Cosmo || Doctor Who

26 : A Skeleton Of Something More

    "You made blue for me?" His lips spread upwards into a great big grin. "Wow! You're so clever!"

  Josh giggled. "Simon says I'm really tall."

  "I bet you are!" It took a lot to stay calm. "I can't wait to see you tomorrow, Beanie."

  "Are you really coming? Can we watch Muppets?"

  "Of course we can watch the Muppets." EJ chuckled. "Hey, Beanie?"

  "Mmh?"

  "Do you know if Simon's gonna be there?" Perhaps he shouldn't have asked, but he needed to prepare himself for the worst. And that was Simon ruining his favourite day of the year with his favourite person.

  "No." Josh replied bluntly, before then moving on to something completely new. "Will you read me a story?"

  "Tomorrow?"

  "Yeah."

  "Of course I will, Baby."

     As they talked about anything and everything, EJ held the phone between his ear and his shoulder. His hands were tending to the Doctor, wiping his brow, holding his hand, hoping that something might wake him up.

     It was the best thing in the world, talking to Josh, because he was just so innocent. He didn't know that there was anything different about his Dad. Everything that EJ was, it was perfect to him, and that was enough for him to feel comfortable and happy.

     "Do you not need to go to bed, Joshy?" He ended up asking after ten minutes or so. "What does Mummy say?"

  Sorrowfully, the boy replied. "She's want the phone."

  "I'll see you tomorrow, Beanie." EJ attempted to convince him to give the mobile back to Zoë. "If you don't go to sleep, Santa won't come and visit."

  Before they could finish talking, Jackie walked in, her voice booming over the phone. "No, don't come round, love. The flat's all topsy turvy." She left a mug on the bedside table for the Doctor, and put a hand on EJ's shoulder as they shared a sad smile.

"Love you, Daddy."

  "I love you too, Joshy." He smiled. "Merry Christmas."

     Zoë hung up not too long after, but in that short time, EJ knew they had made the right decision. Staying together would have only made things awkward for Josh. At least this way, he knew where he stood.

For a minute or two, EJ and the Doctor sat in silence. He didn't know if he should say something or not, like coma patients, or babies in the womb. But, then the Doctor exhaled again. The golden mist kept spiralling through the air, and escaped through a crack in the window. EJ could tell that something was wrong; he just wished that there was a way for him to help.

The front door swung open violently, and EJ ran out of the room to find a breathless and panicking Rose and Mickey. His eyes widened. They looked like complete messes.

"Get off the phone!" Rose commanded.

"It's only Bev." Jackie countered, almost offended. "She says hello."

Reluctantly, Rose took the receiver from her mother, and nodded sarcastically. "Bev? Yeah, look. I'll have to wait." Immediately, she hung up.

EJ stood by the door, leaning against the frame as he waited for some sort of explanation. "What's wrong?"

"It's not safe. We've gotta get out. Where can we go?"

Mickey responded first. "My mate Stan. He'll put us up."