𝔖𝔞𝔫𝔠𝔱𝔲𝔞𝔯𝔶 𝔅𝔞𝔰𝔢 𝔖𝔦𝔵, 𝔎𝔯𝔬𝔭 𝔗𝔬𝔯
𝔜𝔢𝔞𝔯 4221
Climbing through ventilation shafts was not apart of EJ's space and time travel bucket list, but it definitely should have been. It was one of the most exhilarating experiences of his life. Only, it might have been greater if it wasn't forced by Satan possessing the Ood.
As they jumped into the shafts, Rose was pulling a face. And rather quickly, EJ realised why, because there was a smell growing in the confined space, and it was not pleasant.
"God, it stinks." She complained, and EJ nodded at her, agreeing. "You alright?"
Danny seemed to realise that she was looking at him, so he smiled sarcastically. "Yeah, laughing."
Finally, Toby jumped down and joined them, which was speeding everything up. Mr Jefferson wasn't going to be too far behind. At last, they would actually get somewhere, and find a way to help the Doctor.
"Which way do we go?" Danny demanded an answer.
"Just go straight ahead, keep going till I say so."
They did what was asked of them, but it was ever so slightly uncomfortable. They had to crawl through the tunnels, and the metal hit against their knees. EJ was struggling with his hands a little; not only that, but Rose's bum was in his face.
It was the same for everyone, but Rose seemed to be the one to comment on it. "Not your best angle, Danny."
"Oi," He warned her. "Stop it!"
Toby was behind EJ, and he shrugged."I dunno, could be worse."
"Look, Toby," The Thompson boy almost paused his movements with a sigh before realising he needed to continue. "If you wanted a snog, all you had to do was ask."
"Straight on until you find Junction 7.1." Zack interrupted their rather inappropriate conversation, thankfully. "Keep breathing. I'm feeding you air. I've got you."
It didn't take very long to get to that first junction, but it wasn't going to be the same for them all. However, only after they stopped for the breath that EJ realised how fast he was moving. His lungs were gasping for air. It seemed he hadn't taken a single breath since he'd started crawling.
"We're at 7.1, sir." Danny half-huffed into the comms.
"Okay, I've got you." Zack informed them; he was doing well to keep his cool. "I'm just aerating the next section."
"Getting kinda cramped, sir. Can't you hurry it up?"
"I'm working on half power here."
"You're doing fine, Zack." EJ called back; positive reinforcement was supposed to work for things like these. "Just do what you have to do."
Mr Jefferson huffed from the back. "Stop complaining."
"Mr Jefferson said stop complaining." Rose relayed back up to the front of their group.
Danny smiled, condescendingly. "I heard."
"He heard." She sighed in response.
"Okay," Toby tapped his feet anxiously as he curled up slightly. "The airs getting a bit thin."
Rose threw her head back. "He's complaining now."
Jefferson grunted. "I heard!"
"I don't want to be here anymore." EJ grumbled, sighing. He wasn't a great fan of small spaces, or strangers. It must have been ironic that it felt a little like hell. "I want to go back to the Tardis."
"We can't. She's gone." The Tyler girl retorted, obviously fed up with them all. "God, Danny is that you?"
She'd pulled a face, to which he looked fairly embarrassed about. "I'm not exactly happy!"
"I'm just moving the air, I've got to oxygenate the next section. Now, keep calm, or it's gonna feel worse."
Suddenly, there was a clattering inside of the tunnels, which took them all off guard. Danny even jumped a little from his place beside the partition. Mr Jefferson positioned himself to cover them all, just in case what had found them was hostile. The gun was in his hands, because they knew it was going to be an Ood. It was all that it could be.
"What was that?" Danny clung to the partition begging it to open.
"Mr Jefferson," Rose's voice began to rise. "What was that?"
"What was that noise?" Toby started to shake again.
Mr Jefferson spoke into the comms. "Captain, what was that?"
"I don't want to state the obvious," EJ said, backing himself up ever so slightly. "But there's not much else that could make that kind of racket."
"The Junction in Habitation Five's been opened. It must be the Ood. They're in the tunnels."
Danny hit the partition. "Well, open the gate!"
Zack didn't appreciate the way he was being talked to. "I've got to get the air in!"
"Just open it, sir!"
"Where are they?" Rose was attempting to make sense of it. "Are they close?"
"I don't know. I can't tell. I can't see them. The computer doesn't register Ood as proper lifeforms."
She scoffed. "Who's idea was that?"
"Ethics, Danny." EJ scolded. "It's supposed to be your department."
He was ignoring them, banging on the partition, willing them through. "Open the GATE!"
Thankfully, Zack's button-pressing magic came to the rescue and stopped Danny from having a panic attack. They power crawled through the tunnels, faster than before, because now there was a jeopardy to it.
"Danny, turn left. Immediate left."
"The Ood, sir, can't you stop them, cut off the air?" Mr Jefferson asked, but he was lagging behind, protecting them.
"Not without cutting off yours." Zack said, apologetically. "Danny, turn right. Go right... Go faster, they're gonna catch up!"
"I'll maintain defensive position."
EJ looked back, and found the older man stopping in his tracks, but he didn't say a thing. It wasn't his decision to make. But he couldn't keep moving forwards, because Rose had halted. "You can't stop!"
"Miss Tyler," Jefferson scarcely looked back. "That's my job, you've got yours, now see to it!"
"You heard what he said," Toby hissed, pushing at EJ's back. "Now shift!"
Reluctantly, Rose moved on towards Danny, and EJ followed in her stead. It didn't take too long to get to the next junction, but the issues were the same. They were still being chased, and Mr Jefferson was too far behind them.
"8.2. Open 8.2." It was no secret that Danny was the most frightened out of them all. At least, he didn't mind letting it show on his face. "Zack, open 8.2!"
"I've got to aerate it!"
"Open it now!"
"I'm trying."
"Jesus, Danny." EJ groaned, rubbing his red hands as they ached. "Give us all headaches as well, why don't you?"
He didn't reply, but hit his arms against the barrier to the next section. It was violent, this time. Rose attempted to calm him. "Danny, stop it, that's not helping!"
"Zack!" Toby warned, his voice cracking. "Get it open!"
"Jefferson, I've got to open 8.2 by closing 8.1." He almost sounded frustrated. "You've got to get past the junction! Now move! That's an order! Now, move!"
It was the sort of thing that made you want to stay quiet. Whilst EJ hadn't known Mr Jefferson very long, nor had he tried to befriend him in any way, he didn't want the man to die on behalf of him. EJ could do his own dying, if and when it was necessary. There was no way that all of them would be able to escape if Mr Jefferson was staying so far away.
"I'm gonna lose oxygen, Jefferson, I can't stop the automatics!"
Then, suddenly, the door in front of Danny began to rise, and he sighed in relief. "That's it, come on, come on!"
When it was high enough for them to crawl through, they did, with Jefferson still completely out of sight. EJ was conflicted. Part of him felt like Toby should go past him, and he would wait, but it would do no good.
"Danny, then left. Head for 9.2. That's the last one." Zack seemed relieved for them, but was still harsh to the elder man. "Jefferson, you've got to move faster! John! Move! MOVE!"
Rose called back for him. "Mr Jefferson!"
It caused EJ to stall, and Toby to push his back. "Keep moving!"
"Oi." The Thompson boy hissed as Rose crawled on. "Hands off!"
It took hardly any time for them to reach the junction, but it was never the time to say. That was, because the door had closed at the other side, and they'd yet to hear any news until the comms rattled.
"Regret to inform you, sir, I was a bit slow." Mr Jefferson said, eventually, solemn and out of breath. "Not so fast these days."
Zack sounded as if there were a lump in his throat. "I can't open 8.1, John. Not without losing air for the others."
"And quite right too, sir. I think I bought them a little time."
"There's nothing I can do, John. I'm sorry."
"You've done enough, sir. Made a good Captain under the circumstances." Jefferson still sounded breathless, but at peace. "Might I ask, if you can't add oxygen to this section, can you speed up the process of its removal."
"I don't understand." Zack paused. "What d'you mean?"
"Well, if I might choose my manner of departure, sir, lack of air seems to be more natural than... well, let's say, death by Ood. I'd appreciate it, sir."
There was silence again. EJ didn't know how he was supposed to cope with this. He was going to hear a man die. That... it didn't sit well with him at all.
Eventually, Zack spoke again. "Godspeed, Mr Jefferson."
"Thank you, sir."
It was hard to know when it happened, because the lack of noise was deafening. Only when the captain responded to no one in particular did they know what had happened. "Report, Officer John Maynard Jefferson, PKD, deceased, with honours, 43K 2.1."
"Zack." Danny called for him, voice hoarse. "We're at the final junction. 9.2. And, uh, if my respects could be on record, he saved our lives."
"Noted. Opening 9.2."
Nothing was going to be easy. The minute that the door opened, they could see the figure of the Ood reaching out to get them. EJ froze. They couldn't go forwards and they couldn't go backwards. This was a trap that seemed impossible to get out of.
Danny was the first to see it, but Rose was the first to scream. "Lower 9.2! Zack! Lower it!"
"Back! Back! Back!"
"Go, Toby!" EJ pushed him.
"We can't go back!" He retaliated. "8.2's sealed off, we're stuck!"
Rose looked around briefly, and it didn't take her long to come up with another solution. "Come on!" She called for the boys to follow her as the grate above them was pushed up. "Up!"
She went first, Danny grabbed her legs to help her. EJ offered him a knee up before pulling himself into the small corridor. He was glad that he'd been working on his upper body strength, because he didn't want to have to rely on anyone else. This was his burden to deal with.
"Come on! Toby, come on!" Rose called to him, offering a hand. "Toby, get out of there!"
"Help me! Oh my God!" He practically screamed to them, terrified by the Ood. "Help me!"
When he was pulled into the same level as them, they were given only half a minute to breathe before one of the doors began to open again. They had to run the other way. It wasn't as if they had many options.
"It's this way!" Danny guided them, knowing Ood Habitation better than any of them.
However, it didn't matter how fast they ran, because there always seemed to be something in the way; the Ood were everywhere, and edging closer. Even Zack was having issues. "Hurry it up!"
"Get it in!" Rose shouted at Danny as they entered the room.
Tony scolded. "Danny, get it done!"
"Danny!" EJ warned, skeptically. "Come on!"
"Transmit!"
"I'm trying!" He said, exasperated. "I'm trying. I'm getting it in..."
Since the base was somewhere completely new to Rose and EJ, the latter had forgotten there was a pit filled with Ood. They had started to climb the stairs. All they seemed to do was chase them around, and EJ backed towards Rose, and grabbed onto her arm, slightly worried.
"Danny!" Rose warned this time, gripping EJ just as tightly. "Get that thing transmitting."
The Thompson boy frowned, eyeing the creatures in front of them. "I'm not dying by Ood."
When Danny put the memory stick into the machine, he pressed a button. Then, a high pitched frequency rang out through the air. The Ood held onto their heads and collapsed to the ground; this wasn't humane, but it was what they needed to do to survive. That had to be worth it, otherwise EJ didn't know how he was going to live with himself.
"You did it!" Rose jumped up and down with glee, bringing EJ into a hug. "We did it!"
"Yes!" Danny threw his head back in sheer and utter relief. "Oh, yeah!"
Everyone embraced, and for a moment, it was like everything was alright in the world. And then, it all came back to EJ, and he realised that he needed to get back on focus. The Doctor was still somewhere unknown, and his heart was racing unlike anything else.
He was in physical pain just knowing that there was a chance they'd never get to speak to him again. What would he have said anyway? That he missed the Doctor? That he wanted him to come back, that all he wanted was a hug, and the ability to say goodbye if that really was their only chance.
Rose picked up one of the comms devices and spoke in an elevated way. "Zack, we did it, the Ood are down! Now we've got to get the Doctor."
"On my way." Zack told them.
Now that the Ood were down, it was much easier to get back to the hold. There wasn't anything in their way as they ran as fast as they could. Rose beat EJ to the comms, and called out as quickly and loudly as she could.
"Doctor are you there?" There was so much hope in her voice, and so much pain. "Doctor? Ida? Can you hear me?"
"The comms are still down." Zack said as he joined them. "I can patch them through the central desk and boost the signal... just give me a minute."
It only took him a minute to press all the right buttons, and Rose tried to call for them again. "Doctor, are you there? Doctor? Ida? Can you hear me? Are you there, Doctor?"
The comms crackled, and EJ felt his heart stop, hoping that he could hear the Doctor. "He's gone."
"What d'you mean he's gone?"
"He fell." Ida said, and EJ could feel sick rising in his throat. "Into the Pit. I don't know how deep it is. Miles and miles and miles."
That was when the tears began to fall down his face. Just a few to begin with. And he wiped them away before anyone could see as Rose asked. "But... what do you mean he fell?"
"I couldn't stop him." She almost apologised, before speaking like it was almost comfort. "He said your name."
Zack took the com from her hands. "I'm sorry."
"Is EJ there?"
"Yes." He snatched the device from Zack without even thinking. "I'm here."
"He asked for you." She said, solemnly, and his breathing stuttered. "He wanted to tell you something."
"What?" He asked like a plea; it was the Doctor's last message, and it was for him. "What did he say?"
"I don't know, I'm sorry."
"You don't know?" EJ grit his teeth, eyes closing in dismay. "How? What happened? How can't you fucking know?"
"He said you'd know." Her sorrow only made it worse. "The Doctor. He said that you'd know."
That was a lie, and it was cryptic. There were so many things that the Doctor could have wanted him to know. It might have been a joke, or an anecdote of something from the past. Or maybe it was something more. If EJ thought about it anymore, his heart would surely break.
"Ida..." Zack told the woman, solemnly. "There's no way of reaching you. No cable, no backup, you're ten miles down. We can't get there."
"You should see this place, Zack." Her voice was light and airy. "It's beautiful. I wanted to discover things, and here I am."
"We've got to abandon the base. I'm declaring this mission unsafe. All we can do is make sure no one ever comes here again."
"But we'll never find out what it was."
Zack shrugged. "Maybe that's best."
"Yeah." Ida sighed in response.
"Officer Scott..."
"It's alright. Just go." She said, pausing ever so slightly. "Good luck."
It was like he didn't know what to say, so Zack mumbled a response before putting the reviver back down. "And you."
EJ was like a statue at first. He was looking at Rose, who was pacing, rubbing her face, having no idea what she was supposed to do. His eyes stung, and his heart ached. It was all still processing, and yet, Zack was handing out instructions left, right and centre.
"Danny, Toby, close down the feed links, get the retrotopes online. Then get to the rocket and strap yourselves in. We're leaving."
Rose planted her feet firmly. "I'm not going."
"I'm not either." EJ said in quick succession. "I'm not leaving her."
Zack furrowed his brows at them. "There's room for you both."
"No, I'm gonna wait for the Doctor." Her eyes were welling up at the thought. "Just like he'd wait for me."
"I'm sorry, but... he's dead."
"You've got no idea." EJ shook his head, uncomfortably. "He's unlike anyone in the universe."
"You don't know him. Cos he's not." She agreed. "I'm telling you, he's not... and even if he was, how could I leave him? All on his own, all the way down there? No, I'm gonna stay."
"Then... I apologise for this." Zack said, monotonously, catching them off guard. "Danny, Toby, make her secure."
"No! No! No! Stop! Stop!" Rose cried as the two men held onto her arms. "Let me go! GET OFF ME! I'm not leaving!"
EJ watched as a sedative was injected into her leg, and she fell limp. "I've lost too many people. I'm not leaving you behind. Let's get her on board." Then, he threw her over his shoulder, and began to move on. "EJ?"
"I can't..." The words came so easily, and yet, his voice was so hoarse, like he'd been crying for days. "I can't go. He said my name. He thought of me... before he fell he thought of me... I... he needs me."
"Toby," Zack summoned the boy. "You handle this."
Danny and the Captain moved on, but Toby stayed by his side, and placed a hand on his shoulder to comfort him. "He's gone."
"He can't be gone... not when... I..." It was like everything clicked into place. The Doctor was gone, for certain. "Oh God!"
Tears fell from his eyes like streams, forcing a loud sob from his lips. EJ couldn't breathe. It was an overwhelming feeling. The immense loss of the Doctor. He was alone now. He had Rose, but he was alone.
Toby guided him through one of the pathways, making sure he didn't decide to stay put. It was only because of his cooperation that he wasn't sedated. That would have only made everything worse.
There were Ood on the ground. At first, they were unmoving. Then, they started to twitch like the electrical elements had started to move around their brains again. They were coming back to life.
"Did that one just move?" Toby observed.
"It's the telepathic field." Danny said, unsure. "It's reasserting itself!"
"Move it!" Zack hurried them on. "Get to the rocket! Move!"
The rocket was an impressive thing, but EJ couldn't say that he'd taken much of it in. He and Rose had been sat in the back, Toby between them; Danny and Zack at the front doing the bulk of the driving. It was cramped. He didn't like it. He wanted the Tardis.
He wanted the Doctor.
"Dislocating B-Clamp, C-Clamp. Raising blu-nitro to maximum." Zack said, turning his gaze to the back. "Toby, how's the negapact feed line?"
"Clear, ready to go, sir." He breathed heavily. "Oh, for God sake, get us out of here!"
"Captain..." Danny warned as his gaze caught Rose stirring in her seat. EJ might have noticed sooner if he hadn't been staring out of the window into the blackness of the universe. "I think we're gonna have a problem passenger."
"Keep an eye on her."
When she came to, she was furious, and interrogating within seconds. "What did you...?"
"It's alright, Rose." Danny offered. "We're safe."
"Safe as we can be as a rocket near a black hole." EJ rolled his eyes, retorting. "Honestly, this isn't even real."
"I'm not going anywhere!" She screamed. "Get me out of this thing! Get me out!"
And then, Zack called out in his loudest voice. "And... LIFT OFF!"
There was an intense mixture of joy and terror as they called out, cheering for the rocket. Zack was doing the best job he was able, despite it being an uncomfortable experience, and was managing something that no one else had to deal with.
Rose didn't appreciate anything that was happening. She didn't even take into account that the Doctor would have rather them safe over everything, and this was the closest that they were going to get. He wouldn't want them suffering in pain. It was just simple thinking, really.
Eventually, she grabbed onto the blaster by her feet, and pointed it directly at Zack's head. "Take me back to the planet. Take me back!"
"Or what?"
"Or I'll shoot."
"Would you, though? Would you really? Is that what your Doctor would want?" Zack looked at her sorrowfully, and she dropped it by her feet once more. "I'm sorry, but it's too late anyway. Take a look outside. We can't turn back. And this is what the Doctor would have wanted, isn't that right?"
Toby began to giggle, which only set off Danny's nerves again. "What's the joke?"
"Just... we made it!" He sighed. "We escaped! We actually did it!"
Rose's eyes downturned. "Not all of us."
"We're not out of it yet." Zack warned them of their optimism. "We're still the first people in history to fly away from a black hole. Toby, read me the stats."
"Gravity funnel holding, sir. Ooh, it's holding!" There was something off putting about his behaviour, something not quite right. "Stats at 53, funnel stable at 66.5, hull pressure constant. Smooth as we can, sir. All the way back home. Co-ordinates set for Planet Earth."
"It doesn't make sense." She insisted. "We escaped, but there's a thousand ways it could've killed us. It could've ripped out the air, or, I don't know, burnt us, or anything, but it let us go... why? Unless it wanted us to escape."
"Please don't make it worse." EJ whispered as the stars grew further away, and new ones came closer. "This is already hell."
Toby just snapped at her. "Hey, Rose, do us a favour- shut up! Almost there... we're beyond the reach of the black hole in 40, 39..."
EJ wouldn't deny he'd thought about it; it all seemed to be going so well. More than half of them were surviving, which was better odds than they were given at the start. Even so, he didn't want to dwell.
He wasn't given the chance when a shudder engulfed the rocket, and everyone froze in place, like an icy chill had attacked them in summer. "What happened?" Danny whimpered. "What was that?"
"What's he doing?" Toby bellowed, suddenly having lost confidence. "What is he doing?"
"We've lost the funnel!" Zack cried out, helplessly. "Gravity collapse!"
Rose's eyebrows furrowed. "What does that mean?"
"We can't escape! We're heading straight for the black hole!"
"It's the planet." The Tyler girl whispered as she peered through the window by her side. "The planet's moving! It's falling."
Then, Rose screamed, and EJ turned his head, only to yelp in a similar way. It was Toby. He'd gone, because whatever had taken refuge inside of him, the Beast, or Satan, had eradicated his humanity. The runes covered over his skin, eyes piercing their shade of red.
"I am the rage and the bile and the ferocity! I am the Prince and the fool and the agony!"
"It's him!" Danny screamed. "It's him! It's Toby!"
"It's not him anymore." EJ countered, shifting so that he were as far away as his seat would allow. "He's gone."
"I am sin and the fear and the darkness!"
Zack shook his head, with other issues on his mind. "The ship's not stable!"
As Toby opened his mouth, fire expelled like he were a dragon. EJ hollered this time. "Jesus Christ!"
"What is he?" The Captain winced. "What the hell is he?"
"I shall never die! The thought of me is forever! In the bleeding hearts of men, in their vanity and obsession and lust! Nothing shall ever destroy me! Nothing!"
"Nothing?" EJ almost laughed as he watched Rose pick up the blaster, smirk upon his lips. If there were nothing else he could do, he could do this. "Think again, sunshine."
"Go to hell." She pointed the blaster up to the windscreen and shot it.
EJ unfastened his seatbelt, and they watched as Toby flew into space, screaming, the physical body only taking a moment or so to die. They had to hold on for dear life, however, as the oxygen field had been broken, they would have mere seconds. Even if this was the end, then it would be worth it.
"Emergency shields!" Zack called as a black cover descended. "We've still lost the gravity funnel. We can't escape the black hole!"
"But we stopped him." Rose replied. "That's what the Doctor would have done."
"Some victory... we're going in."
"The planet's lost orbit! It's falling!" Then, Danny looked to the two strangers with a complete apology. "The planet's gone. I'm sorry."
"Accelerating." Zack warned them, mumbling to himself. "I did my best, but, hey... first human beings to fall inside a black hole. How about that? History."
EJ knew fear like the back of his hand. This induced a state of terror, and yet, all he could think of were his family. They would never know what had happened to him. His demise would be lost to time, ripped apart by the black hole, ceasing his existence.
The further they fell, the more the ship rattled and bounced around. Rose's eyes were wired shut, and EJ reached over the empty seat to take her hand in his own. This was something they didn't have to go through alone.
And then, just when EJ was expecting everything to end, the rattling stopped. It felt like suspension in the air, smooth sailing, calm waters. It felt wrong.
Rose sounded unsure as she raised the question on everyone's lips. "What happened?"
"We're turning." Zack told them in disbelief. "We're turning around. We're turning away!"
Just as EJ was about to query how and why, the communicator hissed. The boy might have cried out of relief if he was not so intent on listening to everything he said. "Sorry about the hijack, Captain. This is the good ship Tardis. Now, first things first, have you got a Rose Tyler onboard?"
"I'm here! It's me!" She raised her hand like an overachieving child in class, rubbing her face clean. "Oh my God! Where are you?"
"I'm just towing you home!" There was so much joy that EJ couldn't understand. "Gravity shmavity! My people practically invented black holes. Well, in fact, they did. Couple of minutes, we'll be nice and safe. Now, have you got an EJ Thompson onboard too?"
An unwanting scoff left his lips. "I'm going to kill you when I get off this ship!"
"I'm going to take that as a yes." He could practically see the smile on the Doctor's face. "Oh, and Captain, can we do a swap? Say, if you give me EJ Thompson and Rose Tyler, I'll give you Ida Scott. How about that?"
Zack's lips grew into a smile immediately, partially in shock at the knowledge. "She's alive?"
Danny exclaimed. "Thank God!"
"Yeah, bit of oxygen starvation, but she should be alright... I couldn't save the Ood. I only had time for one trip. They went down with the planet." The Tardis beeped. "Ah! Entering clear space. End of the line. Mission closed."
The Tardis had landed in the hold, which Danny lead them to. Rose ran the whole way, and when she ran into the ship, she didn't stop until she was in the Doctor's arms. They grinned, and chuckled, like it was more than just a reunion.
EJ stood by the door. He stepped inside, and stood like a statue. There were too many things on his mind for benevolent greetings. The Doctor noticed immediately as they shared a look, knowing that he wouldn't be as easily forgiven by his male companion.
He pressed a button on the console. "Zack, we'll be off now. Have a good trip home. And the next time you get curious about something... oh, what's the point? You'll just go blundering in. The human race!"
"But Doctor... what did you find down there?" Ida asked. "That creature... what was it?"
"I don't know." He pondered, absently. "Never did decipher that writing. But that's good! Day I know everything, might as well stop."
"What do you think it was?" Rose directed her gaze upwards to him. "Really?"
"I think... we beat it. That's good enough for me."
She paused, almost afraid to say what was on her mind, but did so anyway. "It said I was going to die in battle."
"Then it lied." The Doctor told her, sincerely. "Right! Onwards! Upwards! Ida... see you again, maybe."
"I hope so."
"And thanks boys!" Rose called to the others. They might have thought EJ rude for not doing the same, but he could like with that.
"Hang on, though, Doctor." Ida stopped them from leaving, and asked only one more thing. "You never really said... you three... who are you?"
"Oh..." He spoke with a proud smile, gaze latching onto EJ as the Tardis began to fly away, the comms linked only long enough to hear. "The stuff of legend."
There was a course previously set, and it went without saying that Earth was where they all wanted to be. Even if none of them had yet to speak it.
That was when the Doctor finally moved around to the front of the console, so that he were facing EJ with his back to Rose. The Thompson boy was yet to stray from the door. It made them all uncomfortable, unsure of where it was heading.
"Go on, then." The Doctor said, shoving his hands in his trouser pockets. "Say what you've got to say."
EJ marched forwards, a purpose in his movements. Nothing, not heaven, nor earth, nor angel, nor beast could have stopped him. In that moment, he was the most powerful human in all of existence.
His palm harshly hit against the Doctor's cheek, the freckled skin reddening almost immediately. There was a fury which could not be denied. The Doctor's hand touched the skin, his brows furrowing in complete and utter confusion. It might have been expected of others, but not of EJ.
Their eyes were locked again.
There was more hidden away than he was expecting. More than furious anger. More than morose heartbreak.
"What was that for?" The Doctor exclaimed, clearly upset by the action.
EJ didn't answer him. He didn't see the point. Instead, he surged forwards, grabbed the Doctor's face between his hands, and pulled their faces together.
Their lips were pressed to one another, moving with an insane furious passion. EJ had never known a thing like it, and he was sure he never would again. The only thing was, the Doctor was kissing back. His hands had latched into the Doctor's spiky hair as his arms flailed around, unsure of where he could put them. They ended up at the back of EJ's head, keeping him close.
EJ only wished he'd waited a moment to see the Doctor's face beforehand, because when he pulled away, it was the most beautiful sight. A disheveled handsome man with freckled skin, his hair all a mess, and lips swollen from kissing. He could only imagine the way he looked.
The Doctor looked lost on what to do when his hands afterward. EJ was almost proud that he'd rendered such a confident person so confused, and so lost.
EJ just put his hand back on the Doctor's cheek, and let his thumb stroke the space he'd slapped. He was feeling guilty about it.
"I think that explains it pretty well," EJ said, smugly. "Don't you?"
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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.