Chapter Thirty-one
*^*^*^*^*^*January 12th*^*^*^*^*^*
We emerged from the bunker together the next morning. Normally I would have risen and been out in the hub before the team arrived, but that morning we took time getting ready. Enjoying the stolen moments together before we went out to speak with the team. Even then, we emerged just after the time that the rest of the team was meant to be there.
Since Ianto, Owen and Tosh were sat talking amongst themselves they didn't notice Jack and I as we silently came to stand just outside of the circle of monitors.
"Owen, did Raven contact you? I don't think I've ever come into the hub and not seen her here unless she'd been called away." Tosh asked, worrying her lip between her teeth.
"I've not seen her. You were here before me." Owen frowned. "I bloody well hope that's she's just in the archives, and not out in the field or got forbid there's been a complication with her wound and she's collapsed."
"She still won't let you give her a full check-up?" Ianto asked, flicking through a screen on his computer.
"No, and she's not going to let me give her one when I'm taking out the stiches either." Owen grumbled. "She's stubborn as a donkey."
"What if she has collapsed?" Tosh worried.
"Well, we know she sleeps with Jack. And we know his bunker is in his office. Won't take us long to find it. If she doesn't turn up in twenty minutes, I'm phoning her. If she doesn't answer, I'm going up to find her." Owen turned to look at the office, his eyes widening as he noticed Jack and I.
"I'll let you do a CT scan and run my blood work when you take out the stiches. But I'm fine. Thank you for your concern." I informed Owen, my lips twitching at the silence.
"Jack!" Tosh jumped from her chair and ran to wrap Jack in a hug.
Jack returned the hug, before he kissed Tosh on the forehead and let her go. Ianto, stood slightly awkwardly to the side with relief and tears in his eyes but Jack didn't let him get away with a simple relieved "I'm glad your back." Jack grabbed him in a hug before also kissing him on the forehead.
"I…" Owen started, his voice choking with emotion as he approached Jack.
"I forgive you," Jack finally pulled Owen into a hug.
"Where's Gwen?" I asked, noting the distinct absence of the final member of their team. Ever since I had temporary taken up command of the team, Gwen had made a point of always doing something to annoy me; weather that be mishandling her paperwork, purposefully spending hours down at the shooting range, or sitting at her desk not doing her work. It seemed that she had decided to come in late today.
"I don't know." Tosh admitted.
"Well then, her loss." Jack shrugged. "Ianto, if she doesn't turn up by ten, go pick her up."
"Of course." Ianto agreed at once.
"Owen, I want you to look at the bullet wound today instead of in a few days." I spoke up. "Jack, you've got paperwork on your desk. Post tic notes are urgent."
"No rest for the wicked." Jack cheered before heading up to his office with a laugh.
"I doubt I'm going to be able to take those stiches out." Owen warned, leading the way down into his domain.
"I know, but it will set your mind at ease to see that I'm fine, even if I shouldn't be in the field in case I set back the healing or need to engage in a fight when I'm not at fall fighting form." I answered easily. I needed to show Owen that I trusted him once more, and this was the only way I could think to do that.
"I'll start with the blood test and CT before testing to see if there's any additional damage." Owen said, silently pointing to the table as an indication that I should take a seat. "You getting any pain?"
"No more than your get from your shoulder." I answered. "You shouldn't be in the field either, you know."
"Yes, but the bullet barely entered my shoulder and caused little damage beyond the entrance. I have full range of movement," Owen responded. "However, you can't lift anything heavy nor can you run without the pain crippling a normal person."
"Normal person," I repeated with a smile. "Glad to see you know my pain tolerance is better than that."
I only took myself from the field because I could. But I knew that if anything happened, I would be back in the field in an instance – injury be damned. Pain, I had never let that stop me in the past and I wasn't going to let it stop me know.
By the time Owen had finished with his assessment, Gwen had returned to the hub and Jack had assigned her paperwork – a lot of which were action reports that she had to re-write because she had done a terrible job – as punishment for being late. I joined Jack in his office, completing paperwork in a comfortable silence.
We were interrupted by the sound of one of the machines beeping out in the main hub.
"That's not a monitor." I pointed up. The sound was different.
"It's the hand." Jack said excitedly, grabbing his coat as he ran from the office. In quick movements he had the hand inside his back pack. "He's here."
"Go, get your answers." I kissed Jack deeply. "Keep your head on a swivel."
"Keep your eyes open." Jack dashed to the lift typing in the activation code before he even got there.
I stood and watched him leave. Just as the concrete slab slid into place the others returned from their lunch break and coffee run. They had decided to buy coffee from the dinner they went to for lunch instead of having some of Ianto's coffee.
"Where's Jack?" Gwen asked.
"Gone," I answered simple.
"Gone, gone were?" Gwen demanded. "When's he going to be back?"
"To get his answers." I said cryptically, returning to Jack's office. I needed to let the Queen know that I was going to be taking up the role of acting head in a more permanent capacity. In all of Jack's stories of the Doctor, the man was chronically late or unable to land where he wanted to.
*^*^*^*^*January 13th*^*^*^*^*
Early the next morning I received an unexpected phone call from Harold Saxon, the man who was voted president that same day. He wanted to send the team on an assignment to the Himalayas where there had been reports of what UNIT assume is aliens. I tried to explain that this was very far outside of our jurisdiction, but Saxon sent over documents which made this an official assignment that I couldn't turn down.
So, I ordered the team to get to the hub for eight o'clock while I packed a couple of bags with gear. The majority of it was cold weather camping equipment and portable analysis devices, including recording equipment.
"What happened? Why do you want us here early?" Owen asked, clearly concerned that another disaster had hit now that Jack was gone.
"We've been given an assignment by Harold Saxon." I informed them succinctly with my arms crossed and a light frown on my brow.
"What does he want us to do?" Tosh asked excitedly.
"There has been reports in the Himalayas, he wants someone he can trust to either confirm or deny the reports and if the reports are true, deal with the situation. I've already packed the bags." I informed them. "Since we can't leave the rift unmonitored, I will be remaining behind. Owen, you'll be in charge of the team in the field but I want you checking in with me once a day."
"Wait, you want all of us going?" Ianto asked surprised.
"Yes. Mr Saxon has requested the entire team to go. I've already booked you on the flights. Tosh, you've got the online tickets in your inbox." I informed them. "Besides, I don't have a passport."
"When's the flight?" Gwen asked.
"Two and a half hours. You all better get a move on. You need to be at the airport in two hours." With that warning panic set in as they grabbed a bag each and set off to go and pack a page full of clothes before making their way to the airport.
Once they had all left, I set to changing the monitoring system so the alert would come through on my phone instead of Jack's vortex manipulator or Tosh's desk top. It also meant I could access the saved archives using my phone and it would patch secure and encrypted communications through me. My phone, in turn, was connected to one of the comms so I could accept any calls direct instead of it being routed through Jack's office. This was something that Jack typically set up when he was out of the base, like when they were dealing with the time distortion. I set it up now, because I didn't want to shackle myself to the office or take precious time to change the system in the event of an emergence. It also meant I would get the alerts and calls even when I was exploring the passages or in the training room.
While going through some necessary paperwork which needed to be done, I had the news turned on. Harold Saxon had been voted Prime Minster and he was about to make a speech. The way he had gotten the public's support still baffled me because I couldn't find a single campaign with a cause to his name.
I had bene putting of researching the man, since there were bigger things that they needed to deal with. Now he was Prime Minister, and I was technically on medical leave, I decided to take some time now to look into the man.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*Prov Change*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
The Doctor, Jack and Martha appeared in a street in London.
"Oh, my head." Martha complained.
"Time travel without a capsule. That's a killer." The Doctor cracked his neck, while Jack just shook it off. Although it had been over a hundred years since he had used the teleport function, he was used to the feeling.
"Still, at least we made it." Jack smiled, looking around the street they had arrived in. "Earth, twenty first century by the looks of it. Talk about lucky."
"That wasn't luck, that was me," the Doctor corrected, leading them out of the side street they were in to what looked like a city square.
"The moral is, if you're going to get stuck at the end of the universe, get stuck with an ex-Time Agent and his vortex manipulator." Jack smirked smugly at the Doctor who took the higher ground and ignored hm.
"But this Master bloke, he's got the TARDIs. He could be anywhere in time and space." Martha pointed out.
"No, he's here. Trust me." the Doctor said grimly.
"Who is he, anyway? And that voice at the end, that wasn't the Professor."
"If the Master's a Time Lord, then he must have regenerated." Jack pointed out. He had never seen the Doctor regenerate but he knew that the man could do so. Which was why he wasn't surprised to discover that the Doctor's face was different when he clung to that box.
"What does that mean?" Martha asked confused.
"It means he's changed his face, his voice, body, everything. New Man." Jack explained when the Doctor didn't.
"Then how are we going to find him?" Martha demanded.
"I'll know him." the Doctor said after a deep breath. "The moment I see him. Time Lords always do."
A screen on the side of a building, showing the news, caught Martha's attention. "But hold on. If he could be anyone, we missed the election. But it can't be."
{News station - Saxon Headquarters}
Mister Saxon has returned from the Palace and is greeting the crowd inside Saxon headquarters.
"I said I knew that voice. When he spoke inside the TARDIS. I've heard that voice hundreds of times. I've seen him. We all have. That was the voice of Harold Saxon."
"That's him." the Doctor confirmed. "He's Prime Minister. The Master is Prime Minister of Great Britain." He raised an eyebrow when the Master kissed the women next to him. "The Master and his wife?"
{News station – Outside Saxon Headquarters}
"This country has been sick. This country needs healing. This country needs medicine. In fact," the Master looked directly at the camera, "I'd go as far as to say that what this country really needs right now, is a Doctor."
