"The Six" AU
'Journeys Converge'
Chapter Six
- Decisions -

A/N: I don't own squat, except what I write.

Music: Muse & Pink Floyd - Map of Hopes

Anticipating the needs of her passengers, the TARDIS reconfigured the kitchen to accommodate the larger amount she was currently carrying. Sure it was temporary, but she kept the plans of it for the future. As it was, the relatively small kitchen (or galley) had enlarged to twice the size. Most of that was taken up by a rather long dining table, surrounded by somewhat comfortable, upholstered wooden chairs. Mahogany, the sitting matched the new wooden panelling of that half of the room. It was more cosy than opulent, though.

As for the cooking area, the small flat version had expanded – mostly with the counter space and cabinets. The modern appearing appliances were early twenty first century equivalents, and Sarah Jane was carrying the tea service from the kitchen area to the dining table.

Setting the service down in front of the girls, Sarah Jane poured the tea without saying a word. Danielle was wavering between calm and blubbering, and she didn't want to add to the trouble by talking.

Watching them as she set their cups in front each girl, Sarah Jane could see that they were very close. Sarah had her chair butted next to Danielle's, and had her head on her shoulder in a sideways hug. Every now and then, Sarah would wipe Danielle's eyes with a tissue.

Noting the scent of the tea, Sarah took Danielle's cup and blew across it before offering it to her. "Smells good," she commented. "Try some?"

Danielle lifted her head and allowed Sarah to put the cup to her lips. Taking a tentative sip, her brow arched. "That's good," she whispered.

Sarah Jane smiled. "Good. I'm glad you like it," she said quietly.

The Doctor and Rose paused at the door, to simply watch what was going on. Sarah surprised the Doctor when she glanced up. 'Hi Daddy,' she thought to him.

Forcing himself to control the urge to run around the table and snatch her up in a hug, the Doctor grinned. 'Hello, my darling. It is so good to see you. Is she all right?'

'She's in shock,' Sarah said.

'Did he suffer?' Rose asked.

Sarah's pensive smile faded. 'A bit. We kept him as comfortable as we could. I ended up blocking the pain for him, just so he could sleep.'

'What was it?' the Doctor asked.

Rose looked up at him. 'Cancer.'

'Damn,' the Doctor closed his eyes in pain. Of all the things that he imagined, that was the worse case scenario. 'Mind if we sit with you?'

"Sure," Sarah said aloud, startling the other two.

"Have enough tea for us?" Rose asked. Sarah Jane nodded, and Rose headed for the cupboards while the Doctor sat across from Sarah.

'When we have the chance, you're getting a rather large hug,' the Doctor thought to Sarah, making her smile. She reached across the table and threaded her fingers through his.

"Wasn't Jack behind us?" Rose asked as she returned to the table with two more cups.

After Rose and the Doctor left the room, Jack paused to look at Donna. Concern and pride were warring in his head. Even though they said she would be all right, Jack stepped over to sit next to Donna on the bed. "You did good."

Honestly, this felt like sitting with a comatose patient. It's been said that they could hear you, though. Shrugging, Jack leaned over and kissed her forehead. "Seriously, you did real good. Not really sure what we would've done without you. I know you're a Time Lord… Lady, or something now, but if you ever need a job…"

"Hush," Donna whispered as one eye opened lazily. "I need the rest, and your nattering is counter productive," she complained with a bit of a scowl.

Chuckling, Jack bent down and kissed her forehead again. "Sorry. You just impressed the hell out of me. I'll leave you alone."

He made to stand, but Donna reached up to grab his arm. "Thanks. Will probably deny this later – if I have any sense – but you are the most gorgeous man I've ever laid eyes on."

Brow up with a large smile, Jack chuckled. "Thanks."

"Get out of here before I abuse you the way you like it," Donna somewhat slurred as her eyes closed.

Snickering, Jack moved Donna's arm back to rest on her stomach, and stood up. "I'll take that under advisement," he whispered. Seeing the twitch of a smile on her face, Jack shook his head and headed for the door. "G'night, Donna."

"Night, pretty boy," Donna murmured.

Dimming the lights, Jack closed the door with a full smirk on his face. Pausing for a moment, he realized he lost track of the others. "Tea… that means the galley, right?" Looking up speculatively, he grinned when the overhead lighting flickered to his right. "Thanks."

He was almost to the galley when he heard Rose's question, "Wasn't Jack behind us?"

"I'm here," Jack said, coming into the galley. "Just tucked Donna in to make sure she was comfortable. Listen, we're at the Plass, right?" Seeing the Doctor's nod, he nodded back. "I need to check on my team. Don't go anywhere. If anything, all of you need some downtime."

"We wont disappear on you, I promise," Rose said with a bit of a nudge to the Doctor's ribs. "I can understand why he did that last time, though. It's really… odd… being near you."

Jack frowned. "You're going to have to explain that. He tried, but I still don't understand it."

"I'll do what I can," Rose said. "Go check your people. Hope they're all right."

Jack nodded. "Back in an hour or two," he said before ducking back out of the room.

In the console room, the other Doctor and Martha were still holding on to each other. After his admission, they both fell quiet and simply held each other close.

It was a bit later when he spoke up again. "I need your advice," he said quietly.

Pulling back a bit, Martha kept her hands on his waist and felt his hands take a hold of her forearms. "What's wrong?" Seeing where his attention was, she turned her head and looked up at the Arch briefly, then back to him.

He inhaled, then sighed. "This body, despite having both the Doctor and Donna's memories, only has one heart; one life; and even still… I'm stuck in whether or not I want to rectify the problem."

"Why wouldn't you?" she asked. "I mean, I know that thing is ungodly painful, but isn't it worth it?"

"I don't know," he replied with a shrug. "Even now, I'm coming to understand what's wrong with me." He looked down to her concerned face. "I seem to have lost three of my senses, and… well… it's got me a bit off my nut at the moment."

"Three senses?" Martha asked. "Just how many are you supposed to have?"

He smirked. "Eight. Other than the five you're used to, there's the proverbial sixth that Earth scientists and pseudo-scientists speculate on. Instead of some sort of precognitive ability, it's more along the lines of a hyper spatial awareness. It can seem precognitive or even downright spooky, but it's something that helps me know where things are in relation to myself."

Brow creased, Martha sort of understood that and nodded. "Okay, what about the other two?"

"Those are easier to describe," he said with a grin. "The seventh is outright telepathy with others who are also telepathic, like the TARDIS, but the eighth is what's most disturbing to me with its absence."

There was a pause, and Martha waited. Her right hand came up to rub his shoulder all on its own in encouragement.

He looked her in the eye. "I can't see time any more," he whispered, "and it's scaring the hell out of me."

She almost called him 'Doctor', but the sound caught in her throat and ended up sounding like 'Don' instead. "What's stopping you, then?"

He blinked, kind of liking what she didn't call him. "Well… Along with the longer lifespan and everything, there's a significant downside to it all. There aren't many species as long lived."

Martha's eyes widened when his thumb ran over her cheek. Suddenly, everything about the Doctor made sense all at once. Why he never returned affection or opened himself up became so clear, that it nearly gave her a headache. He was lonely, and afraid of losing people he cared about.

Then there was this man in front of her, looking like him, acting like him… well, acting like Donna too, but that was neither here nor there. This man was hours old, and he was just as lonely. But even still, he was in even more pain than the Doctor. Martha didn't have the first clue as to how those other senses worked, but she imagined it as if she were deaf and blind.

Swallowing, she leaned up and kissed his cheek. "You're in pain. Don't think about potential relationships while you're in pain. From what you just described to me, it's like you're Helen Keller with a chance at sight and sound. I know the downside of going through with it, but…" she paused and tilted her head. "Don't put yourself through pain on account of me. I wont stand for it."

She reached up and cupped his cheek. "Do it. Worry about the other later, okay?"

"I wont put you through that again," he said under his breath.

"Heard it before, both with the Doctor and Donna…"

"That's not what I meant," he said a bit louder.

She smiled. "I know. Go on. Do your thing."

"I still don't want you having to watch that by yourself, and I don't want to disturb the others."

"Disturb me then," Jack said from the inner doorway. He smirked when they turned to look at him. "You two are too cute. I wasn't even trying to be quiet, and you were both oblivious."

"Yes, make the situation even more difficult, you walking hormone," the other Doctor snapped in complete annoyance. "That's the one thing I really can't stand about you. You go around, shagging anything and everything that thinks you're pretty, and think that everyone has the same opinion on relationships as you do. We don't. I'm barely two hours old, and don't think like that. So, please do us all a favour and button it."

Jack didn't know what was more disturbing, the fact that he was just as quiet as the Doctor when he was angry, or the Chiswick accent he was sporting. At any rate, he held up his hands. "Sorry. Really, I'm sorry. It's a habit. Did you need some help with that headset?"

The new Doctor blew out his breath and realized that Martha, even though she moved away, had a hold of his left hand. "I think I need moral support, more than anything else. Everything all right with Donna?"

Jack nodded and stepped over to them. "Yeah. We got her down in her room, sleeping it off. She's one of a kind."

The new Doctor glared at him. "Mind that, if you please. I know you're a good man, but she has her sights on church bells. Your idea of a relationship would hurt her, and even though you're immortal… If you hurt her, I'll drop you in the sun."

Jack's head went back, and Martha marvelled at his protective streak. "You know, I would've thought she would solve that whole lonely eternity that you're wrestling with."

His face twisted up in disgust. "Eugh! That's like you dating Leo!"

Jack laughed when Martha blinked. "Yeah. Never mind. Sorry. Didn't think of it like that. Ew."

"Twins," he said. "Well, triplets I guess."

"I don't know how to set that thing up," Jack interrupted, being nice for once and changing the subject. "And, I wont treat her like that, if it ever happens. Currently dating someone else, so it's academic anyway."

"Good." With that, he nudged Martha to the side and went back to the keyboard. Noting that the program was still active, it took a small adjustment to settle it for him. "Okay. Now that I'm satisfied that I wont end up a girl… Uhm."

Seeing the pensive look on his face, Martha hugged him again. "We'll catch you."

The new Doctor closed his eyes and kissed her forehead. "Thanks." After a bit, he shook his head. "I can't look. Can you two put me under it and set it on my head, please?"

Keeping his eyes closed, he let Martha and Jack guide him to the side. Feeling the Arch being set on his head, he inhaled sharply. "All you have to do is hit enter on the keyboard." To keep his hands from shaking, he grabbed the sides of the thing. "Ready when you are." He felt Martha kiss his cheek, then Jack kissed the other one.

There was the sounds of feet on the deck, and Jack spoke up. "Three… Two… One."

His entire world erupted in agony, and his teeth were clenched against the scream that was threatening to erupt. It didn't last long, and he felt his throat go raw as it let go.

In the kitchen, Rose, Sarah, and the Doctor sat up straight. "What's wrong?" Sarah Jane asked them.

"You two stay here for her," the Doctor said. "The other me is going through the Arch." Not noticing the gasps from Danielle and Sarah Jane, he bolted from the room.