DIARY OF A HALF HUMAN TIME LORD

Chapter Thirty Two

"There we go," the Doctor said as he finished inserting the IV needle into Suzanne's vein. "Now, have a rest and let the concoction work its magic."

He put the bag on an IV pole and helped her over to a bed in the corner of the med bay. The TARDIS had put fresh linen on it and the Doctor pulled back the white sheet and blanket and covered her back up when Suzanne got in. He made sure the tubing wasn't obstructed while he put the IV pole by the bedside.

"Thanks for everything," Suzanne said as she got comfortable.

"You're very welcome. I'm happy that Jonathon got through to me and I managed to come here and help you. You're a very sweet woman and it would be a shame if you died young. Now I'm going to dim the lights a bit so you can sleep and I'll check on you after I'm done sorting out the mess with Pete."

"Listen; please take care of Rose and Jonathon. I care about them deeply and I don't want anything to happen to them," Suzanne said.

"I will. But…you can come along as well, if you want," the Doctor said.

"And meet people who talk out of their anus?" Suzanne said, amused.

"Well, it's not just anus talking people out there. There's so much more. There's danger, of course, but there's also beauty and excitement. So…interested?"

"Dunno, have to think about it. I need to heal first."

"Of course, just let me know before we leave. But for the moment, have a good rest and I'll be back later," he said.

Suzanne nodded and the Doctor ordered the TARDIS to dim the lights as he left the room. The lights dimmed and Suzanne sighed through her nose as she closed her eyes and tried to sleep.

Meanwhile, Pete was calibrating a small circular metal device that he had attached to the side of the TARDIS.

"This stupid machine isn't going to keep me out, Doctor," Pete said as he finished his calibrations.

"How dare you, my ship isn't stupid!"

Pete's head jerked around and he saw Jonathon and Rose standing near him. Rose quickly closed the door when he came around the side.

"So, Doctor, you finally decided to show your face, eh?" Pete said, folding his arms over his chest.

"Um…I showed my face to you earlier and I believe I told you to go away or else," Jonathon said. "Apparently, you're either deaf or thick since you sent your friends and now you're here trying to tamper with my ship. Something else I frown on since no one mucks with my TARDIS. Shall I now show you what happens to people who try to break into my ship?"

"You don't scare me, Doctor. Unlike you, I use actual weapons and not children's toys when I attack people."

"I try not to attack people with weapons. I prefer to use my brain, perhaps you should do the same and give the gun a rest," Jonathon said.

Pete reached behind him and pulled a gun out of the waistband of his trousers. Rose stepped in front of Jonathon when her stepfather aimed it at him.

"Wait, listen to him and use your brain for a change instead of just shooting and kidnapping everything," she said angrily.

"Rose, get out of the way," Pete snarled at her.

"No, I won't. I'm tired of your behavior. You've gone off your trolley and if this is how my dad acted, I'm glad he wasn't around to bring me up. You're being irrational and paranoid and you need to grow the fuck up, Pete! God, Tony acts more mature than you do. The Doctor isn't a threat to you and neither is Jonathon. Jonathon's treated you with respect and he tried to make the best of a bad situation and you spit on him and called him worthless just because you don't like the man he came from. He's not a bad person but you make him out to be the villain and…argh, you realize how depressed he was because you were constantly browbeating him and putting him down and making him feel like he was a speck of dirt. Is that any way to behave? What's wrong, did you need to lower his self esteem in order to boost your own?"

"I admit I was angry and may have said some harsh words but according to Jackie, Jonathon is a threat to the universe which is why he dumped him in your lap. If he's a threat, shouldn't he be locked up somewhere?"

"Like Torchwood?" Rose spat out. "So he can be dissected and analyzed and harvested and possibly cloned? Is that where he should be locked up, Pete?"

"Yes, but…"

"But nothing! He's not a science experiment and neither is the Doctor. Both men fight evil. Okay, yes, occasionally people get hurt or even killed but that's not their intention. Not all aliens are hostile. Both of these men would give everything, even their lives, to save the universe. And as for being a threat, well, even the Doctor can be wrong at times. Now, we're busy trying to cure our friend and once that's finished, we're leaving this universe so you don't have to worry about us destroying it. Now piss off!"

"What about your mother then?" Pete snapped at her.

"If she and Tony want to come with us, the Doctor will go get them. But you…you're not invited," Rose said smugly. "The Doctor thought you were a threat to the universe."

"Why do you keep referring to him in third person when he's right…"

Pete trailed off as he stared at Jonathon. His eyes narrowed.

"Wait, this is Jonathon, isn't it?" he said to Rose.

"Blast, the game is up. Ah well, it's a fair cop," Jonathon said with a shrug. "Yup, I'm the clone, now what ya gonna do about it?"

Pete pointed his gun at him.

"I'm going to take you back to Torchwood with me before you do something to this or any other universe," Pete said.

"Pete, put the gun down!" Rose snarled at him.

Pete tried to get past her but Rose grabbed the gun. Jonathon tried to pull them apart while they fought for control of the gun. Then Pete froze when he heard the gun go off. He looked down at it and noticed it was pointed directly at Rose's chest. He paled and stepped back in shock but then he realized that Rose was still standing and there was no blood. He stared at her in shock while Rose smirked back and lifted her shirt to show him a small silver box clipped to the waistline of her jeans.

"Personal force fields, we both have one," Rose said. "The TARDIS is alive and knew you were here trying to break in and decided we might need protection when we came outside so she gave us these. Now I'm glad she did. But she's already aware you're here and the moment you go inside her, she'll trap you and most likely you'll end up in a cell. So if I were you, I'd take that thing off her side and go the fuck away before I decide to turn the gun on you. And I seriously doubt you're protected by force field so I'm betting a gunshot to the chest will be fatal. Now I'm giving you one last chance to go before I call the real Doctor out here to deal with you."

Pete narrowed his eyes as he switched on the safety on his gun.

"Get out of here and don't come back…ever," he growled at her.

"Gladly," Rose said. "My place is with Jonathon and the Doctor so I have no intention of returning. However, I will ring mum and ask her if she wants to come as well so be aware of that. Now…go!"

They watched while Pete ripped the energy drainer off the side of the TARDIS. Rose folded her arms over her chest and Jonathon stood behind her, putting his hands on her shoulders while they watched Pete stomp away. Once he was out of sight, Rose turned to Jonathon. Both of them turned off their force fields and shared a tender kiss before Jonathon snapped his fingers and opened the TARDIS door.

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