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The Doctor sat in his chair, twirling a pen in his hands. The pen had been given to him as a gift by Sussurro, so every time he spun it around, a small glint reflected off the end of the clip. When he misjudged the trajectory of the spin, the pen went flying from his fingers and into a cardboard box, holding papers that direly needed shredding.
He grimaced as he reached down to pick it up. He shouldn't have been treating Sussurro's gift in that manner, but he was getting restless and bored. He needed something to do other than battle the never-ending waves of paperwork slapping him across the face.
Not that he minded, but he did mind if that made any sense. And Amiya's pestering didn't help, but he didn't mind her, he minded the work. It was too many minds he had to invest in doing all this and direct missions.
The Doctor stood up and stretched his body before walking over to the door, only for it to open to his surprise without him being in the range of the sensor. "Huh?"
"Ah, D-Doctor! You're still here!"
The Doctor looked down to find Mulberry standing in front of him with a tear in her eye. "M-Mulberry? Why are you crying?" He asked, suddenly unsure what to do at the moment, but if there was anything he could do to help her, he was going to try his best.
"I... I lost my little dumpling. It's a small black and white doll that helps me fall asleep at night. I thought I left it here since I was in your office for some time after dinner to help you with the paperwork, but I can't find it now." Mulberry explained with a whimper, on the verge of tears streaming down her face. "And it's almost time to sleep..."
"Don't cry, I'll help you find it!" The Doctor exclaimed to comfort her. This wasn't how he wanted to take a break, but that didn't matter now. Mulberry asked for his help and he was willing to accept her request.
"T-Thank you, Doctor," Mulberry whispered as she wiped the tear away from her eyes and fixed her expression with a smile.
The Doctor subconsciously reached his hand out to pat her on the head, but when he recognized what he was doing, Mulberry bashfully accepted his touch with a small blush on her face. "We're going to find that little lost dumpling of yours before you sleep tonight. But first, where do you think you last left it? I know you said my office, but I haven't seen a wink of it in the last hour I was here."
"Can we still look around for a while before we move on?"
"That's fine by me." The Doctor complied with her suggestion as she stepped inside his office.
The Doctor carefully studied the interior of his office and winced. It was safe to say the mess he had been cultivating throughout the day had grown exponentially. He didn't even know how Mulberry navigated through the maelstrom of papers littered around the office like a sad attempt at decorating a room for someone's birthday party to aid him.
His natural habitat was sure to scare anyone away, but for some odd reason, most of the operators on Rhodes Island didn't seem to mind or, in some cases, cleaned the chaos up for him.
The Doctor traveled around the perimeter of his office to search for anything that resembled the doll Mulberry always carried around. He knew what it looked like, but he was fairly certain it wasn't in his office. Still, it wasn't a terrible idea to listen to her proposal and comb through the tomb of papers to locate her doll. Or dumpling as she liked to call it.
Mulberry dug through the middle of the office and the area where she sat to temporarily help the Doctor while glancing over at him to see if he magically found it. Unfortunately, the answer wasn't the one she was seeking. With a dejected expression, Mulberry sat down on a stack of papers, accidentally knocking it over to her surprise.
"Ah! S-Sorry, Doctor! I'll clean it up!" Mulberry scrambled to pick the pieces up, but the Doctor stopped her.
"We can leave it alone for tomorrow since you have to sleep. We already spent a few minutes here, so what do you say we go ask some operators around Rhodes Island after we see if you dropped him on the way to your room?"
Mulberry looked at the fallen stack for a few seconds and frowned. "Okay... But I'll come by to fix it tomorrow because it's my fault."
"I wouldn't worry about it too much because I've already lost track of most of the stuff going on in my office." The Doctor lied. He wasn't willing to tell her he was going to straighten it out himself later tonight. There was no need to trouble her more than she already was.
They stepped out of his office and tried to retrace the steps she had taken before she discovered her dumpling was missing. However, on the way to her room, they couldn't find any indications of it anywhere. Luckily, they bumped into Provence and her fluffy tail.
"Provence, you're exactly the person we're looking for." The Doctor mentioned as Mulberry stood next to his side.
"Is that so? What do you need help with? Perhaps cleaning your office? Also, hello, Mulberry!" Provence greeted, her tail swishing around in excitement.
"Nice to meet you at this late hour, Provence..." Mulberry wasn't exceptional at holding a conversation, but the important thing was, she was trying.
"Er... My office doesn't need any cleaning, but Mulberry here lost her dumpling that she always had with her. It's a black and white doll, but after we exhausted two options, we opted to ask operators."
"Oh, that sounds like a serious problem, but I have seen nothing! Maybe I could join you guys in your search!" Provence offered as she shuffled over to where the Doctor was standing.
"That would be helpful." The Doctor stared at Provence's tail as it whooshed in front of him. It looked so fluffy and warm like a blanket on a cold winter day that could warm up his numb hands and feet. Unfortunately, he wasn't here to touch her tail.
They made their way around Rhodes Island, asking some of the operators they came across like Blemishine, Gravel, Plume, and a part of the Operations Reserve Team A1, which comprised Fang, Kroos, and Beagle. Blemishine quickly apologized for her lack of time to join them and hurried away. The black smudges on her clothes told him as much. And Operations Reserve Team A1 also excused themselves to get some sleep in before they were sent to a mission early in the morning.
As for his bodyguards, they joined in on the search, but they didn't seem to do much other than Gravel fawning over the Doctor with a look of love sparkling in her eyes, making the search difficult to concentrate on.
Last of all, they ran into Grani, who shook her head no, but she clenched her fist and smiled. "It'll work faster if we split up and search for it! It's a Grani guarantee Mulberry will have her little dumpling in 15, no... 10 ten minutes! I promise!" Grani shot Mulberry a thumbs-up and ran off before the Doctor could stop her.
"Maybe she should carry a walkie-talkie of some sort on her personnel at all times. It's always troublesome to communicate with her when she's so fast…" The Doctor muttered as Gravel grabbed him by the sleeve of his suit to drag him along with the primary group while Mulberry trailed closely behind him.
"N-Now I feel bad that many people are joining us just to find my dumpling..." Mulberry said, casting a crestfallen look down on the floor. "I hope it's not a bother..."
"Don't worry about it, Mulberry. We're here for you. And we won't rest until your dumpling has been found! At least, I won't since I still have to deal with all the paperwork back in my office, but don't let any of that stress you out." The Doctor consoled as he looked forward to see a certain Sankta with red hair walking down the opposite side of the same hallway they were in.
"Exactly what he said!" Provence agreed as she pointed an accusing finger at the Doctor. "Though I don't know where Doctor got the notion that I would go to sleep without helping poor Mulberry find her dumpling first!"
"I was just saying! I could stay up all night, but at the same time, we are on a time limit because Mulberry has to go to sleep soon, so it would be fine if you all went to sleep beside me." The Doctor turned to look at Gravel, who blew a kiss in his direction. "And I guess you're going to stay up with me all night since the bodyguard shift switched a few minutes ago."
"Don't worry about me, Doctor. I'll be there all night because I'll never leave your side." Gravel said seductively, sending shivers down the Doctor's spine. He didn't understand her obsession with him, but he could see where she was coming from.
Plume nodded to Exusiai and Gravel before leaving the scene while the Sankta waved her hand up in the air high with a joyful aura emanating from her face.
"Yo, leader! Why is there a party starting here without me!" Exusiai greeted as she walked up to the Doctor specifically.
The Doctor went through the same explanation he did with the past operators, but this time he added the part where Grani was also in the search with them, just off on the opposite side of Rhodes Island or wherever she was.
"I see! So that's the problem!" Exusiai waved her hand at the timid Mulberry and grinned. "We'll find it for you, no matter how many operators have to join in on this operation! At least the ones who are willing to join."
Mulberry nodded but glanced over at the Doctor to confirm the level of trust in her words. He just nodded his head, and they embarked on their adventure once more. This time, Exusiai was the life of the party as she talked to everyone with equally great interest and excellent listening skills. She really was the opposite of Texas.
The Doctor looked down at Mulberry and found her rubbing her eyes to stay awake from the oncoming rush of drowsiness. Her little yawn made him realize just how long they had been looking for her dumpling. Yet there was this hint of fear in her eyes that was forcing her to walk with them through sheer willpower. He knew what she went through, but not to the full extent, so he couldn't blame her for sticking with them for this long. And it wasn't like she was going to sleep without her favorite comfort item since she depended on it.
The Doctor himself yawned at the sight of Mulberry yawning but did it quietly enough so nobody would notice. Though, it seemed like Gravel noticed right away because of her intent stare boring holes in the side of his head the entire time. He wasn't entirely sure how she walked so well while staring at him, but a lot of the operators on Rhodes Island were talented.
"Ah, leader! We should ask Ethan about Mulberry's dumpling!" Exusiai exclaimed, shattering his illusion of daydreaming.
The Doctor focused his eyes on the one and only person walking down the hallway leisurely while they neared him. Ethan perked up upon hearing his name. He turned around to look at the small group that approached him and pointed at himself.
"Are we sure Ethan will have something like that?" Provence asked, a bit skeptical about the Savra.
"It doesn't hurt to ask, right?" The Doctor asked as he beckoned for Ethan to come closer. "Ethan, have you seen Mulberry's dumpling?"
"Mulberry's dumpling?" Ethan repeated, confusion appearing on his face. "That sounds oddly delicious... Is the taste heavenly?"
The Doctor could hear a laugh coming from behind him as he tried to correct his mistake. "Not a literal dumpling. Mulberry always goes to sleep with a doll that's black and white, and we're traveling around Rhodes Island, wondering if anyone had it or found it."
"Oh! Actually, that does sound familiar!" Ethan reached into his pocket and pulled out the small doll that they had been searching for the past half-hour with a smile. "Is this the one right here?"
Mulberry's eyes widened with gratification as she nodded her head. "T-That's the one! Where did you find it?"
"It was in the middle of the hallway, so I picked it up just in case someone else took it. I felt like it would be safer with me while I went around to search for the owner."
Mulberry watched as it dangled in front of her and stuck her palms out to catch it. Ethan dropped it into her eager hands and shoved his hands back in his pockets.
Mulberry hugged it close to her body with a smile while the rest of the search crew watched her. "I'll never let my little dumpling out of sight again."
"Well, I guess that's a pleasant reunion. But speaking of reunions, I have a date with my bed, so toodles." Ethan left the scene, leaving the five of them to stand around.
The Doctor looked down to see Provence patting Mulberry on top of the head with a smile on her face. She seemed to comfort and congratulate Mulberry on her reunification with her dumpling. Mulberry laughed nervously, but her attention was mostly focused on her doll.
"I'm afraid it's time to go to sleep, Mulberry. You've been up for quite some time." The Doctor mentioned as he approached Mulberry.
Mulberry sleepily nodded her head as she walked over to the Doctor. Whether she was dazed by the melatonin rushing around her system or she truly meant it, the Doctor would never know, but she wrapped her arms around his torso and hugged him. The tactician was taken aback by the sudden action, but after a second, he returned the embrace.
"Thank you for going through all that trouble for me, Doctor..." Mulberry murmured, tones of fatigue echoing in her voice.
"It would be a shame for you to sleep without your dumpling."
After a few seconds of no response, the Doctor noticed she was dozing off in his grasp. "Uh, Provence, could you carry Mulberry to her room for me?"
Provence stared at Mulberry drifting to sleep in his arms and giggled. "It'd be a pleasure to help the Doctor in this situation! But after this, I'm going to drop by your office to make sure it's cleaned from the last time I was there, which was yesterday. I'm expecting it to be spotless!" Provence called out as she hoisted Mulberry into her arms and walked down the hallway.
The Doctor suddenly froze up in fear like an ice cube stuck in its tray. He whipped his head to look over at Exusiai and Gravel and bashfully rubbed the back of his head. "Er... Could you guys help me clean my room?"