"He didn't seem very happy," Josh commented quietly not wanting to disturb the Doctor.
"That?" Jack checked. "That was positively friendly and well behaved considering he's waking from an anaesthetic. There were no demands to find out what has been done to him. No accusations of being drugged. No what the Hell are you doing here? I was expecting much worse."
"He's still very groggy and unwell," Martha offered. "That may be to come, but for now I think he still feels a bit too poorly to really care much. He will recover quickly now. Another couple of hours and he'll be well enough to let us know how truly awful he feels. When he's not complaining about the oxygen and not protesting about needing to sleep or about being medicated you know he's feeling pretty rotten. He doesn't make a particularly good patient," Martha suggested to Josh. "If he's a bit grumpy or a bit rude for the next day or so, don't take it personally, he really is going to be feeling like rubbish."
"A bit rude?" Jack scoffed.
"How is his body temperature doing now?" Martha asked Josh so he remained involved.
"It's 19.4 degrees."
"He's just going to be sleeping on and off today and I doubt he'll be wanting to get up. You're definitely not getting up," she reminded the teenager. "We need to get that swelling down, so don't spend your time worrying about him and forgetting about yourself. Is there anything you want or need?"
"Can I have a cup of tea?"
"Have you freshened up or brushed your teeth today?"
"I don't have anything to do that with. My toothbrush is in my shelter."
"I'll sort you out a new one," Martha offered. "The Doctor always has spare ones kicking around. I'll go and find you one and Jack can make the tea while you freshen up. Then, if you don't mind, I'm going to head out and make sure everything is under control outside. Even if they've got to do a high priority autopsy they need to make sure they're ready for when the operation moves on. Jack will keep you both company," Martha suggested. She went to find a toothbrush and some toiletries for Josh so he could clean up. She expected Jack to remain in the sickbay but he followed her out.
"This isn't right, Martha," Jack commented catching up with her in the corridor.
"What isn't right?"
"Letting the kid think the Doctor is going to be okay with him staying on the TARDIS? I saw his scans. Even with bone cement it's going to be weeks for him to heal and to recover. He's talking about the Doctor taking him SCUBA diving for rehab? The Doctor isn't going to put up with having a 14 year old kid on board. He needs to get back to his own time line and Josh isn't part of that, he's not even been born yet. He seems like a good enough kid and I know he is Donna's son and that all of that is tragic, but if we let him think the Doctor is going to let him stay until he's fully recovered he's going to get his heart broken and that's not fair on anyone."
"I've some concerns too," Martha commented. "I'm concerned about Josh staying with the Doctor, not because the Doctor won't put up with him, but I'm concerned that when Josh is healed and fully recovered that the Doctor isn't going to want to let him go and is not going to want to go back to his own time line. I'm not worried about the Doctor breaking Josh's heart. You didn't see him yesterday Jack. I'm worried Josh is going to break the Doctor's because the Doctor has to leave him behind and go back to his own time line."
"A 14 year old human kid with a broken ankle."
"Do you know how the Doctor happened to find Josh?" Martha asked Jack but he shook his head. "It wasn't just by chance. The Doctor ended up here and rescued Josh. He said he was in the vortex and he felt it. He felt that Josh was scared. Somehow Josh reached the Doctor psychically through the vortex. It has to be the metacrisis. There must have been a lasting change with Donna that has been passed on to Josh and probably to Sylvie too if she'd not been on the plane. You'll see it when the Doctor is feeling better. He was adamant Josh was staying with him yesterday. You could see it in him, he was prepared to take on UNIT to keep him, and, I think if anyone did try to intervene he would just shut us out of the TARDIS and go off with him. I don't know how any of this is going to play out, but we need to be careful with both of them, because they're definitely connected. The Doctor is only supposed to be away from Rose for a week because Jackie has the flu. If he doesn't go back to Rose within the week then what?"
"A week for the Doctor is seldom a week," Jack commented. "Last time I had a week off in the TARDIS with the Doctor we were away over two months. He could technically spend a few years with Josh and still be back to Rose within a week, that aspect of it isn't a worry."
"He already cares deeply for Josh," Martha informed Jack. "I think it's troubling him that he's so far out of his own personal time line. He doesn't like not knowing more than everyone else, and, could you have a word with Mickey? Remind him he can't go blurting out things the Doctor doesn't know about. We've told him about the events surrounding the metacrisis because if anyone that can figure out how it is impacting on Josh it's the Doctor. They're linked somehow. I just hope it's not too difficult for either of them when it is time for them to go their separate ways. In the meantime I think it will be good for Josh to spend some time with the Doctor, and, I think it will probably be good for the Doctor to spend some time with Josh. He's not going to go running headlong into danger with Josh on board is he?"
"I hope not."
"Go back and sit with them. I'll sort some bits out for Josh. We picked him up some new clothes yesterday, but I didn't think about toiletries."
"He's been living in the woods. I don't think he'll be too bothered, but I'm not going to be babysitting him until the Doctor is back on his feet."
"I expect the Doctor to be back on his feet tomorrow and I'll stay tonight. The fact the Doctor is going to be back on his feet at all is largely down to what Josh worked out, but, I also fully expect Josh to be doing the babysitting and to put you three all to shame."
"Three?"
"The Doctor, my husband, and your good self," Martha teased the Captain. "He's a good kid, Jack, and he's had a tough time. Go and help him keep an eye on the Doctor and I'll get his clothes and find him a toothbrush."