Chapter Four
Sarah Jane ran and fetched a cup of tea for the Doctor while he sat in the infirmary in disbelief, analyzing more bio scans and trying to think of what to do.
"Surely there's some way of getting rid of it …?" she suggested, handing him the mug.
The Doctor shook his head slowly. "I doubt it. It's connected to my biology. According to these scans, I can't terminate the embryo without harming myself."
"But, if you were hurt badly enough, wouldn't you just regenerate?"
He shrugged. "Possibly. Probably, but I can't say for certain, and I don't like to rely on regeneration if there's any other option. Besides, I don't know exactly what the Daleks have pumped into my systems. They've transformed my body into a Dalek incubator, and if I disrupt that function without knowing all the facts, it could have disastrous consequences. The Daleks aren't stupid: they understand genetic engineering."
"But Doctor, this means that we'll either have to find the Daleks responsible for this and figure out some way of reversing it, or … you'll have to have the baby."
The Doctor frowned. "Finding the Daleks might not be a problem – they may even find us first – but convincing them to undo what they've done to me is impossible. Daleks can't be reasoned with, or bribed, or persuaded. They are infuriatingly goal oriented." He laughed weakly, rubbing his sore stomach.
"But … how is it going to come out?" wailed Sarah.
The Doctor winced. "I'm not quite sure, but the Daleks likely built some means of … egress into its genetic code. It will make its own way out, somehow, probably directly through the skin." Now it was Sarah's turn to make a face.
"What I can't understand is, why?" he wondered out loud. "Why would the Daleks go to the trouble of physically impregnating me? If they'd wanted to make a Dalek-Gallifreyan hybrid, it would have been easier to take my DNA, create the embryo, and implant it in an incubation chamber. This just doesn't make sense. Unless…."
"Unless what, Doctor?"
The Doctor frowned and stood up. "Unless the Daleks are trying to master the secrets of regeneration. That would be difficult if not impossible to accomplish in an artificial growth chamber." He sighed and rubbed his face sleepily. "At any rate, I can't think about this right now. I'm not feeling well at all. In fact, I feel like I'm going to be …." The Doctor's face suddenly went pale. He clamped a hand over his mouth, ran to the sink, and threw up multiple times. Sarah winced at the ugly sounds of retching and splattering, wondering if Gallifreyans were susceptible to morning sickness or if the thought of carrying and giving birth to a Dalek had made the Doctor physically ill.
The next several weeks were difficult for the both of them. The Doctor was always engaged in one of four activities: brooding over the TARDIS controls, sleeping, eating massive amounts of bizarre food, or throwing up. Sarah Jane tried to be helpful, to cheer him up and comfort him, but he was withdrawn and unresponsive. He had never really opened up to her before, but now he didn't even attempt to make a show of intimacy. The spark was gone from his eyes, and they no longer visited other times and alien worlds. The Doctor did some additional tests on the amniotic fluid surrounding the fetus: his suspicions were correct in that it was a Dalek-Gallifreyan hybrid, a whole new kind of Dalek. The days seemed to stretch on forever as the Doctor kept to himself and the TARDIS floated idly in the time vortex.
And all the time his body was changing.
The baby seemed to be developing at a very healthy rate, as the Doctor's belly grew noticeably larger each week. In the fourth week, the baby started moving, a disturbing and strange experience for the Doctor. As time passed, the skin covering the fetus looked thinner, as if the baby was moving closer to the surface in anticipation of its birth. If viewed in the right light, Sarah could just barely see outlines of tiny tentacles wriggling about beneath the surface. The discomfited Time Lord soon realized that his nipples were growing tender and swollen as his breasts prepared for lactation. The baby's movements became more and more frequent, and more uncomfortable, until one day the Doctor grasped his belly and cried out in pain.
Sarah Jane was at his side in an instant. "Doctor, is it time?"
The Doctor grimaced in pain and nodded. "I think so. Help me up." When they reached the infirmary, she helped him onto a padded examining table as he unbuttoned his shirt and trousers. The baby was extremely active; his movements were discernable through the flesh and something hard like a tooth or claw appeared to be attempting to break the surface.
"Doctor, what do I do?" asked a panicked Sarah Jane.
"On the table," gasped the writhing Doctor, "over there. There's a hypo and a vial of pain medication. Bring them…"
"Of course, Doctor," she said, handing him the drug, which he quickly administered to his own arm.
"Oh," he moaned, leaning back with his eyes closed. His face was red and his brown curls were drenched with sweat. "Oh, that's better. Oh, and bring me some towels, will you Sarah? I have a feeling this is going to be rather messy."
The Doctor suddenly cried out in pain as a small, sharp claw broke the skin, spraying blood-tinged fluid over the pair. Sarah quickly ran for the towels. She placed one under her patient's sweaty neck and used the others to dab away the oozing fluids.
"Doctor, what do I do? How can I help?" she asked frantically. But the Doctor was beyond speech. He was heaving and trembling, his eyes squeezed shut and teeth clenched tight. The little claw continued to cut its way free, and within moments a small tentacle had emerged. Another slash and it was completely out. Sarah stared at the alien in horror: here was a miniature Dalek, covered in blood and slime, wriggling its way out of her best friend. The Doctor let out another moan and passed out. Sarah quickly lifted the squirming newborn and placed it in a nearby basin. She instantly began binding up the Doctor's gaping wound, terrified that he might be losing too much blood. But at least he was breathing regularly. Oh, how she hoped his Time Lord resilience would pull him through!