(no subject)
wag \WAG\, noun:
A humorous person; a wit; a joker.
Spoilers for GITF Rating (PG) Being the Tin Dog isn't as bad as all that.
Taking the Mickey
"Tin dog. I'm the tin dog."
He's still a bit stunned by the revelation. Even more so when the Doctor keeps comparing him to that stupid French horse, Arthur -
"Who, incidentally, came to the rescue." The Doctor doesn't look at him, but looks past him, down to the console. He's folding something away, close to his heart, and he's ever so careful not to let Rose see it.
But a tin dog?
He was better than this. Once upon a time, he worked in a garage and he fixed things. And then he was a geek, geeking away to find Rose what she needed. Even found her a way to the Doctor.
He shakes his head. Such a faithful hound, then. Whenever she called - I need this looking up, I need my passport, I need the flat, I need a computer, a lift, someone to hug - he had come running.
But life wasn't all that bad. The Doctor remembered his name this time, and had looked straight at him - no kidding - and seen something that Rose had, once. He cast about for the simile. Had seen that he was reliable, like a retriever. As good at guarding as an Alsatian. As ferocious as...
"About as ferocious as a labrador, Mickey." Rose, at his elbow, handily supplied the missing description. "A big, soppy lab that dribbles over things and is actually quite sweet." She's looking at him like she did at Christmas: a kind of abandoned look, demanding his attention. He holds her close, and is rewarded with a laugh. Good Dog.
"Even when I dribble?"
"S'pecially when you dribble." She giggles, and suddenly the world seems a bit better. And he looks at her looking at him with those puppy-dog eyes, and he feels like laughing. he's on the adventure of a lifetime, traveling throughout the Universe, with his bird.
And the Doctor.
Yeah, well, you couldn't have it all.
"If he dribbles even one tiny bit, we're rehoming him." The Doctor, still not quite his usual self, wagged a finger in front of Rose and Mickey both. "No more animals on my ship, K -9 excepting."
"Oh, come on. He's not even half as bad as the werewolf. At least he's TARDIS - trained."
Mickey is slightly in awe. "You met a werewolf?"
"Yeah, but we're all right now...owowowoooooowooooooo" The giggles are infectious, and even the Doctor can't stop himself smiling for a moment.
And it's then that Mickey Smith realises that the role of tin dog isn't too bad after all. Wekll, he is halfway across the universeand he's sure that at least through some part of the journey, they'll teach him some new tricks. And besides, he'll be there for them. Faithful. cheering. Mickey the fool, the wag.
Talk about a shaggy dog story.