A Chibi Discovery
Title: A Chibi Discovery
Characters: Ten/Rose, and lots of chibis
Rating: G
Disclaimer: I don't own them, but I play with them a lot
Summary: Another chibi adventure.
A/N: Happy Birthday
jesidres
and thank you for introducing me to the chibis! We wanted to help you celebrate, and apologize for the lateness in posting and the lack of a beta. Lots of chibi hugs!!
"Everything's set?" the Doctor whispered, receiving two thumbs up from Rose who was putting up the last streamer. Pulling open the apartment door he herded the group of chibis out into the brightly lit hallway, waving them past as he silently counted.
He was momentarily distracted by the pink frosted cupcake that had miraculously grown feet and was scooting past. Lifting the confection into the air, chibi!Carlisle gave him a sheepish grin, kicking his feet as he refused to let go of his prize. Leaning down to set the bold thief on the floor the Doctor failed to see him swipe one of the flowers made of icing, although his triumph was short lived as chibi!Ten's tongue left a sizeable grooved impression through half of it.
Handing the confiscated sweet to Rose the Doctor resumed his roll call and was soon rubbing the back of his neck, then ticking off his fingers as he tried to keep up with the moving bodies. First he checked, then he double checked, and triple checked just to be sure. There was a soft click behind him and he turned to give Rose an imploring look, fingers splayed out as he mouthed the word ten.
Rose nodded slightly, dropping her gaze to the scene below, before she gave in to her impulse of wanting to reach out and ruffle the Doctor's wildly untamed hair. It didn't help that his large brown eyes had that lost puppy look that made him oh so adorable, and she fought the urge to hug him, first things first.
She immediately understood the Doctor's predicament as the chibis darted around and in between his pinstriped legs playing tag and occasionally tripping over the laces of his converse that had managed to come untied. There seemed to be no limit to their energy and indeed it was quite impossible to keep track of which one you had just counted, or hadn't counted. It reminded Rose of a three-ring circus, in one ring.
"I counted thirteen that time," murmured the Doctor in frustration.
At least their rambunctious activity was fairly quiet, although Rose was left to wonder how they could laugh that hard and still be silent. Not one to miss an opportunity, the snap from Rose's fingers shot through the hallway loud enough to get the desired result. Seven pairs of eyes stared upwards, blinking eyelids the only sign of movement detected.
The Doctor let out a long sigh and thrust his hand deep into the pockets of his jacket while he rocked back and forth on his heels.
"All accounted for," he beamed brightly at Rose, until her raised eyebrow and the questioning meep brought him up short. His head bobbed, hair flopping even more crazily as he counted and named each of the figures below him. Chibi!Sam sidled behind a trouser leg, hands tucked into his own leather jacket and the Doctor let out a guttural growl. "Chibi!Master is in so…much…trouble. When I get my hands on him-"
He disappeared back into the apartment with Rose, leaving the chibis alone in the hall. One by one they sat down where they stood, sharing wide-eyed stares between them, silently thankful that they weren't the object of the Doctor's wrath, and waited.
Rose and the Doctor made short work of checking the apartment. Rose searched the kitchen, peering under the table, behind the ironing board, in the pantry closet, the refrigerator, the icebox, even the cupboards above and below the counter. She even snuck a peek into the trash can, nothing.
She stepped into the living room in time to witness the Doctor on his knees and muffled sneezes coming from the inside of his coat, his head stuck under his arm.
"Are you okay?" Rose whispered, kneeling beside him. He put out his other hand, opening the palm to reveal a mound of dust bunnies and sneezed again. Rose turned his hand over and tugged him upward, brushing loose dust off his jacket as he sniffled. This time she didn't resist the urge to rumple his hair, sweeping it back on the sides with her fingers, watching as the Doctor's face lit up and he grinned appreciatively, ready to continue their search.
When Rose pointed to the bathroom the Doctor stepped back, wildly shaking his head and waving his hands as if to ward off evil. Men, she thought and rolled her eyes, moving to the bathroom to search it herself.
At a hiss from the Doctor, Rose abandoned the bathroom and joined him at the bedroom door sliding under his arm as she peered into the darkness. It took a few moments for her eyes to adjust and try to make out what the Doctor was animatedly pointing too. A sleeping figure, breathing evenly was curled on the bed in the middle of the room and across the way sat a large plastic box.
The Doctor pushed the door a bit wider, letting more light spill into the room, the illumination revealing a cage with multicolored tubing running through it, and chibi!Master standing in one corner.
He was brandishing an unlit birthday candle as if it were a two-handed broadsword, the wick pointing at a creature half his size, curled tightly into a tiny ball and covered with spikes. Rose looked up at the Doctor and mouthed porcupine? The Doctor shook his head and leaned close to Rose's ear.
"Hedgehog," he whispered.
"Oh," she breathed, wondering what a hedgehog might eat.
"Omnivore," replied the Doctor and Rose shivered. It was uncanny when he already knew what she was thinking, and then remembered what the word omnivore meant, plant and meat eater.
The Doctor shrugged unconcerned. "It's just a baby, and chibi!Master is bigger than a slug, so he should be safe."
Before Rose could protest, the Doctor was halfway across the room walking on his tiptoes. He met her shocked look with a sly wink, slightly reassuring her. Keeping one eye on the sleeper and the other on the scattered obstacles lying about, he covered the distance in a short time and opened the lid, reaching in to grab the mini Time Lord.
He jerked his hand back reflexively as chibi!Master swatted him with the candle and resumed his stance. The hedgehog had unfurled, its black eyes seemingly fixed on the threat in front of it even as its pointed nose sniffed the air.
Scowling at the miniature antagonist the Doctor grabbed for him again, this time barely missing closing his hand around the spiked animal as chibi!Master jumped over the creature and turned towards the menace once more, meeping rapidly all the while. The hedgehog followed the path of chibi!Master and again they stood squaring off.
By this time Rose was standing next to the Doctor as he rubbed the back of his neck and stood with the other hand on his hip. Wondering at the odd turn of events she squatted down to peer in at chibi!Master and looked up at the Doctor questioningly.
"Well?"
The Doctor squatted next to her, propping his elbows on his knees while clasping his hands in front of him. "We-ell. It seems he's saving her," the Doctor stated.
Rose slowly turned to the Doctor. "Saving her who?" The Doctor studied the combatants and let his eyes wander over the maze of tubing.
"I should wonder-" he mused.
"Doctor," Rose hissed impatiently as the Doctor stood quickly and stretched across to another opening.
"Aha," he said aloud. Everyone stilled, turning in unison as the sleeper yawned, rolled over and snuggled further into the covers. The Doctor reached into the network of tubing, his hand snaking over and around the various pipes as his arm disappeared further into the cage. "Gotchya," he grinned breathily slowly removing his hand.
Rose gasped in surprise and quickly took the small bundle from the Doctor, holding the indignant red head at arms length. The two females eyed each other warily, the smaller one finally uncrossing her arms with a weary sadness and Rose gently pulled her close for a hug.
The Doctor finally retrieved chibi!Master, and ensured the hedgehog had a few snacks in return for its unwelcome visitors before the quartet quietly exited the room.
They sat in the study, firelight dancing on the walls and the Doctor stretched out on the sofa; Rose leaned back against him wrapped in his arms.
"Quite the family," she stated.
"Yep," the Doctor replied popping the p.
"I still can't believe chibi!Master played the hero," snickered Rose.
"Well, after the tongue lashing I received earlier from chibi!Donna, I doubt he had much of a choice in the matter."
"It was rather comical-"
"Oi, I could have left her in that cage."
"You wouldn't have."
The Doctor hugged Rose tighter. "Don't suppose I would have. Still-" he grunted as an elbow found his sensitive ribs.
"Doctor?"
"Hmm?"
"Do you ever wish it was just the two of us, on our own?" she asked thoughtfully.
"Do you?"
There was no hesitation in her answer. "Nope."
"Me neither, Rose," he said planting a kiss on top of her head, stealing a sideways glance at the row of sleeping bags beside them.