Born of Fire (Doctor Who AU)

Chapter 3 So, What Happens Next?

  Jake said, "welcome back, Boss," and they all shook hands while flashing pearly white teeth. 

So many teeth. 

Every step increased the pain stabbing Daniel's eyes. The way they watched him made him nervous. The Woman studied him a little too intently -- as if he were under a microscope. She chattered on, asking about the world he came from, how was he created, what type of weapon struck him until Pete told her to shut it. He could have kissed the man for that. Except for shoes clanging on the metal grated floor, the silence was blissful.

Daniel blinked when the lift doors slid open. The brighter interior stabbed his brain. Instinct told him this formation was imploding. A rising sense of dread fuelled a fear that this was a one-way trip. He hesitated, He didn't want to die without ever seeing his stars again. An uncontrollable shiver went through his body. Pete placed his hand on his shoulder; his sympathetic smile from the man went unnoticed,

Jake's hand stopped the doors from sliding shut."It's okay, Boss, we don't bite."

Daniel exhaled a slow nervous breath that puffed his cheeks. Only an idiot walked willy-nilly into the belly of Torchwood with their record of chasing aliens. Regardless of what side of the void the organisation was on, Torchwood couldn't change its stripes. Still, he stepped in and the rest followed letting the doors slide shut. Panic made his nausea worse when the floor dropped out from him. 

If anyone spotted the way he grabbed the rail they said nothing. He swallowed the rising tide of bile as he closed his eyes in a vain effort to stop the hammer pounding inside his skull. The only coherent thought he could muster centred around the hope the Doctor had protected Donna from dying like this. The lift's sudden stop jerked him back to his surrounding eliciting a small groan he hoped no one noticed. He'd hate for these humans to realise how vulnerable he felt at the moment.

"The medical wing is through here," the black man said pointing down an overly bright hallway. The man had a name, but for the life of him, Daniel couldn't remember. 

A woman, whose name he was sure Pete had mentioned, led them through a set of glass doors across a waiting area into an exam room leaving Pete behind. He could have kissed the woman when she dimmed the lights. The sight of the padded exam table made the idea of curling up under a blanket to hide his eyes the most important item on his to-do list. He could have kissed the woman when she dimmed the lights. 

The woman helped ease his coat off. "You think you can slip a gown on for us?" she asked, holding one out.

"You had a name, Pete said it; I'm sorry, it didn't sink in." Each word out of his mouth hurt."Jan Harkness," she replied.

"Right, Harkness. I knew a Harkness, I think," Daniel replied, swallowing thickly. "Did I say; my head sort of hurts."

"Yeah, you did. We're going to do our best to help," Jan replied, making sure her voice stayed low but clear.

"Daniel, can you tell me what my name is?" Marcus Jones asked.

"Martha, you're Martha Jones. No, that's not right. You're a man. Pete said -- Marcus. Sorry. Why are flies in your clean room?" he rambled, oblivious to the concerned expressions of both physicians and then his left eye twitched.

"Jan," Marcus glanced at the woman.

"Got it," she turned away, returning seconds later with two syringes and a set up for an IV.

"Daniel, let's get you on the trolley. I'll help you out of your shirt, okay?" Marcus said.

Daniel glanced first at the syringes and IV, and then at the exam table flummoxed by Marcus' request. When his feet wouldn't move, the physician guided him forward. He helped him out of his shirt and into a gown. "The IV is because I want to do your scans with a dye; do you understand me?" Marcus asked.

Daniel grimaced, his eyes rolled back as he collapsed against the trolley in a full blown seizure.

"Shit, Jan!" Marcus said, reaching to prevent him from hitting the floor.

~~

Pete jumped when two medics rushed through the waiting area to the exam room in response to an alarm.This wasn't the first time, he'd paced the waiting area or stepped out of the way when someone hit the alarm for all hands on deck. In between the door opening and closing, he caught part of a clipped command from Marcus. He'd promised Daniel the best of care, and knew without hesitation that Marcus would deliver, but that bit of knowledge didn't ease the worry twisting him. The minutes stretched on leaving him frustrated with worry. Thirty minutes on, his hand was on his mobile ready to call Rose when Marcus walked out.

Pete jumped. "So? How is he? What did you find out?"

"He's asleep. Jan and the medics are taking him to the scanner. Explain him to me, Pete. You told me on the phone that he came back with Rose and Jackie from the parallel universe. What happened to them?" Marcus asked.

"I'm not sure. There was some sort of an incident inside the TARDIS and the next thing anyone knew, he was there. He called it a biological meta-crisis. Beyond telling me his headache worried him, I don't know much. He just said he needed a scanner. Well, that and this is an absolutely unique incident, and he didn't want Rose to get attached if he wasn't going to make it. Any more information than that you will have to ask Rose and Jackie. Better yet, just wake him up. Information usually is better coming from the horse's mouth, so to speak."

"I can't," Marcus answered.

Pete uncrossed his arms, his eyebrows pinched, deepening the furrows in his forehead. "You're scarin' me, Marcus. What's wrong?"

"Walk with me," the physician answered.

Fear etched every line of Pete's face. He huffed then trudged after the physician to a room he knew all too well. He hated the consultation room almost as much at the one on the other side of the wall. Coming here always meant either an agent or Rose lay injured. Marcus walked to an array of screens and tapped one on.

A brain, in shades of blue and green, appeared. Streaks of red coursed throughout the brain. Pete tried to understand the image, but like most of the advanced imagery Marcus showed him, he didn't have a clue. Deciphering simple X-rays came relatively easy. His stomach clenched. All that red couldn't be good. He stared, pushing panic over the Doctor's kid. That didn't set right, he couldn't exactly be his kid which begged the question -- what the hell was Daniel?

Marcus rapped on a window then flipped a switch to a view screen. "Daniel had a seizure, a bad one. We call them Grand Mal's. That's what took us so long and --"

"That's why you couldn't wake him up."

"Yep. Jan is running a PET scan so we can see what's going on inside that thick head. And, I have to say," Marcus stepped closer to the screen, "it's one of the weirdest things that I've ever seen."

Pete muttered a soft expletive as he watched the mass of red lines wind through Daniel's brain. "Is he going to implode or something?" Pete hated the ridiculous question. "Is that what this about?"

"If you mean as in dying, no. At least, I don't think so. But to be honest, I am not sure how he walked in here. I knew he was in pain the minute he got out of the car but he must have been in absolute agony."

Pete scrubbed his hand across his jaw. "He just told me that he had a headache. He never said anything about it being bad."

"Well, either, he has an incredible tolerance to pain or he has an innate ability to hide how much he's in -- like an injured animal." Marcus ignored Pete's darkened expression. "Every step must have been sheer agony. All the red you're seeing are new nerve pathways forming. It's as if his brain is rewiring itself. The question is: did the seizure act as a precursor to the changes or did the changes cause the seizure. On top of that, when Jan checked his blood sugar, it was in the fifties. We've pushed glucose and started a drip to get his levels up but we've not managed to stabilise it."

"Damn," Pete muttered. "Bloody hell, Marcus, I can't tell Rose and her mother, he's going to die."

"Like I said --" Marcus stopped when the door opened.

"Hey, Boss," Jan greeted.

Pete flashed a smile at the young woman. "Jan. What can you tell me?"

Jan walked to a second screen and flipped a switch revealing a holographic display of Daniel's body. "I've only gotten basic labs so far, so not much. Except for a few minor differences, his basic physiology is human. It will take us, at least, a day to establish his chromosomes. Our scanners can't pin his bio-signature down. I've not seen one like it before."

Pete rubbed his neck. "Well. let's start with the differences?"

"Well, like Jackie and Rose, his bone density is heavier than ours. I am concluding it's a difference between the two sides of the void. Rose told us the Doctor has a dual cardiovascular system. Daniel has a shadow on the right side of his chest, but otherwise, his appears human." She pointed to the scans of his brain. "That makes the biggest difference," she hesitated, almost for effect, "his brain. It appears to have normal human structure, but as you can see, the scans are lit up like a Winter Holiday tree. His EEG is showing increased activity as well."

"More seizures?" Pete asked, scrubbing both hands over his face

"No, at least, not yet. If you look," she said pointing to the scan, "the nerves are extending into regions of the brain that we now know are connected to telepathic and psychic ability. When he's better, I would like -- no make that love, to administer an IQ test -- just to get an idea of how smart he is ."

"Excuse -- Mr Tyler, Doctors," a medic called from the doorway. "He's calling for Rose."

"He shouldn't be awake," Janice answered. I'll check him, and re-medicate him. We should keep him out for at least a few hours. Boss, we need to understand more about him. Can you get Rose to come in so we can find out what happened?"

"He doesn't want Rose to see him if you think he's going to die," Pete said flatly.

Marcus walked around and clamped a hand on his boss' shoulder. "Quit talking about dying. No one is allowing that to happen, but Jan is right. We need to understand what happened on that ship."

"Right, I'll make the call then send the copter," Pete answered.