The Doctor and Tony headed out the door and across the immaculately groomed and landscaped yard, down the stone path that lead to an arched gap in the boxwood hedge. Tony hung on to his hand, swinging it as he walked along next to him singing. "We're going to see Shadow, we're going to see Shadow."
Tony's exuberance was catching. The Doctor smiled as they went through the arch, slightly overwhelmed by the pungent cabbage smell of the boxwood. On the other side was an open meadow. The path turned into a dirt track, lined with antique roses, providing a sweet contrast to the hedge.
It was good to be around a child again. The demands were so simple and uncomplicated. Tony let you know what he wanted. It didn't take much to bring a smile to his face, and when he did smile you knew it was genuine, not a subterfuge.
The path led them to a wooden gate set in a hedgerow. Once through the gate, the cause of all the excitement was visible. Shadow, Silver Shadow more properly, stood in his paddock. There was a three sided shed built in the fence line that allowed the pony to get out of the sun and rain.
Jackie enjoyed all the trappings of wealth, and a pony for her son was part of the package. She had however, been sensible in her choice, getting Tony a sturdy older Shetland pony instead of one of the fancy and more temperamental, welsh thoroughbred crosses favored by the wealthy.
Shadow was a silver dapple in color. White covered evenly with dark grey dapples giving him the appearance of being in the shadow of a leafy tree. His mane and tail were white. The mane so thick it fell on both sides of his neck, his forelock almost obscuring his soft brown eyes. He looked hopefully at the Doctor and Tony, ears pricked forward as they approached.
Tony turned loose from the Doctor, running ahead to the paddock gate.
"Oi!, Tony wait up!" called the Doctor. "You're not supposed to go in there alone."
Tony turned around to look at him, a pout on his face. "Dockor, you hurry, NOW!"
"Now Tony, what would your Mum say if she heard you talking like that?"
"Mum not know, you not tell Mum."
The Doctor caught up to Tony and tousled his hair saying, "Someday I might. Now go get me Shadow's headcollar. That's a good boy."
Tony took Shadow's headcollar and lead off a fence post, while the Doctor got the saddle and grooming kit out of the tack room next to the shed. The Doctor put the bag with their snack down on a bench after extracting a carrot, which he broke into two pieces. Upon hearing the carrot break Shadow headed to the gate. The pony got one part of the carrot for coming; the other part for letting the Doctor put the headcollar on. It was an arrangement the two had that worked well.
The Doctor set to work grooming the little pony. When it came time to put the saddle on, Tony objected.
"Dockor, I no need saddle. I just ride."
The Doctor continued to tack up the pony tightening the girth as he explained to the little boy. "Your mum wants you to have a saddle, therefore, you get a saddle."
"Mum not know, you no tell mum"
"This is becoming a theme today," the Doctor thought. "What mum doesn't know won't hurt her."
"Sorry," the Doctor explained. "but your trousers will tell mum."
"They can't tell mum."
"The horse hairs on your trousers will tell mum. Now let's get you on board." The Doctor lifted Tony onto the saddle. For these little trips, Shadow had a saddle, but no bridle. They would use just a halter and lead. This way Tony didn't get into the habit of using his reins to hang on.
The pony was stabled in a hunt territory, so there were plenty of trails. The Doctor choose a wooded path with a place to picnic around the halfway point. The leaves were already coming out as the trees responded to the warmer weather, the shade providing a welcome relief from the heat. Where the foliage encroached on the path, the ever hungry pony would reach out and try to snatch a leaf. When he succeeded there was a rustling sound as the branch snapped back when he let it go. The Doctor indulged the pony in this little vice.
Tony was happy, splitting his time between petting Shadow and pointing out all the birds, squirrels and other wild life they could see. Where the path was straight and level the Doctor would break into a jog, causing Shadow to trot and Tony to squeal with laughter. It was an enjoyable, relaxing time, a pleasant break from the more pressing matters facing the Doctor.
But even here, those matters would start to enter the Doctor's mind. There was a time when he could jog the entire trail, now he needed regular breaks. He didn't have much time left to solve the problem of Rose. Jackie's idea of a cruise was a possibility for a temporary solution, maybe a permanent one if he could get her to listen and see reason. He might even be able to convince her to settle in New Zealand or someplace similar, where she would be far from the temptations of Torchwood.
Convincing her to go with him would be the hard part. Ever since the miscarriage, they hadn't even held hands. He wondered if cruise ships had two bedroom suites. Maybe separate cabins would be better. That way if she found someone else it wouldn't be awkward. Her finding someone else would be an ideal solution. She might never accept him as the Doctor and being around him would just make her remember his brother more. It was also a solution that would continue after he was gone.
They were approaching the picnic area, when the Doctor stumbled, at first he thought he'd tripped on a tree root, but then the nausea hit him and he was on his hands and knees gasping for air. He managed to hang on to the lead. He could hear Tony, as if in the distance asking what was wrong. "It's okay Tony, just stay on Shadow," he gasped out. His thoughts were racing. "Three times, three times in one day. So much stronger. He shouldn't have felt anything. This far away he should have been safe. What was she doing?"
He realized the coral was crying out, suffering from the onslaught. He pushed himself upright, sitting on the dirt path. Shadow was quiet but eying him warily. Tony on Shadow's back looking worried. He took the coral out of his pocket. Held it and soothed it, exchanging his energy with it, helping it clear the poison out. He apologized to it as he healed it. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry I wish I could do more. I never should have brought you here." The coral let him know he was being silly. He grew out of his brother's hand; the coral was a part of his brother's TARDIS. They belonged together.
He knew that was true. He had tried leaving it behind once when he went to Torchwood, wanting to save it from the ravages of the dimension cannon. It had worn itself out with its frantic efforts to find him. As soon as he got out of the car that evening, he'd felt its distress. He'd run upstairs to his room, and spent the next half hour reassuring it that he would never leave it behind again, before it had finally settled down.
The Doctor stood up and put the coral back in his pocket. The contents of the bag seemed intact when he picked it up off the ground. He smiled at Tony. "I'm fine now Tony. Let's go have our snack shall we? The table is right over there." He pointed to the picnic table under a tree in a little clearing up ahead.
Tony looked unsure. "Dockor all better now?"
"Yes Tony, I'm all better. Are you, alright? I didn't scare you did I?" asked the Doctor as he started leading the pony toward the picnic area.
"I not scared, I stay on Shadow." Tony replied brightly.
"Yes, you did a good job staying on Shadow, and he did a good job looking after you. Did you thank him?"
Tony reached forward and patted Shadow on the neck. "Thank you, Shadow."
"That's good Tony. Shadow is a brave little pony, but now it is time to get off. Let's see what your mum packed for us, shall we?"
The Doctor was also grateful to the solid little pony. It could have been a disaster; a more flighty mount would have bolted, possibly causing Tony to be injured. It saddened the Doctor, but this was the last time he would be able to take Tony and Shadow out by himself. He couldn't risk having another spell while leading the pony. Maybe Rose was right; he was pretty useless if he couldn't even do this safely.