Doctoring the Doctor
By Sonic Jules
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Disclaimer: Doctor Who and the characters of said show do not belong to me, no matter how hard I've wished for it. No infringement meant to the owners and associates, nor BBC.
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A/N 1: As always, a special thanks to my friend and beta, Catharticone, who makes this look readable and understandable all too easily. She should be the one writing!
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A/N 2: This story was inspired by my friend Laura, who asked for a 'hurt the Doctor more than the companion' story, and I couldn't resist. I hope I've done her wishes justice. :o)
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Chapter One:
Why Not Just Leave?
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The Doctor opened the doors of the TARDIS as Donna walked out in front of him, her gaze lingering on the ominous clouds and gray skies, stretching as far as the eye could see. The land was like pictures she'd seen of the desert, barren hills of dry dirt without the heat one would expect from such a view. Placing her hands on her hips as the Time Lord stepped up beside her, she turned toward him.
"You're not the sharpest tool in the shed, are you?"
The Doctor looked at his traveling companion as if she'd spoken an unknown language. "I beg your pardon?"
"Yes, you should. How hard can it be to steer the TARDIS to my home for a quick visit? Where are we, anyway?" Donna looked around at the gloomy landscape, her frown deepening.
"Looks like Messesta Nine, though I can't imagine why the ship would bring us here," the Time Lord said wistfully, turning around as he took in their surroundings.
"Oh, that's right. Blame the poor time traveling machine. Certainly not the pilots' fault, is it?"
"I'll have you know I set the coordinates perfectly - as I always do. Sometimes the old girl just likes taking a detour."
"You call this a detour? Seems more like a breakdown to me."
"There's nothing wrong with the ship."
"He says, after landing on the wrong planet. Nope. Nothing tort with it at all. Perfect, even," Donna spoke sarcastically.
"Well, we might as well take a look around, don't you think? See what there is to see and all that," the Doctor suggested.
"Why not just leave, instead?" Donna replied cheekily.
"Well, if there really was something wrong with the TARDIS, though I'm not saying there is, but if there were, maybe we should look around for a bit and let her rest. I'm sure by the time we returned she'd be feeling much better - if she was ill to begin with."
Donna rolled her eyes at his wayward logic. "Fine. But then you're taking me home - right?"
"Yes, yes. Of course," the Time Lord beamed, proud to have won her over, somewhat. "Let's go over there." He pointed toward what looked to be a large mountain of rocks. "We should be able to view most everything, seeing as most of this area is flat."
"Yeah. All right," she answered him with a nod. "The sooner we explore, the sooner I get to see Mum and Gramps. I'm learnin', see. Figurin' out the way to get things done quickest, I am. There's no talkin' you out of somethin' once it's stuck in that thick skull of yours. But if I appease you just a bit, I might be able to do what I want after."
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The Doctor kept his head up and his eyes looking all around while Donna had seen enough of the gray skies and land and simply watched the steps she took, her head down. As the Time Lord began to explain the different types of rocks they passed and their similarities to those on Earth, Donna stopped. Amongst all the blah she saw something shiny.
"Donna? You all right?"
"Yeah, but what's that?" She pointed toward a small, slick looking box which seemed very much out of place.
"Hmm, I can't believe I didn't see that before now. Good catch," the Doctor exclaimed with an air of excitement in his voice. He and Donna walked over to the pile of rocks where the metallic container was nestled.
Picking up a few rocks and setting them aside, the Time Lord lifted the incongruous square from the sand it was seated in and held it up for both him and Donna to see.
It had iridescent and reflective properties, each side looking shiny and smooth, but textured as well. The Doctor twirled it carefully as he held it, gently turning it all around within his grasp. Even though there was no sunshine forthcoming from the clouds, the small chest - no larger than a hardback book - seemed to glitter and glow with its own light.
"It's beautiful," Donna said admirably. "What is it?"
"Not sure," the Doctor answered, holding the strange object with one hand while retrieving his glasses with the other. "Some sort of artifact, though I don't think it's from this planet. It was obviously buried here some time ago. I'd say the wind storms eventually uncovered it." He tilted the box until he could see the bottom after putting his specs on. "There's an inscription written here," he stated.
"Yeah? What's it say?" Donna asked, squinting to see what he focused on.
His face wrinkled in confusion. "This side down."
"Get out!" Donna said, watching the Time Lord.
"No, really. It does. See?" He held it out for her to look out. Donna shook her head.
"Well?"
"Well what?" the Doctor asked.
"Aren't you going to open it?" she asked impatiently.
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To be continued....
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