Chapter 2

Early the next morning Fred heard a loud ringing, so he looked over at his nightstand and saw that his alarm clock was going off; after getting up from his bed he leaned over to the alarm clock and turned it off.

"I guess it's time to get up" Fred remarked.

The blond young adult next walked over to his closet and picked out some clothes to wear, after that he walked into the bathroom and brushed his teeth; once that was finished, he walked back into the bedroom that he usually used whenever he stayed at Blake Mansion, pulled out a sheet of paper and looked over it.

After looking over the paper with the directions to the doctor's home on it he slipped the sheet into his pants pocket and walked down the stairs leading to the main level of the mansion.

Fred then walked into the front room of the house that doubled as the living room and sat down on the sofa for a second, he looked over at the stairs and saw that Daphne was walking down them.

She made her way down the staircase and walked into the front room, before eventually walking over to the sofa, where she sat next to Fred.

"Hi Freddie" Daphne said, warmly greeting him by giving him a hug and kiss.

"Hello Daphne" Fred replied.

"So Fred all set for your first day of work?" Daphne asked.

"I guess so," Fred said uneasily.

"Freddie, you sound a bit nervous, even a little bit uneasy" Daphne remarked as she attempted to comfort him.

"Well Daphne, I guess I am" Fred replied.

"Why Freddie?" Daphne asked.

"Because, when all of us met Dr. Stevens yesterday he seemed well, odd" Fred replied.

"But why Freddie, why are you nervous? You should be happy, you get to work for a great doctor plus this should be a great experience for you" Daphne commented.

"Well, I'm sure it will be a great experience, except that well he didn't seem much like a doctor, he seemed interested in other things besides medicine" Fred replied.

"Like what Fred?" Daphne wondered.

"I don't know for sure, but something tells me that this Dr. Stevens wants me for something besides an assistant" Fred replied.

"Fred, what other reason would this guy want to hire you for?" Daphne asked looking confused.

"I don't know, but whatever he wants me for, I want you to promise to do one thing for me before I leave" Fred replied.

"What?" Daphne wondered.

"If something should happen to me, like if I should go missing or something like that please make sure to tell the rest of the gang what's happening and come find me, wherever I am wherever I might be, rescue me" Fred answered.

"Don't worry Fred I will, and be careful" Daphne replied.

"Don't worry Daph I'll keep my guard up" Fred remarked.

Fred walked out the front door of Blake Mansion and up the driveway, he then walked over to the blue Honda Civic that he had bought some time ago, opened it up and sat in the front seat; he then put the key into the ignition and started the vehicle up, Fred then drove the vehicle out of the driveway and onto to the side street leading away from the mansion.

The blond teenager made his way through the streets of Coolsville while Daphne's words still rang through his head; was Daphne right? Did this doctor want him for something else? Fred found himself mulling over these questions in his brain during the entire twenty-minute or so drive out to the doctor's home.

The teenage detective then guided his automobile onto a dirt road, which seemed to go on for several miles until the male sleuth spotted a large old looking house next to a large silo; Fred looked down at his map and confirmed that this was indeed Dr. Stevens' house.

"I can certainly see why Dr. Stevens would want a house out here, there's no one around for miles," Fred thought to himself.

The blond teenage sleuth guided the blue Honda into the small dirt area that he figured was the parking area for the doctor's house; after finding a spot to leave his automobile, he exited the vehicle then locked it after which he walked up to the residence's front porch; he rang the doorbell and a few seconds after he did so heard what sounded like someone speaking.

"Hang on, I'll be right there!" the voice yelled.

As he waited the blond young adult could hear footsteps coming from inside the house, as he stood outside the door on the front porch, he wondered just who was going to answer and whether he would be friendly or nit; after a few moments, the door opened and the blond man saw a familiar face.

"Dr. Stevens, it's nice to see you again," Fred declared.

"Ah, Frederick my boy you've arrived! Come inside and close the door if you would" Dr. Stevens replied.

Fred then complied with the doctor's request and joined him in the front room of the domicile.

"Hmm… maybe Daphne was wrong, maybe this guy's not so bad," Fred thought to himself as he and the doctor walked through the front room.

Dr. Stevens led Fred into a small hallway that was connected to the main room of the house; the two passed several rooms before the doctor stopped in front of an unassuming white door at the end of the hallway.

"This is my laboratory Frederick, in this room is where you will be working and assisting me during the time you are with me" Dr. Stevens explained, he reached into his lab coat pocket and pulled out a small key; he placed the key in the door lock and opened the door.

"Wow, look at all this scientific equipment; Velma would sure be impressed if she saw this, it almost looks like something out of a Science textbook" Fred declared as he entered the doctor's laboratory and browsed around the room.

"Ah I take it by your comment that you are impressed by my lab Frederick?" Dr. Stevens asked.

"Yes doctor it is certainly impressive" Fred replied.

"I also take it one of your friends is interested in science?" the doctor asked.

"Right, Velma has always been very interested in science and things of that nature; she always got good grades in High School and won maybe hundreds of Science Fairs over the years" the blond teen explained.

"Very good, it's always nice to see a young person interested in scientific fields; tell me Frederick are you interested in science?" Dr. Stevens wondered.

"No, no I'm more interested in athletics, cars and solving mysteries; actually for a brief time I was an aspiring mystery writer and worked on my girlfriend's television show" Fred explained.

"You were a mystery writer?" Dr. Stevens questioned.

"Oh sure, back during the years after Mystery Inc. split up for the first time, then we got back together and solved a few more mysteries, and then we split up for a while; during that time Daphne started hosting a television series called Coast To Coast With Daphne Blake, which I'm proud to say I served as the cameraman and one man crew for" Fred explained.

"Ah I see, now you mentioned your girlfriend; is that Daphne?" Dr. Stevens wondered.

"You could call her that, although I don't like to make too big a deal of it when the five of us are together" Fred replied.

"Interesting, so did the five of you get back together after Daphne got her television series?" Dr. Stevens asked.

"Yes, we returned to solving mysteries again after she decided to quit the show" Fred responded.

"Ah very good, now that I've gotten to know you let's go over to the closet and we'll put you in a lab coat" Dr. Stevens remarked.

"OK Dr. Stevens" Fred commented.

Fred and Dr. Stevens walked over to a metal cabinet on the other side of the lab; the doctor then opened the cabinet door and pulled out a white lab coat, the coat was a smidge smaller then the one Dr. Stevens was wearing but Fred didn't seem to mind as he put it on.

"So Frederick what do you think?" Dr. Stevens asked.

"Very stylish Dr. Stevens, very stylish" Fred replied.

"Well now that you're properly outfitted let's get started" Dr. Stevens explained.

"Right Dr. Stevens" Fred responded.

For the next several hours Fred was basically the doctor's shadow making sure to help him with whatever he needed whether it be helping him pour chemicals, handing him equipment or anything else the doctor required.

During the time they spent together they also talked a lot, mainly about Fred's life and all the adventures he and the rest of Mystery Inc. had; but in addition they also chatted about Dr. Stevens life and career, Fred found the doctor's life quite interesting and was riveted by everything that had happened in his life.

Several more hours had passed, Fred and Dr. Stevens continued working until the watch the doctor was wearing began beeping; the doctor looked down at the watch and pressed a button on it.

A proverbial light then went off in Dr. Stevens's brain as he suddenly remembered a prior engagement that he had scheduled; he then smiled as he decided to inform his new assistant about what his plans were.

"Fred, I hate to do this but I have an appointment in town in a half hour and I was hoping that you could watch my home and laboratory for me to make sure nothing happens while I am gone, could you do all that for me?" Dr. Stevens asked.

"Certainly Dr. Stevens I would be more than happy to watch over things for you while you're gone, just take your time and hopefully your appointment goes very well for you" Fred replied.

"Besides, while Dr. Stevens is gone I can do some investigating around here and see if this guy is up to anything weird, strange or unusual" the blond teen thought to himself.

Dr. Stevens wished Fred goodbye as he walked out of the laboratory, the blond teenage sleuth waited until the doctor drove away from the house before he could begin his searching.

Fred walked out of the laboratory and looked out the front window to make sure the doctor's car was gone, when it disappeared out of sight, the blond detective rubbed his hands together and prepared to explore the doctor's residence.