Cosmo || Doctor Who

26 : A Skeleton Of Something More

𝔏𝔬𝔫𝔡𝔬𝔫, 𝔈𝔫𝔤𝔩𝔞𝔫𝔡, 𝔈𝔞𝔯𝔱𝔥
𝔇𝔢𝔠𝔢𝔪𝔟𝔢𝔯 2005

The 1st of August 2000 was a day that EJ would never forget. At 3:43 am, in a hospital bed, Joshua Jude Evans Thompson was born six weeks prematurely. Though a terrifying day where his two teenage parents were unsure if he would survive long enough to live outside of an incubator, it was also the most magical. It was the day that EJ became a Dad, and the day he vowed that he would be nothing like his own father. So far, it was a promise scarcely strained.

Even when travelling with the Doctor, he remembered the important dates they shared together. There was no way he was missing his son's fifth birthday, so he didn't. The Doctor dropped him off for a few hours and picked him up again without a hitch.

     It wasn't the sort of life he had wanted, missing portions of his son growing up, but EJ still needed to do something for himself. His whole childhood had been stolen from him, and most of his teen years, but this was his. Travelling, finding love, however fleeting, and moving on. Everything was so different now, EJ just had to make sure it was worth it.

Sometime after the sun set, but before midnight, Rose and Mickey went out into town. She claimed she just wanted to go somewhere, but they all knew it was Christmas shopping. She wasn't as forward thinking as EJ. He collected items from their travels, and made sure they were something that Josh would like. Birthdays and Christmases for the foreseeable future were sorted.

Jackie called up one of her friends when Rose left, and began complaining left, right and centre. It was the perfect opportunity for EJ to go back into the Doctor's room, and call someone for himself. He barely entered the room when he dialled the contact - Zoë.

     There were three rings before an answer. He almost thought that she wasn't going to pick up. "Hi, EJ."

  "Hey, Zoë." It was like a breath of fresh air, a sigh of relief. "Merry Christmas."

  "Merry Christmas." She sounded almost amused by him, but let it pass, slowly. "How's travelling been for you? How are those friends of yours treating you?"

  "They're good, it's good... don't worry about that." EJ rushed. "Is Josh there?"

  "He's just washing his hands. We've been baking. He set some aside for you, you know. He always does." It made his heart sink just a little. "He's been asking if he'll see you tomorrow."

  EJ barely had to think before he agreed. They had never missed a Christmas together, and he wasn't about to stop now. "Yeah, yeah, of course. Whatever he wants."

     There was a lot of muffling in the background, and EJ couldn't make out much of what was going on, but he presumed that Josh had come into the room. Some of the static screeched in his ear until he could finally hear Zoë again. She was coaxing Josh towards the phone.

     "Daddy?"

  Instantly, a wave of calm washed over EJ. There was something about Josh which always made him feel better. "Hi, Baby."

  He had never sounded so excited. "Mezzy Kistmas!"

  "Merry Christmas, Beanie." EJ grinned; he loved that Josh couldn't say his r's properly all of the time. "Have you done anything fun today?"

  "Mummy and... and Simon made cakes with me! And... and... and I made blue for you."

     EJ winced slightly at the mention of Simon. He was Zoë's partner. They'd been together for almost a year, so they made the decision together that they should meet. The Thompson boy couldn't say he was thrilled, but then again, EJ had never dated anyone so intensely that he wanted them to meet his son.