Part 26 (2/2)

'Why didn't you tell me?'

'I thought it was best.'

'Not for me! And you expect me to sit back now while you kill her?'

'That's not it.'

'Then take me to her!'

'There's no time. And believe me, Chris, it wouldn't help.'

'It's not likely to hurt!'

'I'm sorry, I can't do anything.'

'You can always do something.' The Doctor's eyes were wide and blue, encouraging this destructive young man, this parcel and blue, encouraging this destructive young man, this parcel of energy, to calm down and do the right thing. of energy, to calm down and do the right thing.

'One thing?'

'I believe you have the power.'

Jason hugged himself and moved away, fighting back the sobs which tore at his stomach. His story had turned sour. This hostility was spoiling it. Why did no one like each other any more? Why couldn't they just get on with the adventure?

Bernice ran into Mel in the corridor and saw that she had been crying. She stepped in front of her and spoke before Mel could.

'Look, I'm sorry I was funny with you. It's just that you get so used to the Doctor's ways - it's hard to remember how strange they once seemed.'

Mel shrugged. 'So he's talked you round to his way of thinking. You're still guilty by a.s.sociation.'

'It's not that simple.'

'Oh, it never is!'

'No,' said Benny firmly, 'it's not. He's doing the right thing on Detrios, I can see that.'

'What about your Seven Planets?'

Benny nodded morosely. 'I try not to think about it. And I gave him h.e.l.l at the time, believe me. He's made things easier since - and he does do good, he's risked his life on countless occasions. I can't doubt that he does what he thinks is right.'

207.

'And you?'

'I have to trust in him.'

Mel nodded. Bernice could see from her body language that she wasn't completely consoled. But she did appreciate that Benny was human. She smiled in what she hoped was a rea.s.suring way. 'Tell me one thing.' Mel looked willing enough. 'As I said, the Doctor keeps risking his life. Since I've known him, he's been shot through the heart, had his mind ripped open by mechanical insects . . . I thought his head had been lopped off once.'

'Nasty,' agreed Mel.

'I've come to think of him as invulnerable. Yet you saw him die - one of him, at least. How did it happen?'

Mel pursed her lips. 'I didn't actually see it. I was unconscious at the time. But I think . . .'

'Yes?'

'Well, he fell over and banged his head on the TARDIS console.'

Benny laughed until her sides ached.

Chris was sitting on his bed when Roz knocked and peered round the door. His knees were against his chest, his arms encircling them. He didn't say anything, so she moved quietly into the room.

She didn't want to do this, but it was her duty. He was her responsibility.

Chris didn't look up. 'He won't take me back.'

'The Doctor?'

'To Detrios. To Kat'lanna.'

'I see.' Roz should have known what to say to that, but the sentences wouldn't come together in her head. She took his hand instead and stroked it gently. It felt uncomfortable to see him like this, especially over a woman (and an alien too, although that shouldn't have mattered). She kept thinking that she'd lost him, and she told herself sternly that that was both ridiculous and selfish of her. Their relations.h.i.+p had never worked like that.

All the same, they had always been more than just Cwej and 208 Forrester, partners in the Adjudication Service. That was why Roz saw at that moment, clearly and obviously, what Chris both wanted and needed to hear. And that was why, against all logic, she said it.

She made him a promise. And, when she had done so, he looked at her finally and he smiled. They needed no more words. The bond between them compensated for mere verbalizations.

Jason was back on his bed, whilst Dr Who stood in the doorway, hands behind his back. 'You're scared,' said Dr Who.

'All that power. I killed those people . . . then . . .' Jason looked at his hands. They were shaking.

'You remember?'

'Almost. The last part's fuzzy.'

The Doctor had written something. He pushed the paper into Jason's hands, but the young man couldn't believe what he Jason's hands, but the young man couldn't believe what he read. read.

'Concentrate. Concentrate on those ten words. Think them, believe them. Believe that nothing else matters.' believe them. Believe that nothing else matters.'

'You can control it,' said Dr Who. 'So long as you confront what's happening, work with the Doctor to do some good.'

'I thought you hated him.'

'I was wrong. That's why I must go. And why I can never come back.'

'No!'

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