Requested Ficlet: "All In A Night's Work"
May. 11th, 2013 09:35 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
nevannaFandoms: Doctor Who and The Middleman
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, and I do not profit from their use.
Summary: “Are you wondering about our organization’s long-standing and thus far unmentioned alliance with a time-traveling extraterrestrial being from a forgotten planet?”
Words: 615
Written for:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
john_in_boston
Notes: This fic originally had a much more Middleman-style title, but I'm keeping it in reserve in case I want to write a longer remix.
All In A Night's Work
“I still think that splitting up was a bad idea,” Wendy remarks, shining her flashlight into an empty file drawer.
“I trust in the Doctor’s ability to take care of himself and his companion,” her boss replies.
The four of them had traced the manufacturers of the dangerous alien narcotic to an abandoned soda factory several miles outside the city, and made plans to sneak in after hours. Wendy should have known better than to hope that their enemies would leave any incriminating evidence in the office, but that doesn’t take the edge off of her frustration. “I have another question for you.”
“Are you wondering about our organization’s long-standing and thus far unmentioned alliance with a time-traveling extraterrestrial being from a forgotten planet?”
“More or less.” The unfamiliar man in the pinstripes and the long coat had turned up at headquarters that morning with his equally unfamiliar red-haired assistant by his side, and recited a long code of numbers, letters, and odd clicking noises that meant nothing to Wendy and, apparently, everything to the Middleman and Ida. “How long has he been helping you guys?”
“Darn this system and all of its external drives to heck!” the Middleman exclaims suddenly. Not only has he been unable to retrieve any data from the office computer, but his frustration still hasn’t manifested in anything stronger than a “Phooey!” Even having known him for as long as she has, Wendy is impressed. She can remember some of the names that she’s called her laptop when it malfunctioned on her.
“Maybe dial it down?” she suggests.
In a hushed voice, he continues, “To answer your question, Dubbie, the Middle-lore contains records of his appearances dating back to our organization’s inception. Supposedly, he inspired us Middlemen to discard our civilian names and define ourselves solely by our role. Truth be told, I didn’t tell you about him because I wasn’t sure either of us would ever get the chance to meet him. I was as surprised as you were.” He chuckles. “And more than a little bit honored.”
“And most of the people he meets either fancy him or want to kill him, or both.” The Doctor’s assistant strides into the room, flashlight in hand. “Guess we know which one you are.”
The Middleman straightens in his seat. “I take no shame in my choice of heroes, Ms. Noble.”
“Never said he wasn’t a hero, did I?” Donna Noble retorts. “Any luck in here?”
“Not so much.” Wendy opens another drawer, pulls out a manila folder, and starts leafing through receipts and invoices. “So, how’d you end up traveling with him?”
“Bit of a long story, really.” Donna peers down over her shoulder. “String of dull temp jobs, relationship gone wrong, giant man-eating spider queens… anyway, once I found out how big and exciting and completely bonkers the universe is, I couldn’t just walk away.”
Wendy blinks. “Whoa.”
“What? Why ‘Whoa’? Did you find something?”
“No, I just got this uncanny sense of parallelism.” Donna blinks in confusion, and Wendy shakes her head. “Never mind. What I’m trying to say is, I know how you feel. Except for the giant spider queen. That part’s new.”
The Doctor pokes his head around the doorframe. “Looks like this place wasn’t as abandoned as we thought. I’ve taken care of the first few robots, but there are probably more coming up from the lower levels, and I don’t think they’ll be in the mood to negotiate. The three of you want to give me a hand out here?”
Wendy leaps to her feet. “I guess this is what you mean by ‘exciting,’ huh?”
“This is it,” Donna agrees.
“Me, too. Let’s go!”
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, and I do not profit from their use.
Summary: “Are you wondering about our organization’s long-standing and thus far unmentioned alliance with a time-traveling extraterrestrial being from a forgotten planet?”
Words: 615
Written for:
john_in_boston Notes: This fic originally had a much more Middleman-style title, but I'm keeping it in reserve in case I want to write a longer remix.
All In A Night's Work
“I still think that splitting up was a bad idea,” Wendy remarks, shining her flashlight into an empty file drawer.
“I trust in the Doctor’s ability to take care of himself and his companion,” her boss replies.
The four of them had traced the manufacturers of the dangerous alien narcotic to an abandoned soda factory several miles outside the city, and made plans to sneak in after hours. Wendy should have known better than to hope that their enemies would leave any incriminating evidence in the office, but that doesn’t take the edge off of her frustration. “I have another question for you.”
“Are you wondering about our organization’s long-standing and thus far unmentioned alliance with a time-traveling extraterrestrial being from a forgotten planet?”
“More or less.” The unfamiliar man in the pinstripes and the long coat had turned up at headquarters that morning with his equally unfamiliar red-haired assistant by his side, and recited a long code of numbers, letters, and odd clicking noises that meant nothing to Wendy and, apparently, everything to the Middleman and Ida. “How long has he been helping you guys?”
“Darn this system and all of its external drives to heck!” the Middleman exclaims suddenly. Not only has he been unable to retrieve any data from the office computer, but his frustration still hasn’t manifested in anything stronger than a “Phooey!” Even having known him for as long as she has, Wendy is impressed. She can remember some of the names that she’s called her laptop when it malfunctioned on her.
“Maybe dial it down?” she suggests.
In a hushed voice, he continues, “To answer your question, Dubbie, the Middle-lore contains records of his appearances dating back to our organization’s inception. Supposedly, he inspired us Middlemen to discard our civilian names and define ourselves solely by our role. Truth be told, I didn’t tell you about him because I wasn’t sure either of us would ever get the chance to meet him. I was as surprised as you were.” He chuckles. “And more than a little bit honored.”
“And most of the people he meets either fancy him or want to kill him, or both.” The Doctor’s assistant strides into the room, flashlight in hand. “Guess we know which one you are.”
The Middleman straightens in his seat. “I take no shame in my choice of heroes, Ms. Noble.”
“Never said he wasn’t a hero, did I?” Donna Noble retorts. “Any luck in here?”
“Not so much.” Wendy opens another drawer, pulls out a manila folder, and starts leafing through receipts and invoices. “So, how’d you end up traveling with him?”
“Bit of a long story, really.” Donna peers down over her shoulder. “String of dull temp jobs, relationship gone wrong, giant man-eating spider queens… anyway, once I found out how big and exciting and completely bonkers the universe is, I couldn’t just walk away.”
Wendy blinks. “Whoa.”
“What? Why ‘Whoa’? Did you find something?”
“No, I just got this uncanny sense of parallelism.” Donna blinks in confusion, and Wendy shakes her head. “Never mind. What I’m trying to say is, I know how you feel. Except for the giant spider queen. That part’s new.”
The Doctor pokes his head around the doorframe. “Looks like this place wasn’t as abandoned as we thought. I’ve taken care of the first few robots, but there are probably more coming up from the lower levels, and I don’t think they’ll be in the mood to negotiate. The three of you want to give me a hand out here?”
Wendy leaps to her feet. “I guess this is what you mean by ‘exciting,’ huh?”
“This is it,” Donna agrees.
“Me, too. Let’s go!”
