Who Lives and Who Dies
I've been following Doctor Who: Series 5 (written by JeffAndTheWorld) and I also read Fear Before Courage (written by Namazukage7) and the combination inspired me to insert a new companion into extended continuity. I considered several people (I don't have enough creativity for an OC), such as a Supernatural Winchester brother, teenage Franklin Richards, Peter Bishop, and Andrew van de Kamp. I wanted a guy to balance out the women in the show. It ultimately came down to Jack O'Neill's clone and Shawn Farrell. Shawn won out because I'd probably make Jack O'Neill's clone a Mary Sue.
This is in the style of Doctor Who: Series 5 in which episodes are rewritten with the new companion and is therefore AU. However, I like the idea (that was briefly touched upon in the beginning of Fear Before Courage and coincidentally mentioned in tonight's "The Girl Who Waited" episode) of a companion disliking and distrusting the Doctor, so I've expanded on that a lot. Anyway, enough talking. Here's how the Doctor and Shawn meet . . .
Chapter 1: The Appointment
Taking all things into consideration, undercover work with temporarily dyed black hair and colored contact lenses shouldn't have been strange for Shawn Farrell. Nonetheless, Shawn felt uneasy navigating through the lies that Jordan had made for him, especially with Andrea at his side.
Jordan had heard murmurs about a healer in Utah. However, neither the name of the healer, Ross Carmen, nor his specific location matched the records of any of the 4400 returnees. Jordan, then, sent Shawn and his unique perspective to investigate. Jordan also sent Andrea Curbishley, a 4400 Center employee suffering from migraines but declined to be treated by Shawn. Andrea knew that Shawn had been using his powers regularly to help the 4400 Center and she didn't want to add to his burden despite his arguments to the contrary.
"Hello, my name is Daniel Wyatt. This is my fiancée, Elizabeth Acheson," Shawn told the receptionist. Jordan spent four days working through various channels to secure a "homeopathic consultation" appointment. During that time, Shawn and Andrea became more familiar with each other to carry out the act and eventually became good friends.
"Please have a seat, Mr. Wyatt, Miss Acheson. Dr. Carmen will be with you shortly." The receptionist, Brett Lemay, was friendly and very well dressed.
Nearby outside, the Doctor and Donna Noble emerged from the TARDIS.
"Why did you suddenly want to leave the Grand Canyon and come to Utah?" Donna asked.
"The sensors picked up something in the area, technology that might have originated from Gallifrey." The Doctor held up a handheld device and followed it into an office building.
In Ross Carmen's office, Andrea laid down under a machine with Shawn standing nearby. Ross turned the machine on after injecting a liquid into Andrea. Then, he held her hand.
"Just give it a moment, Elizabeth."
The Doctor's handheld device went off.
"We're close!" the Doctor exclaimed. He eventually made his way into Ross' office.
"Hi! How may I help you?" Brett asked.
Holding his psychic paper up, the Doctor answered. "I'm with the power company. We've been detecting unusual amounts of consumption from your office. Is this office using any special technical equipment?"
"Yes, Doctor Carmen has a machine he uses for his patients. We have everything cleared with that."
"Is he using the machine now?"
"Yes."
The Doctor ran off towards the machine. Brett tried to follow, but Donna stepped in.
"It's very important that the machine be inspected before it's used again," Donna said. "Do you know when Dr. Carmen purchased it?"
"I don't know. He had the machine before I started working here."
While Donna distracted Brett with questions, Ross continued to treat Andrea.
"How are you feeling Elizabeth?" Shawn asked.
"I think it's helping, Daniel. I feel a warm glow throughout my body."
"Do you treat specific areas?" Shawn asked Ross.
"It's pinpointed at areas that need repair, but it helps rejuvenate other parts of the body as well."
Suddenly, the Doctor burst in. Ross and Shawn were surprised by him and stared while Andrea continued lying under the machine. The Doctor paid no attention to the looks he was receiving as he investigated the machine.
"Some parts of the technology certainly originated from Gallifrey, but it's been altered repeatedly. It's almost unrecognizable from its original form."
"Excuse me!" Ross interrupted. "Who are you?"
"I'm the Doctor. Who are you?"
Shawn stood up.
"I'm Doctor Ross Carmen. You are intruding – "
"I meant species. What species are you? You're certainly not human . . . "
Shawn turned to Ross while Andrea slowly regained her composure.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Ross said.
"And you two?" the Doctor asked, referring to Shawn and Andrea.
"We came here for help," Shawn answered. "My fiancée has been getting headaches." He turned to Ross. "What did he mean by you're not human?"
Andrea started to get up.
"This man does not know what he's talking about," Ross answered. "Elizabeth, please lie back down." Ross put a hand on Andrea's shoulder.
"I'd like to get up now, please," Andrea said.
"We must continue this treatment. Brett! I need you!"
"Wait, what's going on?" Shawn asked.
"How did you get this technology?" the Doctor asked. "Where are you from?"
"Please let me up, Doctor Carmen. Shawn . . ."
Ross looked at Shawn. "Shawn?"
Shawn looked stunned. He didn't know how to react.
"Are you three here to trap me? Brett!"
The Doctor said nothing as he watched Shawn defend himself.
"No, Shawn is my middle name. We just came here for your help."
Anger and suspicion swept across Ross' face and the Doctor saw a flash of something.
"Krillitane," the Doctor simply said as Brett finally appeared with Donna following.
"What?" Shawn asked.
Ross pulled Andrea up and changed his form, resembling a bat. He held Andrea by her neck using his right hand.
"I was right," the Doctor claimed.
Donna backed away from Brett, but maintained eye contact.
"Don't look at me that way," Brett said. "I had no idea about this."
"Let the girl go," the Doctor asked.
"You are all here to destroy me," Ross claimed as he secretly reached into a cabinet behind him with his left hand.
"No!" Shawn cried. "I'm one of the 4400. I have the power to manipulate life force. I can heal. We just came to learn about you. It's not you that does the work, is it?"
No one spoke for a brief second.
"Please," Shawn said. "Please let her go."
"You should know better than to pose as a human," the Doctor said. "You should have known that this wasn't the way. I'll give you one chance to end this."
"I don't think you're helping," Shawn told the Doctor. He looked at the Krillitane. "My fiancée and I came for genuine reasons."
"I don't believe you."
"You don't know the trouble that I can give you. I've defeated your kind before. I am giving you one chance," the Doctor repeated.
"I'll take my other chances, you fool," Ross replied with what looked like a smirk. Very quickly, Ross crushed Andrea's neck with his right hand. With his left hand, he pulled out a weapon and shot Shawn in the chest with a laser beam. He moved to his right and prepared to shoot the Doctor.
Suddenly, a bullet pierced Ross' neck. It came from Brett. However, Ross was still able to send a shot at the Doctor before dying.
Donna tended to the Doctor while Brett confirmed that Shawn and Andrea were dead.
"You brought a gun to work?" Donna asked Brett while trying to wake the Doctor up.
"Dr. Carmen requested that I do," Brett answered.
The Doctor finally stirred. "I'm all right. I'll be fine." He tried to stand up, but had a lot of difficulty.
"Maybe you should just lie there for a bit, Doctor," Donna suggested.
The Doctor looked at Shawn. "No," he said. "There's a chance I can save him."
With Donna's and Brett's help, the Doctor put Shawn under the machine and activated it. The Doctor then put his hands on Shawn's face and closed his eyes. Sparks started to fly from the machine. After a few minutes, the Doctor passed out.
Thirty minutes later, the Doctor woke up. Twenty minutes after that, Shawn woke up as well.
The first thing Shawn saw was the Doctor watching him.
"How are you feeling?" the Doctor asked.
"I'm okay. What happened? I thought I was dying."
"Some parts of the machine were accessible to me because of my physiology in a way that isn't accessible to anyone else alive. I was able to use the machine and my own skills to form a telepathic link between the two of us. I jumpstarted your power so you could heal yourself. That's how you survived. It was a two-way process, so you healed me, too. You wouldn't have been able to heal me otherwise. A shame it's broken now."
Shawn noticed the Doctor's grim tone and expression.
"Andrea?"
"I'm sorry, but she's dead."
Shawn tried to get up.
"Shawn, even if she wasn't too far gone, you aren't in any condition to do anything. I'm sorry."
The Doctor's grimness did not let up.
"What is it?" Shawn asked. "Is there something else?"
"The process bonded us together temporarily. Our health is dependent on that bond. I told you that you healed me. I was shot, but not as bad as you were. If we were to separate, be away from each other, my health would deteriorate back to that point. Your health would also deteriorate to the point before you healed yourself."
"I'd die?"
"I'm sorry."
"When you say it's temporary, does that mean we can eventually be apart again?
"Yeah."
"And how long would that take?"
"I don't know . . . anywhere from a couple days to several months."
"Months?"
"It's hard to tell."
"What about nanogenes?" Donna asked. She had been in the room during the exchange. "Doctor, you told me about nanogenes before. If you two separated, could we use them to heal you?
"There's a lot going on, Donna," the Doctor answered. "It's a big risk." The Doctor looked at Shawn. "If it was just my health, I would take the risk. I would even leave, no nanogenes needed, I would be fine, but I can't let you take that risk with your life."
Shawn sighed and sat up. He noticed Andrea's body lying on the floor, covered.
"This is your fault," Shawn said quietly.
"I know," the Doctor answered.
"I knew it wasn't Dr. Carmen himself. I guessed it was the machine. I got what we came for and we were going to leave and that was it."
The Doctor didn't respond.
"Are you a 4400 returnee?" Shawn asked.
"No."
"Are you an alien?"
"Yes."
"How about you?" Shawn asked Donna.
"I'm human."
"I need to talk to Jordan."
"What about the receptionist?" Jordan asked on the phone.
"He left. Given what he saw, the Doctor thinks the receptionist will just disappear."
"I'll send some people over there to clean up. Shawn, I think you should lay low for a while until we figure out the implications of this."
"You don't want me back?"
"I do; of course I do. I just think it's safer if you keep your distance from Seattle for a short while. Just a little while, Shawn."
"Okay."
"You'll be all right, Shawn. We'll keep in touch regularly."
"All right."
"You should leave that place now. Right away."
Shawn soon went back to the Doctor and Donna and the three walked out.
"I don't have anywhere to go now," Shawn said.
"You could come with us, then, instead of us staying here," Donna responded. "We go to different places and times."
"What?"
"This blue box takes us anywhere and anytime we want," the Doctor said as the three neared the TARDIS."
"We went to the planets Messaline and Ood-Sphere recently. In the future," Donna said. "We also went to Pompeii in the past."
"It'll make your time with me a bit more bearable. There's a lot to see and do out there, Shawn."
Shawn sighed. He looked at Donna; her enthusiasm was clear.
"Can you take me to Earth's future? I want to meet the people responsible for the 4400."
"Bad idea," the Doctor said. "That could endanger the timeline. It's a part of your established personal history. Anywhere else."
"Anywhere?"
"And anywhen," Donna said.
Shawn sighed. "All right. Let's go."
Thanks for reading. Next up: The Unicorn and the Wasp. The adventures will start there and end with The Waters of Mars. Also, in the spirit of AU (and to warn fans of The Next Doctor), the TARDIS will not take the Doctor and Shawn to Victorian London after Journey's End. It will instead take them to someplace the Eleventh Doctor randomly visited in the TV series (and of course would end up not visiting in this AU if this story got that far). I hope the reason will be clear when the substitute story is published.