Or Lack Thereof
Note: This has been bumping around in my head for ages, so I finally decided to get it out. This'll end up being pretty long, and I apologize for that. Also, warning, spoilers for Torchwood 2x13, Doctor Who 4x01. This story was inspired by the set photos from the filming of the series finale of season 4 (Which can be found on youtube - tTHFa0Sdc8Y), so this story will incorporate major spoilers for 4x11-13, but certainly not in the same context as they'll be presented in the show.
Chapter 1:
As usual, the Doctor was running. His trainers slapped the ancient stone floor, offering a counter to the crescendo of drums booming from the hallway behind them. He turned to see Donna running just slightly behind and to the side of him. In the flickering light provided by the torches that lined the hallway, he saw her grinning as she ran, one hand carefully holding her purse in place alongside her.
"We're almost there!" The Doctor shouted, sprinting faster. The light grew brighter at the end of the tunnel.
A wicked howl erupted from the opposite end of the tunnel. Donna looked over her shoulder to see easily a dozen men, perhaps more, howling madly at them, giving chase. At the head of the group was a man dressed in a robe made of macaw feathers. His ceremonial mask hung by twine around his neck, swinging as he ran. Donna turned her focus back to the path in front of her, and felt the Doctor take her hand.
"Ready for this?" He asked loudly over the screaming pack behind them.
"It has better work," She panted back, "Or else those head hunters will be the least of your problems."
Only a few feet now. "Ok! Here we go!" He said, gripping her hand tightly and adjusting the sonic in the other.
"Jump!" Yelled the Doctor.
The Doctor and Donna burst out into the blinding sunlight. For a moment, Donna felt as though she was flying. That is, until she looked down.
The Doctor wished he could close his ears as easily as he could his eyes when Donna began screaming. It wasn't that he didn't feel for her. He did, he assured himself. It was more the fact that her screams could rip the bark of trees, flay small children, and, he believed, even shred the armor of a Dalek. It wouldn't surprise him. Finally reaching the correct frequency, he pointed the sonic below them and felt the resonance waves from it's interaction with the TARDIS's shield systems vibrate his entire arm. Despite the fact she was still screaming, the Doctor pulled Donna's hand and wrapped an arm around her waist.
She stopped screaming. It wasn't because of the arm – he'd done that plenty since she'd met him again. Pulling her out of the way of this deadly thing and that ferocious monstrosity. It was because of the look in his eye as he grinned, a look that would get any normal person sent straight to the hospital on an involuntary psychiatric hold. She'd seen this look before as well, but she just couldn't believe he was this happy now.
200 feet above them, the shaman and his accomplices had reached the opening. Shocked, the watched the Doctor and his woman fall down the cliff. Then, they got angry.
"Oi!" The Doctor yelled, tucking his arm close. Donna watched the spear sail downwards, and then slow. It had stopped., in midair.
The Doctor was watching as well. He glanced over at Donna. "Ready?" He asked, squeezing her hand.
She nodded, and clutched her purse. She expected a thump, pain, rolling, all the things that happen when you've been falling for hundreds of feet and hit a solid object, but experienced none of them. Instead, she was sinking. She looked at her feet, to see nothing, and then to the Doctor, who was busy adjusting the sonic.
"Going down." He said calmly, and suddenly they were sliding, twisting downwards towards the TARDIS.
Donna laughed as they slid, picking up speed. "Never thought a childhood hobby would prepare me for time travel." She commented.
The Doctor smiled. "Funny how that works innit?"
They had nearly reached the ship. The Doctor pointed the sonic again, and the doors flew open. They swirled around the ship again, and were less than 50 feet from the door which lay dead ahead.
"This is, ah, going to hurt. Probably." He said while shrugging, firing the sonic one last time.
Donna hadn't been conscious of exactly how much speed she had picked up until the invisible shielding that had been supporting her disappeared. She tumbled over herself, unable to control her spin. She tried to see the Doctor, but only caught glimpses of him – he was tumbling as well. It was then she saw something else. The sun glinted off it, making it glow. The Doctor was shouting. She strained to make out what this new object was, and was so involved that she made no preparation to land. Immediately, as she landed full force on the main control panels of the TARDIS, she regretted this. She stood up just in time to see the Doctor, which she also regretted.
He slammed into her chest, his momentum throwing her against the console, and he crumpled to the floor, unmoving but groaning loudly. Donna felt herself bounce off the console and fell as well, clutching her stomach, landing on top of the Doctor. It was then that she finally saw what reflecting the sun.
It was the spear.
The spear, which was lodged straight through the Doctor's thigh.
The spear. Donna felt herself beginning to panic. She scrambled up, unaware of the pain in her back and stomach. The Doctor still hadn't moved, but he was breathing. She knelt and rolled him to his side.
"Doctor?" Donna asked, gently shaking him. "Doctor!"
"Something... something..." He struggled with the words. "Bit me."
Donna smiled nervously. "It was the spear."
"No...", He murmured, "Penguins don't have teeth though, do they?"
Donna ignored him, and examined the wound. Thankfully the spear had missed the bone entirely, and better yet had gone though the exterior side of his leg. Although, she thought ruefully, with her luck it would turn out that his femoral artery was placed outside as well. The wound wasn't bleeding badly, but she worried what would happen if she tried to remove the spear. It was then something caught her attention. It wasn't the spears bouncing off the roof of the TARDIS, or the sweltering jungle heat that poured through the open doors, or even the fact that the only person capable of flying the ship was lying at her feet blithering about penguins.
It was a smell. Bitter and acrid, it smelled like medicine mixed with eggs that had been left to rot in the sun. She carefully examined the spear. The shaft had cracked, and thick brown sap was leaking out. Donna put her hand to her mouth. The crack deepened where the shaft extended into his leg.
"Doctor," She began, "I think you're poisoned."
"Why did you do that?" He asked, eyes wide.
"I didn't!" She replied crossly. "The spear, the wood it's made of is toxic, or it was poisoned."
"Yup," He said, suddenly sounding very much like he should have. "That would make sense, given the flora of this area and the culture."
The Doctor, much to Donna' surprise, stood up. He didn't seem to be in any pain at all as he sprinted and slammed the doors of the TARDIS shut, and strode back to the console. With lightning speed, he entered coordinates into the ship, and started the engines. After these things had been seen to, he turned to her. He was sweating heavily, and his pupils were completely blown, his eyes black.
"You're right. The sap of the spear is poisonous. It's a neurotoxin, and my control over my actions is limited. Which is to say not much at all. Which is to say, none." He gripped her shoulders and looked hard into her eyes, speaking intently. "This is most likely the last time I'll be lucid til you get me to Jack. He'll help. Trust him."
"But what else can I do?" Asked Donna.
The Doctor grimaced. "Remove the spear. But AFTER I've lost consciousness. You hear me?"
Donna nodded dumbly. His grip weakened, and he fell to the floor, lying on his side.
Donna looked around for anything that might help. She rummaged though her bag and found a pack of clean white cloths for removing makeup, a pack of mints, a cell phone, a wallet, 56 pence in small change, and a stone idol.
"Fat lot of good you are now." She said to the stone figurine.
"Don't talk about me like that..." Whined the Doctor.
Donna put the idol back, and knelt down. Again she examined the spear. The obsidian tip, 3 or 4 inches long, had completely cleared his leg. On the other side, the shaft extended a foot from his thigh. The end of it was tied with beads and feathers. Carefully gripping the shaft at the base of the wound with one hand and the beaded end with the other, she gathered her strength.
"You did something to deserve this, didn't you?" She quipped, and quickly snapped the end off.
The Doctor groaned. "Don't touch my arm again!" He pleaded.
Donna rolled her eyes. She took the cloths and placed a pile of them on her lap. The others she rolled into a thick tube.
"Open." She said, extending the roll.
"No!" Shouted the Doctor. "I don't like welsh rarebit because - "
Donna shoved the roll into his mouth.
"That's better." She said with as much false cheerfulness as she could muster.
The Doctor continued his protest of rarebit, oblivious to the cloth.
Leaning over him, Donna gripped the spear's end, brushing off the remaining splinters. She took the other end in her hand, following the shaft of the spear to his thigh. She took a deep breath, and pulled.
The Doctor howled, and began to rock back and forth. Donna scowled, and steadied him by placing her feet on his knees and hip, and continued to pull. It was nearly out. The Doctor's howling had intensified to a scream, and the spear felt stuck. Closing her eyes and silently apologizing, she pulled as hard as she could.
And promptly fell backwards, her head slamming into the floor grating. She sat upright and saw the spear in her hand, half covered in blood. Quickly she scrambled back to the Doctor, and covered both sides of the wound with the white cloths. Slowly but surely they began to soak through. She put the last of them on, and applied as much pressure as she could.
The Doctor was still mumbling through the cloth, with Donna hunched over him applying as much pressure as she could. There was still too much bleeding.
"What am I supposed to do now, Doctor?" She whispered.
He looked at her sadly and mumbled more. Donna reached up and removed the cloth.
"I said, he's staring at your tits."
"WHAT?" Donna raged, raising her hand to slap him.
"Not me not me not me not me!" The Doctor blurted, cringing like a dog and looking over her shoulder.
Donna whipped her head around to a man resting comfortably against the open doors of the TARDIS, one foot crossed over the other. Donna gaped at him.
"Don't mind me miss," Quipped Jack Harkness, grinning. "I'm just here to help."