Title: Condition Critical
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Tenth Doctor/Peter Carlisle
Fandom: Doctor Who/Blackpool
Rating: PG-13
Table: Buffet Table 2, fc_smorgasbord
Prompt: 28, Crisis
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my own imagination, and I make no profit from it. I do not own the Tenth Doctor or Peter Carlisle. Please do not sue.

***

Peter leaned back in his chair, glancing over at the Doctor and suppressing a sigh. The Time Lord was bending over the Tardis' console, a frown on his handsome features, as though he'd just seen something wrong that bothered him.

Whatever it was, the Doctor wasn't talking about it; gradually, the worried look on his face cleared. Peter wanted to sigh again, but he didn't want the Time Lord to know that there was something bothering him, as well, something that he couldn't get off his mind.

Why was it that they never seemed to run into any kind of crisis? Their lives were going along smoothly; they had been to a lot of different planets, and only a few times had they ended up running from a bad situation that the Doctor said they couldn't fix.

He'd also seen the Time Lord stand up to some bad situations, and do some things that he never would have thought of himself. The Time Lord was a truly resourceful man, and Peter had been impressed by how capable he was in a crisis.

Peter wanted to show that he could prove himself if they were ever in some sort of crisis situation, but thus far, he hadn't had the chance to do so. He was starting to feel restless, as though he was simply cooling his heels and being .... well, useless, for lack of a better word.

Of course he wasn't useless, a voice in his head argued. He was here for the Doctor whenever he was needed, in whatever capacity he might be needed in. He was the Time Lord's lover and companion, and if that was all he had to be, he should be satisfied with that.

But he couldn't be, Peter told himself, the sigh finally escaping his lips without him realizing it. He needed to be more than just the Doctor's .... consort. He needed to throw himself into the thick of any situation that they happened to encounter, to feel that he was doing something useful.

"Peter, is something wrong?" The Time Lord's soft query jerked him from his thoughts and back into reality; Peter looked up at his lover, his dark eyes wide and startled for a moment as he groped for some sort of answer to the question.

He started to shake his head, then slowly nodded, a slight frown marring his brow. "Yes, I suppose there is," he said, sighing again and getting to his feet. He moved over to the console to stand next to the Time Lord, their gazes meeting and holding.

He could see concern written in the dark, fathomless depths of the Doctor's eyes -- concern and fear. He knew that the Time Lord was afraid that he would want to leave someday; it was obvious that was what his lover was thinking, the he'd jumped to conclusions.

"Wh-what is it?" the Doctor asked, his voice trembling despite his obvious effort to keep it steady. "If there's anything I can do, Peter, tell me. I want you to be happy here with me, and if I've done something to make you unhappy, let me know and I'll do my best to change it."

Peter shook his head, smiling and sliding his arms around the Doctor's slender waist to pull the other man close against the warmth of his body. "Of course you haven't done anything to make me unhappy," he murmured. "And don't worry, love. I'm not going to leave you."

He could feel the Doctor breathe a sigh of relief; the Time Lord relaxed in his embrace, but his frown grew more pronounced. "Then what's wrong, sweetheart?" he asked, his tone more worried than ever. "Is there something I can do? Please tell me."

"I just .... feel as though I don't do anything here," Peter told him, searching for the right words to explain how he felt. "When I was on Earth, I had a purpose. I helped people. I did some good. Here, I'm just .... a traveler. I don't do anything to be of use."

The Doctor shook his head, his dark gaze meeting Peter's. "How can you say that? You do a lot of good just by being here with me, Peter. Without you in my life, I wouldn't function nearly as well as I do. And you've kept me out of a great deal of trouble, you know."

"I haven't been any help to you in a crisis," Peter objected, shaking his head. "I know that we haven't been involved in one yet -- at least, not some crisis that was life-threatening. And I hope that we're not. But still .... I feel like I'm just treading water, marking time."

He didn't want for them to stumble into some situation where the condition was critical, he told himself. He just wanted to feel as though he could put his training as a detective to some use, to help the Doctor with any dire situation he might find himself in.

The Doctor nodded slowly, his voice thoughtful when he spoke. "I understand," he murmured, his own sigh mirroring Peter's. "You did so much on Earth when you were a detective, and helped so many people. And you feel as if you're not putting that to good use and helping anyone now."

"That's exactly how I feel," Peter said, relieved that the Doctor understood what he meant without him having to try to go into detail about his mixed emotions. "It's not that I want any situation we're in to be a critical one, but --"

"But you'd like to feel that you're doing more than simply being with me and being my lover," the Doctor finished for him. "I understand that perfectly, Peter. Sometimes I don't feel as though I'm of much use to the world either, you know. Especially when I'm just traveling aimlessly."

"You, not being of use in the world?" Peter's eyes widened again, this time in shock. "How could you think that, Doctor? You've done more good in the universe than anyone I've ever known. You shouldn't ever think that you're not being of any use --" He broke off, shaking his head.

After a few moments of silence, Peter spoke again, his voice quiet and reflective. "You didn't really mean that, did you?" he asked, barely whispering. "You wanted me to hear those words coming from someone else, to hear how they sounded out loud."

The Doctor nodded, a small smile curving his lips. "You know me too well, Peter," he said softly, raising a hand to stroke his lover's cheek. "I wanted you to hear yourself say those words -- and to hear how silly they sound. Of course you do some good in the world."

"I wish that I did more," Peter sighed, wishing that he had the words to express how he felt, but knowing that he didn't. "It doesn't seem right that I should be enjoying myself traveling with you, and not really contributing to the good of society in some way."

"We don't have to come across a bad situation and get involved in it for you to be doing some good," the Doctor told him, his gaze not leaving Peter's face. "There are any number of places in the universe in crisis at this very moment, Peter. And we can't save them all."

"I know that." Peter sighed again, dropping his gaze from that intense scrutiny. "And I don't like thinking of all those places that are in some kind of critical condition, waiting for some kind of rescue when it's not coming. I feel like I should be able to do something about it."

The Doctor shook his head again, stroking his hand through Peter's hair. "We can't be there for everyone, Peter. I've tried -- and it isn't possible. We simply have to do what we can when we stumble across a situation where the condition is critical and we can help."

Peter nodded, wishing that he didn't have to agree with the Doctor's words, but knowing that his lover was right. They couldn't fix every crisis situation in the universe -- and there was no use trying, because in the end, they would only be frustrated and discouraged.

"We might not be able to help them all -- but we can try, can't we?" he asked, his voice soft and husky. "After all, it's one of the reasons we're here. And we have to try to do some good in the world if we can, Doctor. We wouldn't be the people we are if we didn't."

The Doctor nodded, a smile starting to spread across his features. "You're right about that, Peter. And I'm sure that we'll find more than a few places that need our help to avoid some kind of crisis. We'll be there to give them that help, never fear."

"I hope that I'll be able to be of some help to you when that happens, Doctor," Peter told his lover, feeling encouraged by the Doctor's words. "I don't want to keep feeling that I'm doing nothing but being a useless lump here. I need to do some good in the world as much as you do."

"Oh, you will, my love, don't worry about that." The Doctor's voice was soft in his ears, the words he spoke almost seeming to herald a situation looming in the near future. "When it comes down to taking action in a crisis, I don't doubt that you'll be able to do anything that's needed."

"I hope so," Peter murmured, suddenly hoping that they wouldn't stumble upon some planet where whatever situation that might be taking place had approached a critical condition. He wanted to do some good for the universe -- but was he ready to handle that?

Of course he was, he told himself, straightening his shoulders and taking a deep breath. With the Doctor by his side, he could handle anything. Between the two of them, they would manage to do a lot of good in the world -- and he was ready to tackle any situation that they might find themselves in.

***