DIARY OF A HALF HUMAN TIME LORD

Chapter Twenty One

So peace has been restored at last. However, I still don't trust Pete completely even if he does seem to want to bury the hatchet. I think he might be up to something. Call me crazy but I inherited the Doctor's instincts and I have to admit my spider sense is tingling. But for the moment, I won't say anything to Rose since at the moment there is peace and quiet again. I just wish I knew for sure what was going on and if Pete really did want a truce between us. I hate this. I hate being here. I want a fucking TARDIS so badly I could scream. Being cooped up in a flat with no hope of escape is driving me bonkers. Not to mention I need to find a way to help Suzanne before the cancer gets worse. I don't trust Pete to help her. I think the only one who could truly help her is the Doctor. I keep wondering if there's a way to contact him. I don't care if he despises me; I only want help for Suzanne. I would even be willing to lose Rose if it meant my friend would be cured. There must be a way, some way to get a message across the void, some sort of mind link between us; I won't give up until I find a way to contact him. There's usually a solution, you just have to look for it. Perhaps...

John paused in his diary and thought for a moment. Rose was in the other room watching the telly while he was sitting at his kitchen table. Boots was playing with one of his toys and scampering around his feet. He smiled, picked her up and kissed her head.

"I need a miracle, little mate," he said to her. "A miracle for Suzanne. Have any ideas?"

Boots purred softly and Jonathon held her close to his body while he closed his diary, got up and went into the other room. Rose was watching Eastenders when he came in and she glanced over at him and gave him a warm smile.

"Rose, I want to ask you something," Jonathon said, sitting down beside her. "But if you're busy watching telly, I can wait."

"Nah, I can follow the program well enough if I get interrupted. What do you need?"

"I don't trust Pete. I still think he has ulterior motives and this was just a way of calling a truce so he could plan something."

He figured Rose would protest but she fell silent for a moment and then nodded.

"I had the same thought but then I thought I was overreacting," she said. "I don't know if he is being sincere or not but we have to keep him happy if we want to have access to Torchwood and a fake truce is better than nothing."

"But perhaps there's another way," Jonathon said. "A way to save Suzanne's life."

"And do you have another way in mind?" Rose asked.

"I do. I want to try to contact the Doctor and see if he can find a way back here. I trust him more than I trust Pete and if anyone could cure Suzanne, it would be him."

He paused a moment, gauging Rose's reaction to his mention of the Doctor but she only nodded in agreement so he went on with his thought.

"I wanted to know about the dimension cannon. Do you think it could be used to send a message across the void, a signal that the TARDIS could pick up?"

Rose thought for a moment while Jonathon sat Boots down between them. Rose smiled when Boots walked up onto her leg and she stroked her back.

"It might be possible," she finally said. "I think it would be easier to send a message than a person, but even if the Doctor gets the message, what if he can't make it across?"

"I know, I know, but I have to try. Even if I have to beg him, I want the Doctor to help Suzanne."

"Love, I don't think you'll have to beg the Doctor to do that," Rose said.

"Yes, but coming from me..."

"Jonathon, whatever differences you might have with him, however angry he is, I don't think he'd refuse to help a dying woman with cancer. I think he'd put aside his anger at least long enough to help her, yeah? The Doctor wants to help people and Suzanne needs help. He won't withhold treatment because of some petty little grudge against you. If you want to do this, we can go in to Torchwood tomorrow. I'll tell them that you're helping me as a scientific advisor on a project I'm working on. Torchwood has a way to record a holographic message and we can try the dimension cannon. I was team leader on that project so I still have access to it."

She noticed he was deep in thought.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Is there a way to add an option for a return message?" Jonathon said. "If he gets it, we'd have no way of knowing that or knowing his answer unless there was some way to send a message back to us."

"Yeah, I think the recorder has an option to send a message back and the dimension cannon can be set so an object or person will return after a certain amount of time. We record the message, leave an option for him to record his answer and set the dimension cannon so the message will return to Torchwood."

Rose saw the relieved look on his face and she smiled as she stroked his cheek.

"If the Doctor can get through and he wants you back, would you go with him?" Jonathon asked.

"Not without you," she said without any hesitation. "Besides, I doubt he wants me back. He had a chance to take me with him and he didn't and I don't think he'll change his mind now."

"Does that upset you?" Jonathon asked.

"Not now. It did before but I've fallen in love with you and I want to be with you. The Doctor made his decision and now I've made mine. You're the one I love, Jonathon. The Doctor is a good friend but that's it. Will you quit worrying about that? I want you and only you."

Jonathon nodded. Rose smiled and kissed his lips. Jonathon returned the kiss and grinned as his arms encircled her waist. Rose put Boots on the floor and both of them stood up and headed for the bedroom.

The next morning, both of them rose early and dressed for their respective jobs. They were leaving early because Rose wanted to get into Torchwood before Pete came in for the day. She was going to take Jonathon with her, record the message and send it and then take him on to work afterwards. After getting dressed and making sure Boots had food and water for the day, they headed over to Torchwood. To Jonathon's relief, Rose was able to get him inside with no problem. He suspected Pete had been telling everyone about him since the lady at reception seemed to recognize who he was. He wondered what else Pete had been saying about him as they walked to the lift. They went up to the twenty second floor and Rose guided him to a room that had a large metal machine in it that had a huge camera lens in the front. Directly in front of the lens was a round metal platform and Rose instructed Jonathon to step up onto it while she closed the door and locked it. Jonathon stepped onto the platform and faced the camera while Rose walked over to a bookcase on the left side of the room, pulled out the technical manual for the machine and quickly read on how to operate the machine. There was a wooden table next to it and she laid the book on it, open to the page she was reading. She walked behind the machine.

"Okay, I'm gonna press a few buttons and you'll see a red light go on over the camera lens, that's your cue to speak," she called to him.

"Okay," Jonathon called back.

He stood there, nervous, as he worked out in his head what he wanted to tell his other self. After what seemed like eternity, the red light came on and he cleared his throat.

"Doctor, this is your half human clone," he spoke as confidently as he could. "My name is Jonathon and I'm trying to reach you, not to ask for forgiveness since I'm sure I'd never get that but because I have a favor to ask. I got a job working in a pizza shop and one of my co-workers, Suzanne, has cancer. I care for her very deeply and she's dying and I don't want her to die and you're the only one I can think of that can help her. Pete and Jackie resent me because you dumped me here without giving them a choice. Pete said he'd call a truce but I don't trust him and I don't really trust Torchwood. I trust you, Doctor, and..."

He swallowed hard as his eyes misted over.

"I'm begging you. If you can find a way back over the void, please come and save Suzanne. That's all I'm asking. I know it might not seem like much to you but she's one of the first friends I made here and I don't wanna lose her. You can hate me for the rest of your lives, I don't care. This isn't about me, it's about her and you're the only person I know who could cure her. Please, please, if you get this and you know a way to come back, come and save her."

He told Rose he was finished and she came back around the machine, her eyes misty as she embraced him. After she hugged him a moment, she went over to the table and consulted the manual on how to print the message and add an option to leave a return message on it. Once she figured out how to do it, she went back around the machine and pressed a few more buttons while Jonathon waited. He looked down when a door opened in the side of the machine and a thin black disc slid out on a tray. Jonathon took it and the tray slid back and the door closed as Rose came around the side.

"Okay," she said, taking it from him. "Now let's go to the room where they have the dimension cannon and see if we can send this to the Doctor. "

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