SIGNAL ~ Doctor Who fanfiction

Chapter 15

Chapter 15 - Don't You Ever Get Tired of Running?

Joltea sat in the waiting room with the Doctor. The seconds that passed by felt like eternity. She knew he hated waiting but he was trying not to show it. It was obvious though, as his eyes twitched from time to time and every few hours he'd suddenly clap his hands or let out a soft groan without realising.

She also realised how he would tap his fingers on the armrest, occasionally pulling out his sonic and fiddling with it out of boredom. Almost 5 hours has past and they hadn't heard any news yet. They didn't know anything about Olivia's current condition but they knew one thing for certain — Olivia Watson wasn't going to die.

Not today.

Joltea had thought the young girl would die in the abandoned classroom where they first met as it showed in the visions, but they were wrong. Of course she was shocked at first, given that her visions had never failed her before. But this just proves that anything could be possible and the best of miracles do happen.

This gave her a sense of hope — maybe Joltea had a chance of surviving death after all. It would be a slim one, but it's still a chance.

The people sitting beside them were Olivia's parents, a married couple, somewhere in their mid-40's, holding their hands together as they prayed silently. Ms Watson wore a purple blouse and skirt while Mr Watson wore a black and white t-shirt with leggings.

They had been waiting even before the Doctor and Joltea arrived. Ms Watson had been sobbing and crying ever since she heard the news while Mr Watson comforted her as best as he could. After a few hours, he managed to stop his wife from blaming herself. He was trying to keep it together even though he felt like the same.

The Doctor and Joltea pitied them, yet they never spoke a word to them ever since they arrived at the hospital. The couple had much more pressing worries on their minds rather than wondering who they were and how a police box magically appeared inside a public hospital (yes, they saw the whole 'magic act' as well).

Asking questions would just create more confusion and lead to another series of questions.

The Doctor also hadn't said a word to Joltea since they arrived, either. The silence was somewhat new and unfamiliar to the two Time Lords, but they somehow managed to go through hours on end without speaking. Now that's a record.

Joltea knew that the Doctor was probably still mad at her. She still remembered how he launched into an angry speech as he drove the Tardis here (leaving the brakes on, as always) about how she was selfish for not letting him know about this sooner and prevented all this from happening.

She sighed. She thought the Doctor would've known better than this. Despite being a Visionary she can't change the future — no one can, and even he knows that.

"Dr Miller!" Ms Watson called and stood up from her seat along with her husband. Dr Miller walked towards the couple with the resident Dr Taylor tailing behind her. Joltea and the Doctor sat in their seats, staring at them.

"Mr and Ms Watson..." His voice trailed off, and he took a deep breath. "The good news is that your daughter survived surgery, and she's currently stable... But unfortunately, we weren't able to save her from brain damage and she's in a coma... It seems unlikely that she'll wake up." Dr Miller sighed. "I'm sorry."

Olivia's mother immediately broke down and cried, while the father sunk into a chair and let out a sob, muttering words along the lines of "oh Lord" and "how did I let this happen?"

Joltea comforted them and rubbed circles around Ms Watson's back. The Doctor didn't say a word. All he did was get up and walk away, not a single expression or emotion showed on his face, like he always does — running away from the problem. Theta was always good in hiding his emotions behind his mask.

Sometimes she wondered how he hides them so perfectly that not many people tend to notice the sadness and loneliness hidden away in his eyes.

"Can we see her?" Mr Watson asked, pursing his lips.

Dr Miller nodded, leading them to the patient's room.

*****

Olivia laid there unconscious on the patient bed, connected to a bunch of tubes and machines monitoring her oxygen levels and heart rate. The room was so silent you could hear a pin drop. Olivia's parents grabbed a chair and sat down beside the bed, gripping onto the young middle schooler's hands.

They wiped their tears and looked at her, sniffling. Their daughter was stuck in coma, and there's a possibility that she'll never being able to wake up. Joltea decided to leave the two alone and walked out to find where the Doctor went.

*****

She immediately went towards where he last parked the Tardis.

He re-parked the time machine at the side of the road somewhere outside the hospital (no wonder he keeps forgetting where he puts the Tardis). She keeps walking until she spots the familiar police box.

Joltea went inside and the Tardis door opened by itself even though she didn't have a Tardis key. "So this means we're friends now?" She smiled when the Tardis hummed in response.

She found the Doctor leaning against the console, hiding his face in his hands. She adjusted her sonic sunglasses as it was slipping down slightly. "Doctor? Are you okay?" She questioned, walking to him.

"Don't you ever feel tired of running?" He asked. "Don't you ever feel tired of losing? ... How many people have we lost? Why is it never anybody else's turn?!"

"As a bow-tie wearing wise man once said, 'The way I see it, every life is a pile of good things and bad things. The good things don't always soften the bad things, but vice versa, the bad things don't always spoil the good things and make them unimportant.'" She smiled, gazing into space.

"That's... that's a good one," the Doctor said. "Can I use it?"

"... Spoilers," she smirked.