Mourning is Not Forgetting (2/6)

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Chapter 2 – Prompt Head Trauma


By the time they reached the A&E, Jack had gotten control of himself and put his Captain persona firmly in place. With Ianto jogging behind him trying to keep pace, he strode into the A&E. “Captain Jack Harkness,” he announced to the woman at the desk. “I’m here to see Alice Carter.”


Without looking up, the receptionist replied, “Have a seat. The doctor will be with you as soon as possible.”


Before Jack could come completely unglued and cause a scene as only he could, Ianto stepped forward. “Torchwood,” he said sternly, flashing his identification. “Please tell us where Mrs. Carter is and have her doctor meet us there immediately.”


Swallowing, the woman nodded and consulted the computer. “Down the hall. Take the lift to the third floor. Critical care,” she said, a look of sympathy appearing on her face. “I’ll call Dr. Singh,” she added.


Nodding his thanks, Ianto led Jack to the lift. They didn’t speak on the short trip to the critical care unit, though Ianto wanted to say anything to drown out the stupid, inane music that was playing. He felt Jack slip a hand into his and stayed silent, just slightly increasing the pressure on his lover’s fingers in a vain attempt to reassure him.


When they reached the third floor, they were met by an older woman wearing a name tag that identified her as Maggie Crowell, a nursing supervisor. She’d clearly been warned to expect them. “Captain Harkness,” she said, nodding briskly. “Dr. Singh is on his way. I’ve been asked to take you to one of the consultation rooms. If you’ll follow me?”


“No,” Jack replied, his voice hard and icy. “I want to see my ... I want to see Alice.” He felt Ianto’s hand on his back, calming him. He knew his partner would back him up if need be.


“I’m sorry,” Miss Crowell said with sincere sympathy in her face and tone. “We have strict visitation policies. Perhaps Dr. Singh can make arrangements, but until you’ve talked to him my first concern is Alice’s care – nothing, including Torchwood, comes ahead of that.”


Jack moved forward to assert his control, but he felt a hand on his arm. Ianto looked at him and silently urged him to stay calm. Turning to the nursing supervisor, the younger man said sternly, “Show us where to wait. Dr. Singh has fifteen minutes, and then we will be allowed to see Alice or my first phone call will be so far over your head that you’ll need an oxygen mask to take it.”


Her face going pale, the nurse nodded abruptly. “Follow me,” she said, gesturing down the corridor.


After Miss Crowell had led them to the consultation room and left them alone, Jack couldn’t stay still. He fidgeted momentarily in the chair and then stood and started to pace. He kept glancing at his watch and the clock on the wall, as if counting down the minutes until they could make good on Ianto’s threat and start using the power of Torchwood to do something – anything.


“Telling you to calm down until we know something won’t help, will it?” Ianto asked gently from where he was leaning against the wall watching Jack closely. He couldn’t sit while his partner wore a hole in the floor.


“They don’t put people in rooms like this to tell them good news, Ianto,” Jack growled, stopping in mid-stride to glance at his lover. “I keep reaching for my phone to call Martha. I want Alice to have the best care.”


“As soon as we know anything, I’ll make the call myself,” Ianto assured him, thinking there was another Doctor who might get a call as well. The Time Lord owed Jack. Getting any needed help for Alice would just be the beginning. “Martha and Mickey would kill both of us if we didn’t call them; Gwen would as well,” he added, knowing their friend would want to be here for Jack, and for Alice whom she’d come to like during the incident with the 456.


“Once we know something,” the Captain agreed, and then turned as the door opened to admit a slender, dark-skinned man who looked to be in his fifties. “Dr. Singh?” he guessed. When the other man nodded, he stalked towards him. “What the hell is happening with my daughter?” he demanded gruffly; his voice almost sounded like a growl.


“Your daughter?” the doctor replied, looking confused as he consulted his notes. “I thought you were here to see about Alice Carter. The woman I’m treating is approximately your age. There must be some mistake.”


“No,” Ianto assured him, moving up behind Jack. “We’re here about Mrs. Alice Carter. Captain Jack Harkness is her father, and that is all you need to know. Everything about this case – including my partner’s relationship to your patient – is covered not just by patient privilege, but by the Official Secrets Act.” He glanced at the clock. “Only five minutes remain of the fifteen I gave to Miss Crowell before I started calling in favours from people with more power than you can imagine. I suggest you tell Captain Harkness what he wants to know – starting with Alice’s condition and her prognosis.”


Assessing the situation quickly, the doctor clearly decided compliance was the better part of valour. He seemed to know them. He likely recognised them from the incident with the children. He knew they had solved it somehow. That made them very brave, very powerful, and very dangerous – a combination most people preferred never to cross. “Let’s sit down,” he suggested, gesturing to the chairs nearest the door.


Ianto managed to get Jack to settle on one of the chairs. Sitting next to him, he took his hand and looked at the doctor. “You need to explain now,” he ordered calmly. “Jack’s waited long enough.”


“Mrs. Carter – Alice – was crossing the road to her car when she was struck by a vehicle travelling at a high rate of speed,” the doctor told them, consulting his PDA. “She suffered multiple contusions, broken bones, and internal injuries – all of which would heal with time and appropriate care. Unfortunately, she also suffered massive closed head trauma. By the time she arrived at the A&E, she was unresponsive. We were able to stabilise her, but her condition has deteriorated since then. She is unable to breathe on her own and is on a ventilator.” He looked up. “I’m sorry, Captain Harkness, but preliminary test results indicate she’s suffered irreparable brain damage. It’s highly unlikely that she will make a meaningful recovery. We’ll be taking her for a scan shortly to determine if there is any brain function.”


Jack closed his eyes, and then opened them again. “And if she does have brain function?” he demanded, looking helpless. There was no enemy to fight here – just a stupid accident that was going to take Alice away from him.


“Then we wait and try to reduce the pressure and the swelling,” the doctor replied, clearly wanting to be honest. “I’ve been surprised before, but not often. Based on all physical indications, I don’t expect us to find any brain activity. If we do, it will be minimal. Alice still can’t breathe on her own, and the brain does not heal from trauma like this. I am very sorry, but I don’t believe there is anything we can do for ... your daughter.”


“If there is no brain function, what then?” Ianto asked, clearly knowing Jack needed a moment to absorb the news, but that he would want a course of action laid out for him.


“Then as her next of kin, Captain Harkness will have to decide whether to terminate life support,” the doctor replied, looking from one man to the other. “Mrs. Carter is divorced and her son is a minor, so the choice is yours Captain Harkness. Has your daughter discussed her wishes with you?” he asked Jack in a gentle, but clinical tone.


Jack nodded curtly. “She’s been very clear that she does not want to be kept alive by artificial means. I have all the paperwork. I’ll contact my solicitors and have it couriered over.”


“It’s always better to have the record,” Dr. Singh agreed. “However, in this situation, there wouldn’t be cause to contest the decision.” He stood. “I’m truly sorry. I’ll arrange for you to see Alice as soon as she’s back from the tests, and I’ll let you know what the results show.” He left the room as Ianto pulled Jack into an awkward embrace.


“I’m sorry,” he whispered, holding his lover close. “I’ll call Martha and have her call the Doctor, and then I’ll call Gwen. There’s bound to be ...”


“No,” Jack replied, interrupting him and pushing him away just a little. “There isn’t. There never will be. All across time and space, eventually everything in the body can be replicated or cloned except the brain. Science – human and alien – never manages it. Everything we are – thoughts, personality, life force, even what you people would call the soul – is housed there. Once it’s destroyed that’s it; by my time that is the only true measure of death. We could preserve her body and maybe even get it functioning again, but without her brain or a complete genetic and electronic map of it and her thoughts, Alice would still be gone.”


Ianto shook his head. “Maybe the Doctor knows a way you don’t,” he insisted, looking agonised at the thought of Jack enduring another loss so soon.


“Doesn’t matter,” Jack said, shaking his head sadly. “I gave Alice my word a long time ago that when her time came – however it was and whenever it was – I wouldn’t interfere. It was the same promise you made me make to you after the debacle with Owen. I’ve been a lousy father, but I can do two things for my little girl. I can make sure her wishes are honoured, and I can take care of Steven.” With that, Jack sagged against Ianto, who held him as he sobbed silently.




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