Chapter 13
"Where am I?", the Doctor opened his eyes. "I am dead..."
He realized he was breathing. He put his hand on his chest and felt his hearts beating.
"I am alive", he said in disbelief.
He took a lock of his hair and looked at it. It was brown and curly. He touched his face, his nose.
"I have not changed".
After a quick look he identified the place where he was. He had been there before, it was the sickbay of UNIT, and he was wearing that awful nightgown again!
"Welcome, Doctor. You took some time to return".
"What happened? Why am I not dead?"
"Your friends wanted to do the Supreme Sacrifice for you".
The Doctor's face paled.
"What have you done with Sarah and Harry?"
"Would you like to see everything that has happened in your absence?"
"Yes, please".
The Doctor began to see in his mind everything that happened just when he touched the golden sphere: He saw his young friends asking the Judges take his place in the Void to bring him back to Earth. He saw Harry doing everything possible to return him to life. He also saw Sarah with him, saying that he would be all right. He saw himself unconscious in the sickbay; Harry and Sarah cared for him at all times, while the Brigadier and Mr. Benton went to see him whenever they could. All of that moved him deeply.
And he saw Sarah kissing him just a moment before waking up.
"They are fine", he said relieved.
"Your friends were willing to die for you. They had no fear we showed them the ball that caused you so much pain. We have seen in them an example of the sacrifice that humans are able to do for their loved ones. Consequently, they have been rewarded for it".
"Thank you".
"Do not thank us, Time Lord. We go away, but one day we will return to judge mankind, and if they are not worthy of being saved, we will not accept your sacrifice once again".
The Doctor nodded. He looked aside and saw his clothes hanging on the back of a chair. He got out of bed, still feeling discomfort in his foot bruised. He no longer had any doubt that he was alive. He took off the nightgown and put his trousers on. Then he took his shirt. That was not the shirt he was wearing at the beginning: Harry had torn it to unbutton it hastily. In other circumstances, he would have bothered with the young Sullivan, but since he had saved his life, he was willing to forgive that shirt and twenty more. But only twenty.
With the shirt in hand, the Doctor went to the bedroom window. It was midday and the sun was shining. He could feel again the heat on his skin. Outside, soldiers were doing manoeuvres. Human beings, and they were alive. The nightmare was finally over. He was putting the shirt on when Sarah came back.
"I'm here. It did not take me many... Oops! Sorry!", Sarah suddenly stopped when she saw her friend up and dressing.
"Come in, but close the door", he said in a serious voice and with his face turned away to avoid her.
"Doctor! I knew you would wake up! You always wake up!", she said happily
The Doctor said nothing.
"Doctor, are you alright? What is it?", the moment of joy of the young woman to see him awake was short. Why the Doctor did not want to look at her? "Have you changed? I do not care!... No, wait. It is your hair. It is your voice".
"Sarah, do you know what the Supreme Sacrifice is?"
"It sounds like something important", she replied still not understanding what was happening.
"It is to give your life for another person. I have done it for you, and you could have done it was in vain".
She began to understand. Her friend was angry.
"But that has not happened. I made it clear that you had saved the human race and I spoke in my own name. In case of punishment it would have been only for me".
"Why did you want to change you for me?"
"You devote your life to travel around the universe helping everyone who needs it. I've travelled with you enough to know that if you die, hundreds of people will too. My life is only a small loss, which is insignificant compared to all those you will save".
"You are not insignificant!"
"In any case, it is the nature of man to give his life for his loved ones, so I do not care you are angry with me, Doctor. I do not regret what I did and I will do it again if I have..."
Sarah stopped talking. The Doctor was embracing her. This reaction caught her by surprise.
"Doctor?"
"Don't look at me now", he said.
Sarah realized why her friend avoided her gaze: he was crying. She smiled and put her arms around him.
"You did not expect that someone did the Supreme Sacrifice for you, did you?"
The Doctor shook his head.
"It is logical, isn't it? That is, you get what you give: If you give hate, you get hate, and if you give love..."
"I wanted to save you".
"And I wanted to save you".
"And Harry saved us", the Doctor said remembering his young friend protecting Sarah.
"Do you know? I was afraid" Sarah confessed.
"Me too: I was afraid to lose you".
"I lost you".
"That was all I could do for you… I became nothing… just a simple memory"
"I know, Doctor. And you will never be a simple memory, calm down: everything has finished already", she said as she rested her head on his chest. She liked to hear the beat of his hearts and feel his breathing, a bit irregular in those moments. "Now you need to rest".
"We both need it".
"Blanned-Beta?", Sarah asked.
"I promised you", he replied.
Sarah broke the embrace of the Doctor to look at his face. He turned his face still with tears, but the girl took it in her hands gently making him look at her for the first time since he was rescued from the Void of the Damned.
"Come on, Doctor. I'm not going to loose respect for you just because you're glad that we are all alive".
"No. I guess not".
"Finish dressing and wipe your face. I am going to tell the others that you have woken up and see if they have some food. After two days without eating you must be hungry".
"Yes, a little", he said, but actually he was very hungry.
"Oh, and Harry will want to make you a medical examination. He was worried about you to suffer some sort of sequel after this experience, but you seem to be fine".
"My saviour. I am giving him a lot of work lately. I'll ask him if he wants to come with us to Blanned-Beta".
"Good idea".
Sarah went to the exit, but before opening the door she turned to the Doctor.
"Before I go, may I ask you a question?"
"All you want to".
"Harry has been trying to make you wake up during two days without success. What made you react?"
The Doctor smiled at his friend.
"A jelly baby moment".