Born of Fire (Doctor Who AU)

Chapter 6 Divided and Alone

Autopsy took up half of the eighth floor.  Daniel gagged the second the lift doors slid back. The disgusting combination of antiseptic, formaldehyde and death assaulted his senses.  Why anyone bothered with a sign that pointed the way to autopsy was beyond him. Maybe, he thought, humans simply don't have my acute sense of smell, but blimey. Daniel slid effortlessly into the role of an investigator, striding into the lab as if he owned the place. He flashed a self-assured grin when he spotted Pete and Janice Harkness walking out of the small office next to the autopsy suite apparently glad to see him 

"So, you found it?" Pete asked.  

"Ah, yeah. Wasn't really all that hard. I just punched a button and followed my nose.  Really," he said, wrinkling his nose in disgust, "you need to work on your air recirc program. Increasing that air exchange by, oh I don't know, maybe twenty percent will improve its efficiency."

"We are well above the standards for the industry."  Janice protested.

Daniel snorted. "Not enough above," he retorted.

There was a certain amount of pleasure in making Jan Harkness uncomfortable. It just felt right. When her ice blue eyes flashed in anger his eyebrow arched mocking her. He was pretty sure that this Harkness was closer to Hartman's double than Jack. Jack dealt with aliens as sentient beings deserving respect, but this woman eyed aliens with suspicion wanting to dissect them. He knew that it was the way she looked at him. Still, when she widened her stance, pinched her eyebrows, and crossed her arms she did look like Jack. She flashed that same cold, knowing smile that Jack had when he hid his frustration. She snorted. "

"Since you have no idea what our standards are I am going to ignore that comment. You don't intimidate me, Doctor or whatever you name is," she said with cold professionalism, turning the table on him.

Daniel's smile faded, his jaw twitched. "Barrow. B.A.R.R.O.W. Daniel, Ulysses. That, Miss Harkness, is my name," he answered.  The sound of Pete clearing his voice shifted his attention to his new boss.

"Alright, that was interesting. Now to more pressing matters. Janice has our dead friend ready for the first step.  We do virtual autopsies before cutting a body open.  The first couple of times we did this, we had a nasty surprise.  If you can tell us what you think he is, or if he has an equivalent in the other universe, it would be helpful."

Daniel hesitated,  flashing a tight smile at Pete. "Right," he said walking over to the door that separated the theatre from the lab.  A technician dressed in an environmental protection suit walked around the body on the table.  Without hesitating, Daniel slipped off his jacket and grabbed a second suit lying on a table.

"What do you think you're doing?"  Janice snatched the hood from him.

"My job," he responded grabbing the hood back.  "Do something useful, hook up the rebreather pack.  Thanks." He arched his eyebrow in defiance.  "I might not be a Time Lord from on high, but I am still smarter than the average bear, including you," he snapped.

"Daniel, I didn't expect --" Pete started.

"Well, good to see your not that much different, always have to be the boss."

Daniel whirled to see Rose, his eyes flashing.   "Well, I do have a job, a commitment.  You remember what a commitment is, right?" he snarled.

"I don't recognise that one," she said, pushing past without looking at him.  She strode to the window with the same authority she used in the field. The dead alien lay on the autopsy table still partly contained by the body bag.  Her eyes narrowed focused entirely on the being behind the glass wall.