The Orphan in the TARDIS

Chapter Eighteen

Cautiously, he sets the tray of mugs down, walking toward, "My gosh, Sophie, are you alright?"

She smiles sadly at the Welshman, shrugging her shoulders, but being careful not to move her neck, "I'm okay-ish. It only hurts to move it."

Gwen, who had quickly ended her phone call, hurries over to her as well, "Goodness, dear. Have a seat. Owen, get over here and take a look at her neck."

The doctor sighs, pushing himself up to walk over to her. Gingerly, he removes the bandages off of her neck, and winces just seeing the angry burn marks in the shape of a hand. "Tosh, grab my kit, would you?"

The tech expert grabs the bag off her table, hurrying it over. She gasps upon seeing her neck, "Oh, what happened?"

"Apparently the Brotherhood has fire hands. Is it bad?" she addresses Owen with her question.

"I've seen worse, but it's gonna hurt. It is a second degree burn, you'll want to do your best to keep your neck elevated. I can also give you some drugs for the pain. It should heal in a couple weeks, but make sure you change the bandages."

"Oh my gosh!" a familiar voice from behind the Torchwood team calls. Martha rushes forward to look at the burns herself. "Sophie, are you okay?"

"I mean, not really. But I will be, Dr. Harper is being very helpful."

"I'd hope so," Jack says, stepping toward her as well. "So, where's the b*st*rd who did this to you? I'd like a word with him."

"Well, he's sort of dead on the floor of Buckingham Palace, so, that might be difficult."

"The Doctor killed it?" he asks incredulously.

"What? No, it was Benton."

"And the Doctor, is he still around? He didn't run off again, did he?"

Sophie tries not to wince, as Owen starts to reapply bandages to her neck, "He was planning on it, but he should be in the TARDIS. He's probably yelling at the Shadow Proclamation. He won't leave until I give his jacket back."

"Surely he has more than one jacket," Ianto comments.

"I mean, he has a giant closet, and the TARDIS sometimes just randomly makes clothes, so, chances are he does. But, he's also sentimental, he'll come back for it."

"From what I can tell you've had a pretty rough day," Martha comments, looking her over.

"Eh, I've had worse," she shrugs, as Owen steps back from her.

"Really, you've had worse days than this?" Gwen questions, sounding shocked.

"No, not really. But I'm sure I will."

"That's the spirit. Ever the optimist," Jack jokes.

Sophie smirks at him, finding herself liking the Captain, and seeing them as friends one day. It's strange for her to remember that she met them early that morning, and that she's only known them for a day, and yet, she feels like it's been longer.

She's pulled out of her thoughts, as a man stumbles into the room, almost tripping over the tent door. "Really, Doc? You're over 1000 years old, can't you walk yet?"

The Time Lord merely rolls his eyes, while adjusting his bow tie. He smiles when his eyes land on Martha, and he grabs her shoulders, kissing the air by her cheeks.

"Doctor?" she asks him, looking into his green eyes.

"Course, who else would I be?"

"Well, I mean, you do kinda resemble a young Prince Phillip," Sophie shrugs.

"Did you have to bring that up, again?"

"Yep!" she smiles, standing to her feet. "So, did you deal with the Shadow Proclamation?"

"The Venuciuian's have been dealt with. They're in Stormcage, which as you know is the most secure prison in the Universe."

"Well, unless you're married to the Doctor," she jokes.

"River being my wife has absolutely nothing to do with her ability to break out of Stormcage. That's all down to her assassin training. You have to be good at breaking out of prisons if you're going to kill me."

"I'm sorry, wife?" Martha asks.

"I'm sorry, kill you?" Jack asks at the exact same time.

"Yep," the Doctor confirms. "Anyway, I came to get my coat, and say goodbye."

"You're leaving already?" Martha asks, looking a little disappointed.

He smiles slightly sadly at his old friend, "I'm sorry, Martha. You know me, always busy. I have to keep busy."

"Where are you off to now?" Sophie asks, sliding his tweed coat off her shoulders.

"Amy and Rory called. Apparently it's quite important, something about cubes. Not sure what that is, but sounds exciting."

"Amy and Rory?" Martha asks, pushing for more details.

Sophie smiles, "His companion's. He crashed their wedding, and was the stripper at Rory's stag."

"Yes, but then I reset the universe, well, before the wedding. Thought I was going to die, but somehow Amy remembered me, she's brilliant."

"They're also his in-laws."

"They were my friends before I married their daughter/my assassin. Now, if you don't mind, there's a cube invasion in the future that I'm due to help stop." He grabs his jacket from Sophie's hands. "Take care, all of you. Great to see you all again, maybe I'll see you further down the line." He spins on heel, heading out the door of the tent. He stops, just as he passes under the threshold, before quickly spinning back around and quickly pulling Martha into a hug.

The doctor gladly returns it, but the Time Lord quickly moves on, hugging each member of Torchwood. Turning to Sophie he smiles his sappy smile at her, tugging her close to him. She rests her head against his chest. "See ya later, Doc."

He kisses her cheek, "Yeah. Can't wait, Lyn."

The Time Lord once again leaves, this time not stopping to turn back. He drops the woman off back in her time, and then vanishes without a trace, leaving her a ways away from her flat.