Cosmo || Doctor Who

56 : Heaven Breaks

EJ might never have met the Doctor in Albion Hospital. If that was true, then he never would have met Rose, or Jack. He would have been a shell of the man he was now.

That being said, his own son was a stranger to his uncles. Josh had never once met them. As a matter of fact, Zoë hadn't either, which was a sad truth. It was one of the many combining factors as to why EJ found it all just so much easier to push it all away.

Now, aged twenty one, EJ Thompson was only experiencing his third funeral, and it was that of a very close friend. According to the Torchwood Institute, Taylor John Watkins had given his life in service of Queen and Country. In the official cause of death, however, they failed to mention that it was the blaster of a Dalek which had rippled through his heart as he forgave a friend which had killed him.

     Those final words he spoke had haunted EJ from the moment he had left Canary Wharf. He had made a silent and solemn vow never to return. The memories held within those walls were powerful enough to make the strongest of men weep, and so they should have. Death and pain are some of the strongest parts of life, and yet, they hurt more than anything else.

     The funeral was sorrowful experience, as all funeral's seemed to be. Dressing in black used to be a daily occurrence for EJ, before he met the Doctor, but now it seemed like a chore. He sat at the back, almost arriving late. Then, he left as soon as he was able.

     Soren's speech made EJ weep, though he would never have admitted it. They still weren't on speaking terms, and even that didn't made the guilt subside. Taylor had forgiven him, but he could not yet forgive himself, as silly as it may have seemed.

     EJ ran back to the Tardis as soon as he was able. He couldn't bare to be anywhere near his friends anymore. They knew that he had been there, so they must have known he couldn't have stayed.

     When he burst through the doors, the Doctor had been patiently waiting for him. His back was resting against the centre console, one leg half in front of the other, arms folded. For once, he didn't look smarmy or smug. Instead, he was solemn, waiting for EJ. There was little else for them to do now, anyhow.

     Swiftly, EJ wrapped himself up in his warm embrace. His head rested in the crook of the Doctor's neck and a miss placed on his cheek. Tears began to flood from his eyes, but he tried not to let it show.

     "It's okay." The Doctor soothed him, running his fingers through EJ's jet black hair. "It's alright... it's okay."

     He didn't at all seem to mind that his suit would be stained by the salty tears dripping from the Thompson boy's eyes. Instead, he seemed far more bothered by the way he would calm his friends breathing. He was as gentle as a mother with a newborn, delicately treading around all that was hard and difficult.

     "I'm sorry." EJ whispered, pulling back for a moment. Their eyes met in tired gaze. "You don't need this right now."

"It's fine." The Doctor promised. For a moment, EJ almost believed him, but he was in mourning too, and tired eyes saw exactly what they wanted to. "How are Josh and Zoë?"

"Alright, I think." EJ nodded, but it was quite absent. He had seen his son, but only briefly. "Alive."

There was a sigh, the Thompson boy could feel it in his chest. "That's always good."