan, here, when you're done we can meet up here." The Time Lord tugs, from his inside jacket pocket, a small card.
"Why do you have business cards with my address on them?"
"Uh..." The Gallifreyan hesitates, "Spoilers?"
The woman sighs, rolling her eyes.
The Captain addresses all his team, except for Tosh, "Okay, let's go."
Sophia nods, and Gwen adds, "Actually, I'm going to stay with Tosh, she can always use help."
Jack agrees with a nod, turning toward Dr. Harper, a silent question blazing in his eyes. "I'm gonna stick around too, people are injured, I can help."
"Half an hour, no more, understand?" The team nods.
Jack and Sophie, arms still linked trail idly behind the Doctor, the Captain calls over his shoulder, "Ianto!"
The Welshman follows behind them with a quick, "Coming, sir."
*At Sophie's Flat*
Sophie quickly unlocks the door, hoping Morgan is out, because she has absolutely no clue how she'd explain coming home with three strange young men. She swings the door open, gesturing for the other three to enter. "Sorry about the mess, I mean, I literally moved in yesterday, but, still, sorry."
"I doubt you were expecting company, and it's a lot cleaner than the Hub, so I can't complain."
The Welshman looks at the Captain, "And whose fault is it that the Hub is a grungy mess?"
"Point," Jack cedes, then points a finger at the wall. "Is that a sword?"
Sophie turns her head to the wall that he's pointing at, "No, it's a very sharp, pointy metal stick." An eyebrow rises on Jack Harkness' face. "Yes, that's a sword. It was a gift from Queen Boudica."
Ianto approaches the hanging weapon, "There's a Welsh inscription, 'Live Long and Prosper', Star Trek, really?"
The Doctor, who had already casually strolled into his TARDIS, called out, "She won't stop quoting it. I've tried, and she just refuses to stop!"
"Resistance to my Star Trek quotes is futile!" she shouts back at him. She walks into the TARDIS, followed by Jack Harkness.
Ianto walks in behind both of them, and stops still, his gaze raking over every inch of the giant box, and then continues in his path, his face settling back into one of indifference. The Doctors head pops up from underneath the console, eyeing the Welshman, "Normally, they have a much different reaction."
"Yes, well, when you work with Jack Harkness and a giant Pteranadon on the daily, you begin to just accept what's around you."
The Captain checks his watch, looking around the TARDIS himself. "You've redecorated," he comments off-handed to the Time Lord.
"Yep!"
"My room still there?"
"You never had a room," The Gallifreyan scoffs, stuffing his head down into another storage cubby near the console.
Jack rolls his eyes, once again checking his timepiece.
Sophie watches their interaction, a smirk on her face. She sits down on the console room floor, next to the Doctor. "So," she says, pulling out an old journal from her backpack, "where are we?"
"In the TARDIS?" the Doctor answers.
"I meant in terms of timeline."
The Doctor seems to consider this question, as he digs through the storage cubby. "Um...who do you think my companion is?"
Sophie glances up, surveying the console room, trying to determine which look it is. "Amy and Rory?"
"Got it in one!" he shouts, jumping to his feet, some piece of alien technology being waved around slightly dangerously.
"Okay...have you done Mercy?"
"The town, or the concept?"
The girl looks at the Time Lord, her mouth a straight line. "I'll take that as a yes then."
"Yep, last place I went with the two of them. Wait, how do you know about Mercy, you're too young."
"Future you mentioned it to past me, I jotted it down."
"Right, okay then." The Gallifreyan spins on his foot, pointing the alien tech at Jack. "When does the rest of Team T arrive?"
The Captain checks his watch once again, "Should be here in around five minutes, why?"
"Cause they're not going to want to miss this."
Sophie rolls her eyes at the Time Lord, laying back onto the glass floor of the console room, looking up at the high domed ceiling arching overhead. She stretches her arms and legs out, laying spread eagle in the middle of the floor. The Doctor walks toward the woman, lighting nudging her side with the toe of his boot.
Sophie pops up, looking at her best friend, scandalized. "Did-Did you just kick me? How dare you. That's it, you no longer hold the seat as my best friend."
The Doctor rolls his eyes, stepping around her. "You don't have many options to take my place," he mumbles, lightly touching her head in a fond way.
Sophie smiles, grabbing his tweed clad arm, pulling herself up. Her thoughts drift to Morgan, and the other girls from the home, but knowing that the Doctor knows none of them, she grabs the Welshman by the arm. "Well, tough, because Ianto is my best friend now. You wouldn't kick me, right Ianto."
"Uh," the Welshman pauses, startled for a brief moment. "No, ma'am. My mother raised me to respect everyone. I don't normally kick people, unless they attack me first."
"See, Doc, manners. You should learn some."
"Oh, yes, I'll get right on that, Lyn" he mutters, sonicing some small machine, "Soon as I save the Earth...again."
Jack grins fondly at the exchange, "Aw, c'mon, Soph. You and I both know manners elude him."
"Well, I don't know about that, Captain Harkness. His fifth face was extremely well mannered. Don't know what happened."
"Change, my dear," the Doctor pipes up, leaning over Jack's shoulder, "and not a moment too soon."
Sophie rolls her eyes, as from her flat drift the sounds of voices. Ianto quickly turns, exiting the box to collect the rest of the Torchwood team. "You, my friend, are an idiot," she says, pointing a finger at the Doctor.
"I know you are, but what am I?" he grins, grabbing her from behind in a hug, kissing her hair in a friendly way.
"A clotpole," she answers.
He pulls back, a hand to his chest, gasping in offense. "Sophia Jacelyn McCoy, how dare you. Who even taught you that insult?"
Sophie smirks at the pouting Gallifreyan, "You, you turnip head."
He turns from her, crossing his arms like a petulant five-year-old. Before he's able to whine about the insult, the TARDIS doors creak open, admitting the rest of Torchwood.
"Oh my God!" Gwen comments, gazing at the interior of the ship.
A smile skirts across the Doctor's face, and he turns dramatically to face them. Flinging his arms wide, he states, "Welcome to my TARDIS. That stands for time and relative dimension in space, and yes, it is-"
The Time Lord is cut off by Tosh, as she says, "Dimensionally transcendental."
The Doctor, who hands had been open wide as he talks, snaps them closed, folding them in front of him clapping, "Well, yes." He points at her, snapping, "You, I like you. Smart, I like smart. But, please, don't interrupt me." He clasps his hands behind his back, as he looms over her, as he had walked forward.
"Right. I'm sorry, sir, I got excited."
A smile spreads across the Time Lord's face, "Oh, I'm just joking. And don't call me sir." He spins on his heel, practically skipping up the three stairs.
^-^
Hello, Sweeties,
I know it's been a while, but I'm back, at least with this chapter. I've been binging Eleven...again, and decided to pop this out. Enjoy.