Here's the last part of the Human Nature arc. :) I think you'll enjoy it.
After returning Elliot to the hospital and lying to his frantic parents, Violet threw herself into work. There dozens of people wounded from the attacks, panicked mobs, and bombings and not enough space for them. They were grateful for another pediatrician down there and there was no shortage of children who needed attention with everything from third degree burns to gashes and broken bones. All of the hospitals in the city were stretched to capacity and sometime around six am, she heard they'd requested everyone who did not require immediate medical attention to not come to the ER. The Red Cross would be arriving soon to set up clinics and the military had also arrived with medical personnel.
Sometime around three in the afternoon, she was ordered to get some sleep since she couldn't even hold a cup without shaking. She'd headed for the nearest staff room and collapsed on the couch. When she'd woken up around five am, the inside of her cheek was raw. Probing the tender spot with her tongue, she tasted iron. There were dried tears on her cheeks and her neck was sore. She couldn't remember her dreams, though.
There were other people in the staff room. A few of them were curled up on the other couch and in the plush chairs; others were nursing cups of coffee at the table and watching the news. There was someone dozing at the end of the couch on the floor so she shook him awake and told him he could have it. He barely grunted in gratitude before he was out cold again in the warm spot she'd left. She poured herself a cup of coffee and grabbed two of the bagels someone had left out then took one of the vacant chairs at a table.
There were no commercial breaks, just nonstop information about the attacks. Interviews, replaying footage, and relaying new information; they were constantly updating the list of the missing and the dead, too, although it was difficult to tell who really was missing and hadn't simply been vaporized. Once an hour for five minutes, they would broadcast the list of names of people presumed dead, with the new additions marked by an astric. 5am on the second day after the shooting added two names to the list: Ruby Night and John Smith.
There was no indication that he'd been a doctor and could very well have been one of the other men in town name John Smith, but she knew without a doubt that string of pixelated letters was meant for him. In the staff room on the third floor, in front of a dozen of her colleagues, Violet wept. No one asked which name had made her cry but the man next to her held out his arms in solace and she sagged into them, grateful for the contact of another human being.
When she'd calmed, she went to the bathroom to wash her face then went right back down to the ER to work. The air was thick with pain and grief and she latched onto it, focusing on the sorrows of others so there was no room left for her own. Face after face, person after person, she examined their wounds and did her best to help them. She fetched water for the doctors and nurses she saw ready to collapse and hardly stopped to get any for herself.
When a med student named Kate broke down sobbing in the hallway in front of her, Violet gently helped her into the nearest staff room and sat with her until she calmed. Apparently she'd been working nearly thirty hours with scarcely more than half an hour of break and no one had been able to relieve her. Violet helped Kate locate her supervisor and agreed to take on the two patients she'd been working with. Neither patient was bothered by the sudden switch. If anything they were happier to know someone who'd slept in the last day, even if she was a pediatrician, was handling them.
Sometime around noon, Violet was on her way to get food from the cafeteria. When she was passing the outpatient registration desk, a man wearing all black caught up with her. She automatically tensed, remembering the solid black humanoids that'd been with the Family of Blood, but a quick look up and down was enough to see he was wearing military gear and not one of the identical skinsuits those things had worn. Plus he had a red beret on his head that was a crime against fashion and a manmade gun on his hip. He was young and dark-haired, definitely a soldier.
"Dr. Violet Lewis?" he asked.
"Yes. And you are…?"
"Sergeant Gabriel Klein of the Unified Intelligence Taskforce. I need you to come with me with me."
She folded her arms warily. "Is that an order or a request?"
"A request, of course," he replied.
"And why should I?"
The soldier glanced at a pair of nurses passing by. "I'm not permitted to say but you are not under arrest, nor are you being interrogated, I promise."
Violet sighed but nodded. "Alright."
"This way, please."
The Sergeant led her away from the outpatient area (and the cafeteria, she thought moodily) into a less busy area of the hospital. She asked what the Unified Intelligence Taskforce was. UNIT, he called it, and explained they were a military organization created to combat paranormal and extraterrestrial threats to planet Earth. He also mentioned that the only reason she was allowed to know that was because of her direct involvement with the events two nights before.
"How did you—"
"Know?" he guessed and glanced over his shoulder at her. He didn't answer.
"Who wants to see me?"
Sergeant Klein stopped in front of a glass door that lead out to a small relaxation garden. She looked around in surprise and realized they were near the Chapel. He gestured to the door. "Go on out."
"Are you coming?"
"No. I'll be waiting here."
She looked between him and the door suspiciously for a moment then pulled open the door and stepped outside. The door shut behind her and she looked back to see him planted firmly in place with his back to the door and his hands at his sides. Taking a deep breath, she headed further into the garden. It was only about three hundred square feet, with three gardens of flowers that weren't ready to bloom, bushes, a few trees, and a single fountain in the center that wasn't on. In the late spring and summer it was gorgeous. Right now it was just bleak. It matched the mood of the rest of the hospital.
She could smell fast food.
At first glance Violet didn't see anyone in the garden and then she noticed a gray hood poking over the edge of the fountain. Curiously, she got close enough to see over the side and saw a lithe figure sitting in the empty base of the fountain with two McDonalds bags and two chocolate milkshakes.
"Um…" she began.
"Sit down," Rose's voice requested and she patted the space on the other side of the bags. "I brought food."
Violet wanted to turn tail and run right then and there but then the smell of the food caught her attention and caused her mouth to water and her stomach to growl. With a sigh, she swung her legs over the side of the fountain and sat down next to Rose. Rose handed her one of the bags—a double cheeseburger and a medium fry—then pulled a burger out of her own bag.
"Sorry, I didn't know what you'd want. Thought I'd better go with the cheeseburger to be safe. There's more in my bag if you're still hungry."
Truth be told, Violet didn't much care for McDonalds but she hadn't had a real meal in about forty-eight and at this point she'd take anything edible. They sat together in silence for a few minutes while they ate their cheeseburgers and Violet did her best to not wolf it down. She probably failed but she didn't care. Anyway, Rose seemed to be just as hungry.
"Do you hate me?" Rose asked when she'd finished her cheeseburger and Violet was well into her second.
Violet froze mid-chew and her eyes slid towards Rose involuntarily. She resumed chewing, slower than before, and swallowed. She picked up her milkshake and took a drink, setting it down. "I should." She exhaled slowly though her nose. "But I don't. It's not your fault. It's not anyone's fault but those aliens."
Rose nodded slowly but didn't comment.
Violet finished off her cheeseburger and picked the bits of cheese from the wrapper. "What's with the soldier?"
"He's my escort. The Brigadier insisted we have them for the remainder of our stay in exchange for agreein' to not interrogate or detain me or Martha."
"…Are they…do they want me?" she asked quietly.
"No. The Doctor made her swear up and down to leave you and Elliot alone. They might try to recruit you otherwise, he said. Didn't figure you'd want the military life."
"Where is he?"
Rose shrugged. "Dunno. He wasn't in the TARDIS when I woke up and I've been here for a while. The woman the Family took was a friend of mine. She and I worked together and with this other guy, Aiden. He needed to know the truth. I just finished talkin' to him not too long ago."
"How'd he take it?"
"Pretty well, all things considering," she sighed and silence fell between them again.
Violet cast her eyes around the garden again, thinking of something to say. She picked up her fries and shoved a few into her mouth, chewing slowly. She finally settled on, "Why here?"
"I've been living here under the name Rose Taylor. Yesterday, UNIT erased all records of her existence. Easier for me to disappear if no one sees me. Martha and I scoped out this whole place when we first got here and this was the most secluded outside location I knew." Rose smiled ruefully. "I can't really bear the thought of bein' inside right now."
"I've been inside for over twenty four hours so I understand."
Rose nodded. "Are you alright?"
"Seriously? Are you really asking me that?"
"Yes."
"No, I'm not." Violet looked away and cradled the container in her hands. "I don't even know why I'm sitting here talking to you."
"The food?"
"Oh, yes, that's it." She agreed and then swallowed. "Dammit, Rose, why are you even here?"
Rose was silent for a while. Violet finally turned to look at her face, obscured by the shadow of her hood. Her eyes were closed. Once more she was struck by their similarities.
"I look like you." Violet blurted out.
Rose opened one eye. "You're older than me. Shouldn't it be I look like you?"
She ignored her. "John was the Doctor. He was supposed to love you. He should've only loved you. So why me? Why did he love me?"
No answer.
"I look like you. The very first time I met him he told me I looked familiar but he didn't seem to know how. I'll bet we're a lot like each other in other ways, too. I was a replacement, wasn't I?"
Rose sighed ruefully. "Martha seems to think so."
"Great. So is that all I'm good for?"
"No," Rose growled firmly. "You're no replacement. You're yourself. I hardly know you but I know you're a great woman. There's all sorts of things you can do that I can't. I never even got my A-levels—you finished med school. How many people have you saved in the last day? A lot more than I could have. Don't focus on the ways we're similar, Violet, or you'll drive yourself mad. Yeah, maybe John was drawn to you because you reminded him of me, but he fell in love with you—didn't want a thing to do with me afterwards. And one day you'll meet someone who's attracted to you because you're you and then loves you for the same reason and not 'cos you just so happened to look like me."
Violet held her gaze for a moment longer then looked away. "Maybe."
"You will. Just because this didn't work out doesn't meant that's the end. I had a horrible relationship, then a dead end one, and then I fell in love with a nine hundred year old alien. Hell, my Mum found love again with a man from another universe."
"Another universe?" Violet asked, startled.
Rose waved her had dismissively. "Point is: there's someone out there for everyone. Just gotta find 'im."
I thought I already had, she thought and sighed. "I've got to get back."
Rose looked her up and down once then licked her lips. "Listen to me very, very carefully, because this might just save your life. There's something coming, something far worse than what happened here in Bridgeton, and it'll be across the whole planet. You'll need to be ready because the aftermath will be…" she swallowed and a shudder rippled through her. "Don't trust the ghosts."
Violet frowned in confusion and opened her mouth to ask her what she meant and when it would happen but she stopped. Was this Rose's way of trying to make it up to her? Time travel had all sorts of rules and things that Violet didn't know about and she might've broken a few just by warning her. She licked her lips, nodding. She would remember and if she had found another by then she would protect him from these ghosts the way she couldn't protect John.
Rose must've seen her resolve because she nodded her head once. She gathered up her trash and stood up. Violet followed suit and swung her legs back over the fountain. They looked at each other for another moment then Rose smiled and walked away for the last time.
Violet waited until she and the UNIT sergeant were gone before she exited the garden.
To say Elliot was in trouble for going missing that night was a little bit of an understatement. His parents were beyond furious. He didn't really care. What could they do? Ground him? He lived in the hospital and he was slowly dying of leukemia. He felt bad for causing them to panic but he'd done a good thing, going with Rose. He'd saved the world.
Imagine that. Him. A hero.
He couldn't tell anyone, though. Who'd believe him, anyway? Dr. Lewis would but he wasn't too sure she'd think he was a hero. He was the reason Dr. Smith was gone. She might hate him. He couldn't tell for sure, though, without his mojo. It was strange being without it. Like he was missing another pair of eyes or ears. It wasn't as bad when it'd just been him, Martha, and Rose, but once he was brought back into the chaos of the hospital he realized that a constant buzz he'd never noticed before was gone.
Was this what it was like for normal people? He wasn't sure he liked it. Actually, he was pretty sure he hated it. A constant buzz was better than emptiness and annoying insights were better than being left in the dark. Despite sharing their handicap, he felt more separate from everyone than ever.
His father had left about half an hour before to check on a few of their friends that had been injured that night. His mother had headed to get food from the food court but even without his mojo, he was pretty sure she was going to raise hell with someone over his escapade again. She was furious that he'd managed to walk outside without anyone noticing but was overly grateful to Dr. Lewis for returning him. All the other kids were in the playroom or at appointments.
So Elliot was left sitting alone on his bed, staring down at the sketchpad, waiting. Waiting for something to happen. It couldn't just be…over. Not like this. The Doctor hadn't even removed the mojo blockers yet. But he was beginning to wonder if there was a point to having it back. He was tired. So very, very tired. The treatments weren't working like they were supposed to; he'd overheard his doctor talking to his parents a few days ago.
He wasn't too upset about it. He hadn't believed there was any real hope for him for a while and that the most they could do was extend his life a little longer. Besides, he'd saved the world. That was more than most people could ever say, even if they lived to be a hundred.
"Blimey, you've got a powerful mind."
Elliot jumped in surprise and the familiar, yet strange voice. His voice and accent were the same. He just used them differently. Dr. Smith had sounded professional, like most doctors did, but the Doctor sounded very casual.
The Doctor sauntered into the room, wearing a dark blue suit and red converse, with his hands stuffed in his pockets and looking very at ease. "I mean it," he went on. "I've got you telepathically shielded but I'm still getting hints of what's going on inside your noggin."
He stopped in front of Elliot's bed. "Can I sit?"
Elliot nodded.
He sat down on the bed, mindful of the sketchpad and pencils. Smiling gently, he reached over and put his hand on Elliot's shoulder. "Elliot. Elliot, Elliot, Elliot Hunter. Good name. …You were very brave," he told him seriously. "There's not many that would do what you did. We all owe your our lives. Rose called you a hero and I agree with her. No one else may ever know but as long as I'm alive, there will always be one person in the universe who knows you're a hero.
"So, way I understand it, you and John Smith had a little unfinished business. I believe you were asked to illustrate a certain journal of his."
His eyes widened and the Doctor pulled a leather bound journal from his pocket—wait, how'd that even fit in there?
The Doctor seemed to know what he was thinking because he laughed. "Bigger on the inside. Last night while Rose and Martha were sleeping, I cleaned out John's flat. I found this. He hadn't written anything yet so I went through the notebook and copied everything down in the right order. All that it needs now are the drawings."
He held it out to Elliot. Gawking, Elliot looked between the Time Lord and the journal and then slowly reached out to accept it.
"You can't publish it, of course," the Doctor told him. "At least not for another decade or so. By then all the events should've happened and people will just assume it's science fiction. I trust you, Elliot, to know who should and should not see this in the meantime. The things in this journal that haven't happened yet cannot be altered or it could destroy the universe. Do you understand me?"
Elliot nodded.
"Those sketches of yours, however, if you want to publish those then you can. Well, most of them. I think you'll be able to judge which ones should and shouldn't be seen by others."
He nodded again.
The Doctor smiled and pulled something else from his pocket. The watch! "I don't plan to use the Chameleon Arch ever again so I want you to keep it. It's just a watch now, anyway, but it won't ever wear out or lie to you."
Elliot cradled the watch in his hands, running his fingers across the markings on the top. It didn't feel quite like it used to. It felt empty. He flipped it open. There was no golden light, no waves of power, and no voices or pictures in his head—nothing but the two tiny hands slowly making their way around the face and a faint ticking sound. He snapped it shut and set it on top of the journal.
"Now, about your mind. Would you like me to explain exactly why you hear and see things you shouldn't?"
Please! He thought excitedly and beamed.
"You're psychic. Most humans have some psychic potential. Some can't do anything with it, others can be taught to use it, and others naturally can use it. You're in that last group. It's not a very common gift, literally a one in a million thing. There are nearly six billion people alive so in all the world there're probably only several thousand people born psychically aware. Say there're six thousand psychics in the world right now. About forty-five hundred of them are low-level. Brief stints of power that come and go. Fourteen hundred of those are mid-level. Their powers are always active so many of them don't realize they're different until they find out others can't do things they do. Then those last hundred are high-level, very powerful, very aware of their gifts, and unfortunately without help and training, some of them go mad.
"You're mid-level, I'd say." He squinted. "Clairvoyant, telepathic, and I think precognitive as well. Not a bad skill set." He nodded to himself. Elliot stared, completely stumped from all the big words. "Er, um. Right, sorry. I keep forgetting you're only ten. Clairvoyance is…oh how do I explain this? You know things about people without them telling you. You pick up on things that other people don't."
Elliot nodded. That was his mojo, alright.
"Telepathy is the ability to share your thoughts and emotions with others. You're not able to project that well but you have a very powerful receptive field. …Sorry, you can't share your thoughts with others but you can pick up on thoughts being shared with you. If I were to completely remove your shields, you would be able to hear me speaking in your mind. Make sense?"
He nodded.
"And precognition is the ability to know things before they happen. It happened two nights ago. Has it happened any other time?"
Elliot made a face, wishing he had that mind reading paper. He reached for his notebook and a pencil to explain and the Doctor, seeing what he was doing, pulled the mind reading paper from his pocket. Elliot accepted it eagerly.
Hello! He thought and the words appeared on screen.
It happened a few times when you were in the watch
But I can't think of any other time before that
I've had gut feelings and guesses that turned out right
But I never knew or saw things like that before
The Doctor chewed the inside of his lip thoughtfully. "I can glimpse the future, possible timelines and things. You must've picked things up from me. So you have powerful clairvoyance, limited telepathic projection with powerful receptiveness. I imagine you'd like to have them back now?"
YES PLEASE
He laughed.
I don't like this at all
It's so weird
I feel blind
The Doctor chuckled again and ordered him to put down the paper. "I'm going to remove these shields slowly to let you readjust so you're not overwhelmed. Then I'll teach you how to make your own and control them. Remember, you will have access to my mind, but try to keep out. It's a dangerous, scary place."
It took ten minutes alone for them to the Doctor to completely remove the shields from his mind and help him adjust to having his mind completely open. Without the dampener on his telepathic field, he was picking up things from the entire hospital and beyond. There was so much pain, anger, and sadness and he felt like he was drowning in it. By the time his mind was completely open he was crying.
"I know. It's horrible." the Doctor frowned sympathetically. Most humans have telepathic potential, he continued on mentally. It was very loud but it drowned out the rest of the noise. They have no control or knowledge of it, though. Everything you're picking up on is being broadcasted unintentionally. You'll always pick up on it, but having barriers in your mind allows you to control what makes it through.
Please make it stop, Elliot pleaded.
It took another ten minutes for him to teach Elliot how to recreate the barriers he'd created naturally for himself years ago. "Probably when you were an infant, totally on instinct, and added to over the years as you matured," he explained. The Doctor made him build them all the way up to where he'd had them, blocking out everything, and then taught him how to lower them so he could find a place he felt comfortable. While Elliot was working on that, the Doctor browsed through the sketchpad.
"These really are good," the Doctor mused. Elliot peeked one eye open and saw the Doctor smile. "It's amazing the way you learned to channel what you see in your mind. I recognize almost everything."
Elliot held up the psychic paper. Almost everything?
The Doctor glanced at it. "Yes. A few of these haven't happened yet. I'd remember if they had. …Would you mind if I keep a couple?"
Elliot shook his head and closed his eyes again. He was trying to get that hum of information in his mind back to where it'd always been. Loud enough for him to be aware of it but quiet enough that he could ignore it. He wished he had someone he could practice on. The Doctor was keeping himself heavily guarded.
Finally, he decided it was good enough where it was, and he opened his eyes, nodding.
The Doctor was tucking a few carefully bent pages into his pocket. He noticed Elliot looking and pulled them back off to show him which ones he was taking. The one of his planet, two of Rose, one of the Bad Wolf, two of Susan, and one of a beach at night with sparkling sand and shimmering water. Elliot nodded that it was okay and the Doctor put them in his pocket.
Are you leaving now? He thought to the mind reading paper.
"Soon, very soon. Busy life, you know."
Can I come?
The Doctor hesitated and for a moment Elliot's heart soured, then he shook his head. "No. I'm sorry but you're too young, Elliot. Our life isn't safe for us, never mind a child. Especially a terminally ill one. Plus you've got your family and your friends and a life to live. It's all waiting for you. School, university, too, if you want—maybe an art degree?—a job. Although, if I were you, I'd warn your parents to start saving up. There's a bit of a recession coming and you might have difficulty paying for school." He smiled and the look on Elliot's face and said gently, "There's no reason to be sad, Elliot, or to give up. You're not going to die just yet. Remember I said I could see possible futures?"
Elliot nodded.
"I've been looking at yours. You're standing at a crossroad in your timeline. You have two possible options and each has many potential futures branching out from it, but one timeline significantly longer than the other. You have to decide which one you want."
The Doctor held out his fist, uncurling his fingers to reveal a single, tiny green pill.
Elliot didn't even have to ask to know what it was. He stared at it for a long time, noting each and every little detail of the pill, before he gulped and looked up at the Doctor.
His face was as unreadable as his mind. "You could never tell anyone. Not your family, your friends, you're doctors—not anyone, for the rest of your life. You might receive lots of attention for it but you'll have to go along with whatever explanation they come up with. They'll try and figure out how it was possible for years and no matter what you'll have to feign ignorance. And you're the only one who gets this, Elliot. I can't help everyone here; they'll have to make do on their own. Can you live with that?
"You don't have to accept this, of course. That's totally up to you. You've still got a few years left. The choice is up to you and only you. It's your life."
Elliot looked down at the pill and licked his lips. A miracle cure. That was what the Doctor was offering. A miracle cure for him and only him. Wasn't this like cheating? It was definitely unfair to everyone else who had to fight through on their own. But how many of them would kill for the chance he now has? And his parents, how excited would they be when they found out he was healthy forever? His mother would cry happy tears. His Dad, too.
His old friends would be happy. Macy would be thrilled and he could finally go to her house and play on the swings. He could go to school and do all the normal boy things he wanted to do. He'd have a life. His father always said the Lord worked in mysterious ways and you couldn't get more mysterious than a time travelling alien.
So Elliot took the pill from him, took a drink from the cup of water on his bedside table, and swallowed it whole. He tracked its progress down his throat until the sensation disappeared. Other than a slight tingling in his chest he felt no different. No worries. He had time for it to work. He had all the time in the world now.
Elliot smiled and threw his arms around the Doctor who grunted in mild surprise before hugging him back.
"Thank you." Elliot said. His voice was a little rough and quiet from disuse but he knew the Doctor had understood him.
He laughed once, patting Elliot's back. "You're welcome, Elliot. You're so very, very welcome."
So focused on everything in front of him, Elliot hadn't been aware of their audience. The Doctor had and even though she was too far away for her human ears to hear their conversation, he knew she'd seen everything. After saying goodbye, the Doctor left Elliot's ward and walked down to the hallway where she'd been watching. Rounding the corner, he saw her leaning against the wall, lips pressed nervously together.
Violet glanced up at him and then looked away. He sighed, stuffing his hands in his pockets, and leaned on the wall next to her.
"You look the same."
He arched one eyebrow. Well, he hadn't been expecting that to be the first thing out of her mouth. "Yes. Same body, after all."
"I don't know what I was expecting. I just figured it'd be obvious you weren't you anymore."
"This is me," he reminded her softly.
She turned her head to glare at him, not appreciating being corrected. "I figured it'd be obvious you were an alien."
The Doctor shrugged. "Maybe not on the outside. Walk with me a bit? Not too many people should see me since John Smith's supposed to be dead."
She nodded and followed him down to a patient's balcony on the second floor. Glancing around to make sure the coast was clear, he pulled out the sonic and locked the door. Couldn't have anyone bursting in—or, rather, out—on them. When he turned around, Violet was leaning against the balcony edge, staring at the busy street below.
He sighed. He'd been dreading this and part of him still wanted to turn tail and run. But she deserved more than that. She hadn't asked for this to happen to her. It wasn't her fault Rose had—no. He wasn't going there right now. He crossed the balcony in three long strides and leaned against the edge with her.
Violet rubbed her lips together. "So you dealt with them?"
"I did. How are you holding up?"
"Seriously? Is everyone going to ask me that? How do you think I am?" she snapped then closed her eyes. "I'm sorry."
"No, no, it's fine. You have every right to snap. Wait hang on. Who else has been asking?"
"Rose was here about an hour ago."
"Rose?" Now that was news to him. She'd said she was going to visit some friend she'd made named Aiden—he'd known the woman the Family took. She hadn't said anything about Violet. Why would she want to talk to her? "My Rose?"
Her mouth twisted. "Yes, your Rose. She brought me lunch and we talked for a little bit." She licked her lips again. A nervous habit of hers, he recalled. "Rose…she's been very apologetic. She blames herself for everything."
He frowned. Now that wasn't good at all. This whole thing had just ended in a mess. He wondered again if he hadn't been harsh enough on the Family. But he wasn't here to talk about Rose. "It was the Family of Blood who caused all this."
"I know."
"And I'm sorry. If I'd known what he was doing, I'd have stopped it."
"You all keep saying you'd have stopped him if you could've. Did any of you stop to consider that I wouldn't want you to? I enjoyed the time I had with him and I'm glad for it." Violet looked at him mournfully. "Where is he?"
"In here, somewhere." He tapped his head and shrugged.
"Could you…could you change back?" she asked quietly.
"Yes," he admitted.
"But you won't, will you?"
"No."
She nodded. "I thought so."
The Doctor sighed heavily and looked down at the street. So many people coming and going from the hospital. The busses weren't running yet and most people weren't allowed to travel in vehicles. UNIT wanted the useable streets clear for emergency and official use.
He'd been thinking about this for a while and decided he had to offer. It was only fair. "You could come with us."
Violet's head snapped up sharply. "Beg pardon?"
"You could travel with us, if you wanted."
She stared at him for a solid thirty seconds before she laughed, shaking her head. "And there it is." He blinked once, frowning in confusion. What was she on about? "I know women are from Venus and men are from Mars, but you're definitely from a different planet altogether."
"What?! First off, I assure you, both the males and females of your species originate from the same planet. But, you know, some species actually do come from different planets—like the Pirri! The male Pirri live on one moon and females live on its twin, which does lead to certain issues whenever communication and transport between the two is halted, but they deal, I suppose. And second, of course I am from a different planet! I thought that was obvious?"
Violet sighed heavily. "You know what I mean. And that wasn't the point. You've spent so much time among humans, protecting us, learning from us. Are you really that ignorant of how our hearts work? What would Rose think when she found out I was coming with you? Really, pretend you're human for five seconds, and think about it. What if the roles reversed and she brought the man back with her? How would you feel?" She paused to give him a moment to do just that. He didn't tell her that he knew how it felt. He remembered how he felt when he realized she'd invited Adam along. "Would you really do that to her?" she asked but didn't give him a chance to answer. "And what about me? What do you expect me to do? Just—just get over being in love with someone who shared your face and be happy for you two? It doesn't work that way."
Violet swallowed and seemed to consider her next words carefully before speaking. "John told me that you're always sending her away to protect her but she keeps coming back, except for the last time. I get it now. When you decided to become him, you sent her away. She didn't come back because she didn't want John."
The Doctor remembered her saying that as John. That had come as quite a shock. He'd figured she would stay near him, that she would care for the man he'd become. She was able to love him in his new body, after all.
"And I don't want the Doctor," Violet finished. "I understand how she was able to make the distinction. You have the same face, same voice, but you're a completely different man. You're not him and I don't want to be around you because all you'll do is remind me of him. There's no way for this to end happily for all of us and if I go with you then it will only hurt us more. I'm a doctor, not an adventurer, and I'm tired."
He nodded, understanding where she was coming from, and more than a little relieved at her refusal. "Okay, then. Will you be alright?"
"To be honest, I'll be better once you're gone. You're not helping. But time heals all wounds, Time Lord." Her mouth twisted sardonically and he wondered if she believed her own words.
No, it doesn't. He thought bitterly. That's just a proverb created to give hope the pained and desperate. Some wounds never heal. Some get worse with time. Without time there wouldn't even be wounds at all. But he doesn't say that to her. She needed hope, or at least the hope of hope. Instead, he nodded one final time, and headed for the door. He'd just got it unlocked when she called his name.
He turned around, raising his eyebrows.
She rubbed her thumbs together uncertainly for a moment before her hands dropped to her sides. "What was that pill you gave to Elliot?"
A grin slowly stretched across his face. He could tell her, but where was the fun in that? She'd figure it out soon enough. At least Elliot would have one person who would always know the truth.
He left without answering and Violet, to her surprise, did not cry.
Two days later, she saw Elliot walking down the hall with his parents. They had the biggest smiles on their faces and Elliot seemed a bit smug. He saw her, smiled, and led his parents over to her. His mother thanked her again for returning him to the hospital but she had her eye on Elliot. He hadn't come over here for his parents. She waited, expecting him to communicate somehow when he was ready, as was his way. She wasn't expecting him to open his mouth and speak. "I'm in remission."
It was difficult to say who was more surprised.
Two weeks later, his leukemia was gone. Completely and utterly gone. The only signs it was ever there were in the frailty of his body but even that seemed to be improving. Every single doctor in the hospital, including those who had nothing to do with pediatrics or cancer, was aware of it. Even those who weren't religious were calling it a miracle.
And it was. A miracle from a great man in the form of a little green pill.
An array tests followed—the doctors refused to believe his abrupt recovery was by the grace of God—and Elliot bore them with little complaint. He never mentioned the green pill and neither did Violet though they would frequently exchange glances that reminded each other of their shared knowledge. After nearly a month, they gave up. They could find nothing that explained his miraculous healing.
During the week of testing he was moved to a private room instead of going home. They didn't want him getting sick. He didn't seem to mind. He spent a lot of his time sketching in his sketchpad and drawing in a mysterious brown journal that he never let anyone else see. Violet asked about it one day and he carefully told her about the journal and what was in it. He told her he would let her read it if she wanted.
After three days passed with no sigh of the Doctor, Rose, and Martha, she figured they'd finally left. In many ways, she was relieved. But their departure meant her John was well and truly gone. Having John labeled as dead, as it turned out, was a gift in itself. Everyone on the floor knew about it and she didn't have to hide her grief. Her parents hadn't even known she'd been seeing anyone so they, too, were informed her boyfriend had been killed. Liz, though—Liz she told the truth. All of it.
Liz thought she was insane but, then, that night had also been insane. Then her sister had scowled, crossing her arms over her chest. "Shoulda known a like that was too good to be true."
"He was true, though," Violet argued. "He just…wasn't for me."
Her tears slowly dried and she stopped looking for a mop of brown hair in the halls. She ate the last of the tuna casserole in her fridge. When she realized the DVDs in the shelf had been shifted, she scrolled through them until she found The Santa Clause 2 inserted just beneath its predecessor. She decided she didn't need to know when or how it got there.
At work, she kept an eye and ear on Elliot at all times. He may have broken through the wall separating him from the rest of the world, but he still didn't talk much, not even to her. Maybe a few words here and there and a real laugh once, but other than that he was quiet.
Macy's visit was the most she'd heard him speak. Her hair had grown back in, a bright, shiny blonde, that just reached her ears and she no longer wore a bandana. Her parents brought her by to say hello to Violet who, in turn, followed them to Elliot's room. Macy said hi, climbed right up on his bed and, unaware of recent developments, started chattering away until he interrupted her with a half-annoyed, half-amused, "You didn't even give me a chance to say hello back."
Macy about toppled off the bed. "Did you just talk?!"
He tilted his head to the side and blinked once. He was silent for a long moment and everyone was beginning to wonder if he was actually going to say anything else. Then, "Dunno. Did I?"
"Oh my GOSH! YOU TALKED!"
He flinched at the shrillness in her voice. "And you shouted."
By the time Elliot was discharged from the hospital—for what she knew would be the last time—he had a light layer of blonde fuzz covering his head, almost entirely hidden beneath his bandana. He was still too small for his age but not quite as scrawny and his skin had gained a healthy glow that she blamed on the pill.
She came by to visit him one last time on the day he was to leave and he was waiting with a piece of paper. He held it out to her wordlessly and she took it.
It was her and John, curled up on her couch with a bowl of popcorn. She was nestled against his side and he had his arm around her and they both looked utterly content. He'd gone into such detail and the colors were just as she remembered them. There was no way he could've known about this without his psychic abilities and she had never been more grateful for them. Running her fingers briefly across John's face, she pressed the picture to her lips.
"Thank you," she whispered as tears welled up in her eyes.
Elliot said nothing in response but she hadn't expected him to. His leukemia was gone but he still had plenty of recovering left to do, just like she did. Her heart still ached but she was moving on. Maybe one day he would become the cheery, talkative child he once was, maybe one day she would be happy again, but it would take time.
Thankfully, they both had plenty of it.
And that's the end! We'll have a few in-betweeners and then Blink! I think you'll like what I have in store. No, it won't be as long as HN/TFOB. I've said it to a few people, I know, but I'll say it here. That arc was so long because it covered three months whereas all the others only cover a few hours at most. The only arc that will rival that in length is from Utopia til the Last of the Time Lords because of it's similar magnitude.
Also, spoiler alert, but Shareen ain't gonna be in Utopia. So you can shut up now, nonny. We'd all appreciate it... and by "we" I mean all the other writers you've been harassing as well.