Doctor Who_ Bad Therapy - Matthew Jones [114]
‘And the end justifies the means does it?’ Chris yelled. ‘It’s all right for people to get lied to along the way?’ He poked the Doctor hard in the chest.
‘Goddess, that’s not a pretty attitude. When I think of Patsy now, I can actually see the other people in her. It’s so crukking obvious now that I know. Forrester, 197
Ishtar, old girlfriends, even little bits of Bernice. But. . . oh shit. . . but mostly Roz.’
The young Adjudicator pushed past the Doctor and staggered a few steps down the street before coming to a faltering stop and resting his head against the window of a shop. He started to laugh, coldly and without humour. The sound was ugly and made the Doctor tense up inside. At that moment, he would have done anything to make the sound stop.
‘I wanted her back so much that I conjured her out of the crukking air.
I turned Patsy into her. Goddess, I feel so. . . ’ Chris thumped his forehead against the glass, making the window pane shake in its frame. He scrunched up his face, fighting back tears. ‘I feel so. . . so humiliated.’
‘I’m sorry. I didn’t realize,’ the Doctor said helplessly, moving to comfort his friend.
‘Don’t,’ Chris said, firmly. ‘Don’t you even come near me, do you hear?’ His voice was edging towards hysteria. ‘I don’t want your support, thank you very much. I’m too angry with you for that.’ He took a deep breath and, suddenly aware that he was hugging himself tightly, straightened up. ‘Can’t you see,’ he said, screwing up his face again. ‘I’m going to have to lose her all over again.
It was hard enough once and now it’s going to start all over again. All over a-crukking-gain. Goddess, I’m right back where I started.’
‘Surely you don’t have to lose her at all.’
Chris’s eyes widened in horror. ‘Goddess, you actually think I should stay with Patsy, don’t you? You actually think I could do that. Could you?’
‘I don’t. . . you know I don’t get involved. Not like that. Not any –’
‘Shit,’ Chris interrupted, prodding the Doctor hard in the chest. ‘You’re so messed up, do you know that? I’m going to find Patsy and sort this out.’ He gave the Doctor a look of utter contempt and then spat, ‘I’ll leave you to your heroics.’
The Doctor was left standing outside the dance hall on Frith Street. Alone.
The preparations for the party were almost complete. The sparse, modern look of Ronnie Scott’s – all Formica table tops and vinyl seats – had been transformed with balloons, garlands and streamers. Jack thought the whole place looked like something out of South Pacific.
Tilda was busy ordering everyone about. The woman psychiatrist from the hospital was there, as well as Gilliam and Inspector Harris. The Doctor and his friend Christopher were nowhere in sight.
Mikey and Dennis had gone home. Mickey had decided that he didn’t want to attend the party. Jack could understand why.
Jack hung back in the doorway, unable to bring himself to enter the room.
Masked and costumed figures lined the edge of the dancefloor. There were 198
harlequins, pirates, princesses, lions. All motionless, like wallflowers just waiting for someone to invite them to dance.
The Doctor walked up behind Jack, looking preoccupied. ‘Jack, I need to talk to you. It’s about Chris –’
Jack couldn’t take his eyes off the costumed figures. ‘If I stepped into that party tonight and danced with one of those things, they’d turn into Eddy Stone wouldn’t they?’
The Doctor nodded, hesitantly, as if he wasn’t certain. ‘Maybe.’
‘I could bring him back just by going in there, couldn’t I? That easy. That’s why Eddy’s hair changed colour, isn’t it? He could somehow sense that I fancied blokes with blond hair just from being with me.’
‘Do you want to bring Eddy back?’
‘No!’ Jack exclaimed. ‘I don’t know. I want him back more than anything I’ve ever wanted. But not now. It wouldn’t be the same, would it? I’d know he wasn’t real, wouldn’t I?’ Jack shivered. ‘I need to get out of here