Here's chapter 2, my lovelies! Very medically this chapter, so if I've gotten anything wrong I apologise.
Please read, review, but most of all, enjoy!
The Doctor flung himself into the TARDIS as fast as his long legs would allow, making sure he didn't harm the young girl in his arms whilst doing so. A bullet narrowly missed flying into the TARDIS as the thin blue doors were slammed shut by the Time Lord's back, with more and more bullets soon raining down on the ships exterior like rain hitting the windscreen of a car. He backed away from them slowly, and then turned to limp up the ramp towards the console.
Casting a glance down at the child in his arms, the Doctor noticed fresh blood was still dripping from her mouth whilst her small and fragile face was pale and dangerously grey. The patterned blue marks on her left temple were also beginning to grow paler as if to show the life slowly slipping away from inside her.
"Come on, don't you dare," the Doctor muttered through exerted breaths, ignoring the niggling pain he was experiencing through his own minor injuries as he carefully lay the small girl across the jump seat to keep her steady, her frame hardly filling up the space on the cushioned seats. He decided to take his long brown coat off so he could use it to cover the girl, before he spun around on the spot to face the TARDIS console – before he could save the little girl, it was best to get his ship out of the war-torn city.
His fingers were soon flicking switches and pulling levers, kicking the large, green rotor in the middle of the controls into life which filled the room with a slow groaning noise as the TARDIS disappeared from the dark Oplixion alleyway. The ship tumbled slightly to the left as it buckled into motion and the Doctor immediately rushed back around to the jump seat and held onto the little girl who was still unconscious, making sure she wasn't going to suddenly fall from the seating. He didn't let go of her until the machine had settled in her flight and the green rotor stopped completely.
Knowing they were both away from any danger, the Doctor could finally place his full attention onto the sick little girl, who he was now desperate to save. He reached down and scooped her back into his arms, her light form causing no bother for the Time Lord as he set off down the corridors of the TARDIS. The cut on his leg throbbed in response to his fast paced walking but he refused to let it bother him. He had to save her, it was his responsibility now. It would be a lost cause if he let her die.
Rushing through a big silver door that slid open when the Doctor approached, he practically sprinted to the nearest medical table and carefully placed the child onto the cold metal and unwrapped his bundled brown coat from around her form so he could see all of her clearly. Her long dark hair fell away from her now even paler face and the dried blood was scattered over her thin cheeks. The Doctor found one of her hands and seized it in his, his hand seeming gigantic compared to her small fingered limb. Her skin was ice cold.
"Let's get you sorted, ey?" the Doctor muttered quietly but confidently, gently placing the small hand back onto the table. Before he even considered injecting her with anything, he had to confirm her species.
Even though the child appeared human, the blue markings on her temple suggested otherwise and so he extracted the sonic screwdriver from his jacket pocket and ran the tool up and down her still frame, the blue light illuminating the tattered and marked dress. After a few seconds, he held the device up to his ear as it bleeped faintly with the results he was looking for. For a man who knew just about everything, there were the odd moments when someone would baffle the Doctor completely.
"Of course…you're a Morabian," the Doctor specified, holding out the sonic screwdriver once more to scan at the young girl's temple. From what he could remember, the Morabians' were a humanoid species who lived on the planet Sliv'ial in the White Star Galaxy. The Doctor had only ever visited the White Star Galaxy once in his long life and that had been hundreds of years ago, but they were practically similar, if not the same, to humans. The only thing concerning him was the blue pattern. Nonetheless, he would have to place his curiosity aside for a later time if he was to save the little girl's life.
Rushing over to one of the metallic surfaces which was covered in medical gadgets and gizmos, the Time Lord rummaged around looking for one particular object until he spotted it lying at the end of the table. It resembled a small, paediatric breathing mask which he placed over the little girls face and activated with the sonic screwdriver, oxygen flooding the mask which hopefully would help the little girl to breathe. He then marched back over to the same place once again and opened a large cupboard containing boxes upon boxes of empty syringes and other medical equipment. He plucked one out and stepped up to the table, cautiously lifting the child's right arm with his hand and, once he found a vein, inserted the long thin needle into the skin without hesitation.
"For someone who's called the Doctor, I still don't do so well with needles," he commented to no one but himself with the girl still out cold. He extracted a small amount of her blood into the syringe which turned out to be a slightly paler red than he had expected, since most humanoid figures shared the same typical dark red blood. Once he was satisfied, the Doctor slowly withdrew the needle and used a cotton bud to stop the bleeding on the small pale arm, before he trailed over to another pile of medical gadgets. Picking up a small tube, he withdrew the blood into it and acquired the sonic screwdriver once again, aiming at the slim tube that held the red liquid. His eyes glanced over to the child whose breathing had become less ragged, but didn't look any less pained.
After a few moments had ticked by, the Doctor's tool let out a loud beep and he glared his dark brown eyes at the test tube with even more concern now rushing through his hearts. The scan from the blood rendered inconclusive, and the Doctor sighed heavily whilst running a hand through his wild hair. He was going to have to test the blood on something which would work better than his sonic screwdriver, and for a few minutes, he set up the blood in a scanner which he knew would take a few minutes to collect any data.
Whilst the little girl's blood was being scanned, the Doctor cleaned up her bloodied and dirtied face and placed a blanket over her to keep her warm, hoping the TARDIS would have a supply of clothes he could dig out later to get her out of the tattered dress. He then positioned himself at another part of the med bay which contained shelves upon shelves of chemicals and medicines the Time Lord had collected over his nine-hundred years. He picked another syringe out of the draw and began to mix together different cocktails of liquid which included basic medication that would induce blood flow and decrease the risk of the child's body shutting down.
"Wh…ere…where am I…?"
The Doctors ears perked up at the sound of the tiny, raucous but muffled voice behind him and he quickly turned on the spot to find the young girl with her head twisted towards him, the breathing mask still positioned on her face. Her green eyes were glistened with panic as she stared at the tall, thin man a couple of feet away from her, not knowing who he was or why he was there with her.
"Oh…hey there," the Doctor greeted with a soft tone, placing down the bits and pieces he had in his hands and making his way over to the table to sit beside the young girl on a small, metallic stool. The thought of the inevitable questions she was going to ask him raced through his mind and he felt his hearts drop for the youngster lying in front of him. It was likely she was going to be confused and also unaware of where she was, and perhaps not know what had happened before he'd rescued her, "don't worry, you're completely safe. I rescued you," he reassured her. The girl still had her eyes fixed into his old brown ones and she blinked weakly.
"W-where am I?" she croaked in repeat, her tiny features turning into a squint as she glanced up at the bright light above her table.
"You're in my spaceship," the Doctor replied, "…like I said, there's no need to worry. You're perfectly safe."
"I don't...I don't feel very well," the child moaned from underneath the mask, attempting to raise herself up on her elbows to get a better view of where she was, and the Doctor placed a hand on her back to help her. But the little girl was frightened by the touch, and she jumped at the feeling of the stranger's hand, trying to scurry away from him on the table.
The Doctor was forced to pull his hand back, but held them up to show her he wasn't about to do anything. "It's alright, don't get scared, I promise I'm not going to hurt you, I just want to help," the Doctor reassured, and was happy to see the little girl stop in her efforts to get away from him. If he was going to make her better, they needed some trust between them – but even her trying to get away from him was a positive sign. It told him she still had some energy left within her, and probably enough left to save her life.
The Time Lord reached behind him to pick up a small plastic cup which contained some water which he held up to the girl, but she looked at it as if he was holding something threatening to her face. "It's only cold water…here, take a sip," he encouraged, gesturing for her to take it. The girl eventually reached up her shaking hand, and to the Doctor's delight, she let him take off her oxygen mask so she could drink. He gave her a small smile in return to show her he really wasn't there to cause her harm. "So, what's your name, sweetheart?" he asked. The Time Lord couldn't remember the last time he had called someone 'sweetheart'.
The little girl swallowed some water and looked up to face the strange man again, having to think for a moment before she answered, "N-Nora," she replied timidly.
"Nora? That's a lovely name. Blimey, that's a great name," the Doctor replied. Nora had another sip of the water, but didn't smile or show any type of positivity towards the Doctor…she was simply still too frightened, with her mind still blurred, "I know this might seem a bit, y'know, obvious, but my name's the Doctor,"he added.
"Doctor? Y-you're a doctor?" Nora asked curiously, her eyes diverting from the Time Lord as if she was trying to remember something. Her mind was still blank of everything, but for some reason hearing about a doctor seemed familiar, "I-…I was supposed to be going to see a doctor I think...but something hap..some-thi..."
Without much warning, Nora felt her body becoming limp and she collapsed backwards with a small and scared grunt, dropping the cup of water onto the table. The Time Lord reached out to move the cup away from her and held her head with his hand, looking her up and down. Something was really wrong with this little girl.
"It's okay, Nora, I've got you, just take it easy, you've had a hard few hours," the Doctor assured as he stroked Nora's matted hair, weighing up just how true his statement was. Did the girl know she had lost a family member, or that she'd been slap-bang in the middle of a war? "Listen, Nora…you're very, very ill, but I don't know what with. Even Doctors have their downfalls, and I need to know what it is so I can help you get better."
Nora was still so confused and she could feel her body shaking with the cold. "I…I don't know, I needed some special medicine to h-help me get better…I-I'm so cold."
Just as the Doctor was about to answer, Nora suddenly began to cough lightly, and it only took seconds for the coughing to become violent. The Time Lord sprang to his feet and instantly ran over to the place where he had been working, grabbing the small cocktail of medicine he had produced earlier. Her coughs became louder and harsher as he tried to focus on placing the mixture into the empty syringe. Seconds past and he finally managed to get the last of the medicine through the needle and he sped back to the table where Nora was now crying in distress through her coughs.
"Nora, I need you to lay as still as you can for me," the Doctor ordered, but Nora was unable to reply through her coughing and shaking. He knew her reaction to a needle probably wouldn't be a happy one, but it was the only thing he could come up with to help before he made any greater decisions, "come on Nora can you-"
Nora suddenly screamed a hoarse yell of pain and she convulsed on table, blood running down her lips which sent the Doctor's hearts racing. He reached out both his hands to try and steady her, brushing some of the long brown hair out of her face so it didn't fall into her mouth, but as the seconds ticked by, her convulsions became worse and he realised the medicine was his only shot to stop the girl suffering. He carefully clasped onto her right arm and inserted the needle as gently as he could, watching as the medicine was extracted through the tube and into Nora's blood.
Once all the medicine had been emptied from the syringe, the Doctor withdrew it from her skin and threw it across the floor, quickly scooping the young girl into his arms. He shifted her convulsing frame until she seemed comfortable and he quietly began to make calming noises, feeling the shaking and the convulsions slowly deteriorating as the medicine began to work its way through her system. He reached out to grab the oxygen mask and placed it over her face, telling her to take deep breaths and to listen to his voice. It had been years since he had comforted a child in this manner, and yet it was so natural to him in such a sad way.
Eventually, the convulsions stopped and turned into mild shakes, and the Doctor looked down to see Nora had gone to sleep. Her breathing had calmed and it seemed the medicine was helping her to settle. The Time Lord was starting to realise as he sat with the child in his arms that he was in for the long haul now – he couldn't simply take the girl home and expect her to get the care she needed. It seemed she had been on Oplixion for a reason, and if that reason had been to see a doctor, it was more than likely the care she needed wasn't to be found on her home planet of Sliv'ial. Nora would have to stay with him until he figured out what was wrong with her. The domestics involved within the situation would usually make the Time Lord run a mile, but he's saved Nora, and he had to admit it to himself now – he had a duty of care towards her. He was her doctor.
"Looks like you're going to be here for a while," the Doctor mumbled to her sleeping form, grabbing a tissue so he could wipe the fallen tears from her cheeks and the now dried blood from around her mouth. He still needed to tend to his own wounds, and the limp he was suffering with was likely some sort of sprain, but his body would usually sort itself out in its own time.
Nora was top priority for him now.