DIARY OF A HALF HUMAN TIME LORD

Chapter Twenty Three

"I'll keep on checking," Rose said to Jonathon as they headed for the lift. "Even if he doesn't want to help, I would think he'd at least send a reply back saying that so we aren't left wondering. Just go ahead and go to work and I'll pick you up when you're shift is over."

They turned a corner and stopped short when they ran into Pete. Pete looked at Rose and then looked at Jonathon and he stared at him.

"What are you doing here this early?" he asked Rose.

"I needed help with an equation and Jonathon agreed to help me before I took him to work today," Rose said, trying to stay calm.

She kept a passive face while Pete studied them both. Finally, he nodded.

"Well, I hope he was able to help you. Jonathon, have a good day."

"You too," Jonathon said.

They both bid him goodbye and Pete watched while they walked away. He waited till they were out of sight and then quickly hurried away to the security room to watch the CCTV footage.

"You have a good day today, yeah? And I'll see ya later on tonight. Hopefully, we'll have a message from the Doctor."

"I hope so. Be careful. I think Pete was suspicious of us today," Jonathon said.

"Let me handle him. Just keep your mind on your work."

Jonathon nodded and gave her another kiss before he got out of the car and closed the door. Rose watched him go inside, her eyes shining with love, before she put the car in gear and drove away.

The moment Jonathon entered the shop; he could tell something was wrong. Claudia ran up to him and his heart raced when he saw the tears in her eyes.

"No, Suzanne," Jonathon said, his heart in his throat.

"She collapsed at her house last night and they took her to the hospital. She's there now," Claudia said, laying a hand on his arm. "We tried to reach you this morning but you didn't answer."

"I was out... with Rose. I was trying to find someone who could help her," he said while everyone else gathered around them.

"You mean like a doctor?" Claudia asked.

"Yeah, a Doctor," Jonathon said with a nod.

"Love, I think she has enough doctors looking after her now," George said.

"Yes, but the Doctor I'm thinking of can truly help her," he said.

Everyone glanced at each other, wondering what he meant. They were going to ask before they were ordered back to work. Jonathon knew it wouldn't do any good to spend the day worrying about Suzanne so he kept his mind on his work, losing himself in the repetitive tasks so he wouldn't have to think about his friend's condition.

Meanwhile, Rose drove back to Torchwood and headed to her office. She kept an eye on her watch and when it neared three hours, she hurried to the dimension cannon room, praying the Doctor got their message and replied. When she entered the room, she was shocked for a moment to see Pete standing by the console and then Jonathon's warning about not trusting him came back to her. She closed the door.

"What are you doing here?" she said to him.

"I might ask you the same thing, young lady. You had no authorization to use the dimension cannon today."

"You spied on us," Rose said angrily.

"Yes, because I want to know what the fuck you're doing. I didn't buy that bullshit about your boyfriend coming up here to help you with an equation so I checked the security cameras and lo and behold I hear him sending a message to the Doctor."

"Yes, because his friend's dying and we need his help."

Pete threw up his hands.

"Rose, can't you give it a rest? He doesn't want you any more, that's why he dumped his clone out the door and into our lives."

"THIS ISN'T ABOUT ME!" Rose screamed. "I love Jonathon! We contacted him because Jonathon's friend is dying... correction, our friend is dying and the Doctor is the only one who can help her."

"How do you know that? You heard the Doctor. Everytime he comes back over here, he risks endangering our world. I'm sorry your friend has cancer but people get cancer all the time! You really want to risk destroying the universe for that?"

"Yes, I do. Because I've seen how much she means to Jonathon and she's a wonderful woman and I want to help her as much as he does. So we sent a message to him and..."

She fell silent when there was a blinding flash of light and the disc clattered onto the platform. No one moved for a few seconds and then both of them tried to get it. Rose leapt onto the disc and managed to cover it with her body and roll away before Pete could get to it.

"Let me see it!" Pete said as she scrambled to her feet.

"I'm gonna play it and you can watch but I'm gonna know what he said," Rose said, walking to the console.

Pete sighed angrily and threw up his hands while Rose inserted the disc into a slot. Pete stood behind her and glared at the Doctor when his image appeared. Both of them listened to him, Rose's spirits soaring when the Doctor promised he would try to find a way over the void.

"You're endangering us, Rose. You and Jonathon are going to destroy this universe because now he's gonna try to rush to get over here," Pete said when the message ended and Rose took the disc out.

"He won't do that. He'll find a way to cross over safely and if he doesn't find a way, he won't try it."

"You and that clone are both nuts and..."

Rose's mobile rang. She held up her hand and Pete glared at her while she answered it.

"Rose?" Jonathon said. "Rose, it's Suzanne, she's in hospital. She collapsed last night. Did you hear from the Doctor?"

Rose repeated what the Doctor said, including the part about not being angry at him and calling him his friend. She could hear Jonathon sobbing at that but he managed to keep his composure and reply to her.

"That's good news, brilliant in fact. I hope he makes it," Jonathon said. "In the meantime, I'm gonna go back to work. I just couldn't wait till the end of the shift to know if he replied and I wanted to let you know about Suzanne. I'll see you later."

"Goodbye, love, have a good day and try not to worry," Rose said to him.

He hung up and with a sigh forced himself to go back to work.

"What are you gonna do if the Doctor can't find a way here and Suzanne dies?" Pete said to Rose as she put the mobile back in her pocket. "That man is supposed to be the Doctor, doesn't he know that bad things happen to good people? I lost my real wife, is the Doctor gonna come back here and give her back to me?"

Rose glared at him and Pete shrugged.

"Well? If he can save Suzanne, why can't he save my Jackie? Is she any less important than this other woman? Or is it because I have to put up with an alternate universe version of my wife now that you're here. I had to adjust to the loss of my wife and the two of you and he can do that as well."

"Yes, Pete, I understand. Mum and I aren't wanted here any more than Jonathon is. We were all forced upon you and now you have to play martyr and deal with us because we're stranded here. I get it. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to work."

"The Doctor won't be welcomed in here," Pete said. "If you think he's gonna use Torchwood's resources."

"He doesn't need Torchwood's resources," Rose spat out. "He has far more advanced equipment than the rubbish here which is why we asked for him to come here. Now, excuse me. I have a job to do and so do you."

She walked out of the room. Pete glowered at her and the moment the door was closed, he let out an angry yell and hit the wall with his fist.

The Doctor stood in front of his console waiting patiently while his ship did a scan trying to find a gap big enough to go through. He was still amazed that he was doing this, especially in light of all that happened between him and his clone. But he realized that he was desperately lonely and he really did want to see him and Rose again, at least to say goodbye if he really was going to die for good this time.

He heard a beeping noise and looked at the monitor. To his amazement there was a gap in the fabric of reality that was just big enough for him to get through. He scanned the calculations the TARDIS gave him about the size of the gap and how long it would remain open. It would only remain open for eight hours but perhaps that would be enough time. He considered his options, weighed the pros and cons and then decided to go for it.

"Do it, Old Girl," he said. "Go to Rose and Jonathon so I can cure Suzanne and give her a well deserved miracle."

Back                         Home                              Doctor Who Main Page                          Next

Your Name or Alias:      Your E-mail (optional):

Please type your review below. Only positive reviews will be posted! Constructive criticism will e-mailed to the author.