Miscarriage
First of all there had been signs. Peri had missed her period. That wasn't unusual going through all time and space had played havoc with her body's natural rhythms. Then the headaches, well the Doctor gave her those, the nausea she chalked up to the Doctor's bad cooking. And the day before her lower back had been aching and she'd been feeling off. Now they were on Volos.
"Come on!" The Doctor called ahead of her, his colorful coat swishing as he scampered up the hill.
She looked at the rough brown rock of hillside ahead of her. And heard the gurgling howl of the creatures (something with both fangs and tentacles) behind her. And sighed there was an awful ache her lower abdomen.
"If I'd known we we're going mountain climbing, I wouldn't have worn heels!" She called frustrated. The cute blue wedges that went so well with her short, cute blue outfit weren't meant for this.
"You're poor sartorial choices have nothing to do with me!" The Doctor exclaimed.
"You could have told me about ravenous Korblocs!" Peri yelled at him.
"Korlox, Peri!" The Doctor shouted down as he reached the summit.
"Does it matter?" She said as a massive cramp almost, almost
floored her. It felt like someone was twisting her insides hard.
She bit down the pain. She couldn't do this not now. She'd be in the TARDIS soon, in a hot bath... she knew what the Doctor would be wanting, would be begging for when she got inside, adrenaline usually did that to him.... well let him suffer.
She crawled, climbed and ran up the hill. The pain was almost unbearable. She was almost at the top when one traitorous heel gave way underneath and fell hard on the jagged rock.
She shrieked and scrabbled at the rock.
"Peri!" The Doctor said fear rich in his voice.
"Doctor!" She cried in panic, she hear the alien monster behind her.
She could hear his foot steps coming closer. His strong arm grasped her own and pulled her up.
"Peri are you----?" His words trailed off horrorifed.
"What?" She asked. She followed his eyes downwards, to her lower belly and thighs. And she saw the blood. Lots of of it staining her flousrcent blue hot pants a deep maroon, and fresh blood wet and thick coating her inner thighs where her shorts ended. She touched it, and looked at it on her fingers. She felt shaky and sick.
"Doctor what's...?" She began.
"No time for that! Let's get back in the TARDIS." He said.
And he pulled and dragged her towards the familiar blue box. Once in inside he ignored her as he busied himself around the consol. She stood there shocked and covered in blood.
"Doctor what happened?" She asked.
"Hmmmmm?" He said, he'd been totally absorbed in the ship, seemingly forgetting her. "Let's get you cleaned off and then to the sick bay."
In her room she changed from her bloody clothing discarding it on the floor, stepped into a hot shower carefully washing off. She still hurt awfully, seeing the blood go down the drain....
She changed numbly into a long white nightgown, which she didn't have before, she suspected the TARDIS made it for her.
She went to the sickbay a small room with lots of equipment and a brown plastic pallet on a raised dias with stirrups on either side. She sat gingerly on he pallet. The Doctor looked as sober as one could in that outfit.
They'd been here before during a happier moment, fucking on the pallet, her legs in the stirrups. That was a boring day when there was two choices bicker or have sex in every room of the TARDIS, they did a combination of both their anger and tension sparking off each other and leading to wild bouts of sex.
This day the mood was the opposite, she remained clothed and felt closed off. She stared at her feet and wiggled her painted toes.
"So?" She asked.
"I haven't even begun yet," he sighed.
"Then hurry up, I want to know if I caught some alien virus or something." She said.
He went over to her and took out a metal rod that was attached by what a looked like a silver phone cord to a large gray box with monitor, buttons, knobs and a black a slot.
"This is the scanner," He said. "Now sit still. It will only take a few mintues."
It ticked and beeped as he passed it over her body, from head to toe. He paid special attention to her mid section. It beeped and ticked and sent out warm pulses which hurt her tender belly.
"Owch," She grimaced.
"Don't worry it's almost over." He said. He put down the knob, went over to the machine pressed a button or three twirled a knob. There was a groan and whirr from the machine, it spat out a sheet of paper into the Doctor's waiting hands. He read it over and his face fell.
"Just as I suspected." He said softly. He went over to Peri and put his hand on her shoulder and took her in his arms.
"What is it? Is it bad?" she asked.
"You had a miscarriage," He said in soft pitying tones.
"What?!" She drew back. "I was pregnant!?"
"Yes it appears you were." He said. "About two months along it seems, before the telepathic bonding."
"I was pregnant, you got me pregnant!?" She intoned horrified.
"We did engage in coitus quite a number of times." He said, he was smirking slightly.
"I thought you....had some Time lord trick to stop this thing from happening!" She shouted. "And stop grinning!"
"Me?! Me?! I thought you were on the pill," He yelled.
"I'm not on the pill!" she shouted.
"Then what are those white things you take every morning?!" He asked.
"Vitamins!" She said exasperated.
"Oh Rassilon!" He shook his head. "Next time we have to use protection."
He was touching her arm. She moved it away. "What do you mean 'next time' Doc?"
"Peri I didn't mean..." He began.
"You did!" she spat venomously.
She walked out of the sick bay and into the blank white corridors of the TARDIS, which all looked like in her dazed state. She eventually found her room. She closed the door sat down on the bed and began to sob. Why had this happened? She knew why sex. It was either that or murder him really. It was shortly after their adventure on Telos they discovered that sex especially the angry chaotic sex was better then arguing. One minute they'd be at each other's throats the next they'd be on the floor or up against a wall. It wasn't as if... she liked him.... she did mostly... but sometimes she really hated him... he really got on her nerves. And at the time kissing him was better then fighting. And he was good at it, a dynamo really all that passion and energy and intellect concentrated on one thing. But that didn't make it any better. Nothing did. What did he see as an easy lay? He must. And now everything came crashing down.
There was a knock on the door. "Go away!" She shouted.
"Please let me in," He pleaded. "I have tea."
Some tea would be nice but not that nice. "I don't want any."
"And chocolate biscuits." He added.
She did want chocolate, and she felt to miserable to go and get it herself. She got up and opened the door. He was standing there with worried expression on his face and laden tray.
"I don't know how you like your tea so I brought lemon, sugar and milk. But I left off the yak's butter. That's a taste you haven't acquired yet." He said.
"And I never will." She sighed she smiled a little just a little.
He brightened. "Well I did bring some chocolate hob nobs, very good biscuits. No doubt you'd prefer oreos, but the TARDIS larders aren't stocked for american tastes."
"No it's fine," She said. "These go good with tea." She said dipping one in the tea. "Oreos go good in milk."
"Peri, I spoke out of turn. It was wrong of me to assume our relationship would continue as it did." He said.
"Yeah you really dropped the ball there Doc," She said.
He furrowed his brow at the nicname but let it slide. "I must admit I liked our bouts of..... all in naked wrestling, but I can live with out it."
"Doctor?" She asked.
"Yes?"
"Do you think I'm a slut?"
"Do I think....Do I think.....?! NO! Peri I'm 900 years old. I've traveled the length and breadth of time and space. I've seen it all and done nearly as much. I don't make judgments like that. Considering the number of orgies the TARDIS has 'accidently' shown up at...."
"Yes Doctor I get the picture."
"I swear the old girl knows when I've hit a dry spell and always wants to allievate it.... for example it kept happening all the time in my last incarnation..."
"Alright, alright..." Peri began to giggle, picturing the expression on that Doctor's face if he showed up at on orgy.
"Are you doing better?" He asked.
"A little," She said.
"Good. Are we friends again?" He asked.
"We we're friends?" Peri asked.
"Peri!"
"I was just joking! Well we're on the road to being friends again." She said.
He sat down beside her and smiled. She smiled back and rested her head on his shoulder. Maybe they'd try intimacy without sex for a while and find some other way to end their arguments.