LOVE
NINE
The woman sitting behind the desk was absolutely, drop-dead gorgeous; at least that's how Jack saw her.
"Captain Jack Harkness," he said, extending his right hand. "And who are you?"
"Vatia," the woman answered as she shook his hand and coolly scrutinized him. After a short time her eyes moved in the direction of The Doctor, who'd been standing a step or two back, contentedly watching the floorshow.
"Oh, and this is my friend, erm, Thete," Jack explained after it eventually dawned on him another introduction might be required.
The building they'd entered was no different than all the others, a ramshackle storefront on a squalid, noisome, crowded street. The only whisper of something different or unusual was the universally acknowledged green and white placard above the entrance identifying the location as a medical facility. The large cerulean door, which was flanked by two small barred windows long since boarded up, was locked so they rang the doorbell and were met with a disembodied yet not unpleasant voice, which now they recognized as Vatia's. "Yes?" it inquired.
"We're here to see the doctor," Jack answered.
The door clicked and the voice returned, "You may enter when ready."
Jack shot his Doctor a relieved look; at least they hadn't been challenged or ignored. "Easy enough," the Captain remarked, raising an eyebrow and stepping aside, allowing the Time Lord to precede him through the entrance.
The difference between the inside of the building and its exterior couldn't have been more pronounced. The two men walked through a cool, almost breezy glass vestibule, the wafting air blowing gently across their skin and ruffling their hair; and then on into a cutting-edge waiting room, all stark white marble and brightly polished chrome and plush black furniture. Tasteful, calming artwork covered the walls. The interior smelled slightly of antibacterials and more strongly of mint; very much unlike the outside, it smelled refreshingly clean.
"I see," Vatia said after the second introduction and after she'd had time to appraise the Time Lord. "Do you have an appointment?"
Jack shook his head, "No, I'm a walk-in. You do accept walk-ins, don't you?"
His question was met first with a level stare but followed shortly thereafter with a smile, "Yes, of course we do." She pulled out an old-fashioned looking clipboard and picked up a real, honest-to-god fountain pen.
"Your full name please?"
"Captain Jack Harkness."
She wrote that down. "Your race?"
"Human."
She looked up at him, nodded and wrote that down as well. "Your gender?"
"Oh, male," Jack answered with a glint in his eye.
"I see. Marital status?"
"Single. Very single."
"Ah. And your home planet?"
"Uh, well, I'm from Boeshane originally, but lately I've been living on a planet called Earth. It's in the Sol system. More recently I guess you could say I've been traveling," Jack shot The Doctor a glance and winked.
Vatia wrote a bit more and then looked up, "Next of kin?"
Jack shrugged before he turned to the Time Lord. "Thete?"
The Doctor cleared his throat, "Uh, yes, you can put down for that. Theta Sigma, that's me. That's my name. I'm Theta Sigma." He carefully spelled it out for her. She wrote it down.
The woman nodded. "And your home planet, Mister Sigma?"
"I-I guess it would be Earth as well, but like my friend Jack here I'm also a traveler. A denizen of the galaxy, you might say." He bestowed one of his most brilliant smiles upon her – to little apparent effect.
"Very well," Vatia looked at the Captain again. "Date of birth?"
"Hmm… well… that's not such an easy question to answer. Can we skip it for now?"
"Of course Captain Harkness," Vatia put down her clipboard and pen, rolled her chair back a few inches and looked up. "Please describe the reason for your visit."
"Right, okay," Jack folded his arms over his chest and settled into his Captain Jack Harkness stance. "I can't die."
For a moment Vatia's calm exterior flashed Technicolor, but just for a moment, "Could you elaborate?"
"I can be killed, but I don't stay dead. I revive. I do age, albeit extremely slowly, but it seems I'm mostly, um, immortal."
"Interesting…"
"And I'd like to understand why."
"Were you born that way?"
Jack shook his head, "No it was a sort of accident."
"Dear me. Did you sustain any other injuries during this accident?"
"No, not really. Well… just before the accident I was killed. Exterminated by a Dalek. But then I…"
"You revived."
"Yes! Now you've got it!"
"Very well," she said, picking up her clipboard and scribbling a few additional notes. "Do you have any known allergies to medications?"
"No."
"Any other conditions or illnesses we need to be aware of?"
"Nope. I'm as healthy as a horse. Um, that's a large Earth mammal, sorry. I'm quite robust, Vatia. Vigorous. You might even say virile."
She set down the clipboard and stood, "Please excuse me while I go check with the doctor. He should be able to see you shortly."
After Vatia left the room the Captain turned to The Doctor, who was busy inspecting a magazine he'd grabbed off of one of the waiting room tables. "What do you think, Thete?" Jack asked.
The Doctor peered at him over the top of his glasses, "Hmm? Oh! Seems fine to me."
"Right…" said Jack. "I wonder if I should've mentioned that one other condition…"
"What other condition?"
"That I've got a bad case of loving y…"
"Jack!"
The Captain snickered, his eyes dancing.
Then the man from Gallifrey slowly looked around the waiting room, "Not very busy, is he?"
Jack shrugged and was just about to say something in response when the door opened and Vatia reappeared.
"The doctor would be happy to see you now, Captain Jack Harkness. However, although we do make exceptions for young children and the frail or elderly, in general the initial consultation is limited to just the doctor and the patient. For privacy reasons you understand." She gazed at the Time Lord, "You may stay here in the waiting room or you can leave the building and come back in an hour. It is up to you, Mister Sigma. That is, if you don't object?"
"Please, call me Thete," The Doctor said to her, and then he turned and looked at the Captain. "Jack, would you mind terribly if I take off for an hour and meet you back here? Like so much of normal life, doctor visits are dreary even while they are happening. I'd prefer to be out and about if that is all right with you? Maybe I'll do some shopping…"
"Shopping?" Jack looked slightly crestfallen but his voice did not betray any hint of disappointment. "That's fine, Thete. Whatever you want. But then I'll see you back here in an hour, right?"
"Yes, Jack. Before you know it."
"This way, sir?" Vatia motioned toward the door from which she'd just reentered the waiting room.
"Yes, of course," Jack said as he winked at The Doctor and then pivoted, his greatcoat swirling around his legs.
The Lord of Time watched as the door closed behind them. He stood for a few moments, listening to the room's HVAC system hum, before finally walking out into the bright, hot, Ascolan noontime sun.
It was only after The Doctor left the building that it dimly dawned on him Vatia had not reclaimed her clipboard. Strange, he thought, but then something else caught his attention and the old-fashioned looking clipboard and honest-to-god fountain pen were forgotten.
-00-
"Love cures people – both the ones who give it and the ones who receive it."
Karl Menninger