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“Buon giorno, my favourite niece!”
“How many nieces do you have, exactly?”
“Well… eeerrm-ah… hard to say, but out of any other potential nieces, you’re still my favourite. What can I do for you?”
“I just wanted to check if you would be home soon. When I left for school, I noticed Sigma hadn’t touched his breakfast and you know he usually scoffs it down. I’ve still got an art lesson left, and I thought it would be good if someone checked in on him. Mum said she might be home soon, but you know how traffic can get.”
“Ah, of course. Don’t you worry – I’m just around the corner, Mr Lewis needed help installing his new Wi-Fi. I’ll look after Siggy as soon as I get home.”
The Doctor finished the call with Rose as he strolled along the quaint street but quickened his pace slightly - he didn’t feel too anxious about the cat, since he had acted like his usual playful self the previous day, but the last time Sigma had skipped a meal he had indeed turned out to be sick, although he had recovered quickly.
The Noble-Temple-Mott family had now been proud cat owners for more than a year, and Sigma had become an integral part of their unusual family constellation. While he often kept them on their toes, by being a complete goofball and uncoordinated daredevil, he was also a huge cuddle bug. The Doctor had quickly warmed up to the concept of being a Cat Dad, despite his initial hesitation, and he couldn’t picture their life without the ginger creature now. Having Sigma curl up on his softened retirement waistline offered the Time Lord a deep sense of comfort and calm, but it was only one of many reasons he had taken to having the cat around.
"Sigma?"
The Doctor called out the moment he stepped through the front door. There was no response, which wasn’t completely out of the ordinary, as the cat often spent time in the garden. But since the Doctor knew no one else had been home to let him out, he would have expected the feline to appear the moment he opened the door.
“Siggy? Ps-ps-ps,” he tried again, listening for any telltale sounds of paws on the stairs, or the delightful chirping sound that Sigma often greeted them with, but the house was quiet.
“Where are you, Siggy…” the Doctor muttered to himself, his two hearts beating slightly faster out of concern now and paused only to remove his coat before he ventured further inside to look for the ginger critter.
The Doctor entered the living room first, since that was usually the cat’s favourite spot, particularly on his pillow by the window, but there was no sign of him there. The Time Lord paused by the window to look outside, half-hoping to see Sigma huddled under a bush or by the door, waiting to be let inside, but alas – no cat.
Remembering what Rose had said about Sigma not touching his breakfast, the Doctor hurried into the kitchen next, only to find the bowl of food still untouched. Next to the bowl, however, was a wet spill of something clear and viscous mixed with red. Was that… blood?
“Sigma!” the Doctor called out again, whipping his head around as he looked for the cat, his gaze wild and haunted, his forehead folded in deep wrinkles of concern and fear. There was no sign of the cat in any of the usual spots, nor anywhere on the floor and all the doors were locked. Had the poor creature made it upstairs? The Doctor had just turned on his heel to bound for the stairs when he heard the most mournful little mewling.
“I hear you, Siggy Twiggy, I’m coming,” the Time Lord said, his voice constrained with fear.
The sound had definitely come from the ground floor, but it was hard to determine exactly from where, even with the Doctor’s heightened sense of hearing. He rushed around the staircase, his eyes darting from ceiling to floor, until he spotted the bathroom door. It was usually propped open for Sigma’s sake as his litterbox was in there, and the Doctor cursed himself for neglecting to check that spot.
He wrenched the bathroom door open all the way and slammed his hand against the light switch as he staggered inside.
At that very second, Donna had just reached the front door and unlocked it, stepping over the threshold when the most horrible sound reached her ears. She couldn’t remember hearing the Time Lord ever cry out with such heartbreaking despair, a shrill sound of pain and anguish that broke his voice and made her blood freeze.
“Doctor?!” She dropped her handbag right inside the door as she hurtled inside, her voice nearly breaking too out of sheer fright. Was he injured? Had someone died?
Moments later she reached the open door, where she spotted the Time Lord standing in the middle of the bathroom, his whole body trembling. His face was contorted in shock and grief, his eyes wide in horror, and it took a few seconds before Donna spotted the seemingly lifeless form of Sigma in his arms.
“Oh my god… Spaceman – what’s happened?!” Donna gasped, frozen to the spot while she tried to process the scene in front of her.
“He’s b-barely breathing, Donna… He’s dying!” the Doctor exclaimed, his voice breaking with every word. “I don’t know what to do! What do I do?! We’ve got to save him!”
Donna didn’t know what was more disturbing – the sight of the cat hanging limply in the Doctor’s arms, or the Time Lord’s state of wild panic and anxiety – she only knew that it was breaking her heart. Her precious, foolish, old alien who was usually so sure of himself in a crisis looked like a lost child, which in turn gave her focus and purpose.
“Did you see what happened to him?” Donna asked, her voice calm and steady. She wouldn’t let herself lose her head – she had to stay collected and focused for the cat and Time Lord’s sake.
“No! Rose called me and said he hadn’t eaten this m-m-morning and I came home to look for him, and there was blood in the kitchen and there’s b-blood in his litter box, but I don’t see any injuries…” the Doctor’s voice still shook as he rambled. “Help me, Donna – he’s fading!” he pleaded.
Donna couldn’t remember seeing the Time Lord looking as helpless as he did now. Facing a dead end usually caused him frustration and anger rather than upset... This was entirely different, and it was painful to see the confusion and desperation on his face and in his haunted eyes.
“We’ll take him straight to the vets, Doctor,” she told him calmly but firmly.
“Right, the veterinarian, of course… we can take the TARDIS, it’s quicker…” he mumbled, his hand cradling Sigma’s small head with endless love and care.
“You’re in no state to pilot that ship, Doctor. I’ve got the car right outside – it’s only a 2-minute drive,” Donna insisted, because she didn’t trust him to fly while in such a highly frazzled state of mind, but expected the panicked alien to argue. To her surprise he merely nodded before staggering past her into the hallway.
“Hang on, Sigma – Daddy’s got you,” he muttered in quiet tones as he marched towards the front door, keeping the cat pressed to his chest. Those words struck Donna like a ton of bricks, but there was no time to get emotional – she was desperate to save their beloved pet just like the Doctor was, but his near-hysteric state made the situation feel all the more dire.
Moments later they were both in the car, with the Doctor keeping the lifeless form of Sigma on his lap, the cat half-resting against the Time Lord’s round middle. He hadn’t stopped to buckle himself in, but Donna wasn’t going to argue the point just then.
“There’s a smell about him… something chemical,” the Doctor muttered while he gently stroked the ginger feline’s soft fur with shaking hands.
“Could he have eaten something he shouldn’t have? Cleaning supplies?” Donna theorised, her eyes glued to the road as she sped down the narrow street at a much higher speed than she would ever do otherwise.
“It smells worse than that – nothing I’ve smelled in our house,” he replied. “What if the vets can’t help him? There’s an interstellar medical centre a few lightyears away that treats practically all carbon-based mammals, but their coordinates are a nightmare to track. They probably have advanced nano-based treatments that could reverse all damage, but it could take ages to find them, and they work with Glacodian policies which rarely align with creatures this small…”
The rambling was so familiar to Donna that she knew it wasn’t worth trying to keep up – it was simply the Time Lord’s way to process stress and trauma, and she didn’t interrupt until he paused to take a breath.
“We’re doing the right thing, Doctor. He needs medical care, and that’s what he’ll get at the vets,” she said calmly but firmly.
Next to her, the Doctor was gently shifting the limp form of Sigma, but the Time Lord froze mid-movement.
“I don’t think he’s breathing… No, Sigma – please,” the Doctor stated, his voice breaking once more as he rubbed his hand frantically against the soft ginger fur.
Donna nearly lost control of the vehicle as she turned into the car park, tyres screeching loudly until she stopped right in front of the clinic entrance. Before she had time to unbuckle herself, the Time Lord had already leapt from the car with Sigma pressed against his chest. He stormed into the reception where several dogs started barking from the sudden commotion, a parrot screeched, but he took no notice of them.
“Please help! He’s dying!” he cried helplessly, cradling the lifeless cat in his arms.
The nurse behind the desk didn’t waste a second before she flew to her feet, her many years of experience making her able to recognise a true emergency.
“Right through here, please – follow me,” she instructed the Doctor, just as Donna entered the building and quickly followed behind the frantic alien.
“What’s happened?” the nurse wondered as she led the way through the corridor.
“H-he’s been spewing up blood and there was blood in his litter b-box,” the Doctor explained even though his voice shook so bad he could barely talk.
“We just found him like this moments ago, but he was fine yesterday,” Donna added.
“Could he have ingested something poisonous? Is he an outdoor cat?” the nurse continued, while letting them into the back where two staff members came hurrying over.
“Yes, that’s what we’re afraid of. My husband let him back inside early in the morning, and my daughter noticed he didn’t touch his breakfast,” said Donna.
“I don’t think he’s breathing – you’ve got to save him!” the Doctor exclaimed, while the nurse reached out to gently take the cat from his trembling arms.
“We’ll do everything we can, Sir. My colleague will take you to a private room – please answer their questions as best you can. We’ll look after…?” the nurse looked questioningly at Donna.
“Sigma,” Donna replied while the cat was blocked from their view by the medical team.
The whole room seemed to be buzzing with nurses and veterinarians as another staff member guided the Doctor and Donna into a smaller examination room where they asked a long list of questions regarding Sigma’s health and life in general. At that point, the Time Lord appeared too apathetic to speak, but Donna was able to answer everything – at least all they knew thus far, and the clinic thankfully had Sigma’s clinical records from previous check-ups on file.
“You’ve done everything you could, Mr and Mrs Noble. Sigma’s in very capable hands, but I know you both realise the severity of his condition. You are more than welcome to wait in the reception area, or if you’d rather go home, we can phone you with any updates,” the young assistant explained.
Donna decided not to argue the point of them not being a couple and merely nodded. The assistant exited, leaving the door open for them, while Donna turned to the Doctor who was looking alarmingly pale.
“What do you think, Spaceman? Would it be best to go home for now?” she suggested, but the Time Lord shook his head slowly.
“I don’t want to leave him,” he replied in a small voice, his eyes staring unseeingly ahead.
The reply didn’t come as a surprise, but Donna’s heart still ached at the sight of her best friend. She loved their cat and his condition worried her greatly too, but it was nothing in comparison to the way it had seemingly shaken the Time Lord. His brown eyes appeared hollow, his lips merely a grim line, while his clenched hands shook slightly.
“He’s in good hands, Doctor,” she told him reassuringly as she stood up and kissed his unruly mop of hair. “Come on, let’s go to reception.”
She led the pale Time Lord by the hand through the corridor back to the reception area, where they were met with several sympathetic gazes from the other pet owners waiting for their animals to be seen. Donna gave them a hapless smile in return before she guided the Doctor onto an empty seat. His tall frame folded like a stack of cards, his expression unchanged and his eyes staring unseeingly ahead. Without the cat in his arms, Donna noticed a small blood stain left on the Time Lord’s white shirt, which was less than a reassuring sight, but it seemed pointless to mention it. There was nothing they could do now but wait…
Donna made them a cup of tea each from the small drink station, but the Time Lord didn’t touch the paper cup. While they waited, Donna typed a message to the family group chat, explaining that Sigma was grievously ill but being tended to at the vets. Shaun, who was working, didn’t reply but Rose immediately called.
“What’s going on? Is he okay, Mum?” the teenager wondered in desperate tones the second Donna picked up.
“We don’t know, sweetheart,” Donna replied with a deep sigh. “They think he might’ve eaten something poisonous, probably something outside, but it’s just a theory… he’s really not well.”
Donna’s heart, which was already heavy as lead, broke in two when she heard her daughter gasp and sob.
“Are you with him now? What are they doing to help him?” Rose wondered, her voice cracking with every word.
“He’s being seen by a whole team of vets, they’re doing everything they can… Your uncle and I are just waiting,” Donna explained.
“C-can you pick me up? Please, Mum, I want to be there,” Rose begged.
“Of course, love, of course… Just a second,” Donna said, while turning to look at the Time Lord.
“Doctor?”
There was no reaction, and she placed her hand on the Doctor’s arm which finally made him come out of his trance-like state, his dark eyes shifting to focus on her.
“I’m on the phone with Rose… she wants to be here. Are you okay to stay while I pick her up, or do you want to come with me?” Donna asked.
“I’d like to stay, if that’s alright,” he replied in a small voice.
“Of course it’s fine, that’s why I asked,” she assured him with a sad smile, before placing the phone back to her ear. “I’ll be there in a couple of minutes, sweetheart. Love you.”
No sooner said than done, Donna left the veterinary clinic to head for the school where Rose anxiously waited right by the entrance. Donna stifled her motherly instincts to rush out of the car to embrace the teenager but spared a few seconds to cup her daughter’s cheek gently as soon as she climbed into the front seat.
“How bad is it, Mum?” Rose wondered, her usually sparkling eyes looking just as haunted as the Time Lord’s, while she pressed her hand over her mother’s hand against her cheek. Donna tried to find the appropriate response, unsure of how many details she could bear to share, but her silence said more than words could, and Rose gave a quick nod of understanding while tears welled up in her eyes.
“Let’s go,” she said, both sitting back in their seats before Donna steered out of the car park, only marginally slower than she’d entered it.
It was a short but tense drive back to the clinic. Rose didn’t ask anything else – as much as she wanted to know Sigma’s condition, she was scared to learn any upsetting details… all she hoped and prayed was that her phoning the Doctor had happened in time to save the cat.
They entered the clinic together, and Donna watched a change come over the Doctor the moment his worried gaze landed on his niece. Calm and determination replaced his anxious expression as he stood from his seat and spread his long arms wide. Rose didn’t hesitate as she ran up to him, flinging her arms around his tall frame with a quivering sob, her face buried against his chest. The Time Lord tucked his head on top of hers, the tip of his nose buried in her curly hair as he sighed heavily.
It was an endearing yet sad scene, and Donna simply paused to watch them for a moment. She had always been grateful for choosing such a wonderful partner and father, with Shaun always prioritising their family and creating the safest of spaces for their only child. The Doctor fit in perfectly amongst them, and she couldn’t picture a better honorary uncle - the way he loved her daughter meant everything to her, and it only seemed right to let them have a moment together, especially as they had been the ones to find and rescue Sigma in the first place when they adopted him.
“Will he be okay?” Rose sniffed.
It broke the Time Lord’s hearts to hear that question without being able to give her the answer they both wanted to hear. He squeezed her even tighter and kissed her curls with another deep sigh.
“I don’t know, sweetheart… I don’t know.”
An hour ticked by, with Donna, the Doctor and Rose anxiously waiting in the reception area while other pet owners came and left. There were no updates yet from the veterinary staff, but no news felt like good news just then… perhaps there was still a chance…
Shaun phoned during one of his breaks, and Donna walked outside to take the call. As upsetting as the whole ordeal was, they decided he should finish his shift as usual and pick up Wilfred from his veteran’s meet-up on the way back. Even though Shaun’s presence would have brought great comfort, it wouldn’t make any difference to Sigma’s fate, and it was a long drive which was less than preferable to do in a stressed or emotional state.
“You had better come home in one piece, or so help me,” Donna warned her husband, her voice filled with all the intensive love only she could muster.
“I promise, darling – I will bring both me and your Gramps home safely,” he assured her, his voice managing to soothe her stressed mind ever so slightly.
The same moment she re-entered the clinic, the door behind the check-in desk opened and what appeared to be a vet surgeon walked into the reception area towards the Doctor and Rose.
“Hello, I’m doctor Pauline Ashford - are you the Temple-Nobles?” the woman enquired, to which they both nodded.
“Yes, we’re Sigma’s family,” Donna confirmed as she hurried up to join them, all three of them staring nervously at the vet. “Is he okay? Is he alive?”
The second it took for the veterinarian to reply felt like an eternity, and the moment her expression turned grim, they all feared the worst.
“I’m afraid he’s in a very critical condition… but he’s stable for now,” she replied.
Rose let out a small whimper, and Donna immediately wrapped an arm around her. The Doctor’s face mirrored the veterinarian’s grim expression, but his shoulders lowered ever so slightly.
“Do you know what caused this? Is there anything we can do to help?” he wondered, almost pleadingly with a desperation shining in his eyes.
“We believe he’s ingested some form of rodenticide, a type of warfarin substance. Is that something you’ve ever kept in your house? Or possibly any neighbours using it?” Pauline said. “It can cause internal bleeding and prevents blood from coagulating.”
“Not in our house, no, but possibly a neighbour… He usually stays within our yard, though,” the Doctor replied, his expression growing darker at the mere thought of someone poisoning their cat, albeit unwittingly.
“When properly used, it’s usually placed in containers specifically for rodents, but sometimes people will just spread it willy-nilly, which is absolutely disastrous for wildlife and pets, of course,” Pauline sighed. “Sometimes, secondary poisoning can occur when cats eat mice or rats that have ingested the poison first, but I doubt it in Sigma’s case – his symptoms are far too severe. Did you notice him acting strange during the last couple of days?”
“He seemed a bit tired yesterday, but he usually likes to sleep a lot… it was only this morning when he didn’t touch his food that we noticed,” Rose explained. “Could we have done something sooner? Should we have noticed the signs? Were we too late?” she continued anxiously.
“Oh no, I know it’s easy to blame yourself when things like this happen, but you’ve done as much as you could – you reacted the moment you thought something was off, and that’s all you can do in these situations,” Pauline assured her with a gentle smile, while Donna squeezed her arm around Rose.
“Do you think he’ll recover?” Donna wondered.
“I won’t make any sort of predictions or promises, but we have the bleeding under control for now. If he makes it through the night, his chances will definitely have improved… At that point, he would still need to spend some time here at the clinic,” the veterinarian replied.
“Of course – anything. Do anything and everything you can, please, as long as there’s a chance he’ll be okay,” the Doctor insisted. “Could we stay with him? At the clinic?” he wondered hopefully, and the three women smiled ruefully at his innocent request.
“I’m afraid we’re not equipped to let owners spend the night with us, but rest assured he will be monitored around the clock,” Pauline replied. “He’ll stay in intensive care for now, but we will let you know if his condition changes.”
It was clear that the Doctor was less than pleased at the thought of leaving Sigma behind, but it was all they could do for the time being. His expression fell into worry and despair once more, though less pronounced than before. Knowing that Sigma was still alive was reassuring, but they all realised just how serious his condition was.
The Temple-Noble-Mott household was very subdued that evening. For being such a small creature, the empty space left by Sigma was vast and significant and was felt by each family member. Even Sylvia, who was staying in her own flat at the time, called to express her worry for the poor cat. Her call did cause quite a commotion, since they all expected a call from the vets with either good news, or the worst possible update. The Doctor jumped from his seat in the living room as though it was spring-loaded when Donna’s phone rang, and he was too tense to sit down again once he realised it was only Sylvia calling. He left the room and headed into the backyard where a light rain was falling, where Donna assumed he was going to the TARDIS.
While Donna spoke to Sylvia, Shaun and Wilf started preparing some toast for supper – a simple meal seemed best, as none of them had much of an appetite, and Donna brought a plate up to Rose since the teenager had decided to retreat to her room.
“Did someone call earlier? Was it the vet?” Rose wondered the moment her mother appeared.
“No, sweetheart, it was just Nan. I’ll let you know the second we hear any news,” Donna assured her.
After pulling her daughter into a loving embrace, Donna went back downstairs to the kitchen where Shaun and Wilf had just taken a seat.
“Is the Doctor still outside?” Donna wondered.
“Must be – I haven’t seen him. Want me to go fetch him?” Shaun offered.
“No, that’s alright, you two stay and I’ll see if he wants to join us,” Donna replied with a weary smile before she headed for the backdoor.
It was a bit chilly with a light drizzle in the air and small droplets landed softly in Donna’s ginger mane the moment she stepped outside. She took a deep breath, letting the cool air fill her lungs and soothe her before she turned her attention to the TARDIS, but to her surprise the windows appeared dark which usually meant the ship was empty. That’s when she became aware of the familiar figure of the Time Lord, who was walking slowly along their fence. He was slightly hunched over, his outstretched arm aiming the sonic screwdriver at the ground, and his forehead folded in deep wrinkles. Apart from being surprised at his actions, Donna was dismayed to see that his hair and clothes were completely wet, meaning he must have roamed outside ever since he left the living room.
“Doctor, what on Earth are you up to?” she exclaimed, causing the Doctor to jump, nearly dropping the sonic screwdriver as he scrambled to straighten himself up.
“You’ll bloody freeze to death – you’re absolutely soaked!” Donna lamented while she walked up to him.
“I was looking for poison,” the Doctor replied with a weary expression, his dark eyes appearing quite hollow as he gazed at Donna.
“Poison? You mean… something Sigma could’ve eaten?” she replied.
The Doctor nodded with a pained look, and it pulled at Donna’s heartstrings to see her friend so tormented.
“And… did you find anything?” she wondered.
“I did… I had to add an extension and tweak the settings to detect more substances, and I found traces of rat poison by the rose bushes,” he explained.
“By the roses?” Donna repeated and looked over at the plants by the fence. “The side that faces away from any neighbours,” she noted.
“Exactly… hard to pinpoint where it came from, but it seems someone’s dumped it over the fence,” the Doctor said.
“I haven’t heard of any rodent problems in the area – nothing public or in the village newsletter,” Donna mused.
“Maybe it was intentional,” the Doctor replied darkly. The idea had stuck in his mind as soon as the veterinarian had confirmed that Sigma was poisoned.
“You think so?” Donna said, a bit surprised by the Time Lord’s theory. He didn’t usually jump to the worst possible conclusion, but it was clear that the whole ordeal had shaken him up quite badly.
“I don’t know, but that’s what I’m trying to find out. If I could just tune the settings better, I could trace it more accurately, but there’s too much interference from other substances. There’s a chance the TARDIS has any movements logged so I could pop back in time and see, but I need to run through all current events before I intervene. If it’s safe, I could catch them in the act and save him in the first place, but I have to be sure this is the only location where it was dropped, yet I can’t be sure because the damn atmospheric decoder keeps acting up, and the longer it takes the possibility of safely interfering in the past becomes more unlikely but I have to do it, I have to save him, I need to –“
The Time Lord ceased his chaotic rambling when he suddenly felt a warm hand on his cheek, and his face was gently guided towards his best friend, who met his gaze with a gentle expression.
“This is not your fault, Doctor, nor your responsibility to fix,” Donna told him in a calm yet decisive voice.
“Of course it is – you’re all my responsibility!” the Doctor snapped back, much harsher than he’d intended, but Donna didn’t flinch.
“And you are ours. Just as Sigma is all our responsibility,” she replied.
“I’m meant to keep him safe! I’m supposed to be better! Do better!” the Doctor shouted in frustration, turning his face upwards as he stepped back and began pacing while tugging at his wiry hair.
“Better than who? Than us? Because you’re a mighty Time Lord and we’re nothing but puny little humans?”
“That’s not… that isn’t… that’s not what I meant!” he blustered.
“But it is, Doctor. ‘Puny humans’ was perhaps a bit harsh, but you’re holding yourself to a much higher standard, always. No one expects you to solve every last issue we encounter, big or small. We all want Sigma to be safe, but we don’t want to mess about with time,” she insisted, in the same calm yet firm tone.
“What use am I, the Lord of Time, if I can’t use it to keep my loved ones safe?!” the Doctor raged. His voice was still loud and furious, but it broke at the last word.
Donna could see beyond the anger, knowing there was grief and desperation fuelling it, adding to the feeling of ineptitude and helplessness. She didn’t shy away from him but stepped forward instead and resolutely pulled him into a hug. His body was terribly cold, with the wet shirt clinging to his icy skin, and he was stiff as a board at first. It only took a few moments before he broke, though. His tall frame collapsed, and Donna nearly staggered when his full weight slouched against her, but she stood strong for the two of them. She simply held her Spaceman as he began to sob, placing one hand at the back of his wet hair, and the other running in gentle circles over one side of his soft waistline.
“I don’t want to lose him,” he whimpered, his voice muffled by Donna’s hair which he had buried his face into.
“I know, Spaceman… We all want him to be safe and sound. You’ve done everything you can, and now it’s up to the vets – they know what they’re doing,” she assured him.
In the corner of her eye, Donna noticed movement by the living room window, and she realised Shaun was standing inside. The moment their eyes caught, he gestured for her to come in while raising and pointing at a warm blanket, and she gave him a quick nod.
“Freezing to death out here is not going to help him, though. Time Lord or not, you need warming up and dry clothes,” she said, but waited for the Time Lord to let out the worst of his pent-up feelings. Before long, he managed to stifle his sobs, and his arms, which were clinging to Donna, slowly loosened their grip.
“Come on then, Dumbo – let’s get you inside in front of the fire,” she said with all the love only she could muster despite the name-calling.
It took an hour for the Time Lord to warm up properly, and another hour before he showed the least bit of interest in having something to eat. Shaun, Wilf and Donna all settled down in the living room together with him, and while it didn’t ease all his worries, it was clearly having a calming effect on the Doctor. When Rose decided to join them, he was ready to offer comfort, his demeanour changing just as quickly as it had back at the clinic – always ready to support his niece no matter how much he was struggling.
There was no news from the vets that evening, and the family all went to bed with an uneasy feeling. Unsurprisingly, it meant a sleepless night for the Time Lord, but while he spent most of it in an apathetic sort of state, he managed to regain some focus and busied himself by making a vast breakfast spread for everyone in the morning. By the time the family trickled into the kitchen, there was practically a smorgasbord waiting for them.
“Aren’t you going to eat something?” Donna wondered.
While the rest of the family had all treated themselves to a full plate of the many breakfast options, the Doctor hadn’t touched any of it, nor his steaming cup of tea.
“Not hungry,” he replied with a slight shrug, his dark eyes gazing blindly ahead.
The fact that the Time Lord wouldn’t eat was a sure sign these days that something was amiss. He was used to his creature comforts now, as evidenced by the soft mound sitting around his previously skinny waistline, and his habits around food had become much more human. A few skipped meals wouldn’t be the end of the world, but the implications of it were sad and worrisome to Donna. Before she could say anything else, the phone rang which made everyone in the kitchen jump. She sprang from her seat and fumbled with the screen before she managed to answer.
“Hello? Yes, this is her… Right…”
All eyes were on Donna as she talked. Shaun mimed ‘is it the vets?’, to which she promptly nodded, and they all waited with bated breath.
“He did? Yes… of course, I understand… Oh, thank goodness!”
Despite not hearing the whole conversation, the relief in Donna’s voice was enough to let them know it was good news. Wilf shook his fist triumphantly in the air, Rose pressed her hand to her mouth while her shoulders lowered as she untensed, while Shaun raised his hand towards the Doctor who grasped it tightly rather than bestowing a high-five as Shaun had intended.
“Will you give us a call then? Right, perfect – thank you ever so much. You’re all angels, you are,” Donna said before finishing the call.
“Well? What did they say, sweetheart?” Wilf asked, his face shining with excitement.
“It’s too soon to say that he’ll be perfectly fine, but he’s more stable now. He had no issues during the night, and… he was purring when they checked on him this morning,” Donna explained and became choked up at the end of her sentence.
“Oh, Mum,” Rose sniffed as she hurried over to hug her.
The atmosphere in the room had changed as though a switch had been flipped. Even though they all knew Sigma’s condition was serious, they couldn’t help but rejoice over the fact that he had made it through the night.
“He’s our little fighter, that one,” Shaun said with a deep sigh of relief.
“Right – who wants another round of scrambled egg or tofu?” the Doctor offered, and Donna couldn’t help but smile as she watched him finally load his own plate.
Sigma ended up staying at the clinic for six days. He had experienced some minor bleeding on the second day, but once he had shown he could eat, drink and use the litterbox without issue, the vets deemed it safe for him to recover at home. During his time at the clinic, the family had stopped by to see him, but getting to look after him in the comfort of their own home was a lot different. The poor cat was still quite lethargic, but they expected he would make a full recovery.
With a bag loaded with medication, the family were more than happy to take on the role of nurses. Despite being far from his usual energetic self, Sigma was clearly enjoying the near-constant care, and he rarely went a minute without someone’s full attention. He particularly enjoyed being held as the warmth made him more comfortable, but his favourite resting spot by far belonged to the Time Lord.
Being fully retired, at least on paper, certainly had its perks. For the Time Lord, getting to spend hours yapping away with Wilfred, who despite his many hobbies was very much a fellow retiree, was one of those perks, and Sigma had quickly become another important staple in his daily life which was why the Doctor was more than happy to spend time with the poorly ginger critter during his recovery. As soon as the Doctor sat or lay down with Sigma, the cat would sink into the Time Lord’s soft middle with a purr so loud it could be heard through most of the house.
Back in the day, the Doctor would probably have found it frustrating and bothersome to be kept in one place, especially due to being used as a pillow, but with his retirement came several types of softness which meant he was all too happy to stay put and allow the cat to rest for as long as he needed. After a week since Sigma’s return, Donna was beginning to suspect the Time Lord secretly enjoyed this forced downtime, not least because it meant he was sometimes tended to along with the cat.
“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’re taking advantage of the situation,” Donna remarked as she placed a steaming cup of tea along with some almond biscuits on the living room table next to the Time Lord, who was sprawled on the sofa with Sigma fast asleep on top of his squishy belly.
“Me? Taking advantage?” the Doctor scoffed as he shoved a biscuit in his mouth. “Never,” he insisted with a mischievous grin at his best friend.
“Charming – you know you’re supposed to chew those, not inhale them like a snake,” she chuckled, before gently blowing at her own cup of tea. “How’s he doing?” she added, her gaze turning softer as she looked at the curled-up form of the sleeping cat.
“He’s still very tired, as you can probably tell, but he’s definitely getting some energy back,” the Doctor replied, his gaze equally soft as he gently scratched Sigma behind the ear. “Only a few more days before he’s getting one last injection, then we can start the oral K1 treatment.”
As Donna watched the Doctor tenderly pet the sleeping cat she was reminded of Rose’s words when they’d first rescued Sigma.
“Oh Mum… you honestly thought I kept that cat just for me?”
The Time Lord would always have a need to save others, whether it be a butterfly trapped in a window or an entire alien species on the brink of destruction, which Rose had recognised early on. As much as Donna didn’t want to get soppy about it, she couldn’t help but feel deeply moved by the Time Lord’s display of affection towards the cat, simply because she had such vivid memories of how callous he’d sometimes been back in the day when they’d first met – even though she’d seen through that tough façade from the very start.
“Good, that’s good,” she said absentmindedly, her gaze resting unseeingly on the ginger creature. The Doctor carefully reached out to grab the cup without disturbing Sigma and took a sip of tea before he noticed Donna’s thousand-yard stare.
“What’s on your mind, Earthgirl?” he wondered curiously.
Donna came out of her revery with a little shake of her head and a deep sigh.
“Nothing, really… just considering how soft you’ve gotten since your return, Spaceman,” she replied with a shrug.
“Right… perhaps I do need to stop inhaling these biscuits,” the Doctor said sheepishly.
“What? No! That’s not what I meant, you big old space dunce,” Donna insisted. “Yes, you might have gained a bit of a retirement tum, but I thought we’d agreed that’s not a bad thing. None of this softness is bad, Doctor – particularly not this emotional and caring stuff,” she pressed on.
“Stop it, or you’ll make me blush,” he chortled over his tea.
“I mean it, Doctor. You’ve always been important to me, but seeing you care like this… so openly and sincerely… it’s worth more than all that time we spent adventuring together,” she said.
Their eyes finally met, both filled with deep and earnest love and emotion neither of them could quite put into words.
“I suppose being soft has its advantages,” the Doctor conceded with a light chuckle, causing his middle to wobble slightly, but the cat remained undisturbed and sound asleep.
“That’s what I keep telling you,” Donna sighed in mock exasperation. “To think you’d finally grasp the notion - all for a cat.”
“Not just any cat - all for the bestest little Siggy–Twiggy-Wiggy there ever was,” the Time Lord cooed in a baby voice, which immediately prompted the cat to start purring even in his deep slumber.
“Right, that’s too soft - reel it in, Spaceman,” Donna joked, causing them both to laugh.
They kept jibbing and yapping over their tea, while Sigma’s purr mellowed out slowly. He didn’t understand what he’d been through, nor why his poor stomach ached at times, though less so as the days went by. All he knew was that he was safe and so very loved which was all he could possibly need to make a full recovery. After all, his soft Dad was there to protect him.