A/N: Sorry it took me so long to get this second chapter posted, but I am having some difficulty plotting this story. I'm not sure where I'm going with it, but it still wants to be written.
Disclaimer: Doctor Who and all of its wonderful characters, settings, and technology belong to the BBC.
"You're not planning on leaving yet, are you?" Donna asked as she helped dry the dishes. She and the Doctor had just finished a surprisingly good meal in the TARDIS's kitchen and were now cleaning up.
"No. I want to make sure these people take my warning seriously, and I doubt they've seen enough of 'The Doctor, Last of the Time Lords' to do that."
"And what if they don't take you seriously?"
"I'm not sure yet. Worst case scenario, I evacuate the guests and the staff who will listen, give the others a final warning, and then broadcast the story of today's events to the whole of the universe." The Doctor shot Donna a grim smile. "I have plenty of enemies out there who are capable of wiping this planet out of existence in less than an hour. And a number of them would do it too, just on principle. They're not about to let some unknown alien upstart be the end of the Doctor when I've been the cause of so many of their defeats. Becoming the cause of my death is a privilege to be earned."
"I imagine they wouldn't be too fond of those people who were on the shuttle bus with you either," Donna commented. "You wouldn't really have this planet destroyed, though, would you?"
The Doctor shook his head. "Not on purpose, no. There are already enough dead races and worlds on my conscience."
"I'm sorry," Donna whispered, noticing the deep sorrow and regret that had returned to her friend's eyes. She dropped her dish towel and pulled the Doctor into a tight hug. He returned the gesture, burying his face in her bright, auburn hair and breathing deeply. The familiar scent of early 21st century Earth had saturated her hair and clothing over the course of her lifetime, and now it helped the Doctor anchor his mind in the present.
"Sometimes I just grow so tired, Donna, and I start to think that maybe it's time I stop running, stop exploring, stop trying to help."
"But you help so many people, save so many lives. I can't imagine you just fading away and stopping all that. It's about as absurd as you without a voice."
"You're right, of course." The Doctor gained a small, genuine smile. "Plus, I'd get bored, and me and boredom do not mix very well."
Donna laughed. "No, I imagine that would be a very bad combination. Now, what do you say we go out and enjoy the spa for a little while this evening before the management smartens up and decides to take your advice about shutting this place down? You could really use some relaxation after the day you've had."
"Alright, just let me go find my swim suit and I'll meet you out by the pool," the Doctor replied, stepping away from his redheaded friend and starting for the kitchen door.
"Oi! Those better be swim trunks, Spaceman! You're so skinny that you could use a handkerchief for a speedo, and nobody needs to see that," Donna called after him, prompting a laugh from the Time Lord. Donna turned to properly hang up the dish towel to dry before following after the Doctor.
0000000
The setting of the sun brought several other guests to the pool that evening, but neither the Doctor nor Donna minded much. They settled themselves on a private corner of the deck, ordering a pot of tea to share between them. The Doctor untied the belt of his terrycloth robe and sat down on the edge of the pool, dangling his lower legs in the cool water.
"That is so typical of you," Donna commented. "Brown- and TARDIS blue-plaid swim trunks."
"Do you have a problem with my choice of color scheme?"
"No, not at all. You look good in blue and brown. Wouldn't hurt to change it up now and again, though, don't you think?"
"I have an orange spacesuit I could wear around the console room." The Doctor offered, shooting Donna a smirk as he sipped his tea.
"Nice try, Spaceman, but I've seen inside your wardrobe, remember? I know you have a lot more than an orange spacesuit in there."
The Doctor shrugged. "Past lives, past tastes. And some of my regenerations were downright ridiculous with how they dressed, even by my current standards."
As the pair continued to talk softly about clothing and the Doctor's past lives, one of the other guests swam over to them. Recognizing the stranger as one of the other passengers from the tour, Donna was about to ask her to leave, but the Doctor spoke first.
"Hello again, Dee Dee. I see that the management finally released you from the medical suite. Everything went well, I hope?"
"I'm not sure I'd say it 'went well,' but after you left, things did wrap up rather quickly," the university student replied. "I just wanted to apologize again for not supporting you more and for failing to fight to be heard. I knew the others were wrong. I should have pushed harder to stop them."
"You tried. You did what you could. You don't need to apologize for that." The Doctor offered. "I failed in being heard today too, and it was hardly the first time I've had to face a frightened, unruly gang. Don't be too hard on yourself."
"Actually, I think that perhaps I haven't been hard enough on myself. I've been letting Professor Hobbes belittle me for months now, and I've started doubting myself. That can't be healthy."
"For a girl as bright as you? Probably not. So what are you going to do about it?"
"Well, first off, I'm going to stop asking Professor Hobbes for his opinion on various lines of thought and study. I want to discover new things, and what I saw of him today indicates that he's closed his mind to new discoveries that contradict his preset notions of how the universe works. I don't want to be like that."
"Good." The Doctor drawled, smiling. "And for your next step?"
"Start learning on my own again, become my own teacher. Find and make opportunities for discovery for myself." Dee Dee shot him a shy but inquisitive look. "Opportunities such as… I'd like to learn more about who you are, preferably direct from the source, if possible?"
"Hmm? That could be arranged." He glanced inquiringly at Donna beside him.
"It's your ship," she mouthed. "Invite who you want onboard."
The Doctor turned back to the university student, a thoughtful expression on his face. "What were you majoring in again?"
"Interplanetary geophysics."
A broad grin spread across the Doctor's face at those words.
"Oh, the places I could take you!" He murmured, a dreamy expression glowing in his eyes while he stared out across the pool at nothing in particular. Dee Dee shot Donna an inquiring look as the Doctor drifted off into his own little world.
"Oi, come back to us, Spaceman. No going into orbit without us, ya hear?" Donna gripped his shoulder and gave it a gentle shake. The Doctor blinked out of his daze and glanced between the two women.
"Right, sorry. Where were we? Oh, yes!" He turned one of his gleeful grins on Dee Dee. "So would you like to come with us for a trip or two, Dee Dee? I could show you any place, any time you wanted to see."
"So you really are a time traveler too and not just a space explorer?"
"Oh, yes. Grab a towel and dry off, and I'll take you to see my ship right now." The Doctor shifted to kneel on the pool deck and offered Dee Dee a hand to pull her out of the water. She giggled as the Time Lord shot her another of his infectious grins before she turned to Donna.
"Is he always like this?" she asked of the redhead.
"Actually he's much worse!"
A pool attendant brought Dee Dee and the Doctor some towels, and the pair dried off quickly. The Doctor then led his two female companions through the halls of the Leisure Palace, heading for the room he had been sharing with Donna. The TARDIS was parked inside.
Rounding the last corner between them and their destination, the trio picked up on the sounds of an argument emanating from a nearby room, its wooden door muffling the raised voices of two males and a female. After exchanging concerned glances with Donna and Dee Dee, the Doctor stepped closer to the door in question, wondering if he should intervene. The voices sounded vaguely familiar.
"… I don't want to go anywhere with either of you anymore!" The voices suddenly became clear as one of the males wrenched open the door and proceeded to leave the room. "I just want to go home so I can get away from you!"
The Doctor tried to dodge out of the way, but it was too late. Jethro slammed into the Time Lord's chest as he continued to shout over his shoulder at his parents. The Doctor caught the startled teenager and steadied him. It took Jethro a moment to realize what had happened, but when he recognized just who he had slammed into, the teenager burst into tears. Now it was the Doctor's turn to be startled.
"Hey, now, it's alright." The Time Lord pulled the boy against his chest again as he tried to sooth him. Jethro clung to him and buried his face against the taller man's shoulder.
"They tried to murder you. We almost did murder you."
"Shhh, I know. But it didn't happen. I'm fine. We're safe now. Everything's gonna be alright, I promise." The Doctor ran his fingers through Jethro's black hair, continuing to comfort him, as he glanced up at the boy's parents standing in the doorway of their room.
The couple looked like a pair of deer caught in the headlights of a vehicle. The Doctor glared. Just seeing at them, he could tell that Valerie was still in denial about the roll she had taken in that morning's events, and Biff still wanted to prove that he was the manliest man in the room. As much as he loved humanity, the Doctor couldn't help but feel disgusted by these two willfully-ignorant individuals.
"I think I'll take your son on a little trip. It seems to me that he could use someone to talk to who isn't utterly self-serving or possessed with preconceived notions about him or teenagers in general. Don't worry, though. I'll drop him off at home when he's ready to deal with your baggage again."
"You can't do that!" Val cried. "He's our son. That would be kidnapping!"
"Says the woman who tried to become an accomplice to murder."
"So what is this? Are you going to hold our son for ransom or something? Because if that's your plan, I'm warning you, we won't hesitate to call the police!" Biff attempted to snarl, but the expression in his eyes made it clear that the words were all bluster.
"I'm not going to demand a ransom or anything of the sort. Never had much use for money," the Doctor replied. "And calling the police won't do you any good. I'm a Time Lord. I'm exceptionally good with time and space. I'll have your son back home before you can even bother calling the police, regardless of how much time he actually chooses to spend with me and my companions, and the last I checked, it's kind of hard to report a kidnapping when the missing person is standing in the same room as you."
The Doctor paused to glance down at Jethro. The teenager's tears had slowed a little as he had listened to the Time Lord scold his parents, and now he was feeling tired as his emotion-fueled adrenaline drained away.
"Are you really going to let me come with you?" Jethro asked, his voice sounding groggy.
"If you wish to come with us, yes." The Doctor ran his fingers through the boy's hair again, smoothing it back into place as his previous ministrations had displaced it.
"Yeah, I want to come." Jethro sighed and tightened his grip on the Time Lord, trying to reassure himself that the man was really here, that he was really alright. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to hurt you. I was just so scared, and everyone seemed to be talking and yelling at once. I didn't know what to do."
"It's alright, Jethro," the Doctor whispered. "Come on, then. My TARDIS is waiting in my room. Let's go and get you settled in it somewhere quiet for a while. Seems like you could use it."
End A/N: So endeth the second chapter… for now. This is still a new fandom for me writing-wise, so I find reviews very helpful and encouraging!
-Stony Knight