“Yes, you did, sweetheart,” Rose said, smiling shakily.
“You’re very good at this. Dad didn’t want Amy earlier.”
Rose guffawed softly.
“Really? You and Dad?” Ewan had asked, a little incredulous. He’d been so wrapped up in his own worries that he’d been totally oblivious to everything. The idea of Dave being together with a woman other than Rita had yet to sink in with him.
“How long?” Lucy asked, her bottom lip trembling a little as she fought to control her emotions. Just like Ewan, she didn’t quite know what to make of the news.
“Have we known each other? Since 12 April. I had an accident and Dave helped me.”
“But how long have you been together?” Lucy pressed after she’d done some math. They’d met roughly three months after Rita’s death.
“About three months,” Rose said.
“Do you love him?”
Rose blinked at the boldness of the question, but if she was honest she’d have been disappointed in Lucy if she hadn’t asked. “With all my heart,” she said as sincerely as possible.
Lucy had merely nodded and left the infirmary, “To get some air. I won’t run away, I just need… to go outside.”
Rose told him that with a soft smile.
“Seems they’ve known for a while,” he’d said.
“Yeah. Hard to keep something like this a secret. Was it bad, with Anna?”
“She’ll come round, but I’m afraid she’ll give you a piece of her mind as well.”
Rose nodded.
They had spent some time with the children after Anna and Robin had left, but eventually they’d all returned to Paul’s room, where they’d occupied themselves with games and books as quietly as he’d ever seen them.
Donna, the new doctor, had come in to check on Paul, and a few minutes ago it had become clear that the fever meds weren’t working and they couldn’t keep his temperature at an acceptable level. They feared there might be brain damage, and Dave had left the room for a few minutes to rid himself rather violently of his dinner.
“Please let him live and recover,” Dave murmured in a rare urge to pray. He didn’t believe, and thinking of what had happened to his family in the past few months he wondered if he wasn’t right not to.
The door slid open and Rose came in, relief relaxing her expression. “Aquiouk is here.”
Chapter 39
If Dave had seen Aquiouk in the street he would have walked past him without a further glance. He hadn’t really contemplated what to expect when Rose had told him that an alien was on his way to help cure Paul. All he’d cared about was that help was coming, and hopefully in time. Paul was hot to the touch, and the sword of Damocles hovering above him was blunt — brain damage suggested all kinds of horrible things, from a mild speaking disorder to changes in personality to loss of everything that made Paul Paul.
Aquiouk looked perfectly normal, maybe a little oddly dressed dapper in a waistcoat and tie. His tie was slightly askew and looked like something straight from a 70s film.
“Davetiler!” Aquiouk said when he saw him entering the doctors’ office. Both doctors were there, Dominic a bit bleary-eyed; Frankie had woken him barely two hours after he’d finally agreed to take a nap. Aquiouk closed the distance between them and shook Dave’s hand.
“Nice to meet you, um… Mr Aquiouk,” Dave began, unsure of alien etiquette.
“Just Aquiouk. I’m so sorry for causing you so much grief, Davetiler,” he said.
Dave suppressed a smile. “Just Dave. And don’t apologise, it was an accident.”
“Yes, but still I feel responsible. We should have taken greater care when we cleared up the crash site,” Aquiouk said. “Well, Donna and Dominic have kept me up to date with your son’s condition, but I’d still like to examine him. If that is okay with you. Here, this is the device I’m going to use.” He handed Dave what looked like a tablet computer and a small torch. “No pins, no needles. Completely non-invasive, but it’ll give me a very clear picture of his condition,” Aquiouk explained.
Dave stared at the two devices, stunned by the alien’s openness and kindness. Dazed, he nodded and returned them to the alien, who looked perfectly human and spoke the King’s English. He was wearing a shimmer and a translating device. If his medical equipment was anything like these pieces of technology, how could he not trust the alien? “Please, just help us,” Dave said.
To his surprise, Aquiouk insisted on Dave’s presence, and didn’t mind Evie and Ewan being in the bed. That was, however, when Dave regained his composure. He moved the two children to the sofa and an armchair. They’d wanted to wait up for the Alien’s arrival, but in the end both of them had fallen asleep curled around their brother, except Lucy, who had crashed on the sofa.
“Such a beautiful family,” Aquiouk said. “Are they yours?” he asked, turning to Rose.
“No,” she laughed.
“Oh,” Aquiouk said, colouring ever so lightly. “But you share a name, don’t you? I thought that was customary on Earth?”
“Some people have the same last name by chance,” Rose explained.
“But there is a bond between you. A strong one.”
Now it was Dave who blushed. “Yes, there is.” He wrapped his arm around Rose’s shoulders. The sudden freedom to show that Rose and he were together was almost dizzying.
“I’m so happy for you,” Aquiouk said with a sincere smile. He reached out for them to express his feelings physically but held back at the last moment, remembering the difference of etiquette between Humans and Sheeryan. “Well, I’d better get on with my work then, hadn’t I?”
Dave and Rose stepped away from Paul’s bed to give Aquiouk some room. Dominic and Donna had joined them, watching the Sheeryan closely. Of course they’d be interested in alien medicine. They must be having a ball, Dave thought, but at the same time a wave of protectiveness washed over him, nearly overwhelming him. He didn’t want his child to be an object for study.
Rose tightened her hold around his hand. “Dave, love, let’s give them a bit of space,” she said softly.
“No, I…” he said. He didn’t want to leave his son. He couldn’t.
“Dave, please,” Rose said. When she tugged at his hand, he realised that he was shaking. He supposed Rose needn’t be a telepath to see how upset he was.
“The bairns,” he said softly, glancing at the tangle of their limbs and bodies on the sofa and armchair.
“They’ll be fine, Dave,” she said.
He nodded and let her take him to the family room. Once there he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her as closely to him as possible. “I’m so scared,” he managed to say, burying his face in the crook of her neck.
“It’s okay.” She was rubbing his back soothingly. He was still terrified; he knew she couldn’t take his terror away, but at least he knew he wasn’t alone. Pulling away from her he drew her with him onto the sofa.
“I have… I have this notion that… and I’m sorry, Rose, I don’t mean to be ungrateful,” he took in a shuddering breath. “I have this notion that Paul is just a problem for them, rather than a little boy.”
Rose listened to him attentively.
“I know that that’s not the case, but the idea is there.”
“I know that, Dave. Did Anna give you that idea?” she asked.
“What?”
“It’s what she said to me.”
Dave slumped back into the cushions and rubbed his hands over his face. This time, Anna had gone too far. Of course, he knew that Torchwood was better than that, far better, but there had been no time to talk to Anna about it. And even if there had, he doubted his words have made any difference. “What else did she say to you?” he asked. “About being with me?”
“That I’m just playing with you,” Rose said, frowning a little at the turn the conversation was taking.
“Give her some time to realise that that’s not the case,” he said. “She will come round, eventuall
y.”
“She’s very protective,” Rose agreed with a small smile. “You know that I’m not just playing with you, don’t you?”
“Of course I do.”
“Good.” She smiled and shifted a little so they could kiss. It was gentle and reassuring and he realised for the first time how much he liked her hand on his neck and cheek when they kissed.
The three doctors chose the moment he wanted to tell Rose he loved her to join them in the family room. Rose moved away from him but remained close enough for their thighs to touch and to hold her hand. He gave her fingers a grateful squeeze that also gave him strength for what was to come. He had the feeling that he would need as much of it as he could muster.
Donna and Dominic nodded for Aquiouk to begin. “Paul’s condition has reached the final stage of the Illness. There are some…”
Dave didn’t hear the rest of his words. The final stage. Did that imply that Paul was beyond help? What did that mean? He gave his head a shake. Please, somebody explain, what…?
“Dave,” Donna said. “Dave?”
Her kind but insistent voice drew him out of his confusion. “Aye. Sorry, I…”
“I am sorry,” Aquiouk said, touching his breastbone and giving him a slight bow. “The human physiology is different from the Sheeryan. If Paul were one of us, he’d… pass away soon. But there are some idiosyncrasies to the human body that are fighting back. We will draw upon them to base our cure on.”
“You mean… um… you don’t have one yet? A cure?” Dave asked, finding it suddenly difficult to breathe. Rose’s touch grounded him, and her voice was close to his ear, her breath warm on his skin. She was telling him something, but all he could hear was the rushing of the blood in his head.
“Do whatever you think is necessary, but please save my son,” he managed to say eventually.
“Are you sure, Dave?” Dominic asked, his expression one of confusion.
“The plan is to inject Paul with the pathogen.”
Dave frowned, swallowed. “You… you want to cure him with the same thing that caused the Illness in the first place?”
The three doctors nodded as one.
“What are the chances he’ll survive?”
“50 percent,” Donna said.
Dave blinked. “So if we don’t do anything he dies, and if we do he might die anyway.”
“Yes,” Dominic said.
“Is he in pain?” Dave asked. “Can we be with him?”
“He’s still in a coma, Dave. His body is protecting itself,” Donna explained. “Of course you can stay with him.”
“What do I tell the bairns?” he wondered, looking at Rose for guidance. “I can’t tell them their brother is dying, not when they’ve already lost Rita.”
“Don’t tell them,” Dominic suggested.
Dave shook his head. “I can’t do that. I can’t lie to them. I’d never be able to look at myself again if I lied.”
“Then tell them. Give them the chance to say their goodbyes,” Rose said. She knew they’d never had a chance to say goodbye to Rita. Dave hadn’t wanted them to see their mum dead; he had seen her laid out in the morgue. He’d had to go in to identify her. If for her pallor, she hadn’t looked dead and he didn’t want Evie to see her like this. She’d never understand that she wasn’t just sleeping. He wanted them to remember her as their bright, vital Mum, not a lifeless shell.
He found himself nodding.
“You should tell them as soon as possible,” Donna said.
“Do you want us to treat him?” Dominic asked.
He stared at them. “Of course I do.”
-:-
He decided to talk to each of the children separately to cater to each of their needs better. Rose had asked him if putting himself through this three times was a good idea; he had shrugged. It would never get easier, and while he cared for his children he’d forget about himself. Which had clearly alarmed Rose. “I’ll go to my Empty Room later. They need me now, Rose.”
She had accepted his decision, offering whatever he or the children needed.
He talked to Lucy first. He roused her and took her to the family room, where he sat her down on the sofa, kneeling before her and telling her what Aquiouk’s arrival meant. She just stared at him. Dave closed his eyes and ducked his head. It had been a bit much for her, for each of them, learning about him and Rose and that her brother might not live to see the morning. He wasn’t so sure telling them individually had been such a good idea after all.
“But there’s a chance he’ll live.” It wasn’t a question.
“There is, yes.”
“When this is over, will you adopt me?”
It was his turn to stare at her. If anything, he’d expected her to leave them for the Quinlans. His heart did several somersaults, and he found himself nodding in a daze. “Yes, yes I will, sweetheart.”
“Can I just be by myself for a while?” Lucy asked. Her request cleared Dave’s mind. The running and hiding was happening far too often for his taste, but her wanting him to adopt her had spoken volumes. He wasn’t losing her. She really needed time to process things.
Evie went straight into his arms for a cuddle. She sensed something was wrong. “Is Rose leaving? I don’t want her to go,” she said, sandwiching Amy between their bodies.
“No. No, Rose isn’t going anywhere, sweetheart,” he said, rubbing her back soothingly. He inhaled her shampoo, its sweet, fruity scent. He’d forever think of Evie when he smelled it.
“I met Aquiouk,” she informed him. “He doesn’t look like an alien.”
He smiled. “He doesn’t want to scare people when they see him.”
“I’m not scared. He’ll help Paul, won’t he?”
“Paul is very sick, Evie,” he began, exhaling slowly. This was it. “He is not sure his cure will work.”
“He can try something else,” Evie suggested.
“There is only one medicine for him, sweetheart,” Dave said. “I’m telling you because I’d like you to say goodbye to him if you want. You know how sad you were you didn’t say goodbye to Mum properly when she left school?”
“Yeah,” she said softly. He held her close and kissed the top of her head while he gave her time. “Will he and Mum be together?”
“I think so, yes. But listen, Evie, the medicine might work. Yeah? Do you understand that?”
Evie nodded, as serious as a five year-old could get. “I don’t want them to be alone. It must be scary,” Evie said.
Dave’s heart broke at her words and he held her even closer until she squeaked in protest. “I’m sorry, sweetheart.” He was loathe to send her away so he could talk to Ewan, but he knew that he couldn’t possibly have her there. Ewan wasn’t going to take this easily, and for a moment he didn’t want to tell him, but he couldn’t betray him like this. Ewan would never forgive him if he learned that his sisters had known.
“He’s going to die, isn’t he?” Ewan said, kicking the ball right at him. Dave should have anticipated that Ewan would play the forward line. He’d been beating himself up over this, despite everything.
“If Aquiouk’s cure doesn’t work, yes,” Dave said.
“Will it?”
“We don’t know. Which is why I wanted to talk to you,” Dave said, taking a deep breath. “Aquiouk will wait with the treatment until after you’ve said goodbye. Just in case.”
“I didn’t say goodbye to Mum.”
“Yes, I know.”
“Did you?”
Dave nodded.
“Did it help?”
“It did.”
“Then why didn’t you let us say goodbye?”
“She didn’t look like Mum. More like a wax doll,” Dave said, opting for bluntness.
Ewan nodded. “Aye. I’ll go now. And Dad?”
“Aye?”
“I like Rose.”
Dave smiled and stood. “Come on, let’s go.”
-:-
The children wouldn’t leave the room wh
en Aquiouk administered the pathogen. He used the drip and slowly depressed the plunger. Dave chewed the inside of his cheek, biting hard into the flesh to keep himself from lunging forward and tearing the instrument from Aquiouk’s fingers. He was frozen in place by his terror, and he thought he’d ought to get the bairns out of the room, but he was unable to bring himself to move. So when Rose brushed the back of her hand over his, he nearly jumped.
Bigger on the inside: Space, Time Travel, Alien Criminals (A Space Time Travel Mystery Book 1) Page 43