Title: Stay Together
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Tenth Doctor/Michael Cutter
Fandom: Doctor Who/Law & Order
Rating: PG-13
Table: 100_tales
Prompt: 56, Together
Warning: ongoing story, past non-con
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 Michael Cutter, unfortunately. Please do not sue.

***

The Doctor looked up when he heard the sound of Michael's key in the lock; he'd been waiting anxiously for his lover to return home after his first day back in his office. He hoped that it hadn't been too rough on the other man, and that he would return in a good mood.

When he saw his lover's face, his spirits plummeted. Michael looked as though he was somewhere between annoyance and shock; his expression was carefully neutral, but the Doctor could see anger simmering in those eyes.

He almost didn't want to ask what had happened, but he had to. Holding out a hand, he moved over on the couch, watching as Michael shrugged out of his coat and turned to him. "How did it go, love? Was it better than you expected?"

Michael sat down beside him with a sigh, shaking his head in a gesture of regret. "I don't really know just what I expected. I guess it wasn't any better or worse -- it was just .... weird. I feel like I've been hit by a ten-ton atom bomb."

The Doctor frowned, feeling his hearts clutch in his chest. In spite of the demeanor that bespoke anger and frustration, Michael's voice sounded beaten, resigned. It was as though something had gone out of him, and his anger was his way of trying to shore himself up.

He'd seen that before, and it wasn't an attitude he wanted to view in his lover. But after what Michael had been through, he'd almost expected the other man to break down before this; he'd been amazed by Michael's presence of mind over the past couple of weeks.

"So, did people give you a hard time, or did they accept you back into their midst with no fanfare?" It was something he'd worried about all day; he knew all too well the human tendency to make a pariah of someone who'd had a bad experience.

Michael let out a sound that sounded like a snort. "Not likely. The worst was that awful woman I work with -- trying to cling all over me and going out of her way to give me the impression that she'd be happy to 'comfort' me. It was repulsive. I just wanted to get the hell out of there and away from her."

Now it was the Doctor's turn to have his eyes darken with anger. He'd heard enough about that hideous woman and how she kept trying to insinuate her way into Michael's personal life -- he'd like to banish her to some faraway planet where his lover would never have to deal with her again.

But Michael was speaking again, and his words made the Time Lord's eyes widen with shock. "They want me out. They made that plain enough. They want me to resign as ADA because what happened has become so public. I give the office a bad name, apparently."

"Surely your boss didn't say that?" the Doctor gasped, unable to believe what he was hearing. Everything that Michael had told him about Jack McCoy led him to believe that the man was some sort of champion of the underdog; he wouldn't want Michael to leave because of all this.

"No, Jack would fight to keep me there." Michael sighed, looking down at his hands. "Most of the people I work with have always known I'm gay, but they wanted me to keep it on the down-low. Which has never bothered me. I'm not one to put my personal life out there front and center."

The Doctor nodded, wondering just who it was that had given Michael this ridiculous order to resign from his job. It obviously couldn't be someone he was close to; anyone who knew him fairly well would know that he wouldn't let this affect his work.

"Now .... people seem to think that this is going to affect how I'm seen in court." Michael's voice was low, choked; it was obvious that he was holding back his emotions. "I've been told that I won't be 'respected' by the public -- or by the juries I have to win over."

"But ...." The Doctor was lost for words. How could people be so ridiculous? It sounded as though there was someone -- or perhaps several people -- who wanted to get rid of Michael so that they'd have the opportunity to step into his place.

Which, given the attitude of some humans towards people who they envied, wouldn't be much of a stretch of the imagination, the Doctor thought angrily. That was probably exactly what was going on -- Michael was, in a word, being railroaded.

The other man sighed, kicking off his shoes and resting his head against the back of the couch, fixing his gaze on the ceiling. "So, it looks like I'll be out of a job. I could fight it, with Jack behind me, but .... it would make things too uncomfortable for too many people if I stayed."

The Doctor's hearts went out to his lover; he knew how much Michael loved what he did, and also that he was good at it. This man had a thirst for justice, an unquenchable fire burning in him to help others, to do the right thing.

And now, something that he'd worked for all of his life was being taken away from him, because he'd been the victim of someone else's lust and hatred. It wasn't fair -- but then, there were so many things in the world that weren't fair. This was just one more.

He could feel his heartbeats quickening, a sudden hope rising in him. Would this make it easier for him to tell Michael the truth about himself, and take his lover away from this planet and out into the stars with him? Would this make it easier for him to be with Michael on a permanent basis?

Of course it would. It would be a wrench for Michael to leave everything that he was used to -- but he was a man who had a sense of adventure in his soul, and this would be a challenge for him. He could do a lot of good on other planets, too, in a different way than he did here.

This would also be a way for he and Michael to stay together -- indefinitely. Of course, his lover was human, with a short life span compared to his own. But at least if Michael could leave Earth behind, they would have more time together than they might have if he stayed here.

But at what cost to Michael? The Doctor sighed, reaching out to take his lover's hands in his own. He had to find out just how much this would affect the man he loved before he told him the truth and gave him yet another choice to make.

Michael already had too many hard choices ahead of him, the Doctor reasoned to himself. He could fight what the people around him wanted him to do -- but the Time Lord had an idea that he wouldn't do that. He already seemed resigned to walking away.

If he did -- then there would be nothing to keep him from telling Michael the truth. Other than knowing that he could be perceived as a crazy person by the man he loved, and that the truth could tear them apart rather than bringing them together.

He simply had to trust that Michael would be able to accept the truth -- especially once he saw the Tardis and knew him for what he was. He'd have to take a leap of faith, put himself into his lover's hands and trust that Michael wouldn't turn his back.

All he could do at the moment was be here to support Michael in any way possible -- and to hope that his lover would make the decision that the Doctor wanted him to when it came time to present him with that choice.

Aloud, all he said was, "Mike .... you know that no matter what you want to do, I'm here for you. And that you have my support in anything you choose to do." That would have to do for now, even though he wanted to pour out so much more to this man.

Michael nodded, sitting up and moving to wrap an arm around the Doctor's waist. "I know, John. I can't tell you how grateful I am for that. If I didn't have you with me through all this ...." His voice trailed off as he sighed and shook his head. "I don't know what I'd have done without you."

"You'd have made it through," the Time Lord said softly, though he couldn't help but wonder if that was true. Michael was a strong man, but it seemed that a lot of forces had arrayed themselves against him, when what he needed was support.

"We've got some rough days ahead of us," Michael sighed, his eyes meeting the Doctor's. "I hope you're prepared to put up with me being cranky and on edge for a while. But I'll try to take it easy on you and not be a bear. Hopefully it'll all be over soon."

The Doctor studied Michael worriedly; he hoped the same thing, but he knew that there was much more to come for the two of them than Michael having to make the decision about his job. He'd have much bigger decisions to make, and the the Doctor hoped that he was up to them.

"Believe me, I'm willing to deal with anything, as long as we come out of this in one piece," he told Michael, hoping fervently that the decisions Michael would be faced with in the coming days wouldn't put a barrier between the two of them.

He wanted them to stay together more than he'd ever wanted anything in his life. And hopefully, his lover wanted the same thing. He'd just have to wait and see what happened here on Earth before he could present Michael with the biggest choice he might ever have to make.

***