Monday, September 15th, 1913
Today, Martha managed to get up and dressed before anyone came to wake her. As she opened the door to go get John Smith's food, she nearly walked smack into Jenny.
"Sorry!" Martha cried, as the two women steadied each other. "You alright?"
"I'm fine," Jenny replied, a smile on her face. "I'm so glad you got your watch back. Oswin told me."
"I am, too," Martha told her. "Got it somewhere safe this time. Not gonna let this happen again." She smiled. "Now, I need to go get Mr. Smith's breakfast, but I'll see you later."
"Good bye, Martha," Jenny replied, and the two women parted ways.
Martha knocked on the door of Mr. Smith's study, balancing the tray in one hand while she did so.
"Come in," came John's Smith's voice, slightly strained. Martha, not noticing anything unusual, opened the door. She walked into the room, spinning on her heels when she saw John just pulling his blanket off his body.
"I'm so sorry, sir, you're not dressed yet," she apologized. "I can come back later."
"No, no," he said, sitting up in his bed slowly. "It's ok, just put it down."
He sat up, grunting slightly in the process while Martha put the tray down on the small table. Martha glanced in his direction, seeing his efforts to do the simplest thing.
"Sir, are you alright?"
He clenched his eyes shut, placing his hand on his forehead, covering his eyes. "I am not actually sure," he said. "Spinning headache." He moved his hand away, and blinked several times, looking around as if he didn't recognize the place.
"Mr. Smith?" Martha said. He didn't reply, just looked around confused. "Mr. Smith?" Martha stood up straight, staring at John, who shook his head vigorously.
"I'm fine," he said. Slowly, he began to stand. Martha watched him, very concerned. He stood up straight, holding onto the side of his bed for support.
"Sir, I'm not sure you're well," Martha said.
"No, no, I'm fine," John repeated. But as soon as he let go of the bed, his legs gave out from under him. He fell on the bed, the back of his head slapping the wall rather hard.
"Doctor!" Martha cried, not even thinking about her mistake as she hurried across the room to him. His eyes were closed, as he leaned against the wall. For the first time, Martha noticed he was breathing heavily, and as soon as she touched his skin, he felt the heat of fever radiating from it.
Medical instincts kicking in, Martha helped Mr. Smith lay down on the bed the correct way. She took his pulse and found it racing. Luckily, he didn't have a concussion. Her heart pounded as she looked around the room, realizing that she had nothing that would help her. She also didn't know much about the type of medical treatments they had in 1913. She had no choice. She needed help.
She hurried into the hallway, searching for someone to help her. There was nobody in the area. Martha looked up and down the hallway, before hurrying back inside the room.
She searched for things she could use to help John, finding nothing. None of the books in his book case had anything to do with medicine. There was nothing of use on his desk or on the table. The only thing she thought of was opening the watch, but she knew that wasn't a good idea. A, the family would find them, and B, what use was the Doctor in the body of a sick man?
She ran into the hallway, smacking into someone.
"Martha?" said Oswin. "Are you alright?"
"Martha?" came Jenny's voice.
Martha couldn't even begin to acknowledge how relieved she was to see her friends.
"Guys, I need your help," she exclaimed. "The D-John-er, Mr. Smith is sick, and I need to get him to the school infirmary."
Jenny and Oswin hurried into the room after her, their mouths falling open at the sight of him.
"No, we can't move him," Martha decided. Turning to Jenny, she said, "I need you to get the matron."
Jenny nodded, and hurried out the room. Martha turned to Oswin.
I need a wet cloth, a cold wet cloth," she said. "It'll help with the headache."
Oswin nodded, worry showing on her face as she hurried out of the room to grab a cloth. She was back with one in moments.
Martha took the cool water from the tray and poured some onto the cloth. Then she placed it on John's forehead, over his eyes.
A few moments later, the Matron walked in with Jenny trailing behind her.
Martha explained what she saw to Matron Redfern, who nodded, and opened her bag.
"I will take care of him from here," she said. "Return to work, please."
Jenny and Oswin left the room quickly, Martha following. She wanted to stay, but couldn't think of an excuse for Matron to allow that.
The rest of the day passed slowly. John remained in the infirmary, his condition worsening. From what Martha had heard, no one knew exactly what was wrong with him. Martha herself didn't even know, and as she went to sleep, her heart pounded with worry. If anything happened to John, Martha would never see the Doctor again.