A/N: Thankees for all reviews, really, it does mean so much. One day I'll reply. And all the suspense will be uncalled for as you realise my distinct lack of charisma... Lol!

Chapter 10 - Fatozygomation for the Nation

Martha approached the TARDIS Infirmary, not quite sure what she was going to say. The Doctor's yelling had been audible from the autopsy room, and she had known him long enough to know when he was truly angry.

She stopped outside the door, just listening. There didn't seem to be any noise. She eased open the door and peeked inside, seeing the Doctor sitting with his back to her, next to a bed.

She moved forwards. "Doctor?"

"Leave me alone," the Doctor muttered.

"Let me help," Martha said gently, moving to stand next to him, looking down at Leah asleep in the bed hugging Bundy.

"Leave me alone," he repeated, just as calm.

"Doctor," Martha began firmly, folding her arms. "I am a doctor and Leah is a patient. I'm going to look after her and I don't care if you're sitting here or not. Either join me or get out of the way."

He finally looked up at her. His eyes were puffy and red. He'd been crying. After a few moments he nodded, and she moved over to check on the girl.

"Has she been awake?"

"Yeah."

"Drowsiness?"

"Just a bit worn out."

"Did you do a head scan?"

"Yeah, it's fine."

Martha nodded. Once satisfied she was completely fine she pulled up a chair next to the Doctor and took his hand, squeezing it in comfort.

"She will be okay," she assured him. "Don't worry. This is just a knock, it happens all the time with kids."

"I know," he said.

"Why are you so angry, then?" Martha asked.

"It's the paternal bond. I know it's not his fault, but the bond thinks Jack hurt her, and that he could've killed her, and my instinct is telling me to make him suffer. It's taking everything I have just to stop myself walking out there and killing him in the most painful way possible, several times over..." He looked back at Leah with the bruise on her forehead, cuddling her teddy tightly. "I love her so much. Now her Mum's not here I have to look after her even more than ever and I can't even do that..."

"You can't be there all the time," Martha reasoned. "This isn't anyone's fault. It's just one of those things."

He nodded. "I know, it's just..." He suddenly stopped, swallowing as he reached out and pulled the cover a little more over his daughter. "It's been one day and I already need Rose. Maybe Leah is in danger. Maybe I shouldn't look after her. I'm a useless father..."

Martha pounced instantly. "You're not useless, you're a better Dad than mine ever was to me. Leah's a proper little Daddy's girl and she loves you even more than you love her." He opened his mouth as if to argue, but she swiftly cut him off again. "Do you know what Leah said to me? She said she had the best Daddy in the world because you have the best hugs," she said with a laugh.

The Doctor's face broke into a smile, looking down at the girl again. "She's so beautiful. If they take her... I don't know what I'd do. I'm scared of what I'd do. If I can get this angry at Jack for something that wasn't even his fault how am I going to react to someone taking her away from me completely? I'm barely coping knowing Rose isn't here. And it's been a day, Martha. A day without Rose and already I'm breaking down. I can't keep lying to Leah like this, if the Shadow Proclamation want her, they will find a way to take her and Rose becomes expendable..."

Martha nodded, fully understanding. "Just spend some time with Leah while you heal. Something will happen to change things. You'll see."

"Yeah," he croaked. Martha hugged him. "Sorry," he muttered.

Martha suddenly laughed. He looked at her, confused.

She smiled back. "It's unbelievable how much you've changed."

"What?"

"When we travelled together you were like, 'I don't want to talk about my feelings!' and now look at you."

"Is that bad?"

"Oh no, it's brilliant. You might be a 900-year-old alien but I think you're learning how to be a middle-aged human."

"Oh." The Doctor mused on that for a moment. "That really is bad. I think I need to go and do something a bit alien."

Martha laughed again. "Like what?"

He tapped his chin. "A bit of fatozygomation."

"What is that?"

"You don't wanna know."

She smiled. "Okay, have fun." She caught his look. "I'll watch Leah."

He nodded, leaning down to kiss Leah's forehead. "Thanks, Martha," he said aside to her.

"It's fine. Now go and... fatty-gomise."

He grinned, and left.

Leah woke up the next morning, only to find her father slouched in the chair beside her bed, eyes closed. She yawned, stretched and sat up, holding Bundy tightly to her chest as she leant forward and poked her dad in the arm.

"Daddy," she said. "Daddy. Daddy."

He didn't stir.

"Daddy?"

He wasn't moving an inch. Suddenly Leah was worried. She called for him a little louder to no reaction, before carefully climbing over the side of the bed to drop on the floor, and tugging on his leg.

"Daddy, wake up," she said. "Daddy. Daddy. Daddy!"

He didn't move. She was panicking, now, tugging desperately on his leg.

"Daddy! Daddy! Daddy wake up!" she wailed, tears in her eyes. "Daddy, please don't go!"

He didn't even flinch.

She quickly ran out of the infirmary, her feet padding quickly but quietly down the TARDIS corridor with Bundy swinging back and forth. She ran out into Torchwood, looking frantically around for anyone that could help. She saw Mickey sat at his computer terminal, and she hastily clambered up the stairs and ran over to him.

"Uncle Mickey!"

He turned and smiled down at her. "Good morning, Leah!"

"Uncle Mickey..." Leah began.

"Sorry about yesterday, we didn't see you, you okay, yeah?"

"Uncle Mickey..." she tried again.

"Your Dad was mad, I mean, seriously mad. I 'aven't seen him that mad since..."

"Be quiet!" Leah suddenly yelled, stamping her feet with her tiny fists clenched. Mickey blinked in surprise, seeing the same Jackie Tyler firey eyes of death right there on that little toddler. "Daddy not wake up, please help him!"

"Oh!" Mickey gasped, jumping out of his chair and yelling for Martha, who was there within seconds, alert at the sound of the sobbing toddler. Leah led them back into the TARDIS and straight towards the Infirmary where the Doctor was still slouched in the chair. Martha moved forward to try and awaken him by lightly slapping his face.

"Doctor, can you hear me?" she asked, but his head just lolled with the light slaps. Leah clutched desperately onto Bundy. Mickey quickly dropped to his knees and put his arm around her comfortingly.

"Don't worry, Leah."

"I'm scared," she said quietly, tears still in her eyes. "Please Uncle Mickey I don't want Daddy to go like Mummy."

Mickey hugged her reassuringly as Martha put her cheek sideways over the Doctor's mouth and looked down his chest. He wasn't breathing.

"Mickey, get him onto a bed," Martha said quickly, bringing out the stethoscope as Mickey moved forward to pick up the limp Doctor, depositing him on a bed. Leah stared with wide eyes, tears running down her face. Martha side-glanced at Mickey, who took the hint.

"Hey Leah, how about we have breakfast?" he asked, staring into her wet eyes.

"No," she sobbed, holding Bundy tighter.

"We can make some for Daddy for when he wakes up."

"No, I wanna stay!"

"Leah," Martha said gently, pulling out her stethoscope and hoping to God she would get a heartbeat. "Daddy wouldn't want you to go hungry, would he? Go and eat and when you get back he'll be awake."

Leah looked torn, for a moment looking between Mickey and her father before finally nodding. "Okay. But Bundy stay to watch him," she said, running over to the bed the Doctor was on and placing Bundy next to him. When she was satisfied, she ran back to Mickey and took his hand, shoving her thumb into her mouth.

Mickey left as quickly as he could to let Martha get on with it.

"Martha!" came Jack's yell as he ran into the infirmary twenty minutes later, utterly panicked as he stopped next to the Doctor's bed. "Mickey told me. What's wrong with him?"

"It's okay, relax," Martha said quickly, holding up her hand. "He's not breathing but his hearts are beating quietly. I think he's just in a healing coma."

"Oh." Jack breathed a sigh of relief. "And he didn't think to warn us?"

"Obviously not," Martha replied. "Just give him a few hours, he's probably trying to heal his head faster. I think it really shocked Leah, though. How is she?"

"Mickey's just bathing her and bringing her back," Jack replied, looking down at the Doctor. "What an idiot."

"Why am I an idiot?" a voice suddenly said from below as the Doctor blinked open his eyes.

Jack jumped in surprise. "Oh, hello."

"Hello," the Doctor said drowsily, confused as he looked around. "I'm in the infirmary."

"We thought you'd died," Jack said reasonably.

"I left a note," the Doctor said tiredly, gesturing towards the bedside table of what had previously been Leah's bed. Martha furrowed her brow and reached over, picking up a folded piece of paper they hadn't noticed before.

"Dear everyone," she read aloud. "I'm going into a healing coma. From the Doctor."

"See," the Doctor said, yawning widely.

"Oh," was all Martha said to that.

"You completely freaked out Leah," Jack told him.

The Doctor's eyes widened. "What? Is she okay?"

"She's fine," Martha said quickly. "But she thought you'd died or something."

"Oh I'm sorry," the Doctor said quietly. "I only did it so I could go and find her Mum quicker for her."

Jack shared a glance with Martha, who nodded covertly to the Doctor before getting out of her seat and moving to the door. "I'll go and get her," she said, and disappeared.

Jack looked back at the sleepy Doctor nervously. "How's your head, then?"

"A bit better," he muttered, sitting up and looking at him, blinking. "There were four of you yesterday but there's two of you today."

Jack opened his mouth to reply, beaming...

"Jack, I'm too tired for sexual innuendos."

"Oh," Jack conceded, somewhat disappointed. "But... I wanted to say, about yesterday..."

"No," the Doctor suddenly interrupted. "I'm sorry, I know it wasn't your fault, it's just how I react. You didn't do anything wrong. This stuff just happens, and she's fine, so we'll forget it."

"Oh thank god," Jack breathed. "Well, that's all cleared up then."

The Doctor gave a ghost of a smile. "Can you get my medication?"

"The pregnancy stuff?"

"Yeah."

Jack nodded, moving over to the cupboard. "You still feel it when you're separated?"

"I feel everything, but even stronger than usual," the Doctor replied. "The further away she is from me the more prominently I feel her. I know what she's feeling right now."

"What's she feeling?"

The Doctor paused for a moment, trying to sum them up. "She's scared, angry and sad... but hopeful."

Jack returned with a tube of the green liquid and a needle gun. "You must be missing her to death."

The Doctor nodded slowly, holding out his arm. "I need to focus on Leah, though. I can feel her too. She's scared and confused about it all. She comes first, right now."

"You're linked to her too?" Jack asked, snapping the tube in the gun.

The Doctor gave an affirmation. "Paternally. Which is why I reacted the way I did to you. I felt her shock and panic in that tiny moment and it terrified me."

"Again, sorry," Jack said, placing the point of the gun on his arm and pulling the trigger. The gun hissed and clicked. "Can she or Rose feel you?" he wondered, pulling the gun away.

"Rose can, but Leah can't," the Doctor replied. "She's too young at the moment, but it'll probably start developing over the next few years as her brain begins to mature."

"And I wondered," Jack began. "With this bond thing... Coz your future self... If Rose died, would you die?"

"Not while Leah's still alive." He caught Jack's look, already knowing the next question. "The bond is a seriously delicate thing. It kind of weaves itself through you. If they both died and I was left alone, parts of me would literally die. You saw my future self, he went insane, and that was inevitable. It's a physical thing, I would go insane and try to kill myself, there's no stopping that."

"But Rose will eventually die."

"I know."

Jack frowned. "That's like a death sentence."

"I know."

Jack paused for a moment, thinking about this. "Do you regret bonding with Rose?"

"Not for a second," the Doctor said, pulling a smile. "I would rather have this time to share with her as much as I can than not have it at all."

"But could you save yourself..." Jack paused, as if working up the courage to say his next words. "If you bonded with someone else as well?"

The Doctor looked at him and considered this, his smile turning into a broad grin. "You're forgetting Ianto."

For the first time in the Doctor's life, he saw Jack flush completely red in utter embarrassment. "Well..." he began unsurely, but was thankfully interrupted by a small voice from across the infirmary.

"Daddy?" the voice asked, and Jack and the Doctor both looked over to find Leah peeking around the doorway.

"Hello," the Doctor said, grinning and holding up Bundy. "I think you left Bundy behind."

"She was watching you," Leah replied, running over to the bed and attempting to clamber up onto it. Jack picked her up before she could protest and sat her on the Doctor's lap.

"I'm sorry I scared you," the Doctor said quietly, kissing her forehead.

"No do that again," Leah reprimanded, hugging him tightly. "I don't want you to go like Mummy did."

"Hey," the Doctor began seriously. "I am never going to go, and Mummy will come back. But it's just us for now."

She nodded, looking at him with those big brown eyes, reflecting his own. "I look after you while Mummy gone."

"We can look after each other," the Doctor replied, kissing her forehead again. "I know I don't do some things like Mummy does but I'll try my hardest for you, okay?"

"Ei'mina'eon, pohh," Leah said.

The Doctor grinned. "Tara ei'mina'eon leir, Leah."

Leah frowned. "Je'lei-ia 'tara' maya?"

"Don't worry, I'll teach you," the Doctor replied. "That was really good, well done."

"Mmm," Leah replied, climbing further up him to examine his head, her fingers pulling back his hair. "Your head still bad."

"It's getting better," he assured her.

She took a few moments to think about this before she looked at the others who had gathered in the infirmary. "Daddy gonna rest now," she informed them decisively.

Everyone grinned, bidding farewell as they made for the door.

"Leah..." the Doctor began, but was quickly interrupted as Leah found her way under the blanket and snuggled up next to him. "All right then," he conceded, and let himself go back to sleep with Leah holding desperately onto his shirt, determined never to lose him.

Ei'mina'eon, pohh – I love you, Daddy
Tara ei'mina'eon leir, Leah – And I love you too, Leah
Je'lei-ia 'tara' maya? - What is 'tara'?

A/N: Maybe I'll get on with the plot now :P