Dex is vaguely aware of the rush of wind as it ruffles through his hair. Eleazar's cold yellow eyes bore into him. Dex can feel the weight of Eleazar's mind as it crushes into his. His defenses crack, and he fights back, but there is nothing, nothing that can stop the merciless onslaught of Eleazar.
Dex sees a flash of blue out of the corner of his eye, hears the rhythmic grating of the TARDIS materialization sequence. The fog lifts, and in that single moment of clarity, Dex is keenly aware of everything.
He sees the cold glint in Eleazar's eyes, can feel the bruising crush of his fingers and the sharp scrape of his dirty nails as they embed into his temples, leaving little crescent marks in his skin. He feels the pounding of his heart and the soft puffs of Eleazar's sour breath in his face. He hears the soft creak of the TARDIS door, sees a shock of messy hair and a flash of deep brown eyes. Dex feels the blood rushing through his body, feels the burst of adrenaline that burns through him, feels the turn of the earth beneath his feet.
He can sense Eleazar's mind.
Dex stares into the cruel, yellow gaze and lets his defenses fall.
Rose struggles to her feet, blinking in the blackness. She realizes that she is alone in the dark passage, remembers that someone had tried to take Dex. She doubles back, runs frantically the way they'd come, steeling herself and blocking her thoughts carefully.
She is going to get her son back.
The Doctor pauses at the door of the TARDIS. He doesn't see a bridge, or a man named Elliot. He turns, glaring at the time rotor reproachfully. She'd taken them to the wrong place. Again. He is about to duck back through the door, intending to check the calibration of the flourinion capacitor, when something whispers in the back of his mind. It tugs at the Doctor, faintly pulling at areas that had long been silent, a ghost of a memory. His breath catches and he stills, focusing on the forgotten sensation, but it flits away, fades into emptiness.
It was nothing, he tells himself, but he knows. For just an instant, he'd felt it, the faintest brush of another mind. He steps outside, absently shuts the door behind him, and sweeps his gaze around the cavern.
His breath catches in his throat.
Across the room, at the edge of a calm dark lake, Eleazar has Dex. He stands with his hands clenched firmly on the boy's head, hard yelloe eyes glittering devilishly. He is smiling triumphantly.
Terror grips the Doctor's hearts. He forgets everything and runs.
Dex allows his defenses to fall, and he feels Eleazar's delight as he pulls at the energy in Dex's mind. But Dex is ready. Instead of shrinking back, he rushes forward, pours the whole of his consciousness into Eleazar's head. Dex only means to startle Eleazar, to make him loosen his hold, but once released, his mind is uncontainable, spilling all of his awareness into Eleazar's brain. He shoves it into him relentlessly, and Eleazar shrieks and drops to the floor, writhing and clutching his head pitifully.
Dex steps back, awed by the power of his own mind. He feels something tug at him, something hesitant and tender and astonished and so, so gentle. Dex turns toward the sensation, realizes, with a shock, that it's his father.
He is on his knees, staring at Dex intently, eyes impossibly dark and face unreadable.
The Doctor is sprinting for Dex, hearts pounding wildly in his chest. Careless. Careless. Careless. It drums into him with each erratic breath, with each slap of his trainers on the cold stone floor. His only thought is to get to him, to jerk him out of Eleazar's arms. He is not sure what he will do after that.
It explodes in his mind and his feet stop on their own accord. He stills, frozen, aware of nothing but the caress of another mind against his own. It is not a whisper, not a ghost of a presence, but a full-blown shout, deafening against the silence that had blanketed his mind for so long. It is defiance and strength and resolve, a claim and a promise, and the Doctor is enraptured in it, hadn't realized just how much he'd missed it, had needed it. It settles in his hearts, the knowledge. I am not alone. The presence is a deep, shimmering green, warm and pure and free, and it tugs gently at the Doctor's hearts, whispering an undeniable truth. That mind, that beautiful Gallifreyan mind, is Dex.
Which means-
Hope wells in his hearts, hope and longing and joy and pride. It pours into him, the truth, and the Doctor sinks to his knees, unable to stand under the onslaught of it. He is vaguely aware of Eleazar crumpling to the ground, but has eyes only for his little boy. My son, he thinks, awed. I have a son, and he's here and he's perfect and he's mine. Impossible, whispers the left side of his brain, but it is drowned out by the chorus of affirmation in his mind and in his hearts and in his soul. It is undeniable, the irrevocable bond that they share, strengthened by his recognition of the truth.
He reaches out, cannot contain himself, is so overwhelmed by longing and joy and love that he cannot stop it. He tugs at Dex's mind, exploring the beautiful consciousness that is his son, blown away by the intensity of the bond they share. His arms are suddenly achingly empty, and his mind gently whispers his longing, his need to see and touch and hold his child.
Dex turns and looks at him questioningly. The Doctor's breath catches in his throat as Dex's impossibly green eyes meet his. The Doctor sees the knowledge in his eyes, realizes with a shock that Dex can feel him, too, knows the truth just as he does. The Doctor pulls back just a tiny bit, thinks it might break him to do so, but he doesn't want to overwhelm his son.
He sees Dex watching him carefully. His eyes are hesitant, almost self-conscious, and the Doctor realizes with horror that Dex thinks he doesn't want him. The thought shatters him, and he reacts, shoving the full force of all of his desperate need, all of his his astonishment and wonder and fierce love at his son. Dex's eyes widen and he watches the Doctor carefully.
The Doctor cannot hold back any longer. "Come here," he whispers roughly, and Dex's face lights into a joyous grin, and he runs, flinging himself into his father's arms.
The Doctor wraps his son in his arms, overwhelmed at the pure joy of the moment. Dex sighs into him and grips him tightly, and the Doctor wonders how he will ever contain it, the pride and the joy and the love he has for his little boy, thinks that surely his hearts will burst. It is so natural, father and son, that the Doctor wonders how he hadn't seen it. From that very first night, Dex had tugged at something deep in his soul, set alight a deep desire and melted the icy bitterness that had encased his hearts. He thinks about the crucial shift in his timeline, realizes that it had been Dex all along, shudders at the thought of what his future could have been. He is so, so thankful for his little boy.
He feels a wetness on his cheeks, realizes that he is crying. He nearly laughs, doesn't know what to do with the swirling emotions that are crowding his mind. In a moment of inspiration, he sends them all to his son, showers him with his pride and his awe and his joy and his love.
It only intensifies the moment, and the Doctor feels tears rolling down his cheeks in earnest. He holds Dex close, finds that English is too feeble, whispers to him in Gallifreyan. Dex shivers at the words that he doesn't understand, but they are like music, washing over him, mixing with the crashing waves of his father's emotion. Dex sighs, has never felt so warm and so safe and so loved. He sends it all back to the Doctor, all of his admiration and devotion and acceptance, and he feels his father stiffen. He pulls back and gazes at his son, cheeks wet and eyes wide with awe. He takes Dex's cheek gently in his hands and stares into his son's luminous green eyes. He runs his finger lightly, reverently over Dex's face, exploring his little boy's features, taking in each perfect detail, analyzing, cataloging. He gently brushes back Dex's hair, realizes with a shock that Dex does look a bit like his ninth self, has the jaw and the hair and - maybe - the ears. His cheekbones and his nose and the shape of his eyes are his mother's, but the Doctor does not recognize the brilliant green gaze that pierces into his soul. He runs his fingers down Dex's nose, noticing the light smattering of freckles that cover it. Mine, the Doctor thinks proudly, the thought warming his hearts. It is absolutely perfect, the little face that is staring at him seriously, and the Doctor thinks that he has never been so proud of anything in all of his lives.
They watch each other for a long moment, father and son, each gazing into the other's eyes. The Doctor finds himself at a complete loss for words, cannot speak for the joy that floods his hearts.
Dex fidgets and looks the Doctor in the eye. "Is it alright if I call you Dad?" he asks hesitantly, shyly.
The Doctor shatters, crushes his son into another tight embrace. "Of course," he manages finally, voice breaking roughly on the words.
Rose stumbles out of the tunnel, blinking in the sudden light. She sees a flash of a bright blue suit and shakes her head, squinting. The spots in her vision fade and she sees her son and her human Doctor gazing at each other seriously. She nearly crashes to the floor in relief. Dex is safe. The Doctor pulls Dex into a fierce hug, and Rose smiles, steps back into the shadows and allows them the moment.
She watches them together, marveling at the ease of their interaction. They turn, gaze at something that is out of her line of sight, and break into giggles. Rose feels her hearts warm.
She wonders if it will be this easy with the Time Lord, wonders how her human Doctor had managed to get across the chasm. Had he even told Dex that he has two fathers, that he is not the Time Lord? She shakes her head, decides that it doesn't matter; he is here, and he has found his son.
Dex's piercing gaze meets hers, and she stiffens slightly. She doesn't want to interrupt them, wants them to have their moment.
Dex beams at her and grips the Doctor's hand.
Eleazar groans behind them, and the moment is broken. They both stand and turn, gaze at the broken little man who lies huddled on the floor, shaking pitifully.
The Doctor glances appraisingly at Dex. He is staring at Eleazar, face unreadable. "How did you know what to do?" the Doctor asks, impressed at his son's ingenuity.
Dex shrugs. "He left his mind wide open," he say practically. "Wasn't really a difficult leap."
The Doctor nods seriously and grips Dex's hand, realizing just how close he'd come to losing his little boy.
Dex squeezes his hand reassuringly, still gazing at Eleazar speculatively. "I didn't kill him, did I?" he asks suddenly, brow furrowed in concern.
The Doctor smiles down at his son, so like his mother. He wraps his arm around Dex's shoulders and squeezes gently. "Well," he drawls, shrugging and inspecting the cowering little man carefully, "he won't ever be the same, that's for sure."
Dex snorts. "That's a relief," he says, wide-eyed and serious.
The Doctor laughs. It isn't all that funny, but once released, it cannot be contained, joy and relief crashing down on him. He swings Dex into his arms and holds him close, still shaking with laughter. Dex giggles happily into his shoulder, and the Doctor closes his eyes, captivated by the moment with his son. Dex loosens his grip at the Doctor sets him down gently, cannot wipe the mad grin from his face.
He glances back. "Suppose we should do something about him," he says, nodding toward Eleazar.
Dex grips his hand tightly. "Not yet," he whispers fiercely.
It startles him, and he sinks to his knees in front of Dex. "What is it?" he asks seriously, searching his son's face carefully.
Dex smiles at him and squeezes his hand. "There's someone you need to see first."