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Chapter 44 - Two Primuses

Just as the Doctor was about to jump out of the truck, a man swung up inside of it. He looked surprised to see the Doctor standing there. He quickly reached for his gun. The Doctor grabbed his arm and slammed him into the side of the box truck. The Doctor head butted him, which made the man drop his weapon.

The Doctor let him go and kicked the gun out of the back of the truck. The man looked surprised and attacked him. He jumped on the Doctor, knocking him across some boxes in the truck and to the ground. When they hit the ground, the man rose up and punched the Doctor in the face a few times.

The Doctor grabbed man's head and twisted it quickly, breaking his neck with a loud snap. The man's lifeless body fell onto the floor.

The Doctor lay there for a second, in shock of what he had just done. Then the pain of the wound in his arm brought him back to reality.

Jake shouted into the truck. "I've got you covered. Bring your ass out of there."

The Doctor jumped out of the truck and ran with Legate and Jake. They took cover behind a car. The Doctor held his arm as he leaned against the car and groaned. "Help should be here in a bit, gentlemen."

As soon as he said it, Summus and Gobbo ran over to the same car to take cover.

The Doctor smiled as he ran his hand in his pocket, looking for something, "Nice to see you, guys. Rose is alright?"

Summus looked for a shot, "Yes. She's fine. Lewis is with her. Licis pinched Sam just like you instructed to make him cry. It kept her calm."

Jake looked surprised, "You had someone pinch your baby to make him cry?"

The Doctor took off his jacket and groaned, "Of course I did. And don't tell his mother. She'll kick my ass if she ever finds out."

Jake shook his head and laughed.

Summus looked at the Doctor. "Do you need me to help?"

The Doctor shook his head as he tore the arm of his oxford off of him. "I'm alright. The bullet went through the arm."

He used the small device and healed his gunshot to his arm. "Good. She feels calm." He suddenly sensed something. He looked at Shakes. "Summus. Your 10, 12 and 2:00."

Summus rose up and shot three targets and then took cover. "Lewis has been keeping her calm. He knows what's at stake. She's alright. She can probably sense you shielding her."

The Doctor smiled as he looked back, "I'm shielding everyone at the moment. You know, I think we've arrived wherever they were taking us. There seems to be a lot more than we left with."

Summus nodded his head. "Yes. Polotius has counted 34."

Jake shot twice. "Make that 32."

Stark slid on the gravel. Summus pulled him behind the car with them. He saw the Doctor. "The actual fuck, man! You don't invite me to shoot at people?"

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "It's not a weapons demonstration, Tony."

Tony smiled, "Not yet. Give it a few seconds."

Summus looked at his head and saw blood in his hair. It had run into his ear and across his shoulder. "Are you hit?"

The Doctor shook his head. "No. Just a graze."

"It's bleeding like mad." Summus told him.

"No, it's stopped. All of this is from when it was bleeding like mad." The Doctor corrected him.

Summus sighed, "Whatever you say." He handed Stark one of the guns he had. "Plasma gun. Works just like you would expect."

Tony looked down at it and nodded his head in approval.

The Doctor looked at him and smiled, "Tony. Right between 11 and 12:00."

Tony stood up and took the shot, then took cover again.

He smiled, "Nice one, Doc.' How did you know where they were?"

The Doctor continued to work on his arm. "I can feel their footsteps. Summus. Your 1:00."

Summus rose up and took the shot, then ducked back behind the car for cover again. "I get sick satisfaction in this."

Tony looked at him. "No gun, Doc'?"

"No gun." The Doctor insisted.

Tony shook his head. "You are so strange. And I'm pissed you locked down my suit."

Summus chuckled at him.

The Doctor pointed at Tony, "You're an idiot. You could have turned it back on."

Tony pointed at himself, "You think I didn't try?"

The Doctor smiled at him. "It is voice activated. Just tell Friday to turn it back on."

Tony shook his head in disbelief. "Well, hell. I didn't think of that." His bracelet beeped. "All of our guys are here with us, right?"

The Doctor and Summus looked around. "Yeah."

Tony smiled, "Do your weird head talking thing and tell them to take cover in 5."

"Seconds?" the Doctor asked.

"3…..2…" Tony counted.

"Shit!" The Doctor and Summus said at once. They all took cover as a massive explosion threw them all on the ground. Pieces of the ground, trees, cars and agents' bodies flew everywhere. They slowly rolled over and looked back at where the explosion had happened. A large crater held a fire that illuminated the night. They stood up slowly to survey the damage.

The Doctor put his hands on his hips and nodded his head. "Nice one. Drone?"

Tony smiled, "Yeah. Special delivery."

"Cheers." He told him as he patted him on the back.

Tony smiled proudly. "I love blowing shit up. Especially, bad guys."

The Doctor rolled his eyes and walked away. "Everyone alright?"

Jake stood and helped Timon up. Summus said, "Everyone is reporting in. Polotius has a deep cut in his leg that Legate is repairing now. We need to get your head taken care of."

The Doctor waved his hand to dismiss it. "Nothing that will cause me to regenerate. Don't worry about me. Everyone says the threat is neutralized."

Jake nodded his head. "Go to Rose. I'll sort this out. Send me Jack when he gets a moment. He will be helpful."

Lance ran up to him. "Hey. Need a ride back?"

The Doctor smiled and put his hand on Lance's shoulder. Lance triggered the transport remote and they disappeared.

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Lance and the Doctor appeared on the transporter pad back on the Doctor's ship. Lance hurried over to the control panel and typed in something.

The Doctor rubbed his head where the bullet had grazed him. "I need to get another shirt. I don't want Rose to see me like this."

Lance nodded his head. "That's a very good idea." They both walked down the hall as the Doctor was unbuttoning his vest and oxford. His head had started to bleed again. He sighed as he held his hand to it.

Lance noticed, "Just head to the med bay, first. I'll get you a shirt after we have gotten your head sorted."

The Doctor nodded. "Sounds like a better idea."

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They walked into the med bay. Harriet stood with Pete who was holding Sam. They both turned when the doors opened. As soon as they saw the Doctor and Lance, Pete sighed, "My God. Are you alright?"

The Doctor waved his free hand. "I'm fine. Just let me get this sorted. Where is she?"

Harriet took Sam from Pete. "She's in with Logan."

The Doctor sat down at the desk and grimaced in pain. "Damn. She's on her way out here."

Rose spoke, "No, she's already here." She sat down in front of him and looked at his head, "This is a lot of blood, are you just injured here?"

He smiled at Rose's autopilot nature. It had apparently kicked in when she was helping Jack with Logan. "Yes. A bullet grazed me. The bleeding had stopped, but it just began again."

Rose held her hand over his wound. "Lance, I need some gauze and something to clean him up with."

Lance was already rummaging in the drawers. "I can't find what I need. Stay here a bit, I'll go get some stuff."

Lewis nodded, "I'll get Jack. He knows where everything is."

Harriet and Pete went with them.

The Doctor nodded his head. Rose told him quickly, "Try not to move. It will reopen it."

He sighed, "Right. It's not a big deal."

Rose still hadn't looked at him proper. She was occupied with keeping pressure on his head with her own hand. He held his hand on top of hers. He couldn't help how proud he was of her in that moment. All of the years of Torchwood training were apparent as she administered First Aid to him. He couldn't feel her emotions, but could tell she was shielding them from him. She told him, "Keep pressure on that. I know where something is."

She removed her hand and went over to a drawer. She returned with a small, white towel.

"Rose. It's just a graze. I'm fine."

"There is a lot of blood for it to just be a graze." She told him as she cleaned it up and inspected it closer.

He sat quietly as she sorted it out. She cleaned his wound and then held out her hand. "You have that skin regenerator in your pocket. I felt it this morning. Let me see it."

He reached in his pocket and handed it to her. "It might not be recharged yet. I've already had to use it once tonight."

She quickly used it to close the cut on his head.

"There. Gosh. You're covered in blood. Is this all from your head?" Rose asked him.

He shook his head. "No. I was shot in the arm. But, I used that skin regenerator earlier on that. I had to wait for it to charge back up. I need to fix that."

Rose stood up and told him, "Take off your shirt. I'll help you get cleaned up." She walked over to sink and wet a towel under the tap. She turned around and he was standing next to her. He took the towel from her.

She watched him as he looked in the mirror and wiped the blood off of the side of his head and his face. Then he washed his chest, arms and hands. He looked up and saw a black eye forming from the fight he had been in. He threw the towel in the trash and sighed. "Okay, so it was a lot of blood."

He turned to see that Rose was staring at him. It was as if she had just realized he was there.

He smiled, "Now, you will look at me?"

Rose continued to stare at him. She said quietly, "I should have known."

"How could you have known?"

She became angry, "You said you would be right back. That's the same damn thing you said before you got shot!"

He held up his hands in defense. "Okay, clearly, something I need to remove from my vocabulary. I can do that."

She continued to look at him. She started to cry and wrapped her arms around him.

He held her tightly. "Everyone is alright. It's all over, sweetheart." He told her. He could feel her relief and anger.

She took a deep breath and looked up at him. "They hurt you."

He kissed her forehead as he looked in her eyes. "Yeah, but they didn't hurt you. They will never hurt you again."

He could feel her anger growing. She shook her head. "I'm so sick of this. Why can't they just leave us alone?" He noticed her eyes flash yellow.

He held her tightly, "Sweetheart. Shhh….. We're all safe. All of us are alright. You know we will be."

Rose held him tightly as he kissed the top of her head. "It's all over, Rose."

Jack, Lewis and Pete came into the room. Lewis had a black t-shirt in his hands. "Hey! Got you a clean shirt!"

Jack teased him, "Alright! I'm just in time to see a half naked Doctor! It's my lucky day!"

Rose laughed at Jack, wiped her tears and let the Doctor go. He grabbed her hand quickly as Lewis handed him the t-shirt. He slipped it on as Lewis spoke.

"The family is secure. Jake and Summus are handling the investigation down at the site. I'm going to send Jake and Jack to Torchwood with some of the Guard. The fifteen men who took you lot pulled out their GPS' trackers there in an office."

The Doctor took Rose's hand and kissed it. She heard him speak in her head, 'Please stay right here with me.'

Rose looked at him in surprise, 'Are you alright?'

'I just need you here with me. I'm alright.'

The Doctor nodded his head, "Lewis, that sounds good. How is Logan?"

Jack nodded, "Logan is fine. He's asleep. Looks like you've been a fight as well. How did you do?"

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "I'm here. Don't worry about me, Jack."

Jack laughed, "Right…. That good, huh? Somethings never change."

Pete looked at Lewis. "I'll go to Torchwood and help sort this out."

Lewis looked at the Doctor and they both said at the same time. "No."

Lewis explained, "During a Protocol One, you have to stay out of Torchwood. I'm certain there are still people who are responsible for this, there."

Pete pointed at the Doctor. "We need to have a chat, about your damn Protocols and shit."

The Doctor smiled, "Oh, I'm sure we do, Pete."

Pete looked pissed. He pointed at the Doctor. "But, let me guess. He can go?"

Lewis looked at the Doctor. "Well, yeah. If he wants to. I'd rather he didn't though."

The Doctor shook his head and held Rose's hand tighter. "I've had enough excitement for tonight. I'm opting out. Jack. Jake asked for you on the surface. He's fine."

Jack shrugged his shoulders, "I'm sure he is. Jake's tough. I'll join him in a minute. I feel that the father in law is going to cuss you out, and I am in need of some cheap entertainment."

Pete stood with his arms crossed, "So, you are staying. Because you want to? Is that right, son?"

The Doctor nodded his head. "Well, yes and no. I shouldn't be in there, neither."

Lewis smiled, "Good man. He knows my blood pressure doesn't go much higher."

Rose looked confused at the Doctor. He kissed her hand.

Rose had reached her limit. She let go of him and held out her hands. "Alright! I've had enough of this!" She shouted and pointed at the Doctor. "You! There's something else going on here. Why are you the one telling everyone what to do? What the hell is going on?"

All of the anger and fear she had been bottling up bubbled to the surface in her explosion.

Jack smiled, "Better, Rose is going to cuss him out! This is Ace!"

The Doctor looked at Jack, "Shut up, Jack."

Rose pointed at Jack, "You stay out of this. I'm sick of you not telling me stuff!"

The Doctor rubbed his face as he leaned against the cabinet. "Yeah, I was going to tell you all of that tonigh-"

Rose put her hands on her hips and glared at him. "You can just tell me about it now, Old Man."

Jack clapped his hands together, "Hell yeah! Kick his ass, Rose!"

She pointed at Jack. "You just shut up, Jack! I know you are in on this, too!"

Jack held up his hands, "Fair enough! I'm out of this!"

Pete crossed his arms and stood next to Rose. "Yeah, I'm with you there, Rose. What the hell is going on?"

The Doctor pointed at himself. "Alright, but to be fair…I did tell you I was going to tell you about this tonight. I haven't had the time to tell you until now."

Rose crossed her arms and nodded her head. "Yeah. That's true. Alright."

The Doctor pointed at himself. "And Rose, I really don't think it's me you are cross with."

Rose thought for a moment, "You might be right."

The Doctor looked at her, "Calmer?"

Rose returned to shouting at him, "Hell no! I'm not some child you can keep in the dark and just tell her a spoonful of information at a time! Just start explaining."

Jack rocked on his feet in excitement. "Lewis, $100 says she hits him. You game?"

Lewis rubbed his chin and smiled, "Oh yeah."

Pete pointed at himself and told Jack quietly, "I'll take a piece of that."

Rose turned and yelled, "Shut up, you lot!" She pointed at the Doctor, "You. Something is going on here and you are keeping it to yourself again. I can tell."

Stark walked in with Legate. He looked back at Legate. "What did I tell you, man? Mom and Dad are fighting."

The Doctor shook his head, "This is not how I wanted to tell you this, Rose."

Lewis stood next to the Doctor. "Rose, he'll explain it all to you."

The Doctor ran his hand through his hair. "Geez. Lewis. Where do I start?"

Lewis thought, "Christmas! That was it."

The Doctor snapped, "Yes! Christmas. Rose. I had intended this would be a Christmas gift to you. Well if it had gotten approved." He put his hands in his pockets and looked at her.

"Christmas?" Rose asked.

He nodded his head, "Yep. Summus is Primus, which is similar to a General within the Quauhtin Guards. Summus wants to return to train other guards, but needed a Primus here to be left with this unit. Lewis went through the trials to get a higher rank, and so, I did the trials with Lewis."

Jack covered his mouth in surprise, "So, that's how you did it?"

Pete waved his hand, "Hang on, son. You're not a Quauhtin."

The Doctor shrugged his shoulders, "Neither are Gobbo or Adriano. But, if you can pass the trials, you can be a member of the Guard."

Tony shook his head, "Well, hang on. You can just jump up to being a General? What about all of the ranks before then?"

"Your past experience goes into consideration. The Time War lasted over 400 years. I fought in most of that. Although, it didn't happen here. Summus and I had long talks about some of the things." He told them as he ran his hand through his hair. Rose could feel how uncomfortable he was talking about it.

Rose shook her head. "Hang on. You're saying you are…. What are you saying?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "I'm a part of the Quauhtin Guard here. Lewis and I are the same rank."

"Why would you do this? This isn't you. You don't even carry a gun-"

He groaned and dropped his head. "I've explained a million times why I won't carry a damn gun. I'm not bringing that into this conversation."

Stark crossed his arms, "Well, I've never heard that explanation."

Rose snapped at him, "Shut up, Tony!"

The Doctor continued, "Don't you see, Rose? We can't go anywhere on our own. We always have to have one of the Guard with us. Now we will. Me! I didn't say anything while I was doing the trials because, well…. Time Lords don't exist here and we didn't know if I could join being something no one has ever heard of before."

Jack crossed his arms, "And you had to pass the trials."

The Doctor looked at Jack and nodded his head. "Yes. I wasn't sure if I could."

Lewis smiled proudly, "I never had a doubt he would pass the trials. The sword fighting and hand to hand combat pushed him over the edge. He got approved. And as far as his species, we lied a bit on that."

Pete looked surprised, "What did you say he was? Human?"

Lewis shook his head and smiled, "We told them he was a Rixalarian."

Pete laughed, "Shit! Like Genie! Makes sense!"

The Doctor smiled, "Having King Clagl to call and speak with Luce's people didn't hurt, either."

Lewis crossed his arms, "It helps to know people."

"Indeed."

Rose covered her mouth in surprise. "But, that means you will have to serve in the Guard and-"

He shook his head and smiled, "No. I'm a Primus. Just like Lewis. I can help guard the family. Help with planning, basically what I already do for everything else."

Pete smiled, "Damn. This is some shit. This means, just you and I can go places."

The Doctor looked up at him and nodded, "That's right."

Tony waved his hand, "Hang on a minute. You mean, you are one of these damn ghosts now? With the head talking and phasing?"

Lewis and the Doctor shook their heads, "No."

The Doctor explained, "There's no way I can phase. I had spoken to Summus about it, months ago. He had me join the unit so I could hear them talk in my head. He thought it would drive me mad enough I wouldn't pursue anything further. But, little he know, I'm mad already."

Rose giggled, "Well, that's true."

Jack asked, "Hang on there. What happens if the Guard moves on to another family to protect? You will have to leave Rose-"

He was already shaking his head. "No. I just leave the Guard at that point."

Pete looked impressed. "Damn. Wow. If I'm understanding this correctly, an congratulations are in order, for both of you."

The Doctor and Lewis looked at one another and smiled.

Lewis spoke, "Yes. We found out we both were granted Primus this morning. Hell of a wedding gift."

The Doctor took Rose's hands, "Rose, this is not how I had intended to tell you."

Rose smiled and looked away from him, "I feel bad for being cross with you now."

"Don't feel bad about that." He smiled at her.

"Yeah, do! So you can hit him and I can win some money!" Jack teased.

Lewis waved his hand, "No. If she doesn't hit him, I win. Feel bad, Rose. He has been working on this for months. You wouldn't believe the hell he's been through to prove himself, just so he can take you out on a date with just the two of you."

The Doctor looked at Lewis. "Really, mate? Really?"

Lewis laughed, "Man has to try. Rose, I was always on your side. Always. We've known one another a long time."

Rose laughed in disbelief at Lewis. "Lewis, you are such a nutter."

Lewis bit his lip. "So, you aren't going to hit him? Right?"

Rose put her hands on her hips and looked the Doctor up and down. She stepped forward and put her hands gently on either side of his face. She leaned in and snogged him. He relaxed and held her around her waist.

Jack complained, "Gross. I'll never get used to this shit."

The Doctor laughed. He laid his forehead on Rose's. "So, Happy Christmas?"

Rose smiled, "Happy Christmas. Wow. What? Four weeks, early?"

"Ah, time is relative."

Rose teased him, "Said the Time Lord."

They both laughed as they held one another.

Jack waved them off. "Gross. Oh well, that seems all sorted out. Damn. I thought there would be more fireworks than that. I'm going to see what blew up on the surface. Don't wait up. Lewis and Pete, I owe you cash."

Pete pointed at the Doctor. "We need to chat about this Protocol One, son-"

The Doctor held up his finger. "I'm sorry. Genie. Wow. She's really upset."

Legate asked, "Want me to go fetch her for you?"

The Doctor shook his head. "No. You need to get cleaned up. She's really upset. I need to go check on Logan. Lewis, do you mind?"

Lewis patted him on the back. "I'll take care of it. Tony. Come with me."

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