Chapter rating: T I think?
A/N: I know Evan might seem a little too aware and energetic for a 2 months-old baby, god knows those I've known I'd taken to call the "shit-machine" for obvious reasons, but bear in mind that he's more than half-Time Lord, and I guess they're just so awesome that their brain develop quicker than human and all… not believable? Ah hell, artistic license and all! Right? XD
To bear witness to the fumbling and rambling behind the plot of this fanfic, go to my profile and click through to my tumblr account just under the infos on this fanfic. But for now, READ PEASANTS! (isn't my imitation of Stormaggedon just spot on ;D)
The Doctor's Child
11. Because Time Is Never Still
Their time in Cardiff was not all Rory thought it'd be, although in retrospect, he wasn't even sure what he'd been thinking exactly.
Jack had been kind enough to lend them his credit cards, giving them a secret smile when Amy asked how much they could spend while shopping for Evan and themselves. After having been explained the man's real story, Rory would bet he'd had a lot of stock options and other means that made him filthy rich, he was a Time Traveller from a distant future for god's sake! In his place, the younger man would have collected as much data as he could to make easy money, as ruthless as that might sound!
They'd been living in the quarters of Torchwood for over a month now, had even foiled a small invasion plan from some kind of octopus-like alien who wanted to invade and lay eggs in every available human body, to serve as bearers for its young. Very disturbing business, considering, said young were not meant to be brought to adulthood but to as a delicacy for overly too rich aliens of yet another planet.
It had thoroughly disgusted everyone of them, even the Doctor had looked mildly angered by the whole business and took to fussing over Evan even more when he was not teaching the baby some lessons on quantum physics (the baby was 2 months-old for christ's sake! How was he supposed to learn all that?... although considering that the Time Lord could apparently communicate intelligibly with his son, it might not be that much of a stretch).
They were actually having a down day, the Rift wasn't showing much activity, Gwen and Jack had gone retcon two infortunate blighters that had witnessed a Weevil arrival, Ianto was fluttering around the headquarter, straightening piles of files and stopping every so often to look at the computers screens, the Doctor and Evan were in Ianto's office which was still the half-time nursery it'd been when they'd arrive, a month ago and Amy and Rory were both… otherwise occupied… when a blaring alarm broke the monotony, ringing loud and clear all through the building, even down to the sleeping quarters.
The Doctor was frowning in frustration, he'd been trying to reproduce the basic settings of his own Chameleon Ark with parts he'd picked up here and there, but so far, it'd been without much luck. He had brought from the T.A.R.D.I.S. most of the things he'd picked up to be able to work on it while keeping an eye on Evan who was batting away at the star mobile over his cradle, in an intense conversation about being a tease and stopping this nonsense of always moving. His concentration was such that the alarm startled him badly and immediately throwing down the doohickey he'd been fiddling with, proceeding to pick up his baby boy who looked unhappy with the sound and complained quite loudly.
He'd reached the door when he was joined by Amy and Rory, looking slightly out of breath, both had visibly ran from their room up to the office.
Amy was visibly about to ask what the hell was going on when a series of gun shots rang in the distance and Evan was put into her arms.
"Amy! Take Evan down to the T.A.R.D.I.S. and lock yourself in with him!" The Doctor ordered quickly before running in the other direction toward the control room where the gunshots had apparently come from.
"Wait, Doctor! I'm coming with you!" Rory quickly called after the Doctor as he prepared to turn around a corner, before planting one last kiss on his wife's head and following after the Time Lord.
Amy took a second to hesitate before looking down at the baby who was wailing a little, looking very uncomfortable with the sound blaring around them. The decision from there was easy to take and she ran as carefully as she could, down hallways and stairs to sigh in relief when she came in sight of a certain blue box.
She was briefly reminded of the stint with House and that the T.A.R.D.I.S. was in some way a sentient being, when the door opened before she'd even touched the handle and she burst through, not paying attention when it closed back behind her, completely muting the sound of the alarm from the other side.
Evan was still wailing loudly and she started swaying around, humming slightly to try and appease him.
"Ssh, little man, your Daddy is fixing all this, it's nothing to worry about! And Uncle Rory is with him, he'll take care of Daddy if he gets too crazy…" She murmured into his ear, not sure if she was trying to convince him or herself.
It felt to her like it was hours, before the door of the Police box opened again of the relieving sight of her husband and her best friend. Both immediately swarmed her as they checked that both the baby and her were safe, and she let them, as she looked at them, searching for any sign of injuries, the Doctor's vest looked a bit singed and a bruise was developing on Rory's cheek but they both looked alright.
Once contented, the Time Lord picked his son from her arms before chuckling slightly as he cocked his head slightly in a way she'd come to associate with Evan talking to him.
"Ah don't worry, your old man still has some fire in him!" The Doctor told the baby, rocking him slightly before giving the couple a smile. "And good ole' Rory isn't too bad, either!"
Jack was standing at the door with his arm around Ianto and Gwen. This one had been a close call, some entity had somehow been attracted by the energy that the T.A.R.D.I.S. was filtering from the Rift and had come to investigate and steal but had been met with extreme prejudice by a certain "Teaboy" and had lashed out. Half the control room was in shamble, the Doctor had managed to somehow deal with the critter with one of the doohickeys he was playing around with in Ianto's office (which now looked like a bomb had gone off in it…) but even with nearly no injuries, they'd all feel it in the morning.
Two hours later, while Amy, Rory and Ianto were trying to salvage what could be from the main room, Jack tracked down the Doctor and his son who'd disappeared again shortly after the start of the "Operation recuperation" (Amy's idea to brighten the mood, fell a bit flat too).
He found them both standing in what had been just this morning the Welshman's office, the Doctor looked both grim and weirdly accepting with whatever thoughts he was having as he looked around the office a bit blankly.
"Hey, Doctor? Is there something wrong?" Jack asked, entering the room with caution.
"All of it was in here, Jack… everything I'd found to help me control Evan's outbursts in power, or nearly so… it's all broken, half of all this I can't repair!" The Time Lord replied with a slightly helpless look on his face as he sort of clang to the baby in his arms as if willing him not to disappear.
Jack held back a wince at that, he had a very good idea of what would be the next thing out of his old friend's mouth.
"You're going to go again, aren't you?" He sighed, with a slightly ruthless look at the other man.
The man in the bowtie looked back at him, without a word, before leaning down his head to nuzzle his son's bald head.
The Immortal wanted to scream, to rage against the Doctor, to order him to stay, not to abandon his child again like that, but he bit back any remarks and just walked over to him and pulled him in an awkward hug, mindful of the small baby between them.
"It's gonna be all right…" He finally said while releasing the other man. "As long as you take a phone with you this time, it's going to be just fine… But no more than a week, yes? You go running around the Universe longer than that and I'll bring Rose back from the other dimension, just so she can kick your silly butt!"
The Doctor gave his friend a slightly shaky smile, looking like he was on the verge of tears, before simply nodding and turning his back to him, head down against his baby's body again.
Jack sighed again and fished his phone from his coat. Tapping on the Doctor's shoulder, he waited until the man had turned around and showed him wordlessly the phone before putting it in the other man's vest's inner pocket.
"And don't you dare letting it go to voicemail, you hear me, you Time Lord!" Jack growled with a weak glare.
His friend gave him another crooked smile before sighing.
"I just know Amy is going to have my head…" The Gallifreyan said, looking a bit moody. "As if I plan those things, really!"
Jack shook his head, if leaving more than a century had taught him something it was that in hindsight everything had reasons, good or not. He knew that even though his heart told him that what the Doctor was about to do was wrong, that he shouldn't leave like that again, with no sure-fire that he would be back when needed; his head told him that his reasons were good and understandable. Evan was undeniably special, everything in him was and he would need all the help he could get, and if things were not done properly, it could prove dangerous for the babe and anyone around him. The Doctor had lost too much, someone like him, having a chance to raise a child, one of his own flesh and blood, he would do anything to protect him, even if it meant having to leave him behind sometimes.
"I'll go fetch Amy and Rory but you're on your own to explain it to Amy!" Jack finally said, breaking the silence between them, before turning around and leaving the room.
Better let the Doctor cling to his son and reassure himself that he was not a bad father, in quiet privacy.
Yes, I'm a sadist like that, sorry. :)
Reviews… ah hell, I don't have any funny metaphor or phrasing today, too tire, anyway. Please review?