The girl with two hearts

Chapter 11

The Doctor's time senses tells him that they've spent a little over one hour in the cells when the guard who was gonna look for Ashie finally comes back.

But there's no Ashie with him.

"Where is my daughter!?" the Doctor demands, his reaction suprising even himself.
"Your little girl is nowhere to be found, sir. If she is your daughter and she just ran off, like you claim, we would be able to find her within the park. But we can't. We've even asked around, she's simply not here."

The Doctor struggles against his cuffs, a rage he's only felt one time before building up inside him. It's the same rage he felt back on Satelite 9, when his ninth self had just watched Rose turn into a pile of dust after that teleportation ray hit her. It's the same feeling he got when he believed that the only thing bringing him happiness was gone forever, and it's the same urge he got to rip out the heart of whoever was responsible.

Fortunatly, there's several thick metal bars between him and the guard and he's in handcuffs, so he can't throw himself at the guard like his impulses are telling him to.

Instead, he has the time to stand there and just think through the situation. He's been doing exactly that for the last hour, but you can always think some more.

For example: why did Ashie disobey what he just told her and wander off on her own? Where's the logic in all this, anyway? Which parent brings their kid's birth certificate when they go on a trip to an amusement park? Or maybe Abruvilians just bring their birth certificates with them where ever they go. Highly unlikely, though.

And, maybe the oddest bit: if there is someone out there, abducting kids, why haven't anyone seen it happen? This is a public place, after all. There are lots of kids and adults running around here all the time. And there are staff supervising everything. If no one has seen anything, they must've at least noticed something was wrong in some way. Screams, for example. Kids scream when they are scared or angry, that's a fact.

And, there's something else on his mind: where is Ashie? The guard was out there looking for her for over an hour, and he still came back without his little girl. Why couldn't he find her? The Doctor even showed him a picture of Ashie, he should have been able to find her. So why didn't he? There's a really high metal fence around the park, it's not like she could get out without anyone noticing. So, why isn't she in the park area?

Unless...

"You have to let me out right now! She could be in danger!" he calls to the guard outside the cell.
"What do you mean?" the guard questions.
"MY LITTLE GIRL HAS BEEN TAKEN! YOU HAVE TO LET ME OUT SO I CAN HELP FIND HER!" the Doctor shierks at the top of his lungs.

His hearts are beating really hard and fast, and he's struggling to take deep breaths. Is this what a panic attack feels like? He's not even supposed to be able to have panic attacks. His biology isn't supposed to allow that.

The two guards back away. They actually seem scared, which they should be. They should be absolutely terrified. Anyone who threatens the safety of someone he loves should be absolutely terrified. And keeping him from rescuing his daughter is threatening her safety, at least in his point of view.

The cuffs rattles as the Doctor struggles against them. Without any result. He finds himself glaring at the guards.
"Listen to me. Please. My daughter is out there somewhere. If she isn't in the park then she has probably been taken, just like the other kids. I wanna find her. I have to find her. But I can't do it like this. Because my hands are in cuffs, and I'm in a cell. So I'm gonna need your help. I'm gonna help find all those other children, but in order for me to do that you have to let me out. Please listen to me."

The Doctor thinks he might be crying. There are no tears, but there's a lump in his throat and his eyes sting. That's wierd, he doesn't cry that much. He's usually very good at keeping his feelings inside.

The guard shakes his head.
"No. I'm sorry, but we can't trust you. We don't even know your name."
"My name is the Doct-"
"...so we'll escort you and your friend off this moon and you'll be kept in arrest until we know what to do with you."
"What!?" the Doctor and Donna exclaims at the same time.

The guard unlocks the Doctor's cell, grabbing his upper arm and dragging him out to stand in the area outside the cells. The Timelord's attention is immediately drawn to his sonic screwdriver, still laying untouched on that table.

As the guard moves on to Donna's cell, the Doctor slowly starts making his way to that table. He turns so he's standing with his back against the table, his cuffed hands fumbling behind him for the sonic. He wraps his fingers around the metal, turning it in his hands in search for the switch.

"Oi! Let go! I can walk by myself!" Donna barks at the guard, shaking his hand off her shoulder.
She walks out the cell by herself, obviously very offended and pissed at the way she has been treated.
"What do you think you are doing? Do I honestly look like the type of person who's sneaking around snatching kids from some playground? I'm offended, you know! I'm offended that you believe I'm a child kidnapper! We're here to help the kids, and you lock us up!"

Thankfull for the distraction, the Doctor sticks his tounge out of the corner of his mouth in concentration as he turns and twists his sonic as fast as he can in his cuffed hands. When he finally finds the switch he flicks it, the sonic buzzing to life and the cuffs falling away from his hands.

"...blaming innocent people? What is wrong with you guys? Are you so desperate to find whoever did this that you lock up the first person you find a little odd? Do you-?"
"Donna!"
The Doctor grabs Donna's wrist, sonicing her handcuffs open. She pulls her hands free and grabs the Doctor's hand.

Together the two of them run out the building.

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