𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔗𝔞𝔯𝔡𝔦𝔰 ℑ𝔫𝔱𝔢𝔯𝔦𝔬𝔯
𝔇𝔢𝔢𝔭 𝔖𝔭𝔞𝔠𝔢
EJ Thompson had only ever attended two funerals in his entire twenty one years of life, and he could only remember the most recent. The first was his sisters. The second belonged to his father.
He wasn't the sort of person who ever associated themselves with sadness; he'd made it a whole portion of his personality. EJ was as bright and bubbly as they came. His excitement made people laugh which was the very thing he strove for. After a childhood filled with horror, this was the very least he deserved.
That first funeral had taken place when he was but six months old. His sister, Grace Murphy (née Thompson) had married her childhood sweetheart, Lewis, aged sixteen after birthing their son, Michael, only nine months prior to that. The very same day that they was wed, both husband and wife were killed tragically in a car crash.
Three weeks later, they were buried in a shared plot. A gravestone was left for the living to respect, but EJ hadn't visited it as much as he should have. Remembering her wasn't exactly something he could attest to.
EJ had never know Grace, not really, but Tate had spoken of her all the time. When she died, he had been ten, as opposed to Isaac being six, so his memories were the clearest. Though, even his stories were a little vague. She was lost to their lack of communication. None of the brothers spoke anymore, and for good reason.
In their own time, each of them had come to terms with their conditions. They were forced to adapt to the world around them, because nothing else would mould to fit their shape. It had taken such a long time that it had started to feel normal. They could live with the stares, and the passing comments, because they were nothing compared to the previous pain.
However, after healing, they were delicate. The moment they lay their eyes on one another again, every ounce of hard work would be for nothing. They were the few who could break through the facade and see each other for who they really were. The remains of broken experiments, and not a thing less.
When they were small, they hadn't been allowed to talk about Grace. The minute she fell pregnant whilst in the midst of experimentation, their mother had saved her, and Scott had never forgiven either of them for it. If her name was so much as mentioned, or she was alluded to in any context, all hell broke loose. A punishment usually followed in operation form, anyhow.
The second funeral had been that of his father's, with a much smaller attendance. It was only the five of them; not even Scott's own little brother wanted to wish him well on his way. He was a man with enemies, and not even they wanted to waste their time on him, which said more than words ever could.
Then, EJ hadn't long turned fifteen, and he remembered it to be the last time his entire family had all been in one place. Six years was ever such a long time.
His mother did not cry that day. EJ had always assumed that she was too embarrassed. It had taken him another year or so to realise the extent of her wounds. Though her body bore no physical scars, she was not unwounded. She must have been drained from the strain Scott placed on her.
Michael Murphy was only slightly older than he, and in truth, EJ knew very little about him. The moment he understood the story of his parents, he began to distance himself, carefully. If the others had been able, they would have followed in his footsteps: their bodies were confining after all.
Tate and Isaac were both older, and by then, they had moved on completely. His eldest brother even had a wife and children which seemed so grown up at the time. It was for the best that they stayed in their separate lives. After all, if EJ had spent time with them, they may have changed him, unbeknownst to them. His life could have changed drastically.
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."
There had scarcely been time to see Josh, but they had made themselves a small moment to ensure his safety. This was after comforting the Doctor, who was still yet to cry. When he did, EJ assumed he would be inconsolable. However, there was no way that they could have left without that small time together. His entire body felt on fire as he had endured the time apart.
EJ had thought, for quite some time, that he could never be paternal in any way. He had received such little love and affection during his childhood, he was at a loss as how he could convey any of this to a baby. It hadn't made any sense to him, when he had been born, it all made sense. EJ had never not loved Josh, which had made it all so much easier.
When they finally let one another go, the Doctor allowed EJ to come and go as he pleaded. The Thompson boy changed into his pyjamas only after grabbing his journal and a pen; it was the only healthy way he could think to express the way that he was feeling. Then, he sat himself in the beams, and watched as the Doctor worked on the console.
From the moment that they had lost Rose, the Doctor had been searching for a way to say goodbye. For days, he had been looking for that perfect space, that last gap in the universe, and finally, he had found it. It was about to close, and it was their only chance.
The Tardis would use all of the power she had inside of her to send the message through. The message was her name. Rose. The Doctor stood there, and he waited for the signal to latch on.
It took a short while, maybe an hour or so, and in that time, it was almost completely silent apart from the repetition of her name. EJ joined in himself on the off chance that they got through, but he gave up after a while. He had never seen the Doctor so determined and so quiet, it was almost scary.
There was a silent sigh of relief when it turned out exactly the way that they wanted it to.
Only now, EJ realised that this was a mistake. It had seemed like a great idea when it was first mentioned, but now, overwhelmed with emotions, he wanted nothing less than to be far away. He wasn't in the right mindset to do anything which might hold any weight. This was a final send off, so to speak, and EJ would leave that to the Doctor. After all, the woman he love would be gone, forever.
There were times when the Thompson boy forgot that the Tardis was inside of his head. The telepathic field wormed into his mind and translated everything. However, there must have been more to it than that, because the moment that the signal broke through, EJ and the Doctor could see the same thing. EJ could see Rose inside of the Tardis.
Albeit, she was quite ghostly, pale... translucent, but that didn't matter because she was there. Suddenly, EJ was glad that she couldn't seem him from the beams, because tears fell freely from his ocean eyes. As a remarkably in empathetic person at the best of times, this almost made him feel like someone new.
Perhaps, this might have been the day that EJ was reborn. After so much death, it could only have been right. Although, he was stubborn, so perhaps not.
A smile flickered on Rose's lips, and it was almost like she was in the Tardis with them, just like always. "Where are you?"
"Inside the Tardis." The Doctor gulped; he wasn't ready to speak, it seemed. "There's one tiny little gap in the universe left, just about to close. And it takes a lot of power to send this projection- we're in orbit around a supernova. I'm burning up a sun just to say goodbye."
"You look like a ghost."
"Hold on."
He pointed the sonic towards the centre console and as he held in the button, and the buzzing began. Suddenly, she became much clearer. She looked like a person now, her presence completely known and realised. EJ could only assume that the Doctor had been as pasty as her beforehand.
Rose stepped forwards, tentatively, her hand reaching as close to his face as she could manage. "Can I t-"
"I'm still just an image." It sounded like he regretted telling her. "No touch."
"Can't you come through properly?"
"The whole thing would fracture." EJ could hear every break in his voice, every little inflection which proved how upset he truly was. "Two universes would collapse."
Still, she managed to find her smile. "So?"
Perhaps, the Doctor could see more than EJ could, because he seemed to look around. "Where are we? Where did the gap come out?"
"We're in Norway."
"Norway!" He exclaimed. "Right."
"About fifty miles out of Bergen." Rose hummed, pushing some hair from her face. It must have been windy, wherever they were. "It's called Darlig Ulv Stranden."
"Dalek?" The Doctor's eyes widened with confusion.
"Darlig." She corrected without a second having gone by. Clearly, nothing at all had changed. "It's Norwegian for bad. This translates as Bad Wolf Bay."
EJ couldn't help but smile at that. It seemed that whatever they did, wherever it was, Bad Wolf would never cease to leave them alone. She might have known, subconsciously, that this was her fate. Perhaps, this was the way she left the universe, with one more chance to say goodbye.
"How long have we got?"
The Doctor sniffled, and EJ wiped his eyes again. "About two minutes."
Rose was crying, but she was trying to hide it from them as she dabbed the skin beneath her eyes in the hope it went unnoticed. "I can't think of what to say!"
"You've still got Mr Mickey, then?"
"There's five of us now." She cleared her throat, standing slightly straighter. "Mum, Dad, Mickey and the baby."
The Doctor paused, almost heartbroken, but he smiled anyhow. "You're not..."
"No! It's Mum." She giggled, pleased with herself. "She's three months gone. More Tyler's on the way."
"And what about you, what are you...?"
"Yeah," Rose didn't know where to begin, but she sounded bored, almost. "I'm back working in the shop."
"Oh, good for you." He didn't sound convinced.
Naturally, she rolled her eyes. "Shut up! Nah, I'm not. The Torchwood on this planet's still open for business. I think I know a thing or two about aliens."
"Rose Tyler. Defend of the Earth." The Doctor was really trying not to cry, so he switched the subject. "You're dead, officially, back home. So many people died that day, and you've gone missing. You're on a list of the dead. Here you are, living a life, day after day. The one adventure I can never have."
That was enough for her to finally break down, and she poured into this puddle of emotion. "Am I ever going to see you again?"
"You can't." He shook his head.
"What are you going to do?"
"I've got the Tardis." The way he said it, it didn't sound so bad. "Same old life. Last of the Time Lords."
What seemed to upset Rose more than anything was the fact that they weren't together. "On your own?"
He shook his head with a sigh. "Ezra's stayed. He, uh, he's having a hard time right now, but he wanted you to know that he's going to miss you."
"I'll miss him, too." Rose whispered, though her gaze never faltered from the Doctor's face. She seemed to struggle to get the words to leave her lips; and then EJ understood exactly why. "I love you."
"Quite right too." His voice broke as he tried to cope, but he was struggling. "And, I suppose... if it's my last chance to say it... Rose Tyler..."
If EJ was going to declare something as great as that, he was unsure how he would have coped if they had disappeared in front of him. Rose was gone, and the Doctor hadn't been able to express himself.
His mouth was open, just a little, as he let the tears roll down his cheeks in silence. It was like his breath had been stolen. He looked a shell of himself, and EJ couldn't let him feel that way, not if he could do something about it.
The Thompson boy jumped down from the beams, and he surged towards the Doctor. He wrapped his arms around his thin figure, letting the Doctor do whatever he needed. All this time, he was silent, but he cried. EJ had never seen him that way, but it was okay, because he would fix it. He had to.
"I've got you." He whispered as he pressed a gentle kiss to the Doctor's forehead. "It's okay, I've got you."
There isn't much that can be done for a grieving man, as EJ well knew, so he did what little he could. He held the Doctor as close as he could, because anything less would be a disgrace to their relationship. Then, when he was ready, EJ let go and allowed the Doctor to move as freely as he wished.
Instead, however, he placed his rather spindly hands on either side of EJ's jaw and brought his forehead to meet his lips. The Thompson boy let his eyes flutter shut, breathing this sigh of relief. Of all that had happened, they stayed the same. It was the least he had asked for.
A sigh cleared the air, and then they got on with it all. The Doctor looked down to the console and made it so their new coordinates could be said, though, they were yet to decide on a destination. It seemed they didn't have anything to talk about for a second, so EJ stood closer than he usually would have.
"It'll be okay, you know." He promised like he understood; but he never could fully. "We'll work it out. I'll make it okay."
The Doctor covered EJ's hand with his own, and squeezed it gently. "You're already doing more than enough."
"Don't." The black haired boy shook his head. "It's hard enough having lost two people I love dearly, but please don't make me feel anything. Not now."
"What?" Perhaps, he had stepped his foot in it, but now wasn't the time, simply enough.
"You mean more than the world to me, Doctor, and I'm never going to leave you." EJ said it as bluntly as he could.
The Doctor nodded in agreement. "I know."
"Then, by now, you must know that... you know what? Never mind." EJ said, his eyes taking in the beautiful freckled face across from him. "I'll tell you later."
"Later? I don't like later."
"Tough." He retorted. "I'll tell you later."
For good measure, he left a kiss on the Doctor's cheek. His lips had lingered a second too long, and his hands shook slightly when he loosened his grip. Then, he stepped away, only to be stopped in his tracks by a most unusual sight.
There was a woman stood in the Tardis with her back to them. It didn't make sense. They were floating in the middle of space, and she was in her wedding dress. It was a pretty dress, that being said, and her red hair had been styled beautifully, but it didn't make any sense.
Where had she come from?
EJ pulled at the Doctor's sleeve until he looked up, and thankfully, he did. The Doctor had never told him about anything like this ever happening before. This must have been the first time. It was brilliant.
"What?!" The Doctor exclaimed, his eyes completely wide, and unsure.
The woman turned to face them, and she looked just as surprised. A shrill noise echoed from her lips. "Oh!"
"What?!"
"Who are you?" She spat, ferociously.
The Doctor was stilted. "But..."
It was mean, the way she jabbed at them. "Where am I?"
EJ whispered to the man at his right, more than befuddled. "We're in the middle of deep space, Doctor. This doesn't make any sense."
"What?!"
The woman wasn't giving up as she practically screamed the roof off the Tardis. "What the hell is this place?"
Then, the Doctor just looked at EJ, because he didn't know yet. He would eventually, but just not yet. "What?!"
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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.