Lilo rounded a corner in the Hotel, en route to the dining hall. She wanted a peanut butter sandwich, and her stomach growled loudly in encouragement. Her flip-flops thwacked on the floor with satisfactory loudness, and she'd managed a successful eye transplant for Scrump.
She hummed a little to herself, but stopped when she saw a man with rumpled hair sniffing the carpet.
"Excuse me, Sir. I think your hair exploded. Did you spill something?"
Of this he was certain. CERTAIN! He'd heard the little pitter pat of her flip-flops for a good while now, and as he crouched lowly on his hands and knees, he hoped his ears were wrong. The Doctor hoped against hope it wasn't really a child. But her voice confirmed. He lifted the tip of his nose from the floor and grinned at her infectiously.
"Exploded! That's very observant of you," he replied, shoving himself back to sit in the middle of the hallway on his rear, crossing his legs, and looking at her with meek eyes. "And no, no. Didn't spill anything. Looking for clues. Wanna help?"
Lilo couldn't help laughing at how he just sat down on the floor. Though she did, for a moment, feel the need to make sure he wasn't crazy. She thought of all the warnings Nani had ever given her, and she put her hands on her hips.
"You don't live in the woods, do you? Do you own a white van? Are you going to try to give me candy?" She tried to look stern, but only managed to look like she'd smelled something bad.
"Not very fond of ticks, I prefer the TARDIS to a van of any colour, and any candy I find I'm keeping for myself," he explained, still smiling warmly. Then he stuck out his hand. "I'm the Doctor. See? Not a stranger now. Well... just as strange, I suppose."
One cheek puffed out thoughtfully before he exhaled and scratched his face. "I'm living in the hall, at the moment. Not very fond of the rooms they offer here."
TARDIS? Lilo blinked hard, wondering if they made more than one of them. But when he introduced himself as the Doctor, she sighed loudly.
"Now I have to come up with another nickname. Hmm. Which one are you going to be." She flopped down in front of him on the floor, poking one of his shoes experimentally. "You're not floppy. Sticky-Uppy is too long for a nickname."
"Floppy? Which-- You-- What?" he responded, shaking his head and furrowing his brow. "Another nickname? What do you mean?" The Doctor looked down at where she poked his shoe but didn't smile, too curious about what she'd said.
"Floppy Doctor was the first you I met, then I met Curly Doctor who told me about the other yous. Now I'm meeting you, so I need a way to tell people about which Doctor I'm talking about. Because you're nice but not as nice as Floppy Doctor, and you're sort of like Curly Doctor, but not. You can just call me Lilo because there's only one of me."
She cocked her head to the side. He reminded her of a certain monkey that her mother and Nani whose antics she'd been read as bedtime stories. "Curious Doctor!"
"What? Like the monkey?" he replied with a hint of indignant amusement. "I haven't got a balloon. And I don't get into trou-- You're a clever little girl, Lilo." The Doctor poked his head foward and rested his chin in one hand, his fingers drumming against his lips.
"Floppy Doctor's nice, hm? What color hair has he got?"
"Well I could just call you Monkey, if you want. I figured 'Curious' was a nicer nickname." She shrugged and arranged her dress around her legs.
"He's blond. And Curly Doctor has dark hair and dresses like he's in one of those movies about kings and stuff. His jacket's nice. And I like that he doesn't care if I rub my cheek on it." She laughed a little at that, and stood up.
"My stomach is going to rumble, and I'm going to starve to death or get scurvy if I don't get food. Do you want me to bring you a sandwich?"
He sneered good-naturedly at the part about the Monkey, wondering why she couldn't just call him Freckles - or better yet 'Doctor' because he certainly was that. But before he could suggest the nickname she gave descriptions of Floppy and Curly.
He'd hoped Lilo meant doctors of the medical origin. Or doctors of any type, really. But she didn't. She meant Doctors. Had Jack mentioned that?
The Doctor was staring past Lilo blankly, his eyes narrowing every now and again, and he didn't answer her immediately. Could it really be? Was it even possible? It wasn't. And yet, neither was this place. He should've been able to feel them but he couldn't feel Jack's foreverandeverandeverness either. The second description was what bothered him. The Doctor found himself scowling and finally blinked hard
( ... )
"Nope, but still. I make sure to eat vitamin C just 'cause. Nani wouldn't want me to get scurvy with so many doctors around." She took his hand and stood up. Now that she knew he was a Doctor, she trusted him implicitly. Even with the regenerations, the other Doctors had told her that they were essentially the same person, just with different bodies. It made sense to her.
"What number are you? You should be more careful, you know. I don't want you to get to your last regeneration while you're here." She squeezed a little, but blinked when he said she could call him Theta. Would they all say that? She figured she'd just call them Theta and Doctor around them, but use their nicknames to differentiate when speaking with someone else.
"Very smart. Also: Look both ways before crossing the... lobby, and wash behind your ears every time," he joked, his coat swaying behind them. Her hand felt so small in his, but he appreciated it all the same. And even more did the Doctor appreciate this young child's mind. What an understanding and precious soul.
Cramped up in this sinister Hotel. By all that he knew, the Doctor pledged to find the one responsible. No second chances. Rose might not agree, he thought. Ugh, ugh, ugh, Rose. How he missed her. And the TARDIS. And they'd reached the end of the hall.
"What? Oh." The Doctor swung their arms cheerfully and winked at her, then peeked around the corner and deciding to take that way, hoping Lilo knew where she was going. "Tenth - and I've got the most boring colour scheme of them all. But don't worry. Excepting very strange accidents or incidents, we last longer than twinkies. Of the Little Debbie form, I mean. You from Hawaii, Lilo?"
She nodded. "I'm from Hawaii, and so's all my family but Stitch. He's a genetic experiment, so he's not really from anywhere." She bounced excitedly, her stomach protesting as they slowed down. She lead him into the dining hall, and went toward the sandwiches.
"And Twinkies last a long time, but they're not good for you. My Uncle Doctors are all really good. And I hope Nani doesn't meet you. She'd get a big crush on you. She likes exploding hair."
"Ha! That's tasteful of her," he replied, snatching up a finger sandwich and popping it into his mouth. It made his cheek poke out again. "Wharff dreengs Nnhmmf, Leemmo?" (Which sounded nothing like 'Where's the drinks hmm, Lilo?' thanks to his full mouth) "Ahhm!" he exclaimed happily, spotting a row of glasses. They had root beer. Dear Rassilon, it was the little things that saved him sometimes
( ... )
Lilo laughed at how he talked with his mouth full, and followed him to the table he'd selected. She plopped down in the chair he pulled out for her, and munched on her own sandwich. She chewed thoughtfully, thinking of what to say to him about Stitch.
"Um. He was made to be a weapon of destruction and destroy planets and he was scary. But he just was scary because he didn't have a family. He's nice now. He's my best friend." She rifled around in the pocket of her dress for the Polaroid of him she'd taken to carrying around. She handed it to the Doctor and smiled. "He'd just learned how to surf."
"Well then! Surf! Never could get the hang of that." He took a long swig of his root beer and looked at the picture with squinted eyes. "Oh my, he's blue. I like blue. Certainly glad you set him straight, Lilo."
The Doctor handed her the picture back and scooted forward a bit with his chair. It caught on his coat, so he stood up, huffed, took the coat off and deposited it on the empty chair next to him before sitting back down.
"I had a friend like that once. Only he was my friend first. Weapon later," explained the Doctor calmly, speaking to Lilo as if she were a full grown adult. She'd earned his respect as well as any. Wonderful thing about humans - overcoming trivial things like age. "Stitch is still back home, I'm assuming. You aren't lonely, are you, Lilo?"
She hummed a little to herself, but stopped when she saw a man with rumpled hair sniffing the carpet.
"Excuse me, Sir. I think your hair exploded. Did you spill something?"
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Itty bitty ones!
In the carpet.
Of this he was certain. CERTAIN! He'd heard the little pitter pat of her flip-flops for a good while now, and as he crouched lowly on his hands and knees, he hoped his ears were wrong. The Doctor hoped against hope it wasn't really a child. But her voice confirmed. He lifted the tip of his nose from the floor and grinned at her infectiously.
"Exploded! That's very observant of you," he replied, shoving himself back to sit in the middle of the hallway on his rear, crossing his legs, and looking at her with meek eyes. "And no, no. Didn't spill anything. Looking for clues. Wanna help?"
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"You don't live in the woods, do you? Do you own a white van? Are you going to try to give me candy?" She tried to look stern, but only managed to look like she'd smelled something bad.
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One cheek puffed out thoughtfully before he exhaled and scratched his face. "I'm living in the hall, at the moment. Not very fond of the rooms they offer here."
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"Now I have to come up with another nickname. Hmm. Which one are you going to be." She flopped down in front of him on the floor, poking one of his shoes experimentally. "You're not floppy. Sticky-Uppy is too long for a nickname."
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"Floppy? Which-- You-- What?" he responded, shaking his head and furrowing his brow. "Another nickname? What do you mean?" The Doctor looked down at where she poked his shoe but didn't smile, too curious about what she'd said.
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She cocked her head to the side. He reminded her of a certain monkey that her mother and Nani whose antics she'd been read as bedtime stories. "Curious Doctor!"
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"Floppy Doctor's nice, hm? What color hair has he got?"
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"He's blond. And Curly Doctor has dark hair and dresses like he's in one of those movies about kings and stuff. His jacket's nice. And I like that he doesn't care if I rub my cheek on it." She laughed a little at that, and stood up.
"My stomach is going to rumble, and I'm going to starve to death or get scurvy if I don't get food. Do you want me to bring you a sandwich?"
Reply
He'd hoped Lilo meant doctors of the medical origin. Or doctors of any type, really. But she didn't. She meant Doctors. Had Jack mentioned that?
The Doctor was staring past Lilo blankly, his eyes narrowing every now and again, and he didn't answer her immediately. Could it really be? Was it even possible? It wasn't. And yet, neither was this place. He should've been able to feel them but he couldn't feel Jack's foreverandeverandeverness either. The second description was what bothered him. The Doctor found himself scowling and finally blinked hard ( ... )
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"What number are you? You should be more careful, you know. I don't want you to get to your last regeneration while you're here." She squeezed a little, but blinked when he said she could call him Theta. Would they all say that? She figured she'd just call them Theta and Doctor around them, but use their nicknames to differentiate when speaking with someone else.
Reply
Cramped up in this sinister Hotel. By all that he knew, the Doctor pledged to find the one responsible. No second chances. Rose might not agree, he thought. Ugh, ugh, ugh, Rose. How he missed her. And the TARDIS. And they'd reached the end of the hall.
"What? Oh." The Doctor swung their arms cheerfully and winked at her, then peeked around the corner and deciding to take that way, hoping Lilo knew where she was going. "Tenth - and I've got the most boring colour scheme of them all. But don't worry. Excepting very strange accidents or incidents, we last longer than twinkies. Of the Little Debbie form, I mean. You from Hawaii, Lilo?"
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"And Twinkies last a long time, but they're not good for you. My Uncle Doctors are all really good. And I hope Nani doesn't meet you. She'd get a big crush on you. She likes exploding hair."
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"Um. He was made to be a weapon of destruction and destroy planets and he was scary. But he just was scary because he didn't have a family. He's nice now. He's my best friend." She rifled around in the pocket of her dress for the Polaroid of him she'd taken to carrying around. She handed it to the Doctor and smiled. "He'd just learned how to surf."
Reply
The Doctor handed her the picture back and scooted forward a bit with his chair. It caught on his coat, so he stood up, huffed, took the coat off and deposited it on the empty chair next to him before sitting back down.
"I had a friend like that once. Only he was my friend first. Weapon later," explained the Doctor calmly, speaking to Lilo as if she were a full grown adult. She'd earned his respect as well as any. Wonderful thing about humans - overcoming trivial things like age. "Stitch is still back home, I'm assuming. You aren't lonely, are you, Lilo?"
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