THE CHILD'S PETS

Summary: A being takes all Thirteen Doctors, some Companions, and various aspects of the Master on a trip through his "Wonderland"…

Genre: Humor/Multi-Era

Author's Note: This ties in with characters in my "Thirty Years" series, somewhere between Stories Three and Four (yes, I am working on it), although this story is not part of the canon of the series and can be read independently. This was a plot bunny waiting to be written, so I did.

Dedication: This fan fic is affectionately dedicated to my friends, Karen and Karyl, and some authors which light my fire: Cheri, WMR, Warinbabylon, to name a few, and countless others, whose works I have enjoyed…

Disclaimer: Don't own any publicly recognizable characters. I am just playing with them…'nuff said!

CHAPTER ONE

In a place outside of the normal space/time continuum, The Child rubbed his hands together with glee as he contemplated his next move. He smiled, bouncing around his room, at his newfound freedom. Oh, he'd received quite a punishment at the hands of his parents for taking living breathing beings out of their time streams, but now his parents had gone to the FAR FLUNG UNIVERSE, which was so far away that it would take eons for them to return home.

His Nanny Bot would normally stop him from using his powers to do naughty things, but now, she paid little to no attention (since he reprogrammed her to be at his beck and call). The boy figured he could do what he wanted. He ran to a huge play room, complete with a ball room, glass cages for pets, games of every description, a computer with thousands of programs for video games, and toys. His dark eyes, tinged with purple around the irises, scanned the room.

"TCB113?" The Child called. Just then, a droid dressed in an apron, her silver metal frame gleaming in the sunlight, emerged.

"You called, oh Master of the Universes?" the Nanny Bot asked sweetly.

"Yes!" He cried. "Bring me a new toy to play with! I'm bored!" The Child ordered.

The Nanny Bot held out various games for the boy's inspection, but he said, "no…nope…already played with that for centuries now!" The Bot showed the boy toys from his bedroom, and his collection of live animals. He jumped up and down, throwing a tantrum, shouting at the top of his voice, "I WANT NEW TOYS TO PLAY WITH!!! I WANT NEW PETS!!!

"What would my Master like?" the Nanny Bot asked, not in the least phased by The Child's emotional display. The boy calmed down, crossing to his monitor.

"Activate the viewing screen…I want to observe space and time in the lower dwellers' habitats," the boy said.

The robot did as she had been instructed. The screen whirred to life as the boy looked at the mundane humans, humanoids, and other life forms on other planets, shaking his head. Wasn't there at least one interesting pet that he could play with, he wondered? Suddenly, his eyes fell on a white haired old man and his pets. The man traveled in a blue box, and the pets looked like they might have taught in a school, or something. Yes, he decided, they might do.

"Doctor," the male pet was saying, "I don't recall your saying we would be traveling here today."

"Chesterton, might I remind you that my ship doesn't always take me where I wish to go at first…it seems to delight in taking me to the most adventurous places," the old man was saying. He fingered the lapels of his Edwardian frock coat and muttered, "I wonder where we are…hmm?"

A raven haired woman in her thirties emerged from the hallway. "Maybe you should check that screen and see…" she said, adding, "Although I would have thought it would be obvious. You did it all the other times we traveled with you."

"I am, in point of fact, making a point, redundant though that might sound," the white haired man replied. "Sometimes, spontaneity is its own reward. I see that this is Earth, but I do not see the century; the place is New York City, but I don't wish to view the year. Let us see what adventure we can find, hmm?"

"Doctor…" the younger man protested. He sighed as he saw the old man open the door and saunter out. He and the woman exited the blue box.

The Child's eyes widened as he took in the old man's reckless spirit of adventure. Did he have a death wish, or was he like this all the time? The Child looked at the Nanny Bot, asking, "What information do you have on a lower form called 'Doctor'?"

The Bot was silent for a moment, searching her memory banks. She moved her mouth slowly, as she started to slightly overheat. "There are several forms of him, thirteen in all, in several time zones and at least two universes. He is the last of a race of beings called 'Time Lords'. They are, or were, able to travel through Time and Space in the lower dwellers' universes. This Doctor is able to change his physical appearance as he dies, netting himself a new body. He usually travels with a companion or two…"

"Stop," the boy commanded. "Specify: who are the Companions?"

"They are lower life beings, called humans. Usually, though not always, they are from a planet called Earth in the little galaxy called the 'Milky Way'," the Bot replied.

"Why does he insist on traveling with lower beings if he is a Lord?" the Child asked.

The Bot considered for a moment before answering, "He does not wish to be alone for too long a period of time."

The boy shook his head, muttering, "That's silly!" He then touched on something his robot had said, "Last of the Time Lords, you say? What a pet he…that is to say all of him…would make, along with his Companions…even if some of them are girls!"

The robot nodded, saying, "There is also another Time Lord who might interest you. He is called 'The Master', and he is a bitter enemy of the Doctor."

"I thought you said this Doctor was the Last of the Time Lords…" the Child mused. "No matter…I will collect them all, and I will have a complete set to play with as I choose! I will start on the white haired one." The Child crossed to his computer, punching in buttons rapidly. He set his scanner on the blue box, and the pets he had viewed, and hit his "retrieve" button, then sat back to let his machine do its work.

Back on Earth, in New York City, the Doctor felt a twinge. He grabbed his chest, saying, "Chesterton…Miss Wright…I…"

Barbara was instantly at his side, crying, "Ian! He looks as though he's going to have a heart attack!" She grabbed the Doctor as gently as she could; he had slumped, and she tried to sit him upright. "Doctor!" She cried. "Doctor!"

On Barbara's other side, Ian slumped. She heard him hit the floor like a ton of bricks. "Oh, no! Not you, too!" She cried. She tried to get Ian off the floor, spying the Doctor disappearing out of the corner of her eye. "What?!" Barbara exclaimed. All of a sudden, Barbara felt herself grow dizzy as she and Ian vanished.

In his reality, the Child rubbed his hands with glee as the Doctor, Barbara and Ian materialized in separate cells, each unable to move, each staring ahead like wax figures in a museum.

XXXXX

(In the Alternate Universe, circa 2037…)

Doctor Number Thirteen prepared for another long, dull meeting with Torchwood on his girlfriend's, Rose Tyler's, new Earth. He had promised that day to help that Earth's Jack Harkness. Jack had gotten a job there as chief of security, thanks to some finagling by the senior Time Lord and Rose, but Torchwood's security system still needed very much work. He was putting on his suede jacket as he felt a twinge.

"Ahhhh!!" he screamed, grasping his chest.

Rose ran into the room, her brown hair billowing in her wake. "What is it, Doctor?" She asked, rushing to him. She grabbed his hands, taking in his pale appearance. "Are you all right? Speak to me!"

The Doctor's eyes fluttered for a moment, then he said, "Oh, Rose…I…"

"What is it?" Rose asked. "You grabbed your chest right now like you were going to have a hearts' attack!"

The Doctor straightened up, saying, "It seems to have passed. No cause for concern."

"Yeah?" Rose asked him, definitely not convinced. "Well, I'm cancellin' your meetings and your calls, an' you are going to lie down!" She eased him to a couch in the room they were in and went into another room to call.

"Lie down?" the Doctor murmured. Then, more loudly, he shouted, "LIE DOWN?! I most certainly will not! I am only 1200 years old, not 2000! I will not lie down like an invalid!"

"All right," Rose conceded, "but you are not going to meetings today. Do something…quiet, like watchin' television." The fifty-year-old turned on the television. The Thirteenth Doctor crossed his arms, pouting. Rose stared at him until he conceded that maybe Rose had a teeny point, and he should probably relax…at least for one minute. Turning the television set off, the current Doctor selected a book on the coffee table in front of him and read quietly.

XXXXX

(Meanwhile, in Rose's old universe, circa 1971…)

Doctor Number Three was looking at some test tubes Josephine Grant, his assistant, had helpfully tried to arrange by alphabetizing them. He frowned, picking them up one by one and rearranging them, calling, "Jo!"

A diminutive blonde woman came into the room where the red velvet jacketed, opera loving Third Doctor sat. She took in his annoyed expression, saying, "Yes, Doctor?"

"Jo, what is the meaning of this?" the Third Doctor asked, his voice starting to rise. "I thought I told you never to touch my test tubes!"

"It was to be a surprise!" Jo said happily. "Your tubes looked like they were in disarray, scattered about and what not, so I alphabetized them, and placed them neatly on the shelves straight away!"

"Yes, but now, they are not the way they are supposed to be!" The Third Doctor wailed. "I had them arranged according to the alien groupings, NOT by the primitive alphabet you humans use, and now look at them!"

The Third Doctor felt instantly guilty as Jo's eyes started watering. "Jo…" the Third Doctor said softly, "I…I apologize. You did try, and sometimes that is what is the most important!"

"Really, Doctor?" Jo asked, brightening. She sniffled and her eyes stopped tearing.

"Yes…but no more rearrangement of my scientific materials, all right?" he asked Jo. The young blonde nodded just as the Brigadier came in.

"Doctor! The Master! He's gone from his cell!" the Brigadier shouted. "You…Miss Grant…my office immediately!"

"Brigadier…I will NOT be ordered about like some…flunky!" Number Three protested. He then felt a twinge and grabbed his forehead, and then he disappeared. Before Jo or the Brigadier could react, Jo felt herself vanish.

The Brigadier stared at the empty space where the Doctor and Jo had stood a moment before and ran to get his men. He had a feeling this was going to be a long morning.