Ties Between Time and Space

✦07✦

Chapter Seven
Oddly Not In Control

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"Hope, Harmony, and Health. Hope, Harmony, and Health."

The Doctor handed Hame a cup of water and she smiled at him. "That's very kind, but there's no need."

"You're the one working," he reminded her as he stared out of the large window at the flying cars.

"There's not much to do, just maintain his smoke," she said, the gaze she had on the Face of Boe, sad. "And I suppose I'm company. I can hear him singing sometimes in my mind," she looked at the Doctor. "Such ancient songs."

"Am I the only visitor?"

"The rest of Boekind became extinct long ago, he's the only one left," she stated. "Legend says the Face of Boe has watched the universe grow old."

The Doctor tilted his head to the side and smiled at the being in front of him.

"There's all sorts of superstitions around him," Hame carried on, "one story, says that just before his death the Face of Boe will impart his great secret, that he will speak those words only to one like himself."

"What does that mean?" the Doctor asked, curiously.

"It's just a story," she laughed.

"Tell me the rest."

"It's said he'll talk to a wanderer, to the man without a home," Hame clarified, "the lonely God."

Realization dawned on the Doctor as he straightened up and thought about it. The wanderer, the man without a home, the lonely God. That was him. But how?

He stayed silent for a few minutes, thinking that Emma would definitely want to see Boe before they left, and that's when he noticed she was still missing from his side.

"Excuse me," the Doctor told Hame and pulled out his phone to dial Emma's number. It took one or two rings but finally, she answered. "Emma, where are you?"

There was a bit of a pause before she spoke and when she did the Doctor frowned. "Erm... Wotcha?"

"Uh . . . Where've you been? How long does it take you to get to Ward 26?"

"I'm on my way, governer."

He blinked at that, completely taken aback by how she was suddenly speaking. Where was her American accent? And why was she talking such awful British? Emma was trained by SHIELD to imitate accents and she didn't have a half-bad English one, but this, whatever she was doing was disastrous.

"I shall proceed up the apples and pears." Two things he hated.

"You'll never guess," he carried on feigning excitement and trying to figure out what was wrong. "I'm with the Face of Boe, remember him?"

She laughed as she grated the words out, "Of course I do. That big old ... Boe face."

"I gotta go," the Doctor said, hearing a racket coming from the opposite side of the ward. "See you in a minute," he hung up.

He shook his head feeling something off about Emma but temporarily pushing it aside as he walked up to the Duke of Manhatten who was now miraculously healed.

"Didn't think I was going to make it!" the Duke chuckled happily, then spotted the Doctor. "It's that man again, he's my good luck charm!" he exclaimed as the Doctor confusedly smiled back at him.

This didn't make sense.

"Come in," the Duke waved a hand, "don't be shy," and slowly the Doctor stepped forward glancing around listlessly.