A Second Chance (Peterick AU)

Chapter 5

I wanted to cry out and break down, but I was frozen. My world was just across the street. The one person I thought about everyday while traveling with the doctor. He was there, the same way I remembered him.

He must have felt my gaze, because he stopped walking and began to look around. When he looked across the street, his eyes focused on me and I watched him stiffen. He froze for a second before he started running in the direction he had been walking.

"Pete?" The Doctor asked me again, his confusion evident in his tone, "who was that? It wasn't-Pete!"

I had started running after Patrick. Without taking the cars driving along the street into consideration, I bolted across it and down the sidewalk Patrick had ran. He wasn't far ahead of me, but he was turning the corner into what I remembered as a short ally.
He turned and when I got to the same spot, I turned as well. I stopped a few steps in when I didn't see Patrick. He had just disappeared.

"Pat?" I called out in a shaky voice. Maybe I was seeing things. Letting my imagination take over being back in the city where I lost my world. I felt defeated.

I had turned to leave when I heard footsteps run up behind me.

"YOU BASTARD! YOU LOOK ALIKE BASTARD!" Patrick cried out. I felt him hitting my back with balled up fists. "You can't be Pete..."

I turned and saw one of his hands flying towards me, so I grabbed it before it could make contact. I looked at his wide eyes. His baby blue eyes were just like the Patrick from my universe. His eyes were full of confusion and sadness, however.

"You're dead..." His voice was that of someone on the brink of tears, "You're dead, you're dead!.." Tears were building in his eyes now.

"I'm not though!" I said quietly. I didn't know what to say. This was Patrick. This was really Patrick. From his voice, to his eyes, to the softness of the atmosphere around him. I felt tears building in my own eyes.

Just at that moment, the Doctor came rounding the corner. "Pete! You reckless, crazy, insane-" He stopped to catch his breath and saw Patrick and I. He looked between the two of us and let out a soft "oooooooh..."

I refused to take my eyes off Patrick. He was starting to shake more and more the longer we held eye contact.

"You're dea..." He couldn't even finish his sentence. He broke. His arms went limp and he started sobbing. He began to fall, but I caught him and held him close to me. Tears were falling from my own eyes, but it was more important at this moment to hold my world after so long of having it torn away from me.

"It-it's okay Patrick..." I comforted him, trying to stay calm as I held him up. "It's okay..."