Jake Simmonds whistled a holiday tune as he walked through the dank hallway of the warehouse, headed for the office. No aliens were terrorising the citizenry, no alien artefacts were popping up in the city's pawn shops, and best of all, Daniel's commitment ceremony was just two days away. Thus far, the week met all of Jake's holiday expectations. Unlike last year, when he trudged through a snowstorm, chasing a thief who'd stolen an energy weapon off a dead alien, he and Nick had even broke down and bought a tree for Nollaig. The fun he and Nick had decorating led to more fun later on, leaving him pleasantly sore and content with his life. Their planned First Day party would top a week of parties. Even Howie was coming up from London after Daniel's gig. It wasn't a bad way to spend their first holiday season in Scotland.
He needed to check the monitors in the control room before signing the monthly reports. Reports were a boring, yet necessary part of the job. Daniel had taught him that. He shifted his tune to something a little livelier as he rounded the corner, just as a spurt of expletives erupted from the control room, followed by Harry yelling at the new kid to go find Jake.
Jake entered the large computer room and quick-stepped to the monitor holding Harry's interest. "I'm here, what's wrong?" he said.
"You know the equipment we put up at Daniel's house?" Harry snapped, pushing his office chair away from the desk across to the next station.
"Yeah." Jake glanced at the bizarre pattern on the scope and followed Harry.
"The energy readings are off the scope - inside the house. Son of a bitch." Harry cursed at the screen displaying a live feed from the CCTV camera Daniel had installed in his office. "What the hell is that?"
Both men and the younger tech stared open-mouthed at the screen. Swirls of golden energy poured from the corner that Jake knew housed Daniel's precious bit of coral. The energy bounced and rolled around the room, sparking off first one and then another computer monitor. Fire sparked off a monitor, sending flames licking down the wall mural of a vortex spreading across the floor and up the side the hand carved desk. Almost immediately, the fire suppression system kicked on, spraying foam from the ceiling. The foam took on a glow as the arc of golden energy continued to shoot across the room. The energy sparked off the desk monitor, to shoot up to the camera, sending the monitor black.
Without hesitation, Jake grabbed his mobile, hit speed dial with his left hand, while hitting the alarm notifying every available agent in the building to head for the assignment room. "Daniel's not answering," he declared. "Damn, what did they do, start the party without us?" He cursed when Pete failed to answer his mobile. "Neal," he ordered the young tech with Harry. "Send these readings to London. Harry, come with me." Jake ran for the lift, punching Rose's number as he went.
"Rose," he said, glad at least someone answered. "Where's Daniel? I need him now!"
"He can't come," Rose answered, sounding as breathless as he felt.
"I fucking need him now!"
"Daniel is in the evac helicopter on his way to Torchwood's infirmary and do not cuss at me!" She replied.
Jake's heart sunk to his knees at the sound of muffled voices and a car door slamming shut. "Are you on your way there?"
"Yes," she snapped.
He could hear the engine start. "We're sending you the feed from his CCTV and the oscilloscope readouts. Rose, unless you were with one of us, don't answer me, but his house is exploding. Atleast, the office is. Some sort of weird energy is tearing the place apart. We're on our way there now. Rose, what the hell happened to Daniel?"
"I have my mum, Adela and Nora's mum with me. I'll be there in ten minutes and I will call you back."
The connection gone, Jake adjusted his earwig then glanced at a plainly worried Harry. "Something went really, really wrong in London."
No one said a word as leafless trees and snow covered ground flew past. They didn't need to. The look in Nora's eyes told her that the woman knew without knowing that Daniel was half alien. Rose kept a death grip on the steering wheel as she drove through the night toward Torchwood, trying hard to keep the image of Daniel's contorting body out of her head. She didn't need to see CCTV footage to know that it was regeneration energy tearing Daniel's office apart. She had no idea how any of this was possible. The Doctor said the hybrid would never regenerate - that Daniel could never regenerate, so how could the office -
"Rose!" Jackie screeched as a stray dog darted across the road.
Rose slammed on the SUV's brakes, sending the car skidding across the road. She ignored the squeals of her passengers as she artfully brought the car back to the centre of the lane. "Sorry, sorry," she apologised, then resumed her speed.
"We need to get there in one piece, sweethear'," Jackie fussed. "Are we all okay?" Jackie looked at the two women in the back.
"I ride with Fergus," Mrs McGregor stammered.
Only Addie noticed the woman's nervous smile in the darkened car. She reached for the woman's hand to give it a reassuring squeeze.
"Rose, what did Jake want?" Jackie asked softly.
"Nothing, Mum. I just need to check something when we get there. Can you get everyone to the infirmary?"
"Can I ask," Mrs McGregor interrupted, "Why isn't Daniel in hospital? I mean, he looked awful. How can a little infirmary take care of him?"
Jackie looked over the seat at the nervous woman. "It's just what we call it, but Torchwood has its own medical unit. The care equals what the president would get. In fact, one of our doctors treated President Jones last year, when she had her heart attack, remember? What with Marcus there, Daniel will get the best care on this planet."
"I don't understand this, they were so happy, so much planned. She laughed." Mrs McGregor suddenly sobbed. "For the first time in years my baby laughed. She called us to tell us she met the strangest, loveliest man. She found someone to watch horror movies with, someone who encouraged her to grow her business. Robbie talks non stop about how he has a real da' like the other kids in school. Daniel just can't die."
"Nobody is dyin', especially Daniel," Rose declared. Her foot pressed against the gas pedal, ignoring the digital numbers going up. She had driven the road at far greater speeds. Traffic patrol always ignored the transponder code for a Torchwood SUV. Having Peter Tyler as a dad and boss definitely had perks, one of which included no one questioning why she drove like a maniac. The car travelled another mile before Rose eased off the gas, flipped the signal and slowed to make the turn into the Torchwood/Vitex complex. The guards didn't bother to stop her as she drove past to the underground car park. She drove into the cavernous parking structure, stopping next to the loading platform steps and jumped out, running.
"Mum, take them to the Infirmary; I need to go to the lab," she called over her shoulder.
Before Jackie could get half way up the steps, her daughter disappeared into the lift maintained only for the lab. With Mrs McGregor between them, she and Addie shepherded the Scottish woman to the lift for the seven floor ride to the medical unit. When the lift door slid open, the pensive woman stepped out into the strange place, looked around and straightened. The uncertainty fled, replaced with same maternal determination to care for her child, as Jackie and Addie were to care for Rose and Daniel. Jackie couldn't help but smile at the change in the woman's demeanour.
"Come on, the waiting area is this way." Jackie pointed to the right and began walking.
"You've done this before, with the people who work for Torchwood?"
"Yeah - with Rose too, and it's really Daniel's third trip to this place. He keeps this up, we'll have to name a wing for him," Jackie quipped.
"It's so quiet. Hospitals are so busy, but this place is quiet."
"Well, that's good innit, means all the staff will be with our boy. Right, Adela?"
"Ja, Miss Jackie."
Halfway down the corridor, Jackie turned left, and walked unerringly to a room she knew well. The three walked in the waiting lounge to find Nora pacing. Jackie hesitated when she saw her husband with his mobile stuck to his ear, talking in a hushed, terse conversation. She had a feeling that Rose was calling him from the lab. She'd learned all the code for not discussing things in front of civilians. The way Rose had left them, she knew something besides Daniel was adding to the misery that had turned this night into a nightmare. Jackie turned toward Nora, just as the young woman stopped her pacing long enough to realise that her mother had walked in behind Jackie and Adela.
Fury swept through Nora at the sight of her mother. "Mum, what are you doing here? I asked you to stay with Robbie," she snapped.
"I know you're upset, luv, but you watch your tone. Your dad and Mr Harris stayed with the boys. They needed the men to show them how to be, and you need me." Mrs McGregor answered, in the midst of shedding her coat. She held her arms out to her daughter, watching the fury wash out of her daughter. Nora stood still less than ten seconds before rushing into her mother's arms.
"Twenty-seven minutes," she sobbed against her mother's chest. "They've had Daniel in there for twenty-seven minutes and no one has said a thing."
"But that's good, right? If they haven't come out here, that means they're still working on him." Her mother rubbed her back. "You'll see, everything will be alright."
"I'll make us a pot of tea, yeah?" Jackie offered. "A nice cuppa always helps. That's what we do when things are hard, we fix tea," She said, more to herself while moving to a cabinet, pulling out an electric kettle and quickly filling it with water. Adela joined her, to find cups and tea bags.
"Rose will be down in a minute," Pete offered when he joined his wife. "There was trouble at ..." he whispered, glancing first at Nora's back, making sure she was distracted. "At the house."
"Right," Jackie flashed a knowing smile. "Nora, do you take it white or dark?"
"Dark is fine, where's Rose? I need to talk to her." She forced firmness back in her voice.
Jackie had to admire the young woman. They had all assumed her emotionally fragile after her years of abuse. Watching her straighten her shoulders, and wipe her face, Jackie knew they could stuff that theory where the sun didn't shine. She might look like a delicate piece of porcelain, but the woman in front of them was as tough as they came. "She had to go the lab," Jackie answered.
"Of course she did. This place and her damn al-" she corrected, looking at her mother, "Job is more important than Daniel."
"Sweethear', don't say that about my Rose. She cares a great deal for Daniel, she just needed to check something, and it's not like she can do anything here. Rose is like him, has to stay busy when she's upset."
Nora shifted her gaze to the cups Jackie was fixing. "Twenty-eight minutes," she said.
"Hi, everyone." Jackie and Pete both smiled at the sight of the short woman walking in. She still looked as if she were seeing patients, but her only patient lay in the trauma room fighting for his life. That meant she was there to see them.
"Katie." Pete nodded. "Ladies, this is Katie Hettinger."
"Hettinger?" Nora started. "You're the psychiatrist that saw him today. What did you do to Daniel?" She snarled the accusation.
"I am that psychiatrist," she replied with a steady smile, "And you must be Nora. You look and sound just as Daniel described. I also know that right now you are angry and terrified. But I need you to come with me."
"I'll come with her," Mrs McGregor offered.
"I'm sorry, no. I need to see her alone," she said, while taking Nora by the elbow. "We'll be back shortly."
The older woman guided Nora to the consultation room and closed the door behind them. Nora's body tensed when she saw the room's only occupant. Rose chewed her upper lip, but strode forward to meet Nora, whose eyes drifted to what almost looked like sunglasses in Rose's hand. "I don't think you'll need those in here."
"Marcus called," Rose replied. "He's on his way to talk to you, but first I need to answer your question with a question. On the stairs, you said 'what he is, not who he is'. Why did you say that?"
Nora's eyebrows pinched in confusion. "Excuse me?"
"Nora, I know you're angry, but this is important. Why did you use that word?" Rose asked again.
"A few weeks ago, Daniel was ranting about a school administrator. For the tiniest second, his eyes flashed. I thought it was just the sun, but tonight just before he -" she huffed softly. "They did it again, a flash of gold and then his eyes, his beautiful eyes rolled up and he ..." Nora looked away, swallowing the pain and refusing to let the tears come.
"Put these on," Rose ordered.
Nora stared at the glasses not comprehending the request. She didn't to take them so Rose put them in her hand. "Please," Rose asked, "Put them on."
Nora's expression hardened but she took the glasses, slipped them on then stumbled back. She sucked a deep breath. "What the bloody hell is this," she stammered ripping the glasses off to stare at Rose.
"When I was just nineteen, I worked in a shop called Hendrick's in London. I met a man who grabbed my hand, and asked my name, then he said, nice to meet you, Rose Tyler, run for your life. To make a long story short, I grabbed his hand back and ran. That moment changed my life forever. It started my mum and I on adventure that is still going on. That man's name was the Doctor. He looked human, sounded northern and came from an entirely different planet called Gallifrey. That planet died in a war, leaving him the last of his kind." Rose stopped waiting for Nora to sit on a chair that Hettinger placed behind her. She had to hand it to Nora, the soft spoken, gentle woman just stood her ground.
"A year after, my Doctor died, sort of but not really. I don't actually remember what happened because I was unconscious, but when I woke up my Doctor was changing by a process called regeneration. His hands started to glow and then golden energy poured from every cell, converting him into an entirely new man." Rose stopped again, smiling at the look of incredulity on Nora's face. "I know, sounds barmy, doesn't it? Right now, you think I've gone mental. Put the glasses back on and look at Katherine."
"She looks fine," Nora whispered.
"Now, put your hands together." She demonstrated, pressing her own palms together. When Nora complied, she continued, "When you press your hands together, no matter how hard, you still have gaps. The same thing happens with planets. There are parallel universes pressed next to each other, separated by something called the Void. The Doctor and I fell through a rip in barrier on the night of the troubles. A year later, the Cybermen found a way through to our side of that veil, to what we call Universe Prime."
"What does any of this have to do with Daniel?"
"I'm getting there, really I am. My mum and I were in the heart of that battle. While Cybermen invaded my London, their sudden disappearance and severe global warming here forced Pete to send a squad through the void to find the Doctor. We wound up in a battle that stranded my mum and me on this planet. What you see floating around me is called void stuff, sort of background radiation from coming through that void. Katherine doesn't show it because she's never been through the void. Technically speaking, my mum and I are just as much aliens here as Daniel is." She watched Nora widen her stance, looking increasingly frustrated by this whole conversation, but just pushed on. "Over the years, I made transmat jump after transmat jump trying to find my Doctor and when I did, it was just in time to see him shot down in front of me. He started to regenerate again, but stopped it. We all wound up taken prisoners, while the enemy tried to destroy his ship."
Nora felt her legs buckle, forcing her to drop to the chair behind her. "The TARDIS," she huffed.
"The TARDIS," Rose confirmed. "I don't know how, but I do know that the Doctor's regenerative energy, combined with the ship's energy, flowed through a woman named Donna Noble and a container containing the Doctor's biological material and that produced Daniel. I imagine what went on looked a lot like this." She showed her a video of what had occurred in Daniel's office. Nora stared awestruck at the camcorder screen, watching energy tear through Daniel's office. She could feel Katie's hands on her shoulders in support. "This isn't real, it just isn't," she murmured.
"Unfortunately," the psychiatrist said, "It is. It's why we wanted to talk to you alone."
"Does Don know any of this?"
"No, he doesn't and he can't know. Daniel's existence is top secret. Torchwood went to great lengths to develop an identity for him so that he could hide in plain sight."
Rose dropped to her knees in front of Nora. "The Doctor expected Daniel and me to swan off together. That didn't work out. He loves you beyond life."
Nora's eyes stayed fixed on her hands. Before she could speak, Marcus walked in the room. "Did you tell her?" he asked.
"Yeah," Rose answered, standing up.
"Nora, I'm sorry this was dumped on you. Katie will confirm he desperately wanted to tell you, but couldn't figure out how."
"He tried," she murmured. "He drew the pictures and never stopped Robbie from calling him spaceman." She stood up to face Marcus. "Tell me."
Marcus let out a deep breath and nodded. "Let me show you the scans." He led to a view screen. "First of all, Daniel's brain is different, he uses ninety-five percent where we use tops fifteen. That's a good thing, because it will aid his recovery. His cells contain a form of energy that Rose told us, is called Artron. It fuels healing, but it's dropped way off since this incident. I don't know what that means. Now, as to his injuries, I have certainly had patients with worse, but his are serious. Let's do the easy ones first. He has several large bruises from first hitting the banister and then pitching down the stairs. He managed to crack a couple of ribs on the way down bruising his lungs in the process. He fractured his leg just above the ankle and that will require surgery to repair. That brings us to what concerns me the most. Daniel struck his head on the risers at least twice before Pete and I got to him. The blows were hard enough to fracture his skull. It's going to require surgery.
"Why, Ian had a skull fracture, they just told him to rest and no football 'till the x-ray came back normal."
"That is the treatment for a simple fracture, but Daniel's is depressed and he's bleeding. It's called a subdural hematoma and that requires immediate surgery. I have administered medications to stop further seizures and reduce swelling. We've applied a cryogenic wrap to his head which acts as an ice bag to reduce his brain's need for oxygen. He came around for a minute very agitated, so to prevent him from hurting himself, I have put him in a drug induced coma. Because that will also reduce his need for oxygen, we will keep him there for twenty-fours after surgery. He is on a respirator controlling his breathing. Any questions so far?"
"Yeah," she nodded, numb from information overload. "When he wakes up, what are his chances of being normal?" Her voice cracked with the question.
Marcus turned to look at her, trying to sound as positive as possible. "If he were completely human, I'd say that he would have issues controlling his temper, his language, even his libido, but he's not completely like us. I think he will recover. That doesn't mean he won't have problems for awhile. I have to go. I asked Katie to tell you what to expect and how we will manage him, but first, I need to know, are you're staying."
"What would happen if I said this is too much and I'm leaving?" she said.
"Honestly?"
The pained look in his eyes told her the question he'd asked was more rhetorical than serious, but she found her head nodding anyway. She had to admit, she wanted to run from this place as fast and far as possible.
"I think he would know something is wrong and I think he would give up." Marcus answered. His posh accent rang so loud in her ears, she felt like covering them to keep his voice out.
Nora sniffed hard. "Do you think that I could do that - leave him alone, when he needed me the most?" She didn't expect an answer and she didn't get one. She drew another painful breath, and then stood up to face the young black doctor. Suddenly, he seemed too young to care for Daniel. She forced herself to meet his brown eyes. "Can I see him?"
"Just for a minute, we really need to get going."
"Thirty five minutes," Nora mumbled.
"Excuse me?" Confusion crossed Marcus' face.
"Since he arrived here, it's been thirty-five minutes. The Golden Hour." Her voice cracked. "I need Pete and my mum."
Nora hardly felt Pete's arm circle her waist to support her, when they walked in the exam room. They had taped Daniel's eyes closed. A thin film of oil glistened on his eyelashes. Every ten seconds his chest rose, with the soft swoosh of the respirator. They had shaved his beautiful mad hair, leaving him as bald as a chemo patient. One of his long, gentle hands bore the marks of someone's attempt to restart an IV, while another needle lay positioned in his forearm, just above his wrist. He had a separate line stuck in his other wrist. A nurse attached a syringe to it, letting it fill with bright red blood. Nora's eyes travelled the length of his naked upper torso, to see electrodes attached to his chest. They had shaved his thin chest hair. It will itch when it grows back in, she thought.
His chest rose silently again, with another pumped in breath. The sheet covered his lower body, but a bag filling with urine told her what they had done to his manhood. That wonderfully joyous part of his anatomy had filled her with such intense pleasure that even the memory made her knees weaken. "Steady," Pete whispered, when he held her up. Nora's eyes continued downward, to his left leg encased in a splint with three pillows piled underneath. His long pink toes were now swollen nubs. Funny, she'd never noticed the tiny bits of hair that grew from the knuckles of his toes.
Her mother and Addie sobbed behind her. She reached behind her to squeeze the nearest hand in comfort. Her next breath came in time with Daniel's. The room was far from silent, yet the silence roared in her ears. The voices surrounding her peppered her with information. When she finally added her own voice, it was surprisingly calm, even and strong. "Give me your tie, Pete."
"Sorry - what?"
"Give. Me. Your. Tie," she repeated slowly, as if she were speaking to Robbie. The piece of material quickly filled her hand. "Do you remember the words for the ceremony?"
"What - yeah, but - why?"
"Mother, stop sniffling. It doesn't do anyone any good. Do you remember the words he taught you and dad?"
"Yes, love." Her mother huffed slightly when she answered.
"Good," Nora answered, stepping around a nurse, who now injected Daniel's blood into a tube. The staff stepped back when Marcus shook his head and waved them off. Nora stepped up to the bed. She couldn't stop the gasp when she saw the bruising extending under the large dressing on the side of his head. His hand felt cold when she lifted it in hers. Tears stung her eyes when she glanced at Marcus. "He's cold."
"That's the effect of the cryo wrap. He doesn't feel it, I promise."
"Right," she nodded. She leaned down and kissed his slack jaw. "Hell of a way to have second thoughts. I know you wanted to go regimental, but this is a bit much. Won't do you any good though, I have a plan. Addie?"
"Yes, Schotzie?"
"Take the tie and wrap it around our hands." Nora waited, as Addie gently draped Pete's grey silk tie around her hand and then Daniel's. "Good, mother, you first."
"I consent and freely give my daughter, Nora Eileen McGregor, to Daniel Ulysses Barrow until the end of time," she said, her voice quivering with pain.
Pete didn't hesitate. Holding Jackie and Rose's hands, he repeated the oath. "I consent and freely give my adopted son, Daniel Ulysses Barrow, to Nora Eileen McGregor until the end of time and the universe."
"Now," Nora leaned close to his ear and whispered, "I already know your secret, here's mine." No one heard what she said. She kissed his cheek one last time, waited for Addie to remove the tie, and then stepped back. She watched the medical team sweep in, snap the rails up and push his bed away leaving her to stand in the middle of the now empty room. She turned to face the others, let out a strangled sob and collapsed into Pete's arms, weeping.