Chapter 19 – As A Wise Time Lord Once Said

"Now remember, he looks quite ill and he's in a long sleep," Martha told Leah and Alex gently as they made their way to intensive care. "But you can talk to him all you like, it might help him to get better faster."

Leah just nodded as Alex held tighter onto his Mum's shirt. Jack, Ulysses and Penelope were following on behind. Things were very quiet between them. Rose had been in two minds about bringing Alex, but when she had tried to leave him with Mickey the little boy had screamed and screamed and nearly destroyed his cot until she finally resigned to take him with her. He may not have uttered a word yet, but she knew he had his daddy's brains and he completely understood what was happening – just watching the world go by with those non-judgemental eyes absorbing every piece of information.

They finally got to the Doctor's private room. There he was, lying just as Rose had left him that morning, though there was a bigger cover over him now to shield some of the bandages and burns and the casts on his legs.

Leah ran to him instantly, staring through the side-rails. "Alee, pohh. Alee," she coaxed gently, but he didn't react. So she looked up at Martha, anxious. "Can I touch him?"

"Of course you can," Martha told her gently. Jack moved to grabbed her in both hands and sat her on the bed beside her Dad. She knelt by his side, then leant forward and kissed his cheek.

"Ei'lei-o'bei y-eon'ha'pia'eon'chea-n, Pohh," she said quietly to him, "tera wi-naqu lei-o."

Penelope suddenly stepped forward, looking at Leah. "Eon'i'holah gallinao?"

Leah nodded. "Pohh'aleo'ei."

Penelope just nodded, moving forwards to look at her son, taking his hand silently.

"What is the current prognosis?" Ulysses asked Martha, his voice as stern and clinical as always.

"Critical, but stable," Martha replied.

"He can regenerate," Penelope said gently turning to Rose. "Has he explained or done that with you, yet?"

Rose nodded, tears welling up again. "He did it once before..." she said with a sniff. "God, I really don't want him to regenerate again..."

"It may be his only option," Ulysses reasoned.

"Shut up!" Rose suddenly burst out, covering her face. "Just shut up!"

Penelope and Ulysses glanced at each other, before Penelope moved forward to take her arm, leading her out of the room as Alex and Leah stared at their Mum in silence.

"Rose..." Penelope began gently when they were in the corridor, moving to her to put her arms around her. "Regeneration is so normal for us, he may look different but he'll still..."

"I know," Rose interrupted, sniffing. "But I don't want him to, I like him as he is, and I know that's stupid because it's so normal with your race but the last time he did it I didn't exactly react well... I love him as he is now, and the problem won't be him, it'll be me. I know I'll just feel really strange sleepin' next to him when he looks completely different..."

"I understand completely," Penelope assured her. "I know how shocking it must be when it's not in your culture, but I also know that if Theta regenerates he will understand what you are feeling too, and he will do everything to prove to you he still loves you. No matter what he looks like."

Rose just nodded as Penelope hugged her again, this time for a good few minutes.

"Everything okay?" asked a voice from the doorway as Jack poked his head out.

Rose pulled away from Penelope, sniffing slightly and offering Jack a watery smile. "Yeah."

"Rose!" came another voice from down the corridor, and they turned to find Jackie Tyler rushing towards them, instantly engaging her daughter in a hug. "Sorry I'm late, sweetheart, how is he?"

"Not good, Mum," Rose replied, then started in tears again.

"Here," Jack said suddenly, digging into his pocket and bringing out some change and giving it to Jackie. "Get something to eat and drink."

Jackie nodded at that, accepting the money and taking her daughter's hand to lead her down the corridor, disappearing out the door at the other end.

Jack looked at Penelope, offering a small smile. "She'll come around. She told me about last time he regenerated."

"What happened, if you don't mind me asking?" Penelope wondered.

"He was caught up in a battle, we all were, so he sent Rose home in the TARDIS on an emergency program to save her, knowing he would die. But she was so stubborn, she didn't stay there. She opened the TARDIS and looked at the heart, absorbing the time vortex..."

"Oh my," Penelope muttered, quickly realising what that meant.

"Yeah. She flew the TARDIS back to the battle with the power of a god, saved his life and brought me back to life. But she was dying, so he took the vortex from her and put it back in the TARDIS, but it killed him. He regenerated, then went ballistic and flew the TARDIS back to Jackie's, and fell into a coma. He hadn't told Rose about regeneration before, and she reacted badly. But pretty soon he'd proved himself to her."

Penelope nodded, looking back at Theta through the windows of the hospital room lying there, with Leah and Alex next to him. "They really love each other, don't they? Theta and Rose, I mean."

Jack nodded. "Took them long enough to get it together and now they are, it's like the rest of the Universe is out to get them. But I'm pretty sure they wouldn't have it any other way. Trouble's just the bits in-between, as a wise Time Lord I know once said."

Penelope just smiled at that.

The month of November began with torrential rain, marking a week since the fire. The Doctor still hadn't regenerated, but also still hadn't batted an eyelid. Rose had been in to see him everyday, spacing it out only with taking care of Leah and Alex, eating and sleeping. At all other times she was next to him, holding his hand tightly. She'd tried to communicate through the bond several times, but hadn't had any success. He seemed to be slipping away more and more with every passing day.

The rain hammered on the window relentlessly at 8pm on a Saturday. Martha entered to find Rose there as she always was, staring at the Doctor's face, stroking his cheek gently. Martha had run out of words to say to Rose, frankly. So this time the silence remained as she proceeded to check the Doctor over.

"Good evening," Ulysses' voice suddenly came from behind them as he strolled in. Penelope was nowhere to be seen.

"Good evening," Martha said courteously.

Rose didn't say anything. She thought if she opened her mouth even an inch she'd burst into tears.

"What's the current situation?" Ulysses asked, still standing in the doorway staring at the Doctor thoughtfully.

"He's still in a coma, sir," Martha told him. "I would like to scan him but any type of scan would be a last resort. If after a while he still hasn't woken up I'll order a brain scan, but not before. If a single person realises what he is we're in big trouble."

"This is becoming ridiculous," Ulysses said, eyebrows lowering. "He shouldn't be here."

"Your son is in a critical condition, sir," Martha said sharply. "He needs to be cared for."

"I am a Time Lord, thank you," Ulysses grated in return. "If I know anything, I know my son's biology. He should be back in his TARDIS and I should be treating him, not these humans who know nothing of how a Gallifreyan body works."

"He's in the best place..."

"He is not. He is extremely ill and on the verge of regeneration," Ulysses snapped, looking at her as though she'd just dribbled on her shirt. "Since you do not seem comfortable with him regenerating, I suggest you listen to me and let him come back to the TARDIS so I can treat him."

"He can't move anywhere, it would kill him..."

"I can make sure he survives the journey," Ulysses assured her.

Martha stared hard at him for a moment, not fully convinced.

"Or perhaps you do not trust me," Ulysses suggested loudly.

Martha glanced at Rose, who seemed absorbed in staring at the Doctor. Then she looked back at Ulysses, eyebrows lowering. "You were the last person out before the Doctor, weren't you?" she said quietly, tersely. "Do you know how he broke his legs? The bruising on his neck?"

Ulysses' eyes suddenly turned into fire, instantly getting what she was implying. "Are you suggesting I would harm my own son?" he grated.

Martha was taken aback by Ulysses' gaze; harsh and unforgiving... she'd seen that same look on the Doctor so many times before. But she stood her ground. "I... I'm just saying that there's a lot of things here that don't make sense."

"Well, when Theta wakes up after I treat him, then I'm sure he will be able to tell us what happened."

"Treat him?" The conversation was suddenly interrupted by Rose, breaking out of her trance.

"Yes," Ulysses nodded, stepping forward. "I am a qualified doctor of Gallifreyan biology, and I know exactly how Theta's body works. I will be able to give him much better treatment in the TARDIS. He needs the care of one of his own species, not these humans who know so little."

Martha looked at Rose, who looked back at the Doctor lying there. It was true that Ulysses was their best bet for help, not that Rose was quite fully comfortable with him yet. But she was really beginning to feel the walls caving in around her as she gazed at her damaged husband.

"... Okay," she finally croaked.

"Are you sure?" Martha asked, frowning.

Rose nodded, leaning forward and kissing the comatose Doctor gently. "Let's move him."

Moving the Doctor the two miles from the hospital back to Torchwood quickly turned into a mass military operation. Penelope and Jack helped Ulysses gather the equipment from the TARDIS infirmary needed to keep the Doctor safe, while Martha got onto UNIT to borrow a few dozen soldiers and Gwen got onto Andy to borrow the South Wales Police for the afternoon.

They had a personal ambulance organised especially for the transport. The residents of Cardiff must have thought it was the Queen being transported from the amount of confidentiality, hush and detoured traffic that went into it. All of the hospitals corridors they used were cleared of people; all the roads along the route locked off and secured with UNIT guards and police at the perimeter.

Rose was with the Doctor every step of the way. She remained by his side holding his hand in the ambulance with Ulysses and Martha buzzing around her in the cramped space, making sure he was still breathing. Jack had elected to drive, and was driving under 10 miles per hour to keep his precious cargo safe.

Eventually they got back to Torchwood, using the front entrance to wheel the Doctor in and straight to the TARDIS. When the Doctor was finally settled in the Infirmary linked to every necessary monitor with no hitches, everyone gave themselves a congratulatory pat on the back at a job well done, before Ulysses set to work with the help of Penelope. He administered a few new medicines and did a few handheld scans, never revealing what he was thinking or doing, just humming in different pitches depending on whether it was good or bad. After he was done, he left Rose and Penelope to sit by the Doctor's bed.

Then they were back to the waiting game again. But at least he was close, now. Rose felt better with him closer to her.

When bedtime came, Rose decided she would sleep in the infirmary in the bed next to the Doctor's. Just to be close. Her heart was aching, but there was nothing she could do.

It was up to Ulysses now.

A/N: Translation

Alee, pohh. Alee. – Wake up, daddy. Wake up.

Ei'lei-o'bei y-eon'ha'pia'eon'chea-n, Pohh, tera wi-naqu lei-o - I don't mind if you have to change your face, Daddy, but please don't

Eon'i'holah gallinao? - You can speak gallifreyan?

Pohh'aleo'ei – Daddy teaches me