"The Benevolent Doctor"
11. The Good & The Bad
March 2012 – Lima, Ohio
Quinn had told her to leave. There had been no other thought able to get through her head except for how she desperately wanted Gemma, Ginny, whoever she was, to get out of her room, her house, anywhere that was near her. She was feeling the need to cry or shout and she didn't want her to see it. Her mother had come up, wondering what had happened. Quinn simply said she was feeling tired and wanted to be alone, so her mother took this in stride and let her be, too.
It had been some time after that before she could start to think straight and really think about what she'd been told. The worst thing was that, as much as he wanted to hate them both, Gemma and the Doctor, it had been a remarkably short time before she had to admit to herself maybe she had overreacted. Yes, the fact that the Doctor had known what would happen to her and let it happen was not something she liked to think about, but then the more she did think about it…
She remembered those last moments, before she had gone back to the moment she had been taken away from. She remembered his face, all of it… He was scared, concerned… He didn't want to let her go, that much she could believe. He'd done it anyway though, hadn't he? He wouldn't do that, not unless it was the only way. She had to go back. He had to let it happen. It would have taken incredible amounts of personal strength and level-headed thinking, to do what had to be done rather than what he wanted to do. And she wasn't dead, was she? She couldn't walk, but she would again, someday soon, she knew. There had to be a reason, for all of it.
After she'd had time enough to calm down and get past her emotions, she had noticed something on the table by her bed, a scrap of paper. When she picked it up, she saw the handwriting and recognized it a piece of homework the substitute had corrected for her a while back. On it was scribbled a phone number, and a message.
For when you'll want to talk. –G
Had she guessed it would go so poorly before ever showing up? Quinn sighed and reached for her phone, dialling the number from the paper before slipping it into the drawer of the table next to her. When Gemma answered, Quinn didn't apologize, though she asked if she might come back and talk some more.
The next day, Gemma came, as requested, and once again Judy left them alone, although there was more uncertainty in her eyes, like she wondered what had happened the day before and was all but certain it had to do with the woman who was visiting for the second time now. Before Gemma could speak, Quinn had taken hold of the conversation.
"What are you doing at McKinley? Tell the truth," Quinn stared her in the eye. Gemma breathed out, sitting herself more at ease.
"I guess you could say I'm here as a favor to the Doctor," she replied.
"What kind of favor?" Quinn fired back another question.
"Okay, before I go any further, I need to explain something else to you first, so it'll make the rest of this conversation much easier. The thing about the Doctor is… How much has he told you about who and what he is?" Quinn thought back, seeing the boy that wasn't a boy, Dex, remembering what he used to call the Doctor.
"Time Lord," Quinn spoke aloud, and Gemma nodded. "There was another alien, he said… something about him having changed his face, and the Doctor said that he had, a few times…"
"Oh, good, that should make my job easier," Gemma sounded relieved. "Did the word 'regeneration' ever come up?" she asked. Quinn shook her head. "It's easy enough to understand, less so to experience, that's what she told me."
"She?" Quinn wasn't following anymore.
"When the Doctor is about to die, there's this thing he can do, called regeneration. New body, new face, new person, same memories… The Doctor's had twelve different faces that I know of, although I've only seen a few of them. That'll be important for something else later. The point is that my Doctor, the face it has, the body… He is now a she, that is, the Doctor is a woman." Quinn blinked, remembering the tall, awkward sort of guy she had known and trying to picture him as a woman. "Do you believe me?"
"I… I've seen a lot of odd things since I met him, so… Why would I not believe this one?"
"You have no idea how hard it is sometimes not to trip up. My Doctor, from what I've been told, all of her other faces have been male, this is the first, and I have to be careful, you know… pronouns and all. She sent me back here, to this time and place, in order to help set some things on the right path, set them in motion, because something is coming. Something is going to happen, in a few months' time, and when it does, some things need to have happened on this end. That's why I came to you, and it's important that you tell no one. Can you promise me that?"
"For the Doctor, sure. I'm still making my mind up about you," she allowed a small smile.
"I can work with that," Gemma smiled back.
"So the Doctor needs my help?" Quinn asked, and Gemma nodded. "But I…" she looked down at herself. "Does this mean I'll walk again?" she asked, hopeful.
"I don't know," Gemma replied. "Even if you're not walking right now, it doesn't mean you can't help."
"No, I know that," Quinn promised. She looked at Gemma, considering what little information she currently had to go on. All she really needed to know though was that the Doctor needed her. "What do I have to do?"
TO BE CONTINUED (TUESDAY)
