"Hey," Gwen said brightly, Rhys a half-step behind with his hand in hers. "I heard we got us a rather unexpected new doctor."
"Mm, we did," I murmured, rubbing my eyes. "Sorry. I'm exhausted," I said apologetically. "Ianto, I think I need a hand up." He helped me cautiously to my feet, keeping his hand on my waist as I beckoned for the others to follow us. "Rhys, would you mind turning the sign over? Thanks. You're a love." Ianto hit the button that locked the outer doors and opened the inner sanctum, and we all walked in to find Jack teasing John about something they'd done in their youth, something about John in a blue dress, and Tom Milligan trying hard not to laugh as he checked Laura's pupils with a penlight.
If they don't stop I'll poke her in the eye! he thought.
"Hey," Gwen called out, still rather chirpy for a girl who'd been under lockdown during the possible end of the world just the day before.
"The gang's all here!" Jack exclaimed, ecstatic to see her and Rhys. They were all high on being alive, I suppose. I was practically dead on my feet myself. Jack ran up to Gwen and Rhys, grabbing them both in a bear hug, then ushered them down to Tom. "Thomas Milligan, this is Gwen Cooper, and Rhys Williams."
"Formerly PC Cooper, right?" Tom ventured, taking her hand.
"Yeah, that's right," she said.
"You're the husband," Tom then said to Rhys.
"Aye, just the husband," Rhys said jokingly.
"There's no 'just' about you, Rhys Williams," I put in. "He did more to organize the repairs to the roads in and out of Cardiff than any of the city officials. If not for him, you may not have even been able to get to us," I told Tom. Rhys was blushing.
"Well, then I'm equally pleased to meet you, Rhys," Tom said, shaking Rhys's hand firmly.
Jack was giving me another odd look. He was smiling at me, appreciative of the effort I was making to help Rhys feel included and comfortable with us, but the smile wasn't quite reaching his eyes. "Ianto," he finally said, "hold her still."
"Jack?" Ianto inquired.
"Don't let her move. It's important."
Oh, no... He could tell what was wrong with me. I was hoping he'd overlook it until I could do something about it myself. It was embarrassing.
"Sage?" Ianto murmured to me as he held me very still. "What's wrong?"
"One of her hearts has stopped," Jack told him, lifting me into his arms. Ianto looked stricken as he followed him down into the med bay.
"Sorry... Did you say one of her hearts?" Tom asked Jack.
"Binary vascular system," Jack said a bit shortly. "Sorry about this, Sage, but the bed's taken," Jack told me apologetically, laying me on my back on the floor. "I need to borrow your stethoscope," he told Tom.
"It's all right, Jack. It's the left one," I told him, grimacing.
"How long, Sage?" he asked me sternly.
"About ten minutes. How could you tell?"
"How long have I known you?" he tossed back. "Tom, the defibrillator, please." He went about unbuttoning my blouse, wiping a stray tear from my cheek as he finished.
"How much voltage?" Tom asked him, having gelled the paddles, kneeling on the floor at my left side.
"Set it to 300 joules. One here, one here," he showed Tom where to place the paddles.
"What'll this do to her other heart?"
"Make it skip a beat or two. She'll be fine."
"If you say so," Tom conceded warily. "Clear." He gave me a good jolt, and my body bucked with the force of it. "Did it work?" he asked me.
"No, hit me again," I told him. "Set it to 400."
"Has it got that?" he blurted, then saw it went as high as 600 joules. "Christ. Four hundred. Clear."
That second jolt made me whack my head a good one on the floor, but it worked. "Ow," I complained, putting my hand to my head. My fingers came away bloody. "Shit," I spat.
"I'll get that," Tom told me rather calmly, considering. "How's the heart?"
"I'm good, Tom, thank you," I said softly. He put his stethoscope to my chest anyway, to be sure.
"How did you know?" he asked Jack. "What are the symptoms? Can't have this happening when she's unconscious and you're not here and me not realizing it," he pointed out.
"Sudden extreme exhaustion, ashen complexion, dark circles under her eyes... The eyes are the give-away. Sage never gets those unless she's having a hard time breathing, do you, Sage."
"You're a pain. I was going to take care of it myself," I whispered to Jack when Tom went for some gauze to see to the back of my head.
"How? Slam your back against a few walls and hope for the best? No," Jack countered, not bothering to keep his voice low. "There's been enough death. I won't lose you, too."
"Leave her be, Jack," Ianto said, standing over us. "She was trying not to worry you."
"Worry me, Sage," Jack exclaimed, frustrated. "Please. For goodness' sake, worry me! Stop trying to spare me, all right?"
"It was Ianto I was sparing," I admitted softly as I sat up.
"I'd rather you didn't," he admitted, too.
"My boys," I chuckled, my hand on the goose-egg on the back of my head. Tom had knelt behind me without me realizing it until he gently moved my hand away.
"Jack," he said, handing him an alcohol wipe for my hand. "This'll sting, Sage," he then told me softly, flushing the wound with saline. He dabbed at it with some gauze. "You're all right. It's already stopped bleeding," he told me as Jack was tenderly cleaning my hand. Ianto knelt before me and buttoned up my blouse. Rhys and Gwen had been clutching each other silently throughout the entire incident. John had been pacing.
"I'm sorry," I apologized to everyone. There were a few statements of how they were just glad I was okay, but as Ianto and Jack helped me up, John was still silent. "Johnny? Are you angry?" He came around Laura's bed, all clomping boots and dark eyes, looking dangerous with his long, arrogant stride... and pulled my face up to his, kissing me firmly on the lips.
"Don't you ever dare scare me like that again," he hissed, fighting back tears. "Go home," he told me. "Sleep. I'll see you in the morning." He turned away from me then. "Jack, I'm stealing your bed. Hope you weren't planning on using it." He didn't wait for an answer before walking away.
"Ianto, take her home," Jack said, agreeing with John. "You three, with me. Laura... Get better." I had just tucked myself into Ianto's side when Jack said. "And Sage... I love you, too. Get some sleep."
"Let's drive," Ianto whispered to me once the others, minus Laura, of course, had followed him up to the board room. "That was quite a knock you took. Wouldn't want us to materialize inside of a wall or something."
"I am sorry," I told him again.
"And I should have realized, so I'm sorry, too. Come on. We both need rest."
We were sound asleep by the time Jack came in, me with my ear to Ianto's heart, as was my habit. I found it soothing... the beat of the single human heart. My wounded right hand was cradled against Ianto's chest.
I stirred when Jack climbed into bed with us, but didn't wake. Ianto's eyes drifted open, though, and he smiled at Jack over my head. They shared a tender kiss, then slept, hands clasped on Ianto's stomach, embracing me as they held onto each other in the dark.
"Jack says I'm supposed to teach you something that goes against the Hippocratic Oath today," I murmured to Tom. He nodded, but made no remark as he adjusted Laura's sedative feed. "Ever fired a gun before?"
"Maybe in another lifetime," he remarked, and I flinched. "What?"
"Nothing," I lied. The truth was he had fired a gun before. He'd been a resistance fighter at the end of the world. Since that timeline had been created by a paradox, though, and the paradox had been remedied, he had no memory of it. "It's just my dad is a Doctor, and he'd hate it that I carry a gun, never mind that I intend to teach another doctor how to fire one."
"Well, if I'm as bad at it as I expect to be," he said, "no harm done."
"I don't expect you'll be bad at all," I told him. "Is she settled?" I asked of Laura.
"For now. And here comes John, her steadfast bodyguard. If we're doing this, I suppose now is the time."
"Slower, slower," I told Tom as he brought the 9mil up like a flash for the second time. The gun wasn't even loaded, but I could tell he would have overshot his mark yet again. "Think of it as the steps of a dance," I murmured, pushing his hand down gently.
"What?" he blurted, chuckling.
"You do dance, don't you?" I teased him.
"A bit," he said. "When the opportunity arises. Which isn't often in my line of work."
I took the gun from his hand and set it aside. "Watch," I said. "Face me. I'm going to aim at that target," I said, pointing, but it was my leg which I lifted gracefully until my toes were aimed directly at the bulls-eye. "See? It's the same with your arm," I told him, lowering my leg.
"Wow," he voiced a bit shakily. "Which planet are you from again? They don't make girls like you on Earth."
"Sure they do. I trained in Russia, not on Mars," I teased him. "Give me your hand." I clasped his hand gently with my bandaged right one. "Now, if we were to dance together, how would you lift our hands?" He raised his arm, pushing mine up with it, in a smooth, graceful arc. "That's perfect!" I complimented him, grinning. "See? It's not so complicated."
"Maybe not," Tom remarked, "but you are."
"Thanks," I chuckled, putting the gun back in his right hand and turning him so his back was to me. I laid my hand over his. "Now, dance," I murmured. His arm came up with the same grace as before, and this time dead on target. "Very good," I told him, then felt him clasp my other hand. I had set it on his waist without thinking anything of it. He moved it to his chest.
"My heart is racing," he told me, although he didn't need to. I was pressed against his back. I could hear it.
"It's just adrenaline," I told him.
"Is it?" he countered. "I've stopped wondering how it is that you have two boyfriends," he remarked.
"Oh, no, they were together first. I just sort of... fell back in with Jack, I guess you could say. Falling in love with Ianto was a complete surprise. A wonderful one, but still unexpected."
"And John? Where does he fit in?"
"Long story. Complicated. We met when we were kids. Then he was with Jack, a long time ago. He's a good friend, but like I said it's complicated," I tried to explain. "Could I have my hand back? I think maybe Ianto should do this," I said shakily.
"Ianto's busy," he reminded me. "I want you to teach me, anyway. I didn't mean to make you nervous," he said apologetically, releasing my hands and facing me.
"Neither did I," I murmured.
"Look," Tom said patiently, "I love Martha. I really, truly do. But you're gorgeous. If I hadn't reacted to you at all, I'd think I was dead. So, now that my hormonal interruption is out of the way, you were saying..."
"Right. Guns. Dancing. Back on target," I said firmly. Within an hour, Thomas Milligan had become a damn good shot. In less time than that, he'd earned my respect... and, I must admit, a place in my heart.
