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Chapter 37 – The Long Night

Shakes stood behind the transporter controls as Pete Tyler materialized onto the platform. Shakes walked over to Pete and shook his hand. "Thank you for coming. I'm going to warn you that he is pissed. He doesn't want to see anyone and doesn't know I sent for you."

Pete nodded his head. "Understood. Thank you, Summus."

They walked down the hall of the Hamlet together. Pete asked him, "How bad is it?"

Shakes shook his head. "I'm not sure. He won't talk to anyone."

Pete shook his head. "That's not good. Was he injured?"

"We're not sure."

They walked on until they got to the medical bay. They walked through a door and down a hall that held six rooms. Shakes stood outside of the doorway of the first room and pointed. "In there."

Pete nodded his head and patted Shakes on the arm. "Cheers."

Pete knocked on the door as he opened it slowly. The room was dark except for the light of where Rose was laying on a bed. Monitors and screens helped illuminate the room. The Doctor sat with his back to the door.

"I'd rather not see anyone right now, Summus." He said.

Pete walked over to the side of The Doctor and put his hands on his hips. "Well, good thing I'm not just anybody then."

The Doctor rubbed his face as Pete sat down in front of him. Neither man said anything for a few moments. The Doctor wiped both of his eyes and looked at Pete. "Why did you come?"

Pete looked seriously at him. "You know the answer to that question."

The Doctor nodded as he pressed his lips together. "Jackie knows then?"

Pete shook his head. "No. Summus called me and brought me up."

The Doctor held his head in his hands and sighed.

Pete looked at him and ask quietly. "How bad is she? Talk to me, son."

The Doctor rubbed his head as he leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. "Rose will be fine. Sam took the worst of it. Still, her bottom three ribs where broken, as well as her hip bone on one side and both of her femurs."

"Where is Sam?"

The Doctor shook his head, "He didn't make it. He died there."

Pete sat back in surprise. "Jesus."

The Doctor rubbed his hands together and sighed as he looked at the ground. Pete looked at him, "Do you have her on something to make her sleep?"

The Doctor shook his head. "No. I did that. I pushed her into a deep sleep. She doesn't need to be awake right now. I healed all of her bones and did some other stuff that she's going to be proper cross about when she wakes up. She's lying on a gravity free mattress because of the trauma. It helps because there's no center of gravity. That's important."

Pete nodded his head as he looked back at Rose. "Alright. That's Rose sorted. Now, you. Are you hurt?"

The Doctor shook his head. "I don't think so. Just some bruises. The blast, threw me and Legate from the balcony."

Pete looked at him and nodded his head. "Alright. Rose is healed up. Sleeping and going to be alright. You are okay. So, why are you hiding in the dark in here? What's going on?"

The Doctor bit his bottom lip and dropped his head.

Pete moved his chair closer and took his hand. "Listen. You married my daughter. You are my family and I am yours. But, more than that, I'm your friend. I'm here with you and I plan to stay. I have a ship full of Quauthin that will fight to keep me here. So, why don't you just take a deep breath and tell me what's really going on?"

The Doctor looked up in Pete's face and nodded. "Rose will be fine. But, our son, might not be."

Pete let go of The Doctor's hand and rubbed his face. "Your son? Rose is pregnant?"

The Doctor nodded his head. "We only found out a few days ago. We wanted to wait before we told anyone."

Pete smiled and appeared to be in shock. "A son. Shit. Wow."

The Doctor covered his eyes again with both of his hands as he nodded. "If he makes it. We'll know in a few hours." He sighed.

Pete sat back in the chair in complete shock. "Wow. I wasn't expecting that. Okay. A baby."

Pete watched The Doctor as he stared at the ground and looked as if he was about to be sick. Pete nodded his head and pulled a bottle of the Damn Whiskey out of his pocket and two glasses. He sat them on the table next to him and The Doctor. He poured them both a glass.

"I love this bigger on the inside box you gave me." Pete told him as he sat it on the table.

The Doctor shook his head. "I don't feel like drinking."

Pete took his glass, "That's alright, son. It's there if you want it. Looks like we're here for a while together. Might as well pass the time."

The Doctor looked at Pete and took the glass off the table and drank the entire thing and refilled it. "I told her we should have left. I knew something was going to happen. I should have just forced her to leave."

Pete shook his head. "She's got too much Tyler in her for you to ever get her to do something she doesn't want to do. You know that."

"Yeah, but it's my job to protect her."

Pete shook his head. "No, it's Sam's job to protect her. And he did. She's here now because of his reaction."

The Doctor took another drink, Pete refilled his glass. Pete asked, "Why did you bring her here? Not to a hospital?"

"I needed to get her someplace immediately. I knew Exton was up here so I told him to transport us up as soon as I knew she was hurt."

Pete nodded his head and refilled The Doctor's glass.

The Doctor shook his head. "Pete, you don't have to stay. I'll be alri-"

"Oh, like hell you will! Even if your son makes it, you won't be alright. This will be something you never forget. If that was my Tony lying over there on the bed, you wouldn't leave me. You couldn't drag me out of here. Forget that entire idea! I'm staying! Now, drink."

The Doctor smiled as he took another drink. "Thanks, Pete."

Pete took a drink and looked back at him, "You bet, son. Tell me. Was she surprised?"

The Doctor nodded, "Yes. We both were. I honestly didn't think we would be able to have any children together. My granddaughter married a human. They tried for years before they had a child."

Pete smiled. "A great-grandchild. Wow. What was that like?"

The Doctor smiled. "Oh, Alex was great. Brave. Clever. So, very….. human. He had dark hair that always stuck up because he wouldn't stop running his hands through it. I never did that until I had this body. Apparently, it was a family trait."

Pete chuckled. "Alex. I like that name! That was one of the names we thought about for Tony."

The Doctor smiled. "Yeah. I've teased Rose about her telling me she was pregnant, and it ended up that I told her she was. First time that's happened. She was so happy."

He wiped his eyes and took out his wallet. He took out an ultrasound picture and handed it to Pete. "We took that just before we left for the ballet tonight. That's him."

Pete looked at the picture and smiled. "This looks a lot older than a few weeks."

The Doctor nodded. "Rose heals quickly. You know that. Apparently it affects how long she will carry a baby as well. He measures almost two months at the moment. Still, too early to be born. Rose's body had so much damage done to that area where he is, I'm not sure what will happen. I just want her to lay still and relax. The fluid doesn't seem to be leaking, but it took a hell of a blow. That's what has me so concerned."

Pete handed him back the picture. "Makes sense."

They sat and drank for a while, The Doctor only getting up to check the readings on a monitor. He put his hand on Rose's head and kissed her forehead as she slept. "You are going to be alright, Rose." He whispered to her.

He returned to his chair and Pete had refilled his glass. He drank it and nodded his head. "This is just mad. Me, being stuck here. No TARDIS. Unable to travel in time. Married to a human. And being a father. Possibility losing a child, all over again. I honestly don't know if I can go through this again."

Pete refilled his drink. "How long ago was that?"

The Doctor shook his head, not looking at Pete, "A very, very long time ago. It doesn't matter. Some things you forget, but it seems like the things you wish you could forget will haunt you. Even if you bury them very deep. You will find yourself dreaming of things that happened. Or something will happen now that will remind you of something that happened then. Mistakes you made. Things you wish you did differently."

Pete nodded his head as he drank. "Sounds like a nightmare. No wonder you don't sleep."

He smiled, "I've honestly slept more since I came here than I have in years. I feel safe, for the first time in thousands of years. I feel like I can be close to someone, like someone needs me like that."

Pete nodded, "Forget that these idiots are trying to kill you and the family."

The Doctor gritted his teeth. "It's frustrating. Lewis, Varro and Legate are questioning Ides now. It's not going well. I'm glad I'm not there because Lewis has already had to walk out of the room to keep from busting him in the mouth. They can't hold him for anything, but we all know he was behind it. This is just….Hell. My personal Hell."

Pete refilled both of their glasses. "Jackie and I. Well, the other Jackie, lost a child. Miscarriage, it was early. She was devastated. Hell, I was too. We agreed to never talk about it again and never to try again."

"Damn. Who knows about that?"

Pete shook his head, "No one. Me and you. That's it. I've never told my Jackie about it. I didn't feel like she needed to know."

The Doctor rubbed his neck. "I've drank way too much already. And it's going to be a long night."

Pete nodded his head. "Yep. I'm close to you on that. Let's talk about names. You and Rose must have thought about names. I would like to submit 'Peter'."

The Doctor smiled and nodded his head. "Peter. Okay. Good name. From the Greek meaning, 'The Rock'. That's perfect for you, Pete."

Pete smiled. "What does John mean?"

"Well, that was made up you know. I can't tell you my real name. But, it's Hebrew meaning 'gift'. Rose told me not to think of myself that way though. It made me seem less. I don't know. It made sense then."

"No, I get it. You are your own man. I've never talked to you about that, but I'm sure that's strange."

The Doctor rubbed his hands together and nodded. "Oh, yes. That is very strange. Rose and I talked about it a bit the other night. When I took her to Jupiter, it came up. I have all of those memories, everything that I did. But, in reality, it wasn't me. It was him. I'm probably a psychiatrist's dream patient."

Pete pointed at him, "Hey, don't knock a psychiatrist. I've been to see one myself. After that entire Lumic thing. Gosh, how did I not see that coming? That was right there, in my damn face. God, I was an idiot."

"I still have no idea how we ended up here that first time. We just fell out of the vortex. It was so strange. If I could figure it out, I could probably get Jack back into the other dimension. Well, when he reappears. I can't believe that guy. I've made Shakes the Head of Security until Jake comes back."

Pete nodded. "That's a good idea. I agree. You know, I've not even thought about it. We're not on the moon, are we?"

"No. All of the ships had to clear off for the space dock construction. They are on it now. We're behind the moon where we can't be spotted."

The Doctor sat back and rubbed his shoulder. Pete noticed. "What's up with your shoulder? From the blast?"

The Doctor shook his head and smiled. "From your daughter! I jumped out and scared her this afternoon and she threw me on the floor. I'm sure she pulled something in there. She had my arm twisted behind my back like a pretzel."

Pete laughed, "That's my girl! You should know better. Jumping out and scaring a Torchwood agent."

He smiled, "I wasn't thinking. I won't let her know she hurt me though. She feels terrible about it."

Pete took another drink as he laughed. "She's something. I don't think I've ever done it before, son. But, I need to warn you about my daughter. She can take care of herself. She's not your storybook damsel in distress."

The Doctor smiled, "Oh, I am finding this out myself. Trouble is, I feel like she is. I see her like this and it just kills me. She shouldn't have to go through something like this. This is my fault."

Pete sat down his drink. "No, it's not. You didn't do this. Idles did this. We might not be able to get him on this, but we'll get him on something else. Summus can figure something out."

"On something else? This is going to happen again. And it's going to keep happening." He gritted his teeth. "I really hate living here. I hate this damn place. I can't believe I'm suck here."

Pete poured them both another drink. "Go ahead and get it all out, son. No judgment from me. You can say anything. I know you are properly pissed."

The Doctor held his face in his hands again. "She's not safe here. Nothing I do will keep her safe. Her, you, Genie, Tony, Jackie….. nothing. This is going to keep happening."

Pete sipped his drink. "It isn't up to you to keep us safe. This doesn't rest on your shoulders."

"It does, Pete. This is a mess that I made. Oh, what a mess it is."

Pete put down his glass. "See, I don't see that at all. I see that you came to help us when we needed you the most. Then you returned and stayed when Rose needed you the most. When we all needed you. You are helping. This would probably be so much worse without you. Look at how happy Rose has been since you have been here. She's happier than I've ever known her. Not to mention my Tony. Genie has a father, and you probably saved my marriage that you gave me a wife back for! Life isn't perfect. You get what you get. Sometimes it's good, and sometimes it's not. But, you have to have the bad in order to recognize the good. This is defiantly a period in our lives that we will look back and see it was bad. But, we will also see a lot of good in there, too."

The Doctor nodded his head. "You're right, Pete."

Pete sipped his drink. "Me, giving my ancient son-in-law advice. This is something I never thought I'd ever do."

The Doctor laughed as he hid his face behind his hands. "Yeah, I suppose you think that's strange. It's alright."

"You don't take offense to it do you?"

The Doctor smiled, "No. Not at all. Makes me feel young. You calling me 'son', also makes me feel young. I've grown fond of it. No one has ever called me that."

"Really? Even years ago?"

The Doctor stood up and checked a monitor. He shook his head. "No, there are other words for that. Like 'Daddy'. I was never called Daddy before Genie said it."

"But, you were called, 'Grandfather'."

He sat back down in the chair and ran his hand through his hair. "Yes. My granddaughter called me that. We were hiding here on Earth, trying to fit in."

"When did you first get here?"

"We landed in 1963. November. The day Kennedy was killed. Not that we had anything to do with that."

Pete shook his head. "No, of course not."

The Doctor held up his hand, "Hang on." He ran his hands through his hair and gritted his teeth. He seemed to grow angry.

"Idles?" Pete asked.

"They are letting him go. He insisted on seeing a lawyer. There's nothing they can do to keep him. Shakes just told me. I've never been so angry in all of my lives. This is not good." He shook his head.

Pete sat his drink down. "Revenge is not what we want-"

"Oh, don't talk to me about that. My son might be dying and this man is walking away." He punched the arm of the chair as he bit his lip.

Pete sat and drank his drink for a bit. The Doctor spoke again, "Summus is coming back up to the ship. I've told him I don't want to see anyone. Damn, I can't believe this."

Pete spoke looking at the floor. "Tell me, son. What do you want to do? Kill this man?"

The Doctor rubbed his face. "There are things you don't know about me, Pete. Don't put that idea in my head."

Pete held up his hand. "Right. Sorry. Let's talk about something else. You, and Tony."

"Tony, your Tony?" The Doctor asked.

"No, Tony in New York. You two seem to be getting on good together."

The Doctor picked up his drink and drank the entire thing. "Yeah, Tony has a lot of stuff going on. Like me."

Pete smiled, "Maybe that's the reason he's always been such a pain in the ass."

The Doctor smiled, "Are you saying that I'm a pain in the ass, too?"

Pete pointed at him, "No. You said that. But, yes. I'll agree with you."

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