Journey Amongst the Stars

By Lumendea

Chapter Twenty-Four: The Empty Child: Albion Hosptial

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any of the spinoff material and I gain no income off of this story, just the satisfaction of playing with the characters.

AN: I realized while writing this chapter, that the episode never makes it clear how Jack and Rose get to the hospital! Did they walk through the Air Raid or take his ship that could only teleport him?

…

The Doctor couldn't help but think that Nancy would have made a good companion if he didn't already have Rose. She was sharp and observant and brave despite the palpable terror that haunted her every step. Of course, he did have Rose, and there would be no thoughts of replacing her. Then again, another person on the TARDIS might help. Might make things a little less domestic. He'd started cooking again! Him! All because it wasn't fair that Rose did all the cooking, even if she was very good at it. So things were a bit more domestic than he liked right now. Rose just had a talent of disarming him. It was a bit annoying, really.

Shaking his head, he focused his attention on the fenced off area. Pulling out a pair of advanced binoculars from his pocket, he scanned the area. What he saw made him frown. The locals clearly knew that there was something different about what had crashed here. Rose's comment about Torchwood came back to him. If that lot were here, then everything would be even more complicated.

"The bomb's under that tarpaulin," Nancy explained." They put the fence up overnight. See that building? The hospital."

He turned his sights to the building in question. Other than being close by, nothing about it stood out. "What about it?" he asked.

"That's where the doctor is. You should talk to him."

"For now, I'm more interested in getting in there."

"Talk to the doctor first," Nancy insisted.

"Why?"

"Because then maybe you won't want to get inside," Nancy said. She meant what she said. Then she picked up her pack and stood up, moving in the shadows the way they'd come.

"Where're you going?" the Doctor asked.

"There was a lot of food in that house. I've got mouths to feed," Nancy said, her tone matter of fact. "Should be safe enough now."

The Doctor hesitated for only a moment. "Can I ask you a question?" She didn't stop him. "Who did you lose?"

"What?" She wasn't surprised as much as guarded.

"The way you look after all those kids. It's because you lost somebody, isn't it?" The Doctor kept his voice gentle. "You're doing all this to make up for it."

Nancy swallowed, but to his surprise, she answered. "My little brother. Jamie. One night I went out looking for food. Same night that thing fell. I told him not to follow me, I told him it was dangerous, but he just…" Nancy struggled, but her grief was tightly controlled. "He just didn't like being on his own."

"What happened?"

Nancy's voice wavered. "In the middle of an air raid? What do you think happened?"

"Amazing," the Doctor breathed.

"What is?"

He almost smiled. "1941. Right now, not very far from here, the German war machine is rolling up the map of Europe. Country after country, falling like dominoes. Nothing can stop it. Nothing. Until one, tiny, damp little island says no. No. Not here." He was aware of Nancy staring at him in shock but kept going. "A mouse in front of a lion. You're amazing, the lot of you. Don't know what you do to Hitler, but you frighten the hell out of me. Off you go then do what you've got to do. Save the world."

The Doctor nodded towards the city. For a moment, he thought that Nancy might have been smiling a little. The Doctor was almost proud to manage that. Still, there wasn't time to linger on that. Whatever had fallen had drawn attention, and given how afraid Nancy and the other children were of the result of the object, he didn't have time to waste.

…

Jack was testing her. His conversation was completely different than the way he normally talked. He was trying to gather information and learn more about Rose and the Doctor for whatever game he was playing. The ship smoothly sailed over London, heading for what Jack had told her was an old hospital that was under some kind of mysterious quarantine. He was in the pilot seat, and Rose was holding onto a handle a foot or so behind him.

"Do you know why?" Rose asked. "War is on, and they shut down a hospital in the middle of the London Blitz. I would have thought it was all hands on deck?"

"Not sure, probably some kind of outbreak. This is before a lot of vaccines." He didn't sound worried, but there was a hint of something in his voice. Curiosity maybe. Rose hated not being able to tell. "Any idea what would lure your partner there?"

"Well, he was looking for that ship you're looking to sell us. Must be a connection to the hospital."

"No way," Jack said firmly. "Anyway, this partner of yours, what's he like?"

"He does like to wander off," Rose agreed, but she noted Jack's reaction. She wasn't sure if Jack would have heard of the Doctor or Time Lords at this point. It seemed strange that he wouldn't have, but the Time War had many unexpected results. "He goes by the Doctor," she finally said. "Good man, but a bit grumpy if you catch him at a bad time."

"The Doctor," Jack repeated. He was searching his memory but didn't seem to come up with anything. "That's a bit different but fair enough. Goodness knows, plenty of agents have code names." He looked over his shoulder at Rose. "Do you?"

"Thorn."

"Thorn?" Jack laughed. "Love it."

"It does the trick," Rose agreed.

"So this Doctor, been working with him long?"

"We've been partnered about a year and a half, I think, but we've known each other a long time. He was a bit of a mentor to me at one point, not that he'd be happy to hear it described as such."

Jack laughed a little, a bit more real this time. Rose had a strong urge to pull out her phone and call the older Jack. It would have been nice to hear his open affection and familiar teasing. She wished that she could reassure him that she loved him. But for now, she had to navigate around this younger and more guarded Jack.

"Don't pressure him about the sale," Rose said quickly. "He's in this more for the exploration and will take offense. Let me give him the offer. I know how to entice him."

"It's a good offer," Jack said. "Chula warships can't be found anymore. It's computer banks and records are all intact. There's a wealth of information to be unlocked. For the right price."

And he was back to salesman mode. Rose almost sighed. The ship stopped, and Jack stood up. "We're here. I'm sorry, but the teleport is set to me. We'll have to slide down."

"Oh, lovely."

"It's easier the second time." Jack's smile was a bit softer, and Rose nodded her agreement.

"If I faint again, you must never bring it up."

At that, Jack outright laughed.

….

Striding forward with purpose, the Doctor used the sonic screwdriver to open the padlock on the ornate metal gates of the hospital grounds. They were old fashioned, probably at least a hundred years old, but thankfully didn't squeak too much. Ahead of him, the hospital loomed like a dark foreboding figure.

He really hoped that the doctor he was going to see had a real name. It had been too recently that he encountered another version of himself and he didn't fancy doing that again. He had no memory of this place so it would have to be future and he didn't want to see his future. That thought almost made him pause. For a long time after the war, he'd been convinced that he didn't have a future at all.

The Doctor knew the reason for the change, and a sigh escaped him. Of course, paradoxically, she was also why he was afraid of his future. Rose had promised to stay, not even Pompeii had driven her away, but someday she'd be gone. He didn't want to see that or even think about it. Pushing those thoughts out of his head, he headed up into the hospital, following the lights and searching for Nancy's doctor.

He entered a long dark ward. Every bed was occupied by an unmoving patient that was wearing a gas mask. As if that wasn't disturbing enough, they were all silent. There was no noise, no soft whispers, or even groans — none of the noises you expected from a hospital. Then an elderly man leaning on a walking stick tottered into view. The Doctor knew it wasn't a Time Lord or another version of himself and relaxed a little despite the strange sight around him.

"You'll find them everywhere," the elderly man said. "In every bed, in every ward. Hundreds of them."

"Yes, I saw. Why are they still wearing gas masks?"

"They're not. Who are you?"

"I'm-er. Are you the doctor?" the Doctor asked uneasily.

"Doctor Constantine," the man replied patiently. "And you are?"

"Nancy sent me," he answered honestly.

"Nancy? That means you must've been asking about the bomb."

"Yes."

"What do you know about it?" Constantine asked. He seemed a touch suspicious.

"Nothing. Why I was asking. What do you know?"

"Only what it's done," Constantine answered.

"These people," the Doctor gestured around. "They were all caught up in the blast?"

"None of them were." Constantine chuckled at his own words only to start coughing. Waving off the Doctor, he sat down in a chair beside the desk. The Doctor noted that normally a ward sister would be there, but there was only Constantine.

"You're very sick," the Doctor said.

"Dying, I should think," Constantine answered. That explained why he was here alone. Must have been the only one willing. "I just haven't been able to find the time. Are you a doctor?"

"I have my moments."

"Have you examined any of them yet?"

"No."

"Don't touch the flesh," Constantine said as permission and warning.

"Which one?"

"Anyone."

Uncertain of what was going on, the Doctor pulled out the sonic screwdriver. Constantine didn't even ask what it was, either too tired or too beyond caring at this point. Pointing it at the nearest patient, the Doctor focused on the soft pulse of the screwdriver in his hand as it fed him information.

"Conclusions?" Constantine asked.

"Massive head trauma, mostly to the left side. Partial collapse of the chest cavity, mostly to the right. There's some scarring on the back of the hand, and the gas mask seems to be fused to the flesh, but I can't see any burns." The Doctor stepped closer to the patient with a frown but did not try to touch them.

"Examine another one," Constantine said.

The Doctor did so. His eyes widened in shock and alarm. "This isn't possible."

"Examine another," Constantine urged.

He used the sonic screwdriver to check another patient only to receive the exact same results. Then he did another and another; all came back the exact same way. He'd have been worried that the sonic screwdriver was malfunctioning, but Constantine wasn't surprised at all.

"This isn't possible," the Doctor repeated. He was at a loss for words.

"No."

"They've all got the same injuries."

"Yes."

"Exactly the same."

"Yes."

"Identical, all of them, right down to the scar on the back of the hand," the Doctor said. Then his eyes landed on Constantine's hand. The man had the same scar on his hand. He didn't want to ask. "How did this happen? How did it start?"

"When that bomb dropped, there was just one victim," Constantine answered.

"Dead?"

"At first. His injuries were truly dreadful. By the following morning, every doctor and nurse who had treated him, who had touched him, had those exact same injuries. By the morning after that, every patient in the same ward, the exact same injuries," Constantine explained calmly as if what he was saying wasn't impossible. "Within a week, the entire hospital. Physical injuries as plague. Can you explain that? What would you say was the cause of death?"

"The head trauma."

"No."

"Asphyxiation."

"No."

"The collapse of the chest cavity," the Doctor guessed. He was grasping at straws and trying to understand what Constantine was getting at.

"No."

"All right. What was the cause of death?"

"There wasn't one. They're not dead." With that, Constantine hit a nearby metal wastebasket. The loud sound made all of the patients sit up in the beds. The Doctor jumped back and looked around in alarm. "It's all right. They're harmless. They just sort of sit there. No heartbeat, no life signs of any kind. They just don't die."

"And they've just been left here?" the Doctor asked. "Nobody's doing anything?"

"I try and make them comfortable. What else is there?"

This was over the head of the humans. The Doctor had to admit that. This plague didn't fit anything they knew about sickness and disease, and with the war on, there was a limit to what resources could be poured into solving it. Given what Rose had told him about Torchwood, he was surprised that they weren't sniffing around. Then again, one of the patients very well could have been a Torchwood agent. In their current state, none of them were in any condition to be answering questions.

"Just you? You're the only one here?" the Doctor asked.

"Before this war began, I was a father and a grandfather. Now I am neither. But I'm still a doctor."

"Yeah. I know the feeling," the Doctor muttered.

Constantine grimaced and shifted in his chair, clearly uncomfortable. He was breathing a little harder now. "I suspect the plan is to blow up the hospital and blame it on a German bomb."

"Probably too late," the Doctor said. His eyes were fixed on Constantine.

"No. There are isolated cases. Isolated cases breaking out all over London," Constantine forced out. The Doctor took a step towards him. "Stay back, stay back," Constantine ordered. "Listen to me. Top floor. Room eight oh two. That's where they took the first victim, the one from the crash site. And you must find Nancy again."

"Nancy?"

Constantine's whole body was shaking. The man was struggling to keep talking, but somehow, he managed. "It was her brother. She knows more than she's saying. She won't tell me, but she might Mummy. Are you my mummy?"

The Doctor stood stunned as Constantine's mouth began to shift. The flesh grew and warped, forming the start of a gas mask. Within moments, his whole face had been shifted into a full gas mask, making him the latest victim.

"Hello?" a male voice called from the hallway.

"Hello?" Rose called.

The Doctor was almost dizzy with relief at the sound of Rose's voice. He didn't know the male one and didn't care. Constantine stayed sitting in his chair. The newly transformed man made no move to attack him. He just sat there and watched. Pointing the sonic screwdriver at him, the Doctor checked the symptoms quickly. Suddenly the old man's body was registering as exactly the same as all the other patients. Shaking his head, the Doctor put away the sonic screwdriver and headed out of the ward to find Rose.