Storm: Storm is Brewing

The Lazarus Experiment 3

"Terry."

The Doctor took Terry's shoulders, turning her to face him directly as he sensed her guilt anyway.

She was looking down, shame written all over her face, but the Doctor tucked a gentle finger under her chin and brought it up to face him as he said softly but seriously: "Don't blame yourself. I was... distracted, and forgot as well. But now, we need to focus on finding him."

Terry nodded, her eyes filling with determination, and the Doctor nodded.

Letting go of her face, the Doctor pulled out his sonic once more, starting to scan the area as first Martha, and then Tish ran up. Martha gasped in horror as she saw the ambulance, and she asked anxiously: "Where's he gone?"

"That way." The Doctor said as he pointed to a building right beside them. "The church."

"Cathedral." Tish corrected. "It's Southwark Cathedral. He told me."

The Doctor glanced at Tish thoughtfully before he turned back to the cathedral and led the way inside. He kept his sonic carefully before him as Terry, followed by Martha and Tish, crept inside.

"Do you think he's in here?" Martha whispered anxiously.

"Where would you go if you were looking for sanctuary?" The Doctor answered flatly, and Terry reached for his hand.

He squeezed it as they slipped down the aisle, looking around cautiously, when Terry prodded the Doctor. He glanced back, and she nodded silently at the altar. Face grim, the Doctor turned to where she pointed, climbing the steps carefully with the sonic still before him as he stared at the shivering and gasping form crouched there in a red blanket.

Lazarus turned at the sound of their approach, and he spotted them just as the Doctor pocketed his sonic while Terry let go of his hand, moving back towards the other two women though she kept her eyes trained on Lazarus.

"I came here before," Lazarus murmured, lowering his head a little, "a lifetime ago. I thought I was going to die then. In fact, I was sure of it. I sat here, just a child, the sound of planes and bombs outside."

"The Blitz." The Doctor said flatly, and Lazarus almost rolled his eyes as he noted: "You've read about it."

"I was there." The Doctor answered softly, raising his brows.

"You're too young." Lazarus scoffed, but the Doctor pointed out: "So are you."

Lazarus laughed at that, nodding slightly before he groaned in pain as his bones cracked once more. Martha and Tish gazed on with pity as the man moaned, while the Doctor circled him. Terry's gaze was ambivalent as she watched the two men, when Lazarus spoke again: "In the morning, the fires had died, and I was still alive. I swore I'd never face death like that again."

The Doctor glanced up at the ceiling as he circled Lazarus, and Martha looked up too, trying to see what was so interesting, while Lazarus continued disgustedly: "So defenceless. I would arm myself, fight back, defeat it."

"That's what you were trying to do today?" The Doctor asked, looking back at Lazarus who answered darkly: "That's what I did today."

"What about the other people who died?" The Doctor snapped, and Lazarus answered flatly: "They were nothing. I changed the course of history."

"Any of them may have as well, if they'd lived." Terry interjected with an angry hiss, and Lazarus chuckled.

"And what," he asked scathingly, "does a small child like you know about it?"

"More than you." Terry answered flatly. "You think history's made with science and equations? Think again."

"I have proven that science can overcome even death." Lazarus insisted, and the Doctor replied calmly: "Facing death is part of being human. You can't change that."