After Midnight
Stu was on a mission. He'd promised Ace that he'd look for the Doctor, and even though it was late, he wasn't going to just let her sit and cry without doing anything.
The problem with his plan was that he didn't really know where the caves were, and it was a damn dark night. He made his way slowly along the path, tripping once and landing hard. Wouldn't have been so bad if he hadn't left his shirt with her. He righted himself and brushed off the dirt, then sat down on a fallen log. What in the world had possessed him to offer to do this?
Tears, most likely. Tears and the feeling he had to do something. Anything.
He sat for a spell to catch his breath before getting up and finishing the short trip that took an awfully long time. He stood at the caves, not entirely certain how he'd go about finding one man, in the dark, in a cave...without resorting to hollering and waking up everyone.
[He's not going to find the Doctor. Does he find you instead?]