A/N As promised, this chapter reveals a fair glimpse as to where the plot is headed. Did I mention this story will have a bit of angst...? ;)
Chapter 2
The Doctor and Rose made their way through the crowd and into the hospital, then waited their turn to finally make it up to the front desk to ask a few questions and see if they could find some answers.
The woman behind the desk, who looked overworked and overwhelmed as she sorted through stacks of admittance charts, barely looked up as they approached. "Are you here to check in or to visit a patient?"
"Neither, actually," the Doctor replied. "I'm the Doctor and this is Rose, and we–"
The woman's head snapped up. "A Doctor? You're here to help, then?" she asked with a note of hope and a look of desperation.
The Doctor smiled. This was the one question he never refused. "That I am. I'll help in any way I can."
"Just a minute," she said, quickly turning, "I'll contact Dr. Kedra and inform her you're here."
The Doctor turned to Rose and shrugged as the woman spoke into the comm-system. "Didn't even need to use the psychic paper for credentials," he said under his breath.
"Apparently they're desperate for more doctors," Rose replied, looking around grimly at the mass of people about.
The woman turned back toward them and handed the Doctor a pass to be worn around his wrist. "She'll meet you in her lab. Take the lift straight ahead to the fourth floor, then turn right. It's the second door on the left. Scan your pass and it will give you access to the lab." She looked at Rose. "You'll have to wait here, I'm afraid. Medical personnel only."
The Doctor shook his head. "No, she's with me. She might not be a doctor, but the help she can also give is invaluable."
"I'm sorry, but–"
"She's with me," he repeated firmly. "No exceptions."
"Doctor, it's fine," Rose spoke up. "I'll just–"
"No exceptions," he repeated.
The woman lifted her brows but nodded slightly. "I see. Am I correct in assuming you are a mated pair, then?" she asked with a trace of mirth, sensing if that were the case, they weren't getting much further here if an allowance wasn't made.
Rose blushed slightly at the overt title, dead-on accurate as it was, but she was also feeling a pleasant rush of heat from the Doctor's show of possessiveness.
"We are," he confirmed in a straight-forward tone. Gone were the days when he would try to deny – to himself or to anyone else – just what they were to each other. Rose was his. On that same token, he was hers. He couldn't deny that the magnitude of it was sometimes frightening. He had never lost himself so completely to one person before. Bottom line, no one was separating them. End of discussion.
The message clearly received, the woman turned back to the comm-system. "Very well. I'll inform Dr. Kedra of your...rules."
"Thank you." The Doctor looked back over at Rose, lowering his voice to speak only to her. "I'm not having us get separated again in another hospital. You know what happened the last time."
Rose chuckled. "Oh, I dunno. Our run-in with Cassandra wasn't all bad, was it? I seem to fuzzily recall you getting a thorough snog out of it."
The Doctor made a pleased sound in his throat that matched his smile. "There was that, yes." His smile vanished. "But there was also the less pleasant aspect which included me getting taken over and parading around like a lunatic – a female lunatic." He grimaced as the words, 'Goodness me, I'm a man!' played back uninvited in his thoughts. "I don't fancy giving a repeat performance."
Rose stifled a snort of laughter behind her hand, vividly recalling his entertaining 'performance.'
The woman behind the desk turned back to them and handed Rose a pass as well. "Here you are."
Rose smiled. "Thank you."
They walked toward the lift and stepped in as the Doctor gave the voice command for the fourth floor. He glanced over at Rose, who stood rigid with her eyes tightly shut.
"Rose, what are you doing?" he asked with a note of humor in his voice.
She cracked an eye open. "This time I'm gonna be prepared." He lifted both eyebrows in question. "The disinfectant," she said, enunciating the word slowly. "Remember?"
"Ah," he replied with a chuckle. "They don't use that system here."
Rose relaxed and opened both eyes. "Now you tell me."
They stepped out of the lift upon reaching their designated floor and approached the room they'd been directed to. Rose lifted her wrist and scanned her pass. The double-glass doors slid open and she and the Doctor stepped inside.
The medical lab resembled what would be found in a typical Earth hospital, but there was some technology throughout that Rose didn't recognize. The Doctor picked up a small, spherical shaped device on a nearby table. "A chromosome rheostat!" he remarked with enthusiasm. "I've been meaning to pick up one of these for the TARDIS infirmary."
A moment later the doors again slid open as a man and woman entered and approached. The woman appeared to be in her late fifties to early sixties, her dark hair flecked with gray and pulled back into a tight twist. The tall man beside her seemed a few years younger, perhaps mid-fifties.
"Welcome," the woman greeted, then got right down to the matter at hand. "I understand you are a doctor."
"That's right," the Doctor confirmed. "I'm the Doctor and this is Rose."
Rose lifted her hand and waved. "Hello."
The woman shook the Doctor and Rose's hands as she made introductions. "I'm Dr. Kedra and this is my associate, Professor T'neer. Were you sent by the Medical Institute of the Northern Province? I thought I had already exhausted their available personnel."
The Doctor tugged at his ear. "Ah, no. Actually, Rose and I are off-worlders just traveling through."
"But you are a doctor?" she sought to reconfirm.
"Yes, I am. And if you're in need of some kind of help, I'm glad to offer assistance."
"Are you familiar with the condition of our people?" Professor T'neer inquired.
"A current medical condition? No."
"Is there some sort of epidemic?" Rose asked, judging by the large number of patients here.
Dr. Kedra and Professor T'neer exchanged heavy glances before she indicated to a table nearby. "Why don't we sit?" They each took a seat, and she began to explain. "Our people are dying. Our entire race is nearing extinction," she said gravely. "There was a war three generations ago. Our planet was invaded by the Shodorans, who were trying to gain control over our resources. Our people eventually won and the Shodorans were driven from our planet, but the cost of that war had been great. Many of our soldiers were exposed to chemical weapons in the fighting. Of those who survived, irreversible damage had been done to their genetic structure. Those genetic mutations were inevitably passed on to the next generation, and so on."
Professor T'neer took up explaining. "It is estimated that over two-thirds of the populace have now been affected, and those numbers continue to rise. Our population has always been small, due in part to limited fertility. That is one of the areas we've made great advances in, with even those from nearby systems coming to us for fertility treatment when they have otherwise not been able to reproduce. But our advances in fertility have done nothing to save our people from succumbing to this genetic deterioration. All we've managed to do over the years is produce generations who continue to fall prey to this affliction. The lifespan of our people is growing shorter and shorter. Those who once would have lived a full life of twenty years began dying at ten. And now, some even less than that as the degradation worsens."
The Doctor and Rose listened silently, absorbing the severity of the situation faced by these people. They were obviously in desperate need of help from anyone who could provide it.
Dr. Kedra stood from the table. "If you'll wait here just a moment, Professor T'neer and I will gather some of our research files for you to take a look at, if you're willing."
The Doctor nodded. "Yes, of course."
Rose turned toward him as the two briefly left the room. "A full life for them is twenty years?" she questioned.
The Doctor drew in a long breath before replying. "Most species vary in their lifespans – just like Time Lords and humans." Rose didn't miss the tightness in his voice as he spoke. "The people of Janyeer reach adulthood by the age of seven. Their physiology, their intellect – it all develops rapidly. But their cellular structure also decays rapidly. And now, apparently even more so."
Rose sat back in her chair and nodded silently. This was undoubtedly the 'difference' of this species she had asked the Doctor about earlier when he'd been hesitant to discuss it. This naturally brought to the forefront of Rose's mind the contrast in lifespans between her and the Doctor, and she knew this brought it more acutely to his thoughts as well. This wasn't a topic they often broached. They knew he would live on long after she was gone, but they simply embraced each day and lived it for the moments given to them.
For Rose, this was a stark eye-opener. Looking at these people made Rose realize just how the Doctor must see her. Their lives were so comparatively brief, so fleeting. This was how her life appeared in his eyes. She realized all the more the sacrifice the Doctor had made in allowing himself to love someone with a lifespan that was only a fraction of his. What if to her, the Doctor's lifespan had been like these people? Would she have had the same courage to love completely, knowing by comparison it was only for a passing moment, were the circumstances reversed?
Dr. Kedra and Professor T'neer returned with data for the Doctor to look over. He reached in his jacket and pulled out his glasses, slipping them on as he quickly scrolled through the data-pad. "You said this began three generations ago?" he asked.
Dr. Kedra nodded. "Yes, that's right."
"Hmm. Must have been after I was here last."
Kedra and T'neer exchanged puzzled looks. "Just how long ago was that?" Professor T'neer asked.
The Doctor glanced up. "Oh...a few centuries, or so." They both looked at him in disbelief. "My species is...very long lived," he explained. "I'm a Time Lord."
Dr. Kedra gaped at him in silence before finally speaking. "A Time Lord? But...I thought they were just a myth."
The Doctor gave her a lopsided grin. "That's me. The Man, The Myth, The Legend." He nudged Rose, who simply smirked. "I should get that on a T-shirt." His expression then sobered along with his tone. "I'm the last of the Time Lords. The rest of my people are gone. So I understand the importance of preserving your species."
She turned to Rose. "And you? You're not...?"
Rose glanced over at the Doctor, who didn't quite meet her eyes, then back at Dr. Kedra. "Oh, no I'm not...a Time Lord. I'm human."
T'neer nodded and spoke up. "From what I understand, humans are quite long lived as well."
He sounded impressed by her lifespan, but somehow Rose was having a hard time seeing it that way herself. She briefly glanced down at her folded hands. "Well, I s'pose it's all a matter of perspective."
Dr. Kedra stood back up. "I have some more data I'd like you to take a look at, Doctor, if you don't mind. Professor T'neer and I will only be a moment."
The Doctor nodded as the two left the room.
Once outside, Kedra quickly turned to him. "A Time Lord. T'neer, he's a Time Lord. The only one in existence, and he has come to us. Do you realize what this could mean? This could be the answer we've waited years for," she said with exuberance.
"It's very possible," T'neer agreed, though tried to remain cautiously optimistic. "Of course, we will need to do some testing for compatibility before we know for sure."
"That should be fairly simple to achieve. We must keep this to ourselves for now, however," she warned. "We simply cannot take a chance on a refusal of cooperation for any reason. Too much is at stake here."
"Yes, agreed."
-:-:-:-
After the Doctor had finished reading through some of their medical files and research, Dr. Kedra and Professor T'neer escorted him and Rose through the hospital to familiarize them with the various stages of progression of some of the patients being treated. Before continuing, they stopped off at another lab along the way.
"Before coming in contact with the patients, it is important we screen the two of you for any possible pathogens, just as a precaution," Dr. Kedra stated. "The immune systems of those we are treating are already compromised. You understand, of course."
The Doctor and Rose consented, and a quick bio-scan was taken of them both for examination. Kedra and T'neer excused themselves and stepped into an adjoining room to run an analysis of the results.
"This is unbelievable," Dr. Kedra remarked as she examined the Doctor's triple-helix DNA. Her mesmerized thoughts were already journeying much farther than just the eradication of the gene mutation. She saw the potential to bring more to their civilization than she had ever dreamed possible. "If we could introduce this into our gene pool, our people could achieve near...immortality."
"It's not just the lifespan," T'neer commented. "His DNA shows incredible regenerative capabilities. With this ability, the mutations in our own genetics could be easily overcome." He paused, sounding disheartened when he continued. "The problem is, however, his DNA is genetically incompatible with our own."
"But look at the human's," Kedra pointed out. "Hers has many similarities to ours."
"Yes, that's true," he agreed. "And she as well has an extended lifespan in comparison to ours. But without the regenerative abilities his possesses, I'm afraid her DNA introduced into our genetics would be overcome by the mutation."
"But what about a cross between the two?" she suggested, her excitement growing ever higher. "That could serve as the link between his genetics and ours. Her genetics are slightly more compatible with his than ours are, yet hers are still similar to ours. If the two were then hybridized, those hybrid cells would be more compatible with our own, making it very possible to bridge that gap between our chromosomal differences and make this work."
Professor T'neer's thoughts began traveling down the same path as hers. It didn't take a leap in deduction to know what was being proposed by this. "And you're suggesting that a child between these two would achieve this, are you not?"
"Exactly! Part human, part Time Lord, with a genetic makeup that, with some manipulation of the extracted cells, could quite possibly be compatible with our own. Without harming the fetus, cells could be harvested and a vaccine could be developed using those hybrid genetics."
T'neer shook his head, seeing a flaw in the plan. "But you can see here with just this scan that these two are not capable of reproducing together."
She didn't see that as an insurmountable hindrance considering their field of expertise. "Not at the moment, no; but we could change that. T'neer, fertility intervention is one of the areas we thrive in. You know that. By giving her a series of tailored treatments using this biological data we've extrapolated, we could cause reproduction between the two of them to become possible."
T'neer paused for several moments as he thought it through. "Yes. Yes, that could be a possibility. The question here is would they both agree to this?"
She squared her shoulders and spoke firmly. "We can't take the chance that they won't. The Doctor has agreed to stay here and help us. During that time, we can find a way to give her the series of treatments needed to facilitate this without their knowledge."
T'neer shifted uncomfortably, not at all at ease with this plan. "Could we really do that? Go that far?"
"Could we not?" she quickly countered.
"But there are ethical implications to consider here."
"Yes, and there is also the fate of our entire race to consider. I think that goes beyond an ethical dilemma."
She stepped closer and placed a persuasive hand on his arm. "T'neer, this could be the miracle we have waited generations for. We simply cannot take the chance that either one of them could refuse. A pregnancy of this nature could very likely pose a risk to the female, and I can sense the Doctor is highly protective of his mate, as evidenced by the fact that he wouldn't even meet with us if she wasn't allowed as well. If conception takes place, we will do what we can to mitigate the risks, of course; but there is too much of a chance they would refuse this plan if they had foreknowledge." He still appeared greatly hesitant. "We will do what we can to lessen the risks. And it is not as if the end result of this would be bringing about something sinister...something evil. We would be giving them a chance to reproduce where otherwise they never could. A child is a blessing, not a curse."
T'neer ran a hand down his face as he briefly closed his eyes, the weight of this decision pressing heavily. He knew they would be risking Rose by doing this, to say nothing of violating both her and the Doctor by orchestrating this behind their backs. He also knew his entire race hung in the balance. That was the factor that tipped the scale.
"I...I suppose you are right," he finally replied, feeling guilt even as the decision was made. It wasn't an easy choice, but he saw it as the only choice. "This seems the only way." He paused, thinking it through further. "But suppose we do this, and yet they do not engage in reproductive activities for quite some time. How do we ensure they would procreate while here?"
Kedra smiled empathetically. "Oh, my old friend. You have spent too many years within the confines of your laboratories. Have you not seen the way he looks at her and she at him? Trust me. If we do our part, they will most certainly do theirs."