Chapter 08

Elizabeth Sladen or Liz as her friends on world and off were apt to call her, was slightly impatient with the interview. After all she was a reporter herself having worked from the time of print journalism to the more coveted, television journalism, while doing some social media news editorials as contracted through the BBC. That was why she had stepped into the open casting call to meet Nova in particular and took that single photograph of the timeline. Some of it was coded so it made sense to that particular author. When she read Nova Morganson's biography, she was impressed to see that not only was she an adept writing but had her Masters in mathematics, in particular Actuarial Science from the University of Utah.

But she kept her conversation and the timeline she saw in secrecy, not even telling her son. She filed the photo away, realizing that with the Doctor, were he to drop by, he couldn't be privy to all information if just part of what Nova's timeline was accurate. Although he kept in the occasional contact through means of e-mail although she hadn't met his newest companion since his previous one had 'died'.

She asked me if I should still travel with him and I said yes. Elizabeth swallowed. Because she would regret it if she didn't.

Perhaps she harbored a mild jealousy before but she never desired that particular tragic outcome that blighted Canary Wharf, killing hundreds the day of the inter-dimensional invasion.

Now, she had been contacted and picked up by the agents the Doctor had agreed were adept at keeping to particulars in management of the Earth regarding the terms were never violated. She thought it a necessary evil and the one or two times prior she had to speak with them were not highlights of her day….or year.

"You are aware we instituted a particular security measure in our contract to assure protection for Ms. Morganson and Ms. Thomas considering the nature of their circumstances." It was John Altamont conducting this interrogation. Elizabeth felt it was fortunate that Tommy and Chloe were currently at school.

"I do happen to watch the telly and work with the BBC." She paused. "Although I chose not to cover Professor Litvak's research demonstration. A family conflict."

"A family conflict?" He raised his eyebrows.

"Yes. I promised Saturday nights to my children. Besides, from what I saw, I think it was beneficial I wasn't there."

"But you have met Ms. Morganson before. You stopped by during her casting call." He stated simply.

"In passing. I didn't attempt to audition. I was only curious to see who she was. Her books are quite brilliant, wouldn't you say?" She paused. "Still, I didn't ask to do a screen test for Sarah Jane Smith unlike…" She shrugged. "I still have my journalistic integrity."

John paused at this accusation. "It was the best means to conduct an evaluation."

"By doing a screen test for the role as yourself?" Elizabeth snorted. "'Better a witty fool than a foolish wit.'" She at that point quoted Shakespeare. "I'm certain Ms. Thomas was very impressed."

It was time to get to the heart of the matter. "Our prior actions at this stage are of little relevance. Ms. Thomas and Ms. Morganson are recovering from a particular attack that seems to expose a prominent light on a weakness. It is likely it is one shared by Mr. Doe or the Doctor as you know him to be."

"Attack." Elizabeth swallowed, immediately concerned. "Are they alright?" She now wondered whether she should contact the Doctor now. It didn't seem he was privy to the knowledge concerning the two women under these men's protection. They said recovering…"What happened?" She demanded.

John simply gave a smile, seeing as control of the conversation had been redirected back to him. "A relatively common substance to which appeared to prove toxic to them. Tell me, Ms. Sladen, in your experience with Mr. Doe, has he confessed any degree of weakness to a common substance available on this planet?"

Having been the longest term companion of the Doctor, she had known of his fatal allergy to aspirin. Of course she did. But the fact was, if Mr. Altamont was asking her, that meant the Doctor chose not to confide in them. But if the two girls were exposed with it….She knew that even touch contact with aspirin by a Time Lord could have severe consequences. She bit her lip and closed her eyes before looking at the digital clock on the nightstand by the couch before coming to a decision.

"I will answer your question under one condition." She managed.

"Which is?" John asked.

"I wish to see them first and the lab work. If…it is in agreement, I will tell you along with the counteragent that works to detox the system." Perhaps the Doctor at the time was right in not sharing the information but in long term, he hadn't considered there would be two girls put under these individuals' care.

And often, people don't think twice about offering aspirin as a remedy for any sort of malady.

John only stared at her in complete concentration before nodding. "Agreed." He glanced down at his phone with a slight grimace. "This will be an event. Mr. Barrowman has also insisted upon his presence with our two guests."

"It's been a long time." Elizabeth said, thinking of John Barrowmen. He had been a companion of the Doctor's and for a day or two at a time, there was no extreme physical reaction after the incident in the future satellite station. But then, inexplicably, the Doctor would develop flu like symptoms. Headaches. Nausea. She might compare it to an excruciating migraine. It was utterly painful for the Doctor to be in Barrowmen's presence for long durations of time.

It was a pity. The two were friends. The Doctor respected him but there was little else he could do but take the action to try to ensure Barrowmen's protection through the brothers should he ever need it.

Given the girls' nature, she wondered what their reaction would be to Barrowmen if they indeed had the similar aspirin sensitivity.

But a part of them is still human. She thought. They weren't quite like the Doctor. Their eyes for one thing were still so young. She paused.

"You're not afraid of…exposure?" She stated delicately to Mr. Altamont.

"At this point, no. Sara's biology is more unusual. They adapt her DNA to the environment or necessity such as camouflage. Nova by some extension has picked up some of this unusual trend. At any rate, both your presences with our guests will be observed in case of an unpredicted reaction."

They started their venture to the Clinic where John ordered all the glass in the backseat of the car to be darkened to a degree, Elizabeth could not detail the journey. The Clinic was still secret after all.

His mobile emitted a buzz and he let out a breath at the message he received. Both Sara and Nova were starting to wake. The treatment method that Michael had used seemed to be a successful strategy.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

"John!" Liz exclaimed as she caught sight of her friend.

The man turned around, his face lighting up as he recognized her instantly. When she came up to him, he grabbed her in a hug and twirled her around. "Lizzie! It's great to see you! How long has it been?"

She laughed and pulled away. "At least a year or more. Not since that thing at Grayhaven School. How have you been?"

"Good. Getting the Lighthouse group together has been a headache and a half."

She gave a rueful smile. "We do seem to cross paths at the most awkward of times."

His face turned more serious. "True." They looked over at the two men watching their interaction with extreme interest. "Alright fellas. What's this about two girls with an aspirin allergy? Let's see what you've found."

"And why you haven't contacted the Doctor yet." Liz put in, as direct as any reporter.

John Altamont sighed and gestured them into a room, where Dr. Michael Freeman was already waiting with all the lab reports and papers. "At first, it was simply because the girls seemed to view your Doctor with the same level of hesitancy as I myself. There wasn't a severe enough reason to bother him with something we could take care of."

"And now?" she raised a sardonic eyebrow.

"He is currently…irate at us for not having a better psychological screening process of our scientists."

Both former companions snorted their amusement and derision. "Oh, I just bet he is."

Michael butted in before something could be said that could possibly destroy a few lives…or countries. "Here are the initial scans of both girls, right after the bonfire incident. Simple blood-ox and tox panel to start." He handed the paperwork to each; Nova's to Barrowman and Sara's to Sladen.

Barrowman's eyebrows rose, as did Liz's. "Their oxygen saturation levels are off the charts!"

"Yes. But other things that should be high after such an incident aren't. So, I ordered a DNA analysis of each. Doing it myself, and triple-checking to be sure when I got the results." Michael handed them the next set of papers. "At first I thought it was something simple: a bad flu immunization, lupus, or even an immune disorder. All of which could cause something similar to the effects on the tox panel. Then…I got the results of their DNA analysis."

The companions couldn't help but stare at the paperwork in their hands. Wordlessly, they switched papers midway through so that both of them could see everything. "My God…" John breathed in horror.

"Exactly. The most logical explanation I can come up with is that some organization found a sample of Mr. Doe's," at their blank look he explained with a blush, "I call him that in all my work, research, and files on the off chance of hacking." They nodded, approving of the precaution. "Anyway, someone found a sample of his DNA years ago and have been trying to…breed…a version of him. Considering Nova has 25% naturally, the experiment has been going on for at least 60 years, probably longer."

"And Sara?" Liz asked, her voice tight with emotion.

"Already an adult when the experiments occurred. Perhaps in the last decade or so. Neither girl acts as if they were anything but a normal girl. So neither have any idea what has been done to them."

"Considering what they've been through the last few days, it's probably not the best time to tell them." Barrowman voiced his opinion. His mind was filled with what he wanted to do to the people who could do something so despicable to unsuspecting children. He had lived so long it was difficult not to see those around him as anything other than children. "And now someone has confirmed they both have an aspirin allergy."

"Correct. We wanted to know if that was part of Mr. Doe's biology or perhaps something naturally occurring within their own." Michael tried to delicately ask.

John and Liz exchanged knowing, speaking looks. Finally, they came to a decision and nodded to each other. "We still want to see the girls."

"Of course," Altamont inclined his head. "They are awake now. Don't expect much of a conversation. We had to intubate them both when they stopped breathing." As he proceeded them down the hall, showing the way, the pair exchanged another glance filled with concern and emotion.

It was really too bad that the Doctor had long since stopped taking their phone calls. This was one conversation that they knew the Gallifreyan would want to know about. But the man didn't like goodbyes and hated remembering that his companions would one day grow old and die on him, leaving him alone. He never came back. Never just stopped by. And after only three calls, had stopped answering. Oh, he was overjoyed when he met them in person again, when he couldn't escape them, but both knew that it was a one-time deal. "John…" Liz whispered, all her heartfelt concern in her voice.

"I know." He whispered back. He was well aware of the far-reaching effects. If what they read was true, it was already so much worse than the brothers could possibly imagine.

What they were doing now was the best they could to see to the Doctor's wishes in his absence. They peeked into the girl's' room. There was a four-person guard on their door, which both heartily approved of. The girls were awake, but intubated as promised. If it wasn't for the machines their breathing would be so much worse, if they would be able to breathe at all. Their eyes were filled with fear as well.

Michael came to their side instantly. "It's alright. You're both safe here. You had an allergic reaction to a substance in the water bottles that the EMT gave you. Mark's already trying to find out what he can. Hopefully, we'll be able to take the tubes out in a few hours. Alright? Until then, try to relax."

He gestured to the television above them, handing Sara a remote. "Try to sleep if you can. You have both been through hell in the last couple days. I will keep you here under my purview until you are both back to 100%." He gave them a sincere smile, trying to help them understand not to worry.

Neither girl noticed the two visitors standing in the doorway, and that was the way that Michael wanted to keep it. They said they wanted to see the girls, not speak to them. It was for the best. Lord only knew how the girls would react to some of their characters coming to life again. Their reaction to the brothers had not been all that promising for any future interactions of supposedly fictional characters.

Dr. Freeman noticed that Nova was trying to write something, so he gave her a pencil and paper. When he saw the word, he smiled reassuringly. "That's a very common side-effect from the poison in your system. Nausea, headaches, light sensitivity, noise sensitivity, numbness, dizziness, vertigo, etc. Let the drugs do their work and sleep. Sleep is a lot of the time the best medicine I can prescribe and you are both still deficient from the last time I told you to get some rest."

Sara wiggled her fingers, so he transferred the paper to her. What was in the water? He breathed out, because he didn't want to answer that. So, he half-answered it. "Acetylsalicylic acid in a 1.5% solution. You had an allergic reaction." He saw the girls frown in confusion, with a little bit of fear. He patted their hands. "Don't worry about it right now. Worry about healing. There are guards here. I'm going to step out. Just get some sleep, okay?"

He did just that, half closing the curtain to give the girls some privacy, though their feet were still visible. He was not going to let them completely out of his sight after all. Last time that happened they had almost died! But he stepped out and closed the door. "Satisfied?"

Lizzie nodded slightly. "Chocolate."

"What?" Michael blinked, wondering if he had a third patient he should be looking after.

"The chemical compounds in chocolate work the quickest to erase the aspirin's effect from their system." Barrowman explained.

"But that isn't even the worst part, you realize." Liz said quietly.

"What do you mean?" John Altamont asked in confusion. He hated dealing with the Doctor's companions. They had seen so much that he had no basis to understand and no way to acquire the knowledge either.

"You've seen the results but haven't thought it through," she murmured.

When she still got a confused eyebrow in her direction she turned to her friend. "You explain it. I feel sick." She hurried off to throw up in the privacy of the bathroom. It was absolutely horrible what had happened.

John Barrowman sighed as he watched her leave, wishing he had the luxury of being sick himself. When he glimpsed the profoundly irritated expression, he decided to put the men out of their misery. "Human experimentation is against the contract, but you know that. Since you haven't done it yourselves you have the obligation to find those responsible and shut them down. You know this." He got nods. "What you haven't thought of yet is what those girls are."

He drew a deep breath. "I travelled with the Doctor for over a year. I know him very well. He will not care that they were human to begin with other than seeing the ones that did it to them brought to justice. What he will care about is that he now has two more connections to his home. And not just that…" he took another deep breath as he looked back into the room where the girls were, "…according to your own Dr. Freeman, those girls are his granddaughters."

John Altamont paled dramatically at what had been right in front of his nose but he had failed to see until it was spelled out in blatant letters. His job had just gotten a thousand times more important to protect those girls. He was silent at this sudden revelation.

"I've seen their records myself. Very convincing. Social security numbers were issued when Nova Morgansen and Sara Thomas submitted records of their birth certificates. Both parents deceased. The hospital they were born in was shut down due to lack of funding." He paused. "Nevertheless, their history beyond five years is only on 'paper'. Sara Thomas and Nova Morgansen both have bachelor's degrees from the University of Utah. The administration has confirmed they have that on record yet no one specifically recalls them in either the Marketing and Communications department for Sara or the Mathematics Department for Nova." He leaned against the wall. "Now wouldn't you just find that fishy?"

"Of course, which is why we observed and performed intercession at the appropriate time. We know their history or lack thereof."

"I'm surprised you haven't thought to ask them yet." Barrowmen knew these two men especially John Altamont. He had an insatiable curiosity and he wondered at the self control it must have taken to regulate himself when he approached the two women. Still, considering how the two first encountered him and initiated him as a beneficiary under their protection, perhaps they had garnered a lesson. He doubted it but couldn't rule it out.

"We were only at the start of establishing a dialogue. Mark thought it a better precedent to wait. Given what occurred last night…" He looked at Barrowmen. "Paternity had not yet been considered since at first blush, Michael conveyed they shared similar DNA patterns of Mr. Doe's species."

"And then the incident with the aspirin and their toxicity." Barrowmen concluded.

"We are currently investigating and have closed down Canary Wharf to interrogate every possible lead, beginning with the paramedics and those at the reception itself."

"Upon the Doctor's next arrival, he should be informed of the girl's identities." That was going to be a difficult conversation and Barrowmen knew it, which was what motivated his next decision. "My team at Lighthouse and I will assist you in your efforts to uphold the contingency of the contract." It was his planet too after all and he wasn't just doing it for their own surety. The Doctor was his friend and he genuinely cared a great deal about him. It was a matter of no small misery that the two couldn't travel together. Even though he had been granted a variation of immortality through the incidents aboard Satellite Five, the reaction could not be helped. It took several weeks for the Doctor to show symptoms and then Barrowmen to realize the cause but with no other answer in sight, Barrowmen decided to leave. Shorter visits were fine but any contact of a long duration….he sighed.

John was silent in contemplation. It was a bad scenario if ever there was one. He didn't look forward to that conversation, particularly even if they caught the perpetrators behind the experimentation and poisoning. His mind drifted to the encounter last night with his nameless adversary that kept him delayed for the necessary minutes he needed to keep the girls in the building.

"The girls should be informed too." Barrowmen told them. "They are under your protection. That information should be yielded to them."

"I do not think they'll have an agreeable reaction." John paused. "Given what I have come to understand about them and that of human nature." He considered what Barrowmen was proposing. "Perhaps we should wait."

"Wait for what?" Barrowmen challenged. "Another accident. Toxic exposure? For another clever associate of yours to use mustard gas on them instead?"

"Mustard gas is toxic to their species?"

Barrowmen sighed. "Given the circumstance, I will tell them." It was his right. He had no wish to upset the girls by just his presence but from what Mark explained to him, they both knew he existed and on some account spoken favorably of him. It was a start and he thought he had a more welcome personality than these two. He perhaps might even be able to discern a thing or two about the parentage. The Doctor told him that his children had fled to other dimensions before the Time War. A few by happenstance, had simply been trapped on the other side when the void space acted as a near impenetrable barrier for anymore dimensional crossing.

But he was in the best position to explain this new development and try to answer questions. He picked up the paper one more time, taking one more look at Sara's results.

Strange. He thought. The Time Lord TNA was there but the rest, her human DNA, which was constantly being altered; he remembered his own tests, the indicators to demonstrate how he could invariably die, his cells renew. There was a similarity in the coding. It was as if she had been exposed to the very same TARDIS energy that kept him from a permanent death. Far higher amounts too. He thought as he looked at Nova's tests. He frowned. Small scale radiation patterns that emulated Sara. Higher quantities than on the previous blood test.

"Like some sort of link between the two." He muttered.

"Excuse me?" John asked.

Barrowmen shook his head and left the office. There was a discussion to be had. He saw no sense in putting it off. After all, if he could spare them any of the pain he had gone through, then it would be worth it.

Xxxxxxxxxxx