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Chapter 9 - Double Trouble
"Is your hand hurting again?" Rose asked him. She could sense he was anxious, uncomfortable, a bit defeated. They were in the back of the car, headed to the mansion.
The Doctor stopped staring off into space. He took her hand and kissed it. "How do you always know?" He rummaged around in his pocket and pulled out his pill bottle. She noticed there weren't but two left in the bottle.
"Blimey! How many of those things have you taken?"
He popped one in his mouth. "Text Pete and ask him to bring some home. I need some more."
Rose looked at him suspiciously. He noticed her looking at him. "I can control the pain if I don't have anything else to worry about. I've had some things on my mind."
Well, he did have a point.
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They pulled up to the Tyler Mansion. The Doctor walked around to get the suitcase from Shakes. Shakes remarked about how light it was. The Doctor smiled and explained that he always traveled light.
Rose was greeted at the door by Jackie. "Oh! Come on in! You are a lot earlier than I expected!" she said.
As Rose came into the house, she was greeted with a hug from her mother. As soon as the Doctor walked in and dropped their suitcase, she noticed his sling. "What the 'ell 'appened to you?" she demanded. "So, punching the wall did break your 'and after all?"
How had he not prepared himself for this? He knew Jackie would make a huge fuss about his hand.
Too many things on his mind, lately.
He started to reply to her, only to be interrupted by Tony, Rose's younger brother, running through the room towards them. The Doctor spotted what he was about to do before the ladies did and bent down to catch him as he jumped into the Doctor's one good arm. Both Jackie and Rose gasped thinking he had hit the Doctor's broken hand.
"Doctor!" he exclaimed as the Doctor held him expertly. "What happened to your hand?"
The Doctor looked at Tony and tilted his head to one side. "Tell me, Tony. What do you think I did to my hand?"
"You probably hurt it fighting a monster!" he said as he pulled up his hands and growled.
The Doctor was flooded with relief. That explanation would work. And maybe make Jackie stop glaring at him.
"You are so clever. That's exactly what happened! The monster was going to get your sister. And I couldn't let that happen. So, I fought with him. And saved her. That monster even gave me a black eye, but the doctor used a machine to fade it away."
Jackie looked to Rose. "Is that what happened?"
Rose laughed, seeing how the Doctor had spun this. "Yeah, sortof."
Jackie came over and hugged the Doctor and Tony, who he still held in his good arm. "Ah!" The Doctor and Tony screamed. "We're making a Tony sandwich."
Jackie took them into the living room that they used as a family, not the one meant for parties and visiting dignitaries. Rose carried the suitcase in with them. Tony refused to let the Doctor put him down. That was alright. The Doctor didn't mind. He had gotten him out of a sticky situation just then. Tony was his comrade against the Tyler women even if he didn't realize it yet.
As they got into the living room, Rose opened the suitcase and took out a gift she had wrapped.
"When did you do that?" the Doctor looked surprised. He sat down in a chair with Tony in his lap.
"It's for mum. I wrapped it up last night." Rose told him.
Jackie came around the chair. "For me? What on earth is it?"
"Well, open it!" Rose encouraged.
It was a double frame. One picture was of Rose when she was a little girl. She was smiling up from behind a birthday cake. Jackie stood behind her. The cake had 4 candles on it. The other side was a picture of Rose and Mickey on swings at a playground. Jackie was standing behind them. They were probably 8 years old. Jackie started to cry. "Where on earth did you get these?"
Rose pointed at the Doctor who was as interested as Tony was, as to what was going on. "The Doctor went back to our flat and got them after we came here." Rose choose her words carefully. "When we were leaving from our trip back that time, he remembered he had got them and grabbed them before we were dropped off."
Jackie was speechless. And that takes a lot.
"Why?" she asked the Doctor.
He was busy playing with Tony now. Every time he said a word, he would bounce Tony on his knees. "Because. I knew. You two. Wouldn't want. Some strangers going through. Your stuff and chucking it out."
Tony was howling with laughter.
Jackie grabbed Rose and hugged her. Then she turned to the Doctor, who was being so silly with Tony, that he never saw it coming. Jackie hugged him the best she could and kissed him on the forehead.
The Doctor moaned and complained like a child. "Ew! Mum kisses."
Tony laughed and echoed the "Ew."
"I know just the place for this," Jackie told them. "I'll put it in the bedroom." And she left the room.
As soon as she was gone, Tony looked at the Doctor and asked. "Can I see your sonic screwdriver?"
"You know what, Tony? I knew you would ask me that. So, I made you something." he told the three-year-old as he shifted him on his lap so he could run his good hand into the pocket of his jeans.
"A present for me?" he asked clapping his hands together.
"Yeah, but you have to be very careful with it. It's a delicate, scientific instrument," he told him seriously.
Rose just sat there in disbelief as the Doctor handed him a sonic screwdriver of his own. Complete with a little blue light and all. The Doctor showed him where the button on the side was and pressed it down. It made the familiar noise that Rose knew all too well. Tony was so excited. He threw his arms around the Doctor's neck. "Thank you, Doctor! It looks just like yours! I'm going to show Mum!"
The Doctor beamed as Tony jumped off his lap and ran off.
Rose was still picking her mouth up off the floor. "You gave a three-year-old, a sonic screwdriver?"
The Doctor looked at her seriously, "It's not real. It just lights up and makes noise. He can't do anything but poke his eye out with it. And he'll have a job doing that!"
Rose just shook her head in disbelief. She stood up and walked over to sit in his lap. "You are full of surprises, my Doctor." She leaned in and kissed him.
"Ew! Rose kisses." Tony said as he ran back into the room.
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Pete returned to the house that afternoon. Tony couldn't wait to show his Dad the wonderful new toy sonic screwdriver the Doctor had given him. Jackie had flipped out about it. But after hearing it was a toy, she was alright with him running around the house monster hunting with it.
Rose excused herself to go lay down for a nap. With her Mom still thinking she was recovering, it worked well for her to escape the chaos of the Tyler house.
Tony was all energy. He was currently up in a tree in the back gardens. Pete and the Doctor were keeping an eye on him as he played.
"I need you to promise me something." Pete started. "Promise me that you won't keep any secrets from me. If you and Rose run into trouble of any sort while on your trip, tell me immediately."
"Yeah, we've gotten good at keeping secrets from these Tyler women, haven't we?" the Doctor remarked. "I've not told Rose about the house yet. Don't know how I'm going to. I just want her to have a good day. So far this one hasn't been so horrible."
"I understand that." Pete told him. "The problem with secrets though is once you start keeping them, other ones start sticking to them. And before you know it, you aren't telling one another anything."
The Doctor nodded. "There are secrets that I've kept for my entire life. Over 900 years. I can't tell them even now to anyone, not even Rose."
"900 years? Wow. I apologize, Doctor." Pete confessed as he shook his head in disbelief. "I did know that, but I had forgotten. Must seem rich for a youngster like me to give you advice. I'm sorry. I'll try to remember next time."
The Doctor sensed Pete's embarrassment. "Nah, don't worry about it. When you've lived as long as I have, you learn that anyone can give good advice. Even someone as young as Tony." He swallowed hard as he continued. "And you forget a lot. About life. About how things really work. I was on my own for a large part of those 900 years. But, with keeping secrets, I understand what you are saying. And you are right. It just becomes part of what you are. Keeping it to yourself. You say you do it to protect the people around you that you care about, or just because of your own embarrassment in admitting something about yourself. But, it's all the same thing."
Pete nodded his head in agreement.
"While, we're on this subject. What have you got that Jackie is going to hate, but Tony is going to love? Rose and I have been speculating all day."
Pete looked down and laughed. "I suppose you'll know soon enough. I'm getting a German Shepherd for Tony. It's been trained for protection. I figured we needed to think about his safety in case this escalates."
The Doctor couldn't contain his excitement. "Oh! He's going to love that! When is it getting here?"
"Tomorrow at noon. The trainer has to stay a few days to make sure the dog takes to his new job before he leaves."
"Makes sense. Lucky I'll be here. I can help." the Doctor offered.
"Are you a dog trainer as well?" Pete sounded surprised.
The Doctor shook his head, "No...let's just say, we speak the same language."
Pete looked confused. "You can speak to dogs, you must be barking-"
"I can speak to everything." The Doctor told him. "I speak every language there is."
"Interesting," Pete said impressed. "Really?"
"Oh yes." the Doctor said.
"That could come in handy as a consultant," Pete told him.
"Anytime you need me, just ask. I'm happy to help."
A few moments passed. "Do you think Rose is going to be okay?" he asked the Doctor.
A smile spread across his face thinking about Rose. "She'll be alright. I'm showing her to use her telepathy more. Which helps me to do it more often. She's got an amazing gift. Something does worry me, though. I wonder if she's able to see through my shields. I've been having to take this medicine for this hand of mine, and I'm not sure if it is making them weaker or if she's that strong. Neither would surprise me."
"Doctor look at me!" Tony yelled from high in a tree.
"Uh-oh." the Doctor realized what was happening about two seconds before Pete did. Tony had not judged his grip well in the tree he was in, and he fell and hit the ground hard. The Doctor and Pete rushed to him. The Doctor rolled him over and took out his sonic screwdriver and scanned him. Pete kneeled next to his son. Tony had started to cry.
The Doctor quickly placed his hand on the boy's hand and telepathically sent him comfort and reassurance. Tony stopped crying immediately but continued to whimper.
"Broken wrist." the Doctor determined. "Pete, give me your tie."
Pete took it off and handed it over. The Doctor wrapped Tony's wrist.
"We'll have to take him to the doctor to make sure it's set. I can't tell that." the Doctor told Pete. Then turned to Tony, "Looks like you are going to get a splint like me, Comrade!"
Pete smiled at the Doctor's remark to his little boy. "Right. Come on, son." He told the boy has he gathered him in his arms. Shakes was already running towards them.
"Shakes. Get us a car, and tell Jackie that the Doctor and I have been called away. We're taking Tony. We'll be back before dinner." he instructed.
"Tell her not to cook!" the Doctor said as he walked with Pete and Tony.
Pete laughed. "Oh, you asked me to remind you about a Tyler punch?"
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A huge advantage of being the Director of Torchwood was that you could bring your son in to be seen by a doctor on a Friday afternoon. Any hospital was probably crawling with injured people by that time, but Pete and the Doctor were able to take Tony right into an examination room as soon as they arrived. Two bodyguards flanked the outside door.
Tony sat in Pete's lap, facing the Doctor who was sitting across from him on a rolling stool. The Doctor was still wearing his arm sling but didn't have his arm in it because he was in the middle of telling Tony stories while they waited on the doctor, with a little 'd'.
"The Syracusan king, Hieron II, had a crown made. But, Hieron was very picky and demanded that his crown weigh a certain amount. He gave the man who was making his crown a bag of gold to use. Gold was extremely valuable."
" When Hieron received his finished crown...oh... it was beautiful." the Doctor told Tony animatedly. He looked at the ceiling as if he was remembering seeing it himself. "And, even though it weighed what it was supposed to, Hieron just couldn't stop worrying that the maker had somehow stolen the gold from him."
"So, he went to this brilliant man. A bit smelly." he added, wrinkling up his nose. That made Tony and Pete both giggle. "But, a brilliant metal worker! And he asked him to figure out a way to prove that his crown was completely made of gold, or prove the man was a thief. So, Archimedes brought the crown back to his home to investigate. The king had insisted that he didn't want his crown damaged in any way. So, how was Archimedes figure it out?"
Tony shrugged his shoulders. "Don't know."
"Well, he worked on it for days. He had another clever man there," he swallowed hard and continued, "who was visiting from out of town. Neither one of them could figure it out. See, the clever man had broken his sonic screwdriver that morning when it fell off of a horse. The horse stepped on it, and he hadn't made another one as yet."
"They thought and thought. They were drinking ale while they were doing their thinking. Most people did drink ale back then. And it can sometimes make you say things you don't mean to say. Archimedes' friend, who had been drinking quite a lot, told him that he smelt bad and needed to take a bath."
Tony laughed.
"Surprisingly, Archimedes wasn't offended by that. He decided it was a good idea. While he was in the bath, he figured out a way to prove the crown was not made entirely of gold! And he was so excited that he jumped out of the bathtub, and ran down the streets to tell the king without putting back on any of his clothes."
Tony was laughing hysterically. Pete was laughing as well.
"Yep. Running down the road, completely nude! Imagine what the king thought when he ran into the palace!"
The Doctor joined them laughing.
The doctor came into the room.
"You folks seem to be having a good time in here," he told them with a laugh. "Oh, Director Tyler, sir! I didn't realize it was you!"
Pete was wiping tears out of the corners of his eyes. "Yeah, how are you, Harold? " He looked over to the Doctor and held out his palm. "This is Doctor Johnathon Smith." he then patted Tony's knee and introduced him. "And this is my son, Tony."
Pete then introduced the doctor as Doctor Harold Brown.
"Pleased to meet you both, gentlemen," he told them. "What seems to be the problem?"
The Doctor interjected. "Young, Master Tony here was climbing a tree when he lost his balance -"
"And I fell right out."
Doctor Brown smiled while he clicked some things onto his tablet. "That can happen when you are up in a tree."
"I think he's possibility sprang his wrist or something. Can't tell without an x-ray." The Doctor told the man, innocently. He knew it was broken. His sonic screwdriver had never lied to him.
"Well, let's start there." Doctor Brown agreed. "I'll send a nurse in to walk you down to x-ray. I'll be back to discuss what we find."
"Oh, Doctor." the Doctor added. "I wondered...if I might be able to get another x-ray of my wrist as well? This hand is hurting a lot worse than I think it should be." he admitted as he looked down at his broken wrist. "I fell on it again yesterday afternoon. I'm concerned I've probably injured it worse."
"Sure! We'll grab an x-ray of your wrist as well. Not a problem at all. See you in a minute." he said with a smile as he walked out of the room.
"Oh, I like him." the Doctor told Pete. "Seems young, though."
"Straight out of med school. Parents were killed in the Cyberman invasion. I watched him grow up. He's a good lad." Pete told him.
A nurse came in and took the Doctor and Tony down to the x-ray room. Pete walked behind them.
When they got into the room, Tony was scared by the big machine that was going to show him his bones. So, the Doctor removed his splint and pulled his chair up next to Tony's.
"Let's let them take a picture of our wrists together. Remember to smile!" Tony lay his hand next to the Doctor and laughed.
"You are silly!" Tony giggled at him.
Pete had never thought about the Doctor around children. Or even the possibility that he may one day be the father of his grandchildren. If it had any worries about it, they were extinguished there.
He was not ashamed to admit that he was very pleased that the Doctor was there to calm Tony's fears. Tony had taken to him faster than he had ever seen him take to anyone. He supposed that all of those stories Rose had told Tony over the years about the Doctor didn't hurt his option of the man. The man who was now that was sitting next to his son, insisting that Tony stick his tongue out for their next x-ray picture.
Back in the exam room, Doctor Brown was going over their x-rays.
"Yep, two broken wrists. Tony has a small fracture right here." he pointed to a spot on the tiny hand's x-ray. "Whereas this one..." he pointed at the bigger hand, "has damage here, here, here. And here. And here. And over here. The cracks in your knuckles seem to have opened up more. What did you fall on?"
"The concrete. In front of the building out here. Well..." he drug out the word, "To be fair, I had a huge bodyguard laying on me at the time. I'm such a skinny bloke." he winked at Tony.
Doctor Brown suddenly looked embarrassed. "Oh! I apologize. You are that Doctor Smith! Sorry. The first name threw me off."
"John." The Doctor agreed, "I'm still getting used to it myself."
"Well, John. I think it would be better to put your wrist in a cast to hopefully prevent you from injuring it any further. These cracks opening up like that scare me a bit. If they open anymore, or these bones down here move any, I'm going to have to recommend surgery."
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The Doctor popped a pain pill into his mouth as the nurse put the cast on his wrist. He wrapped it 3/4 the way towards his elbow and wrapped all four fingers up to keep it secure. He left his thumb free.
Because it was so small, Torchwood did not have splints for Tony's hand. The nurse put a cast on Tony's arm, too. Granted, not as long and serious looking at the one the Doctor had. When they were finished, both of them posed for a Pete to take their pictures sporting their fresh, TARDIS blue casts.
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Rose had woken up to find that Pete and the Doctor had been "called away."
She began to almost panic until she heard that they had taken Tony with them.
Jackie assured her, "I'm sure it's nothing, sweetheart. Text them if you want."
That was a good idea. She texted Pete asking simply where they were. A few seconds later, her phone beeped. 'We're at the gate. We'll be inside in just a second.'
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Tony made it through the front door first. He ran as fast as he could to his mum to show her his cast. They knew he had reached her when they heard, "What the 'ell 'appened to you!? PETE!"
The Doctor and Pete walked in the door together. Pete turned to the Doctor and said, "I better go deal with this." and walked away.
"Good luck" the Doctor called after him as he closed the front door. Then he spotted Rose who walked over to meet him. He had his arm back in the sling, so she hadn't noticed his cast as yet. "Rose!" he exclaimed. He walked to her and hugged her with one arm. She pulled him tight with her two good hands and noticed his cast. She sighed, "Now what?"
He pulled his arm out of the sling and brought her back into a more comfortable embrace. "When the bodyguard tossed me to the ground yesterday, it pulled apart some of the cracks. The doctor put it in a cast to keep it from separating anymore. I think they get paid by the foot of this stuff."
She seemed satisfied as he leaned down to meet her lips.
"How was your nap?" he asked her.
"Not bad. But, well-"
"Look Rose!" Tony interrupted her as he proudly held his cast up for her to see. "It's blue! Just like the John's!"
Tony disappeared back through the door.
She appeared dumbfounded, "Okay, and now it's John?"
"That's what we're taking away from this?" He teased. "Your brother broke his arm-"
"Yeah, I'm sure he'll tell me all about it. John?"
He shrugged his shoulders, "I'm taking it out for a spin."
She smiled, "John. You know, I don't know if I like that or not."
"Neither do I. That's the reason we're trying it out for a bit."
"What are the odds, that you both break your wrists in the same week?"
The Doctor held his broken wrist out for her to see, "And the same hand!"
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Since Tony had such a dramatic afternoon, they allowed him to pick dinner. He chose to have pizza delivered. The Doctor couldn't have been happier. After dinner, Tony played with some blocks while the adults chatted. When it came time for Tony to go to bed, he demanded that the Doctor do it. The Doctor insisted that it was no problem at all, and scooped Tony up in his one good arm. He carried him up the stairs to his room.
Rose continued chatting with her Mom and Pete about their upcoming trip.
"What sort of things does John enjoy?" Pete asked her.
She sat on the couch, "Museums and history for sure. Although, I think he knows every piece of history. Mostly because he saw it all happen. Did you know that he helped Benjamin Franklin fly that kite?"
Pete laughed. "Ask him about Archimedes. That's a good one. I bet he would like to see the Smithsonian while you two are in Washington. I can arrange for a private tour. "
Rose's eyes lit up. "I'm sure he would love that! Thank you!"
They talked for a while longer about places they might visit while they were on their extended holiday. Jackie suggested some places, only to discover they were a bit different in this dimension from Pete.
"Well, skiing is out for sure!" Jackie told them. "He only has one more arm to break!"
Pete and Rose both laughed at that.
Jackie turned serious, "I can't believe Tony broke his wrist. I've told you to not let him climb those trees." she said behind a cup of tea.
Pete tossed his hand at her to brush off her comment. "Phht. He's a young boy, Jack's. That's what they do! He's going to get hurt."
"Well, mind it's not his neck next time." she barked at him. "And why did John get a cast, too?"
Rose explained. "He said the doctor told him that he had hurt it again. He wanted him in a cast to keep him from hurting it worse. Something about he had pulled the cracks open more... or something."
Pete picked up, "Yeah, Harold told him that if it gets any worse, he will have to have surgery on it."
Rose felt like someone had kicked her in the gut. He hadn't told her that part. Anger rushed over her. She decided to not say anything about it to Pete, but ask the Doctor about it later. Was that more secrets?
Jackie asked, "Is he right-handed? Or left-handed?"
Rose shrugged her shoulders. "I have no idea. Never thought about it."
Rose sensing that Jackie was about to get on her "million questions about the Doctor kick" decided to find a quick exit. "Is he still not down yet?" she asked, as she stood up from the couch and went upstairs to see what was keeping him.
What she found, made her forget about being so angry with him.
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