Broken: A Time Lord's Story (Doctor Who Novel)

Chapter 37 The Road Back

"When he wakes up and we know he's okay, I'll take everyone home," Hank said watching Thete, deeply asleep, snuggle with K'Nar in his arms. 

"I understand," G'Na murmured. A hand reached for hers and she turned to see Sarah smiling at her.

"It bothers you -- to see your baby lying there?"

"In my -- culture this is so wrong. She was a baby, utterly innocent in the ways of the world. We kept the evil far away. On her birthday, she begged her father to go to the market, just to see the booths filled with things, to buy trinkets with her friend, Nela. He said 'no. It's not safe, when your' -- what's the word .. protector --"

"Body guard."

"Yes, body guard. 'When he can watch you both, you may go.' But she is headstrong this one. It's what saved her. When we found her missing...." G'Na swallowed the sob. "We searched for weeks, tore apart the universe it seemed and then word came from another country, they had her. She was so ... broken -- my baby was not a baby any more. Nightmares, begging us to find her lord and then she went quiet. When the good Captain came... Well, you know that part. We should sit if we are having a ...."

"Vigil," Sarah smiled. "Right, all right, everyone, I'm too old to stand so we might as well get comfortable. They can't sleep forever."

Two hours later, Jack sat back in absolute awe of G'na. That she'd absorbed and understood so much of the struggles in the middle east and eastern Europe astounded him. That  she weaved K'Nar's story,  what she knew of her attempts to keep Thete alive (and the child TBrae  whose parents now rejected her) without once letting her human persona slip amazed him. He'd always prided himself in selling a cover, but the queen had him beat six ways to Sunday adding to his growing admiration for the gentle alien. 

 Still, he could see the cracks starting to form. She grew quiet after awhile then finally  escaped to the hallway.  Outside she leaned against the wall, closed her eyes and tried to bring order to her own emotions. Her lungs didn't want to work in this place and, for a moment when tears threatened, she feared her ability to stay transformed. Nothing like this had ever happened to her.When she opened her eyes River smiled. 

"Want me to take you back to the ship for a break?" River asked.

"It might be best. Just for a few minutes. They'll be safe, right?"

"Hordes couldn't get past Jack,Hank and Rory." River laughed

"How long do you think they'll sleep?" Amy asked an hour later watching G'Na and Martha hover over the two.

"I have no idea. Their scans are normal," Martha answered. "They are kind of cute, though."

"I thought he'd just wake up," Hank muttered as he stroked Thete's head.

Martha snorted, "Hank, really. He hasn't done anything the way we thought he would. Why would this be any different?"

To that Hank laughed; the young doctor was right. "I'm going for a walk. Holler at me if somebody groans." He walked past Sarah, and then stopped to kiss the top of her head.

Wilson came, met G'Na and ordered blood work to make sure his electrolytes and blood sugar remained stable without his tube feeding. He fussed at Martha for being overly optimistic, but stopped short of ordering his feeding tube reinserted.

The hours stretched first into the late afternoon,  and then into the evening. Even ‬G’Na was surprised by the extent of their exhaustion. Both telepathic and bio-scans showed them, for the most part, to be in a normal deep sleep. As the day extended, Thete's nightmares began to rear their ugly heads. They watched him twitch and then wrap his arms tighter around K'Nar, trying to protect her from the demons in his dream. They also watched in amazement at K'Nar's reaction. Even asleep, she reached and patted his chest, calming him.