PLAGUE
SEVEN
The Doctor finally had his tea. Jackie was giving him the silent treatment, which was okay as far as he was concerned. She and Rose were in the kitchen, talking underneath the constant drone of the television.
He'd been looking through a pile of entertainment weeklies, catching up on all the latest gossip and on the verge of becoming Very Bored.
Suddenly there was a loud tone announcing breaking news and all three turned to look at the T.V. screen.
"NASA has revealed a British Special Ops team will attempt a mission to the international space station. We are trying to obtain further official information on this but anonymous sources tell us a heretofore unidentified space vehicle carrying a small team will make an effort to dock with the station and rescue any survivors from what we've been told was a catastrophic event.
"There has been no communication from the station or the docked shuttle since the incident occurred approximately seventy-five minutes ago. Our exclusive anonymous sources also inform us the team will be departing momentarily, if they've not already, as time is of the essence before the rescue mission becomes one of recovery."
The Doctor put down his cup; both Rose and Jackie were looking at him expectantly.
"It isn't me!" He answered their unvoiced question. "But I have a sneaking suspicion I know who it might be and frankly, I'm surprised."
"What?" harped Jackie. "You're surprised that someone might be more of a hero than you?"
He ignored her unflattering tone. "Well… he's that. I won't deny it. But no, rather that he'd open himself up to enormous and relentless public scrutiny. It's not like him – he tends to keep under the radar."
The Doctor ducked to avoid the dishtowel Jackie hurled in his direction as she sneered. "Maybe he's reconsidered his priorities, eh?"
He leaned back in his chair and stared up at the ceiling. Rose knew that look and put an index finger to her lips, signaling her mother to keep the peace. Then she nodded towards the bedroom and the two women padded out, leaving The Doctor to his musings.
Jack evidently didn't have the same scruples when it came to interfering with human spacefairing. 'A big can of worms… a huge can of worms… Squiggly, fat, slimy, ugly, icky worms,' The Doctor believed his friend had just opened. And probably a gigantic mistake… A totally positive outcome from the scenario was unlikely.
And yet… not knowing what sort of pressures had been placed on him, Jack was at his core a hero and this was certainly a circumstance that required one.
The Doctor had to now decide with Jack's involvement – and there was no doubt in his mind that it was Jack – what his own role in the affair would be. The non-interference rule didn't apply to his friend and occasional companion. Moreover, he had a sneaking suspicion that something was simply very wrong about the whole situation. The feeling wasn't based on any real information, but rather on simple gut instinct.
He laughed at himself for a moment. He'd never been a big believer in intuition. That was Rose's role… going by hunch rather than hard data. He wondered if they were becoming like an old married couple, each over time becoming more akin to the other, the two of them merging into one combined 'unit'.
'Rose-Doctor', 'Doctor-Rose' he sub-vocalized to himself, the words rolling easily through his thoughts; the accompanying images soothing.
He shook himself mentally. That comfortable fusing of psyche would do nothing but benefit him, although he didn't know whether or not it would be a plus for her…
"Rose!" he yelled. "Come on. We're leaving!"
In a heartbeat she was standing next to him, bag slung over her shoulder. "Where are we going?"
"Where else? Cardiff."
The two hurried out the door. The Doctor already too preoccupied to say 'good-bye' to Jackie, who stood in the kitchen and watched them leave.
After the door closed she walked to where he'd been sitting and picked up his cup; it was still half-full.