𝔏𝔬𝔫𝔡𝔬𝔫, 𝔈𝔫𝔤𝔩𝔞𝔫𝔡, 𝔈𝔞𝔯𝔱𝔥
𝔄𝔭𝔯𝔦𝔩 2006
Every child has a strong idea of what they want to be when they grow up, whether that dream is realised or not is another thing entirely. Never once had EJ wanted to be around children for a living, and yet, that was where he found himself.
Mickey Smith, the great blundering idiot he was, recalled them to Earth for help. There was a school where a cacophony of interesting events had occurred. It was too odd to ignore, and the more they thought about it, the more they realised that they should just see what was going on. What was a few days to the man who could turn back the clock?
There were a limited number of things the Doctor could do to work his way into the school, and he needed to try and be smooth about it all. Psychic paper would only go so far. They might even be creatures who surpassed the psychic paper, not that he would tell them that.
Their first day had been all but a waste of time, but the second day was when things changed. The Doctor had walked into the science room first, glasses on, briefcase in hand. EJ followed him, looking much less smart, and more approachable, not that any of the kids would. He was classified as staff, which was the black spot of the school environment.
"Good morning, class." The Doctor greeted them, relaxing into his place at the front of the crowd. "Are we sitting comfortably?"
EJ wasn't entirely sure what reaction the Doctor was expecting from a group of preteens with no desire for science, but it wasn't complete silence. When he noticed that no one would reply, he began to get to work. The black whiteboard pen squeaked as he scribbled on capital letters across: PHYSICS.
"So... physics." The Doctor shrugged, moving around his desk so that he might lean on it. "Physics, eh? Physics. Physics. Physics. Physics. Physics. Physics. Physics. Physics. Physics. Physics."
"Are you alright, Mr Smith?" EJ raised his eyebrows, and the Doctor nodded.
"Extremely, Mr Thompson. I hope you're getting all this down." The kids just seemed to weirded out by him. "Okay, let's see what you know."
Technically speaking, EJ wasn't a teacher like the Doctor was. He was a classroom assistant, which was not on his bucket list. Though, Rose was given the job of dinner lady, which was a hundred times worse. At least he could be dignified, for a time.
"Two identical strips of nylon are charged with static electricity and hung from a string so they can swing freely. What would happen if they were brought near each other?" Whilst the majority of the class looked bored and confused, one boy raised his hand: ovular glasses and bushy hair. "Yes? Eh, what's your name?"
"Milo."
"Milo." He grinned. "Off you go."
"They'd repel each other because they have the same charge."
"Correctamundo!" The Doctor exclaimed before grimacing. "A word I have never used before, and hopefully never will again."
EJ nodded. "I'll remind you."
"Question two, I coil up a thin piece of nichrome wire and place it in a glass of water, then I turn on the electricity and measure to see if the water temperatures affected. My question is this, how do I measure the electrical power going into the coil?" Milo, once again, was the only one to raise his hand. "Someone else? No, okay. Milo, go for it!"
"You measure the current and PD using an ammeter and a voltmeter."
"Two to Milo." The Doctor hummed, clearly sensing something wrong with the child that no one else could. "Right then, Milo, tell me this. True or false, the greater the damping in a cistern, the quicker it loses energy to its surroundings?"
He replied in an instant. "False."
"What is non-coding DNA?" The questions were being reeled out faster now.
"DNA that doesn't code for a protein." Even the other children couldn't understand where this was coming from, as they stared wide eyed.
"65,983 times 5."
"329,915."
"How do you travel faster than light?"
"By opening a quantum tunnel with an FTL factor of 36.7 recurring."
The Doctor just looked to Milo, almost gobsmacked. EJ just looked at him, and whistled lowly. "I think I'm in the wrong class."
By lunch, the Thompson boy was completely burned out. It was like being a student all over again, and it wasn't as if he'd enjoyed it the first time around, so this was something new entirely. He and the Doctor made their way to the cafeteria, and stood in line like everyone else.
The red plastic trays and fold-down tables were both nostalgic and terrifying at the same time. They piled the food into the small compartments in the tray, almost like prison food. The only thing which made it worthwhile was seeing the disgusted look on Rose's face as she dolloped some sort of sauce onto his plate.
They sat together at the only empty table. It was guaranteed to be; none of the children wanted to sit with the teachers. EJ was starving, so scoffed the food at a faster pace than he'd eaten in a whole. The Doctor, not so much. He didn't like it, and kept sniffing the chips.
"But why did it have to be physics?" EJ complained, his mouth completely stuffed with food.
The Doctor raised an eyebrow, looking over his food. "What would you have wanted to do?"
"English, or something."
"I've never seen you read a book."
He knew that the Doctor wasn't being malicious, but EJ couldn't help but retort. "I've never seen you do a physics equation. Once."
He deadpanned. "The Tardis is physics."
In response, EJ shrugged. "I'm English."
Their petty argument could have lasted forever, but thankfully, it didn't. Rose approached them, wiping the table, and complaining even more than he had been. "Two days."
"Sorry, could you just...?" The Doctor teased, pointing to the edge of the table. "There's a bit of gravy... No, no, just there."
She repeated. "Two days we've been here."
"Blame your boyfriend, he's the one that put us onto this. And he was right. Boy in class this morning, got a knowledge way beyond planet Earth."
Her eyes cast down over the Doctor's tray and the half eaten food. "Are you eating those chips?"
"Yeah, they're a bit... different." He grimaced, but Rose took one all the same.
"I think they're gorgeous. I wish I'd had school dinners like this."
"I wasn't allowed to eat in school." EJ told them, nonchalantly. "I'd pick up the food from the canteen, and then have to bin it whole."
Rose furrowed her brows. "Why'd you do that?"
"My father would have killed me." It shouldn't have come out as easily as it did. "Eating ruined his surgical schedule."
The Doctor's face grew sad and downturned; EJ was a hard man to comfort. "I'm sorry."
"It's fine. He put me through worse." He promised, shovelling more chips into his face. "Now, share your qualms, Doctor. They're written all over your face."
"It's very well behaved, this place." Was his response. "I thought they'd all be happy-slapping hoodies, happy-slapping hoodies with ASBOs, happy-slapping hoodies with ASBOs and ringtones, eh? Oh yeah, don't tell me I don't fit in."
They were having quite a fun time until one of the dinner ladies approached them, an angry look on her face. "You are not permitted to leave your station during a sitting."
"I was just talking to this teacher." Rose excused herself as she pointed to the Doctor.
He waved, cheerily. "Hello."
"He doesn't like the chips."
"The menu has been specifically designed by the headmaster to improve concentration and performance."
EJ raised an eyebrow at her. "And that's chips?"
She didn't seem impressed by their retaliation, so looked directly at Rose. "Now, get back to work."
"See, this is me..." The blonde stood from the table, hair in her cap, apron donned, and twirling like a ballerina on a music box. "Dinner lady."
"I'll have the crumble!" The Doctor called after her.
They could just about hear Rose grumble as she left. "I'm so going to kill you."
Cheekily, he pulled a face as soon as she was looking away. "You think she's annoyed?"
"Dunno." EJ shook his head, relishing this side of the Doctor. It was all brand new still. "Maybe just a little."
Despite facing away from the majority of children, he could still see the doors. He was the one to catch on that the teachers never sat with the children. Whenever a teacher did enter, it always seemed to be odd, for some reason. They'd yet to work out what it was completely, but they would.
"Melissa, you'll be joining my class for the next period." The teacher said to one of the girls; the Doctor was staring. "Milo's failed me, so it's time we moved you up to the top class. Kenny, not eating the chips?"
Kenny was a fairly chubby boy with spiky hair and ovular glasses. "I'm not allowed."
He didn't seem to be interest, and refocused his attention. "Luke, extra class, now."
They exited the room, and from the corner of their eyes, they could see the headmaster. He watched over the halls like a hawk. It was sort of unnerving, a little bit like Big Brother, but EJ didn't want to relive that... it wasn't a good day in the slightest. That had been the day he lost Jack.
After they ate, the Doctor decided it would be a good idea to check out the staff room. It was the one room devoid of children, which might have allowed them the time to investigate the abnormalities they had found. Then again, it might just be a coincidence.
However, within half a minute of being in their, EJ spotted a familiar shock of blonde hair. When Soren said he had a new job, and that it was a little bit weird, this was not exactly what he had been expecting. It was the good kind of surprise, not the bad kind, because that way he had a friend. One of his best friends.
"I mean, I knew we were getting more new teachers." Soren said to EJ, his arms folded as he leant against the wall. "Just didn't expect them to be you and your Doctor."
"But I thought you just got this job." The Thompson boy queried.
"Four months ago. Just after Christmas. Guess your space phone isn't as reliable as you think."
EJ sighed, and shook his head. He was still wrapping it around all that was happening. "How are you?"
"Really?"
"Always."
"Stressed." It was Soren's turn to sigh this time. "Taylor's trying to plan a reception for after the not-wedding."
"You don't want one." EJ replied, knowingly. "Does he not get that?"
"I've told him. But it matters to Taylor, so it's going ahead." He shrugged like it didn't matter, even though it obviously did. "Will you be there?"
He could understand why it mig not be a little awkward. "As long as you want me."
Thankfully, there wasn't the time to respond, because the Doctor called out, and the boy went running. "EJ!"
"Doctor," He grinned, gesturing to the blonde at his right. "This is Soren, my, uh, friend?"
"Is that a question?"
"Shut it." EJ huffed, glaring his way. "He's a history teacher here. Been here four months. Knows children are weird."
"Nice to meet you, Doctor." Soren smiled, but swiftly made his excuses. "I've got to go and talk to Ms Walker about the tests next week."
"We'll talk later, yeah?" The black haired boy queried, more hope in his voice than there should have been.
Soren nodded, grinning sheepishly. "Yeah, of course."
As soon as he was out of earshot, the Doctor raised his eyebrows. "Friend?"
"First boyfriend." EJ grumbled, dragging his feet as they walked over to an older teacher. "Getting a civil partnership soon. I'm supposed to be happy. Never mind me, let's talk to this guy."
He didn't want to be the one to begin the questioning, so he didn't at all, practically. In fact, he just listened, hoping that he might make a link no one else could. That being said, the Doctor was brilliant. He didn't need anyone else, much less an emotionally unstable young adult with a five year old child. It didn't fit his narrative.
However, it turned out that this older teacher was exactly what they needed to confirm the children's abnormality. "Yesterday, I had a 12 year old girl give me the exact height of the walls of Troy in cubits."
"And it's ever since the new headmaster arrived?" The Doctor asked. It was hard not sounding too suspicious when questioning so many people about so many things.
"Finch arrived three months ago. The next day, half the staff got flu. Finch replaced them with that lot. Except for the teacher you replaced, and that was just plain weird, her winning the lottery like that?"
EJ attempted to hold back his smile as the Doctor asked, feigning innocence. "How's that weird?"
"She never played. Said the ticket was posted through her door at midnight."
He just hummed, eating a cereal bar. "The world is very strange."
"Excuse me, colleagues, a moment of your time." Mr Finch walked in, a short woman with a bob following closely behind. "May I introduce Miss Sarah Jane Smith."
There are some people that are just destined to find one another. EJ didn't know it then, but the Doctor was always destined to find his friends, no matter how long it had been. However, this woman was a stranger, and the Doctor was completely enamoured by her.
A twinge hit his stomach. EJ looked down. He didn't want to look.
"Miss Smith is a journalist who is writing a profile about me for the Sunday Times." Mr Finch informed them. He could have guessed that it was a self indulgent visit. "I thought it might be useful for her to get a view from the trenches, so to speak. Don't spare my blushes."
He didn't stick around, leaving Miss Smith to fend for herself. However, because the Doctor was smiling, she seemed to think that they were the best to approach.
"Hello." She beamed.
The Doctor seemed to hold his breath. "Oh, I should think so."
"And you are...?" Sarah Jane Smith asked the question, and suddenly, EJ understood. He'd changed his face. She didn't recognise him.
"Hmm? Er, Smith. John Smith."
"John Smith!" She exclaimed, softly, beginning to reminisce. "I used to have a friend who sometimes went by that name."
He still smiled; it was becoming unnerving. "Well, it's a very common name."
"He was a very uncommon man." Sarah Jane shook his hand, and the Doctor had never seemed so pleased by such a mundane thing. "Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you. Yes, very nice. More than nice. Brilliant."
Then, she turned to the black haired boy. "And you are?"
He raised an eyebrow, amused. There weren't many people in England who didn't recognise him from first glance. "EJ Thompson."
"EJ?" Her eyes seemed to light up; very much a journalist. "Are you the son of..."
"I'd be careful what you say." He said through gritted teeth, and she nodded, understandingly.
"It's an unusual name."
"I'm an unusual person."
She seemed to get back on track after that, clearing her throat. "Um, so, um, have you worked here long?"
"No," The Doctor half grimaced. "It's only my second day."
"Oh, you're new then?" It sparked the same interest, deep behind her eyes. "So what do you think of the school? I mean, this new curriculum. So many children getting ill. Doesn't that strike you as odd?"
"You don't sound like someone just doing a profile."
"Well," She shrugged, very nonchalantly. "No harm in a little investigation while I'm here."
"No, good for you. Good for you." The Doctor was beaming still when she walked away, so he whispered to himself. " Oh, good for you, Sarah Jane Smith."
EJ tried to sound civil as he asked, but it didn't sound as such. "Are you going to tell me who she is?"
"She's... a friend." He said. "An old friend."
Maybe, he shouldn't have pressed, but he did so anyway. "Just a friend?"
The Doctor was almost amused by it, and wrapped an arm around EJ's shoulder, nodding. "Just a friend."
So much had happened during the day that it was almost impossible to take in. Naturally, the best way to go about the next phase was by roaming the school at night. It was every kids worst nightmare, and yet, there they were, living it out.
The Doctor lead them, EJ refusing to be anywhere but by his side. Dark spaces made him feel all disgusting inside, and somehow, Rose found it all extremely exciting. Then again, she'd been stuck in a kitchen for two days straight. The only real downside, however, was the fact they had to bring Mickey along with them.
EJ could be a petty thing. He was aware of it, and honestly, never attempted to change it. Only, he was still thoroughly pissed off with Mickey Smith for his throwaway homophobia. Perhaps it wasn't intentional, but it still burned badly.
"Oh, it's weird seeing school at night." Rose marvelled, ever so slightly. "It just feels wrong. When I was a kid, I used to think all the teachers slept in school."
"You're weird." EJ retorted. "Super weird."
"Says you," Mickey grumbled beneath his breath, but EJ still heard it. "The tattooed rainbow."
"Hiya team!" The Doctor began, but spat the words from his mouth immediately. He detested the way they sounded. "Oh, I hate it when people say team, erm, gang, erm... comrades?"
"How very communist of you." The black haired boy attempted to joke, but no one seemed to be in the mood.
"Er, anyway, Rose go to the kitchen and get a sample of that oil. Mickey, the new staff are all maths teachers, go and check out the maths department. I'm going to look in Finch's office. Meet back here in ten minutes."
The Doctor started on the stairs in a flash as EJ stood there, feeling like a plank. "What about me?"
He raised his eyebrows, almost mockingly. "Do you really need to ask, come on."
EJ followed up the stairs, trying to match the Doctors pace, but he was too fast. Though, there was a thought playing in the back of his mind. "Do you not trust me, or something?"
"Why would you think that?" The Doctor queried, sounding extremely unsure.
"Everyone else gets to go off on their own, even Mickey, but I'm always with you. And I love being with you, but it's all the time. Do you think I'm incompetent or something?" At first, he didn't reply. "Doctor?"
What pissed EJ off more than a well crafted answer was no answer at all. He was silenced by the Doctor, only to find it was done because of the screeching through the air. And despite it sounding like a dinosaur, they ran down the corridor, chasing it.
They ended up in the PE hall, only it wasn't as easy as that. Sarah Jane was backing away from the cupboard where the Tardis was hidden, a frightened look plastered on her face.
"Hello, Sarah Jane." The Doctor greeted, and EJ backed away. It wasn't his place to get in the way.
"It's you, Doctor?" She whispered, almost terrified by his appearance. "Oh my God, it's you, isn't it? You've regenerated."
"Yeah. Half a dozen times since we last met."
"You look..." Sarah Jane struggled to find the words. "Incredible."
He smiled at her. "So do you."
"I got old." She hummed, clearly not impressed, as she became more stern. "What are you doing here?"
"Well, a UFO sighting, a school gets record results, I couldn't resist." It all seemed so obvious from the outside. "What about you?"
"Same." They laughed, but it wasn't as comfortable as they might have hoped. Though, when she spoke, she sounded as if she would cry. "I thought you'd died. I waited for you, you didn't come back, and I'd thought you must've died."
"I lived." He said, dully. "Everyone else died."
"What do you mean?"
His voice was somber, and tired. "Everyone died, Sarah."
She shook her head, as if she didn't want to know. "I can't believe it's you." Though, that was short lived, because they heard another scream, this time, more human. "Okay, now I can."
They ran down the corridor, but it was short lived as they ran into Rose, who's eyes widened at the sight of them. "Did you hear that?"
"Yeah." EJ nodded, but he was ignored.
"Who's she?"
"Rose, Sarah Jane. Sarah Jane, Rose."
The Doctor's excitement was thoroughly squashed as Sarah Jane extended her hand, a bitchy tone evident. "Hi. Nice to meet you." Then, much quieter, she said to the Doctor. "You can tell you're getting older, your assistants are getting younger."
Rose retorted, rather spitefully. "I'm not his assistant."
"No..." She sympathised. "Get you, Tiger."
"Neither am I." EJ raised his hand, despite no one being very interested in him. "That's kind of rude, actually."
The Doctor didn't want to have to deal with them all arguing, so he didn't, and bounded forwards. They followed him into a biology classroom, which was where they found Mickey, standing in a pile of packaged rats. It was possibly the oddest thing EJ had ever seen; and that included a giant face in a hospital run by humanoid cats.
"Sorry, it's just me." He apologised, frantically, as he attempted to pile them all back into the cupboard. "You told me to investigate so I started looking through some of these cupboards and all these fell out on me."
"Oh my God, they're rats." Rose deadpanned as she stared at the ground. "Dozens of rats. Vacuum packed rats."
"And you decided to scream?" The Doctor teased.
Mickey raised his hands in defence. "It took me by surprise."
"Like a little girl."
"It was dark. I was covered in rats."
"Nine, maybe ten, years old. I'm picturing pigtails. Frilly skirt."
"Hello, can we focus?" Rose queried, though, she wasn't really asking. "Does anyone notice anything strange about this? Rats in school."
"Well, obviously they use them in biology lessons. They dissect them." Sarah Jane retorted. "Or maybe you haven't reached that bit yet. How old are you?"
"Excuse me, no one dissects rats in school anymore, they haven't done that for years. Where are you from, the Dark Ages?"
"Anyway, moving on!" The Doctor attempted to distract again, and EJ shook his head. "Everything started when Mr Finch arrived. We should go and check his office."
There was more tension than perhaps there should have been, considering Sarah Jane Smith was a stranger. Rose and Sarah Jane were ahead of the boys, but even so, they could hear everything that was being said. It wasn't nice, either, everything had an undertone of unnecessary malice.
"I don't mean to be rude or anything, but who exactly are you?" Rose queried.
"Sarah Jane Smith." She replied. "I used to travel with the Doctor."
Perhaps, Rose was enjoying herself a little too much as she hummed. "Oh, he's never mentioned you."
"Oh, I must have done." The Doctor shifted uncomfortably, beginning to pull on his ear. "Sarah Jane, I mention her all the time."
"Hold on... sorry... never."
"Nope." EJ shrugged. "Sorry."
"What? Not even once!" Her anger was clear. "He didn't mention me once?"
"Oh, mate." Mickey chuckled, wrapping an arm around the Doctor's shoulder as the women walked off, bickering. "The missus and the ex, welcome to every man's worst nightmare."
"Great, then what am I, chopped liver?" EJ mumbled, his head downturned.
The Doctor didn't seem to want to talk about it, so he used his sonic on the door for Mr Finch's office, pushing his way to the front. "Maybe those rats were food."
"Good for what?" Rose asked.
He opened the door to reveal bat-like creatures with elongated jaws and sharp protruding teeth. They were hanging from the ceiling, asleep. EJ caught sight of them, and grimaced. They were terrifying to say the least, and it looked like they had wings.
"Rose, you know how you used to think all the teachers slept in the school?" The Doctor repeated, opening the door for them all to look at it. "Well... they do."
Mickey took one look before yelping. "No way!"
EJ didn't like Mickey, but he did feel slightly bad for him. He must have been absolutely terrified, because the speed he ran at to get out of the school. Everyone else followed him, though he was the only one out of breath. They were all used to it by now.
"I am not going back in there." Mickey breathed, heavily. "No way."
"What about the teachers?" Rose questioned the Doctor, finally having the chance as they stood in the cold.
"Since you arrived, you brought with you seven new teachers, four dinner ladies and a nurse. Thirteen. Thirteen big bat people. Come on."
"Come on?" Mickey scoffed as they had already turned back towards the school. "You've got to be kidding."
"I need the Tardis to analyse that oil from the kitchen."
"I might be able to help you there." Sarah Jane spoke up, surprising herself. "I've got something to show you."
Rose pulled a face as they were guided towards Sarah Jane's mint coloured car. EJ didn't know enough about vehicles to understand if it was a nice car or not. He did know that she was hiding something in her boot, however. Beneath a tartan blanket was hidden some sort of box shape.
The Doctor leant over an removed the blanket to reveal what seemed to be a metal dog. The brightest grin crossed his face as he exclaimed. "K9!"
EJ almost burst out laughing on the spot. "K9?"
"EJ Thompson, Rose Tyler, Mickey Smith, allow me to introduce K9. Well, K9 mark 3, to be precise."
"Why does he look so... disco?" Rose raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed.
"Oi! Listen, in the year 5000 this was cutting edge. What's happened to him?"
Sarah Jane shrugged. "One day, he just... nothing."
The Doctor was obviously upset about the state of the metal dog, which only made it all the funnier for EJ. "Didn't you try and get him repaired?"
"It's not like getting parts for a Mini Metro. Besides, the technology inside him could rewrite human science. I couldn't show him to anyone."
"What's the nasty lady done to you?" He stroked K9 like he was real, alive and moving. "Hey?"
"No offence," Rose began, but it was clear she didn't mean it. "But can you just stop petting for a minute? Never mind the tin dog, we're busy."
There was a cafe across the road from the school and it's carpark. The Doctor carried K9 all the way over there just so he might fix it. Sarah Jane sat with him as the others were left to fend for themselves.
It was like being a child again. There was something, or someone, better, which meant he was once again pushed aside. Even if he knew it wasn't like that, it was how it felt. EJ was delicate, and this was like teetering a porcelain plate on the edge of a cliff.
He'd pulled out an old copy of Romeo and Juliet, sitting at the far table. It was easily his favourite by Shakespeare, albeit the basic choice. There was something about love and passion when it is forbidden, when two completely different, warring sides can put everything aside because of what they feel.
He was pulled from that world the moment Mickey and Rose sat with him. The man had tea whilst she had chips. EJ didn't know how they could eat so late at night.
When Mickey sat, he was halfway finished his sentence. "...but the truth is he's just like any other bloke."
"You don't know what you're talking about." Rose said, shaking her head.
"Maybe not." The man shrugged, nonchalantly. "But if I were you, I'd go easy on the chips."
EJ was glad the Doctor beckoned him over, because staying with the others would clearly result in a headache. "How thin are your hands?"
He dropped his book to the table, and showed the Doctor. "Mighty thin."
"Right, then. Put your hand here." The Doctor took his hand and placed it between two panels. "And don't move."
Mockingly, EJ taunted. "I won't."
Sarah Jane seemed to sigh with every thought. "I thought of you on Christmas Day. This Christmas just gone, great big spaceship overhead, I thought, oh yeah, bet he's up there."
"Right on top of it, yeah."
Tentatively, she asked. "And Rose?"
The Doctor nodded. "She was there too."
However, that was the last straw for EJ. "I'm sorry, but who do you think I am?"
Sarah Jane was obviously taken aback by his abruptness, and halted. "Excuse me?"
"To the Doctor." He clarified. "Who do you think I am?"
Clearly, she hadn't even given him enough thought to work that much out. It was enough to fuel his anger, and his hatred, and just how fed up he really was. "I don't know, a friend of Rose's... one of the teachers at the school being dragged along?"
"How old do you think I am?" EJ scoffed. "I'm not enough to be a teacher. I'm only 21."
She seemed surprised. "You're 21?"
His words were like venom as he spat them from his lips. "Thought you'd know that, considering you know who my father is, yeah?"
"Well, there are quite a lot of you..."
"Ha!" He couldn't believe his ears. "Which one did you get me mixed up with, huh? The dead, the blind or the cripple?"
"I'm..." Sarah Jane was lost for words, as so she should have been. "I'm sorry."
"No one thinks of me the same as Rose, and okay, I get it. I'm not like her. I haven't been here as long as her, or you, but that doesn't mean I don't deserve to be treated the same way."
When he finally looked to the Doctor, he was grinning, much wider than EJ had been expecting. "Are you done now?"
"Yes." He responded, sheepishly. "Can I move my hand now?"
The Doctor took a hold of it again, and pressed it to another section. "Just there."
"Did I do something wrong?" Sarah Jane asked, eventually. "Because you never came back for me, you just dumped me."
"I told you. I was called back home, and in those days, humans weren't allowed."
"I waited for you." She said. "I missed you."
The Doctor just offered a small smile. "Oh, you didn't need me. You were getting on with your life."
"You were my life." It wasn't something the Doctor seemed to know; he was oblivious to so many things. "You know what the most difficult thing was? Coping with what happens next, or what doesn't happen next. You took me to the furthest reaches of the galaxy, you showed me supernovas, intergalactic battles and then you just dropped me back on Earth. How could anything compare to that?"
"All those things you saw, you want me to apologise for that?"
"No, but we get a taste of that splendour and then we have to go back!" EJ hadn't even thought of it like that. One day, the Doctor would take him home, and that would be the end of it.
"Look at you," The Doctor attempted to sooth her. "You were investigating. You found that school. You were doing what you always did."
"You could have come back." She spat, angrily, but EJ didn't feel like he should be there. His hand was still pressed against K9, so he didn't seem to have a choice.
The Doctor paused. "I couldn't."
"Why not?" They looked to one another, and they just knew... "It wasn't Croydon, where you dropped me off, it wasn't Croydon."
"Where was it?"
"Aberdeen."
EJ snorted as a clueless look spread across his face. "Right. That's next to Croydon, isn't it?" Then, the mechanistic parts were whirring, altering the mood. "Oh, right, now we're in business. EJ, you can move your hand now."
K9's head moved up. "Master."
"He recognises me!" This look of pure joy and glee crossed his face.
"Affirmative."
The Doctor beckoned the others over. "Rose, give us the oil."
He was passed a small glass jar, which the Doctor opened and smeared over his fingers. "I wouldn't touch it, though, that dinner lady got all scorched."
"I'm no dinner lady." The Doctor retorted, half a smirk on his face. "And I don't often say that."
K9 pushed a rubber sucker from his head, which the Doctor transferred the oil over. He seemed excited, if for nothing than to see his old pet in action. EJ found it odd, but he didn't say anything. He'd just shouted at the Doctor's new friend.
"Here we go. Come on boy, here we go."
"Oil. Ex, ex, ex... extract, ana, ana... analysing."
"Listen to him, man," Mickey laughed hysterically. "That's a voice."
Sarah Jane retorted. "Careful, that's my dog."
"Confirmation of analysis. Substance is Krilitane oil."
Whilst it was gibberish to the rest of them, the Doctor knew what it meant. "They're Krilitanes."
"Is that bad?" Rose asked, her tone not exactly happy.
"Very. Think how bad things could possibly be and add another suitcase of bad."
"And what are Krilitanes?" Sarah Jane queried.
"They're a composite race. Just like your culture is a mixture of traditions from all sorts of countries, people you've invaded or been invaded by, you've got bits of vikings, bits of France, bits of whatever, the Krilitanes are the same, an amalgam of races they've conquered. But they take physical aspects as well. The cherry pick the best bits from the people they destroy. That's why I didn't recognise them. The last time I saw Krilitanes they looked just like us except with really long necks."
Rose raised an eyebrow. "What are they doing here?"
"It's the children." The Doctor told them as much as he knew. "They're doing something to the children."
Now that K9 was fully functioning, when he was set on the ground, he could move by himself. Mickey and Sarah Jane walked back to her car, packing him away for the night. The others took a little bit longer to leave the cafe; the minute that they left was the minute the night was over.
Rose seemed to be thinking more about what the Doctor had been saying than EJ. Then again, she'd yet to explode. It would be interesting when she did...
"How many of us have there been travelling with you?" She asked, her face sort of dropping at the thought.
The Doctor looked back at her, almost confused. "Does it matter?"
"Yeah," Rose retorted. "It does if I'm just the latest in a long line."
They stopped walking as his face scrunched. "As opposed to what?"
"I thought you and me were..." There was obviously something she couldn't say, and he couldn't understand, and yet, EJ knew exactly what she meant. "I obviously got it wrong. I've been to the year 5 billion, right, but this, now this is really seeing the future, you just leave us behind. Is that what you're going to do to me?"
"No," The Doctor shook his head, looking her straight in the eye. Suddenly, there was a sinking in EJ's stomach. "Not to you."
"But Sarah Jane, you were that close to her once, and now... you never even mention her. Why not?"
"I don't age. I regenerate." His freckled face looked suddenly tired and sorrowful. "But humans decay. You wither and you die. Imagine watching that happen to someone you..."
"What, Doctor?"
EJ didn't want to listen, but he could never get far enough away. "You can spend the rest of your life with me... but I can't spend he rest of mine with you. I have to live on. Alone. That's the curse of the Time Lords."
The Thompson boy wanted to hug him as tightly as he could, only, there wasn't time. There was an unholy screech which sounded like the one from inside the school. When they looked up, they found a Krilitane sat on the roof.
It lunged towards them, diving as it clawed, and yet, it never touched. Clearly, it was only meant as a warning, and a warning it was.
"Was that a Krilitane?" Sarah Jane asked, though it was obvious that it was.
"It didn't even touch her," Rose marvelled, seeing that every one of them came out unscathed. "Just flew off. What did it do that for?"
They did go back into the school, but only to retrieve the Tardis. They stayed awake for a short time, but Rose soon excused herself to bed. It had been a long day, and rightly so. EJ should have done the same, but he didn't.
He still had things to say.
EJ bounded towards the Doctor and wrapped his arms firmly around his neck. It was a tight hug, and one that was necessary. For once, he was able to breathe, without some awful thought in his mind.
"I don't know who I am to you." He whispered softly, glad that they didn't look to each other, otherwise he would never have said it. "And I know you probably don't want to think about it, and that's fine. You love Rose, I get it, I know what love feels like, so I'll be out of your hair as soon as this is dealt with. I'll leave you two alone. Go back..."
He didn't even get the chance to finish his short speech as the Doctor interrupted him. "No."
"No?" EJ stuttered, confused. "I thought that's what you'd want."
"You thought I wanted you to leave?"
Tears pricked his eyes as they pulled back to really look at one another. EJ had seen him before, but never truly appreciated this new face, and this new body. He was beautiful, and soft, and new.
"No, of course not." The Doctor's eyes found his with clear intent. It helped that they were closed in height now. "I want you to stay. I want you to stay forever."
"What about dying?" The words came so easily, EJ hardly knew he'd spoken them. "You said to Rose..."
"Stop worrying about Rose." The Doctor smiled and pulled him back in for a warm hug. "Okay?"
"What?"
"You're my best friend." He sighed into the Thompson boy's shoulder. "And right now, I need my best friend."
EJ knew what the Doctor was feeling, and he understood perfectly. It was the reason he didn't argue. However, he could help but feel a little bit disappointed.
There was so much he wanted to say, and despite it, nothing came out. He wanted the Doctor to say something, he just didn't know what yet.
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Disclaimer!!!
I do not own Doctor Who, it's characters and original storylines. The only things I do own are my own characters, my addition to the series and my own storylines. Any similarities to real life are purely coincidental.