Cosmo || Doctor Who

11 : Father To Son

𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔗𝔞𝔯𝔡𝔦𝔰 ℑ𝔫𝔱𝔢𝔯𝔦𝔬𝔯
𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔙𝔬𝔯𝔱𝔢𝔵

EJ Thompson was the beholder of many secrets, just the same as anyone who stepped through the Tardis doors. There was more to him that first met the eye, with his arms of messy tattoos and baggy, mismatched clothing. He knew that his appearance was misleading, and yet, he never bothered to change it. It was the one thing which allowed him to forget.

     Whilst he was blissfully unaware of how much time had passed whilst they were travelling, there was a nagging in the forefront of his mind. There were still responsibilities he held, and scars which hadn't healed enough to stay hidden. The Doctor already knew more than EJ would have ever said, and he was sure that Rose was beginning to catch on.

     Everyone in England knew about his father, and his family's tragedy. He could only be glad that when everything was revealed to the public, he was underage, and the papers weren't legally allowed to release his name. Anyway, Thompson was a common surname. No one ever suspected that it was him. It allowed him a normal life.

This, however, was not normal, and he shouldn't have expected the same rules to apply. Nothing worked the same.

EJ had to say something, he had decided, he just didn't know when. It had to be the right time. It couldn't be out of the blue, or blunt, or overshadowing. This was his childhood and teen years amalgamated into a series of unfortunate events sculpted by the media. He was a story, and yet, he'd never had a say in any of the things they said about him.

After they left Adam on Earth in his time, the Doctor had yet to decide their destination, so the three of them were gathered in the console room. Rose was sat on the odd beige springy chair, as EJ leant against one of the support beams. He was becoming increasingly fond of them. The Doctor just wandered around and flicked buttons; he watched the intricacies of his movements. They were fascinating.

Despite the time having passed, an expression of deep anger and frustration has stayed plastered to his face. And whilst he did not know this until Rose pointed it out, he still wouldn't have changed a thing about it. He had every right to be upset; they just didn't know why.

"Are you alright?" Rose asked for the third time, with raised eyebrows and genuine concern.

"For the last time, Rose," EJ sighed, jokingly. "Yes. I'm fine."

"But you don't look fine." She observed. "You should tell your face."

He scoffed, shaking his head. "Wow."

"What?"

"Nothing." The Thompson boy laughed lightly, if nothing but to distract her for a moment as he allowed his thoughts to finally filter through. "Only..."

Eagerly, Rose repeated. "What is it?"

"Doctor." EJ stated bluntly, capturing his attention. Without speaking, he turned to the blonde and offered his full attention. "Is it always... you know... like this?"

"Is what always like what?" He blanked, genuinely. It did seem like he was mocking the boy, but he didn't have that in him. His constant grin was far too goofy to ever count as malice. "Seriously."

  He sighed, loudly. "I don't know... filled with death?"

  "Yeah." His smile fell, and quickly, he came serious. "Is that okay?"

  "No."

  "No?"

  "No. It's not okay." EJ laughed, but it was filled with discomfort. His skin was crawling, just a little bit. "But I don't know what's gonna happen if we're not there... and we can save people, so I'll just have to live with it."