Hi ! Here the next chapter ? Thank you for your nice comments. Hope you'll like it !
The Doctor hurried to remove Elyne's wet clothes before putting her in one of his T-Shirts. The t-shirt was at least three times her size but at least it was dry. He then wrapped her in a blanket. But the child kept shaking and she was starting to doze. The Doctor put his hands on her shoulders.
"Hey! Don't fall asleep !" He said with a loud voice.
"Mh mmh" She answered weakly.
After ten minutes and a hot drink, her temperature had risen back to a proper level. The Doctor let her fall asleep and took the opportunity of it to examine her wounds. At first glance, there was no reason to be alarmed. According to the scan, apart from a cracked rib, there was no internal injuries. He then focused on the big wound on her left eyebrow. He gently cleaned the blood off her face. He winced. He didn't like the sight of blood.
After grooming most wounds, he wanted to know more about the true nature of the girl. He had met many pyrokinetic species through his life but very few were humanoids. He got back one of the compresses so that the TARDIS could analyze the blood on it. He was baffled by what was on the screen.
Unknown Specie
He tensed when Nardole put his hand on his shoulder.
"Go put on dry clothes sir."
"I don't need a nanny Nardole." The Doctor retorted sternly before sneezing.
"Ah ! I won't make any soup for you if you're sick !" The cyborg scolded.
"Rest assured you will not have to do it." Replied the Time Lord without hiding his annoyance.
He focused again on the results displayed on the screen. He frowned. Why did the TARDIS not recognize the species? He decided to test her again. This time he took blood from her veins.
The cyborg pulled him back to the exit. "That's enough ! Let this kid alone and go change yourself !"
The Doctor was going to retort when he sneezed again. He resigned himself when he felt a shiver run through his body and left the room grumbling.
When he returned a few minutes later, finally dry, he was surprised to see that the girl was no longer in bed.
He scanned the room and saw that the child was curled up in a remote corner. He went to meet her but she straightened up against the wall, terrified. Bad idea he thought.
"Hey" he said softly. "Me again. How do you feel?"
She didn't answer. And he didn't expect her to actually. So he sat down against the opposite wall.
"You can go on the bed you know." he said, pointing to the bed with a movement of his head. "It's your."
She ignored the bed and kept her ambers eyes on him.
"You're safe here, there's no point to be affraid." He assured. "Nobody will hurt you."
"Promised?" She asked, no louder than a whisper.
The Doctors felt his hearts tighten up. How could one hurt a child ?
But Elyne did not look reassured. She stayed safe at the room's corner and hugged her knees. The Doctor took a book lying around.
"Well... you can stay here if you wish. I'll just keep you company. I will... ehm... stay here and read a bit. Is that okay?"
After thirty silent minutes, the Doctor perceived a movement from the corner of his eye. When he looked up, his eyes met Elyne's, who had begun to move closer. She gasped and went back to her first position. Don't look at her he noted.
After ten more minutes the Doctor felt movement again. This time he tried to keep his eyes fixed on the book. He could feel the girl's hesitation. So he began to read aloud. Then step by step , as he kept reading, the child came closer and closer till being only a few inches away from him.
"Do you like this story?" He asked, daring to look at her.
Elyne slightly jumped but looked back at him. At least she was not running away. He just carried on his reading. After a while he noticed that she was about to fall alseep.
"You can go and sleep if you wish." He whispered.
She shook her head.
"Not..." She yawned. "Not tired."
The Doctor raised an eyebrow.
"Really? Well I think you are." He said gently.
She didn't answer. A few tears flowed down her cheeks. Confused, the Doctor leaned toward her.
"Why are you crying?"
"If I sleep... they... they will catch me."
"Nobody will catch you. You are safe here." He said, patient.
She tried to hold back a sob. But she couldn't. She was so scared. The Doctor was about to put his hand on her head but he changed his mind. He knew children need physical comfort, but would she let him? So he patted his shoulder.
"Come here. I stay with you."
The kid hesitated and looked around, on the lookout for the slightest danger. But the fatigue was stronger than her anxiety. She put her head shyly against the Doctor's arm.
The Doctor put his blue eyes on her. He felt a wave of tenderness invade him when he saw her snuggling even more against him. Softly, he lied her down on his lap so she would be more comfortable. He felt his cheeks blush whereafter. Like it or not, his parental instinct was stronger than his pride.
Later, the Doctor moved Elyne in the bed and kept on his experiments. The results were so long to come that the Time Lord fell asleep. Nardole woke him up.
"Sorry to wake you up. But I think you'd like to see that."
"Mmh I wasn't asleep." The Doctor grumbled. Half-asleep.
"Of course..." said the cyborg.
The Doctor raised his eyebrows when he saw the screen.
"Well I didn't expect that."
"What sir?" Asked Nardole.
A gleam of excitation could be seen in the Doctor's eyes.
"This kid is half Human and half Igneos. No wonder the TARDIS couldn't indentify her." His eyes softened. "She's unique."
