"Private Lane?" She addressed the young soldier driving her back from the warehouse back to the medical bay.
"Yes Ma'am."
"Once you have dropped me off, could you please report to the front Gatehouse and advised them that a Miss Sarah Jane Smith and a Captain Jack Harkness will be arriving on site."
"Yes Ma'am."
"When they arrive they are to be escorted via civilian routes to the medical bay and be brought to my attention."
"Yes Ma'am."
"Thank you, Private." Martha got out the jeep and went straight back to the Doctor's room. The Doctor was lying on his bed with his head back and his eyes closed. She could tell he wasn't asleep though.
"How are you doing?" Martha pulled a chair up to the side of his bed. She didn't sit down straight away but pulled the pillow straight a bit where it had got rucked up. The bruising developing on the Doctor's face was becoming more and more harsh against his pallid complexion.
"My leg hurts, Martha." He sounded worn out and exhausted, but she wasn't surprised.
"Let's see how it is if we take the Bladamine up higher." Martha adjusted the drip flow rate. "You've got plenty of Bladamine in there. Does your leg feel better now it is cast?"
"I think so."
"Give the new level of drugs a few minutes to see how it feels then."
"It can't be too high or I'll feel dopey and nauseous."
"I know," Martha accepted. "Unfortunately, it may be the lesser of two evils. If you do feel sick with the drugs we can give you something on top to stop you feeling sick. I wouldn't feel worried about being dopey or drowsy for a while. You need to rest. Where's your ice pack? Has it melted?"
"Yeah."
"I'll get Gerald to fetch another one. Your face is looking pretty sore."
"It's not bothering me. Except, I can't see out my left eye it's so swollen."
"It looks nasty. We'll keep using the ice." Martha smiled sympathetically. "Do you want to see the X-rays we took?" Martha asked him.
"Of my leg?"
"Yeah, there isn't anything to see on the ones of your head and face."
"I don't want to see my leg."
"Why?" Martha asked curiously. "Don't you want to see what you've done?"
"No… it's so bent… it's bad. Isn't it?"
"Like James said, it is serious but there isn't anything we don't think we can fix. We just have to be a bit adaptive because anything we put in we have to take out, but you're leg isn't bent now. We're not going to achieve perfect alignment until we've surgically stabilised you, but you're not bent. Have you not looked at the cast?"
"Not really."
"Doctor, if you look at the cast you'll see you're nice and straight." Martha could tell he was feeling worried and scared. "I think you just need to face up to it a bit." After what he had done to get his leg out of the ladder she was not surprised he was anxious. "Oi." Martha took his hand and caressed his head. "You're going to be okay. I am disappointed you've not looked at my handiwork."
"I'm sure you've done a good job."
"I have, Doctor, and I will." Martha leant over and very carefully hugged him. She didn't expect much of response from him, but not only did he hug her back, he clung to her. "I'm sorry it was so horrible and you're hurting so much. It's going to be sore, but in a few days, once we've operated. You're going to be feeling much better. Then I expect I'll have a hard job keeping you down long enough. I do think you'll feel better if you have a look at your cast. You'll see it is neat and straight. You're leg isn't hanging off and it isn't bent."
"Okay." The Doctor looked down at the cast. It was long and white and his toes were sticking out of the end of it. The plaster on the sole of his foot extended up past the end of his toes so he'd not be able to wriggle them. She'd only have done that if he'd broken bones in his foot. They were pointing upwards though. That was good. It scared him when all of his leg seemed to be going the wrong way. He'd never experienced pain like it and it hadn't stopped. He did feel a bit better. The cast was good. It was smooth and skilled and he could see it had been moulded well, but it wasn't split and it wasn't just a back slab. He was still going to swell inside it.
"It looks more like a leg again doesn't it?" Martha squeezed his hand when he nodded.
"Is it going to get too tight?"
"Yes, and we'll monitor for that. When it does we'll split the cast, but we wanted you to calm down and rest before we do. We've a few hours before we'll need to split it. We may get away with it until tomorrow, but I'll be staying tonight so if the cast does need to be split I'll be here to do it straight away."
"You're staying here?"
"Yeah."
"Do you normally?"
"I don't live here, Doctor."
"So you're staying for me?"
"Yeah, to make sure you behave."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome. We do have a bit of a problem though."
"With my leg?"
"No, not with your leg. It's just, I know how tired you must be feeling and I want you to rest. We're planning on moving you to the other side of the unit once the patient there is discharged and it's been cleaned out. The problem is that after what happened with the daleks and you almost regenerating and stuff, everyone has been looking out for you. Sarah Jane and Captain Jack especially. Sarah Jane has Mr. Smith and Jack has all the rift monitoring equipment and the TARDIS isn't exactly quiet, is she?"
"She's damaged so probably more noisy."
"They've picked up the temporal wake and know you're here. They both phoned. I tried to tell them to leave it but, they are both on their way. They know you've broken your leg. I had to tell them something because I think they were worried the world was about to end. I've not told them how you did it or explained the extent of your injury. I can if you want, if you don', I won't. That is up to you. I think they will both be pretty keen to help look after you, and while that will be good for you to have that companionship and support over the coming weeks, I know that right now you are probably too worn out and sore to want much company. Do you want me to turn them away and tell them to come back tomorrow? At least after you've had a good night's sleep."
"I don't think I'll be able to sleep."
"You will." Martha patted his drip. "I'll give you something to help you rest and sleep tonight if it is too hard. I could give you it now if you want, but it is only earl;y afternoon and I don't want you to be awake too much through the night. Do you want to have a visit with Jack and Sarah Jane? Jack is bringing some lunch. There is a nice Chinese around the corner and he's calling in there for their buffet style lunch. He'll probably have far too much food when he gets here, but it is tasty. You can do that, or you can just rest quietly, once we get you into the other side there'll be a TV and things so it won't be as dull, or you can try to go to sleep."
"Okay."
"Which do you want to do?" Martha checked. "If Jack and Sarah Jane do come in then I will be chucking them out after a couple of hours. They're not going to be hanging round all day. You do need to rest."
"I'll see Jack and Sarah Jane. I don't want you to turn them away if they are coming. It is a long way. Especially for Jack."
"For the next couple of days you need to think about what you want and not what anyone else wants," Martha advised the Doctor. "If you would rather just rest quietly then you should. The priority needs to be to do what makes you feel better."
"If you send them away I'll feel worse."
"That isn't if I see them for a couple of hours for lunch I'll feel better, though, is it Doctor?"
"I don't want you to send them away."
"Okay." Martha kissed him on the forehead and he made a face. She laughed and apologised. Gerald came in with a new ice pack for him and she encouraged the Doctor to keep it against the swelling on the side of his face. "You've got to look your best now you're having visitors."
"I think a black eye is the least of my worries."
"You're probably right. Do you want me to tell them the extent of your injuries?"
"If you don't they'll find out eventually and want to know why I didn't say."
"Okay, I will tell them, but let them know you don't really want to discuss it?"
"Yeah."
"We are going to have to talk about it in detail at some point, Doctor," Martha warned him.
"Not just now? Please?"
"Alright, I'll take them into the assessment room first and show them your X-rays and talk about what we're doing for you. Then they can come and see you for and we'll have some lunch.
"I don't know if I'll be hungry."
"If you're not then you don't have to eat anything."
"I feel a bit nauseous."
"Do you feel like you're going to be sick, or do you just feel a bit queasy with the drugs and the high volume of biscuits I know you scoffed?" Martha checked with him.
"Just queasy."
"Let me know if it gets worse and you want me to give you something to calm your stomach."
"Then I'll get a headache," he grumbled and Martha rolled her eyes at him. She would look after him and give him some leeway but she wasn't going to pander to him. "Try and have something to eat when Jack and Sarah Jane get here."
"Will there be pepper ribs?" the Doctor asked. "I like them."
"I will text Jack and make sure he picks some up."
It was half an hour before Martha received a call over the intercom to contact the main base Gatehouse. It was an indication that either Jack or Sarah Jane had arrived on site. "Doctor?" she was sat by his bedside just quietly monitoring him to make sure he remained stable. His pain levels weren't settled yet and she'd put his Bladamine up to 5mls an hour. It was close to his maximum level, but he seemed to have periods of a few minutes intense pain every ten minutes or so and she didn't think the drugs were going to cope with that at all. He would lose all his composure, grimace or cry out as the pain became too much for him to continue being brave. Martha knew there was little that she could do for now, she believed it was a nerve generated pain rather than due to the bony injuries he had so she thought she might have to look at giving him something on top of the Bladamine. She just wasn't entirely sure what would be suitable for him.
"That is going to be Sarah Jane or Jack arriving," she advised as the Doctor listened to the intercom. "This is your last chance? I can send them away to come back tomorrow or in a couple of days if you want just to carry on resting quietly?"
"No, s'okay." The Doctor sounded exhausted. Once Martha had thought, hoped, that he had drifted off into an uneasy sleep but he'd soon been wincing and grimacing as the pain beat him into full awareness again. It was going to be a difficult few days while they waited for him to be operated on.
"If you still want your pepper ribs I can go and pinch them off Jack, let them know what you've done to yourself, and then they can come back tomorrow?"
"No, it's okay."
"I will be kicking them out after a couple of hours, so don't think they are going to be camping out here all day with you? Then when they've gone we'll probably be ready to move you into the East Wing."
"Can you kick them out after an hour?" the Doctor asked a little sheepishly as if it was a reasonable compromise.
"I'll do that, and, if it gets too much you just give me the nod and I'll get rid of them early. I'll take them down into the assessment room first and talk them through your injury and what the treatment is going to be. Then I'll bring them up to you. Gerald will come back and sit with you for now," Martha offered. "So, if you want anything then you just let him know."
The Doctor nodded and sighed. Gerald went in and sat with him, while Martha went through to talk to main office to call the Gatehouse and then into the assessment room to receive Jack and Sarah Jane when they arrived. Martha knew that the Doctor didn't really want to be visited, but had accepted out of a sense of obligation. It indicated how tired and vulnerable he was feeling. In normal circumstances he'd have had no qualms about sending someone away, or, running if he didn't really want to speak to them.
She also fully understood the need for Sarah Jane and Jack to see him, especially if he was hurt. She was slightly annoyed that neither of them had taken the hint that she didn't want them to come straight down. She'd not wanted to let them know how seriously the Doctor was hurt until she'd got his consent to do so. She had intended to discuss it with him because he was going to need care and support beyond his stay in hospital while he recovered and recuperated. His human friends would provide that, but they had forced her hand. She was perfectly content to turn them away, but the Doctor hadn't wanted that, even though it was for their benefit not his own.
Martha contacted the Gatehouse and they confirmed both Sarah Jane and Jack had arrived and were being shown to the medical bay. As UNIT was a military base and certain clearances were required to enter, but the medical facilities were sometimes utilised during serious incidents as local emergency over flow there was a civilian route to the medical bay and it was by this route that both Sarah Jane and Jack would be brought meaning they didn't have to get full clearance from the base commander, just log their presence on base.
She put the kettle on in the assessment room which also served as a relatives' room. She guessed that Sarah Jane and Jack were about as close to relatives as the Doctor had so it was appropriate for it. Two soldiers escorted Sarah Jane and Jack into the room. Jack had two bags that seemed to be stuffed with food in cardboard trays with metal lids. He also had a bottle of wine and Martha wasn't sure if he was being serious or not. Did he think he was going to be having a party?
"Martha!" Jack rushed forward and gave her a hug. He almost lifted her right up off the ground. If he'd not had the food then he would have done. It seemed as if it was months since she'd seen him, but he'd visited only a couple of weekends previously.
"Hi Jack." Martha couldn't deny that it was good to see him. She hugged him and then she hugged Sarah Jane.
"So, where's the klutz then?" Jack asked.
"He's resting in the treatment room for now. We'll move him round to the East Wing in a little while. It will be shut it off for him so he can get some peace and quiet. So, don't you just go bowling in on him."
"Has he run anyone over yet?" Jack asked.
"Run anyone over?"
"Wheelchair races? Or is he on crutches already? He'll bounce back," Jack suggested.
"You did hear me tell you he'd broken his leg didn't you?" Martha checked with Jack.
"Yeah, I bet he's not happy, but we'll have Chinese, draw some faces on his cast, and cheer him up," Jack offered. "He'll be fine. I called Ianto, if he wants to come back with me to rest for a couple of days then it's good."
"He's not just going to be cast up for a couple of weeks, Jack." Martha advised. "I checked with him and he doesn't mind me telling you what he has done to himself, but, he isn't aware of the finer details yet. He doesn't want to know just now."
"How seriously is he hurt?" Sarah Jane asked Martha sensing there was more to it than the simple break she imagined had led the Doctor to Martha for treatment.
"Why don't both of you have a seat and we'll go through it. He's not just cracked his fibula if that is what you're thinking. He's fallen around 25 feet and his right leg took the full impact. He also dropped directly onto the bottom rungs of a ladder which then slammed shut onto his leg. I have the footage from the TARDIS because we needed to see how it had happened so we can get a good idea on how to fix it. He will be going into surgery when the swelling has reduced to do some stabilisation and reconstruction work. Until then and for a few days afterwards he's not going to be getting out of bed at all. He certainly won't be having wheelchair races or be swinging around on crutches."
"He's really broken it then?" Jack checked. "What are you talking? Tibia and fibula?"
"I'll show you the images in a moment. I just want you to bear in mind that he is in a lot of pain, he's had a really hard day so far and he's exhausted. I don't think he should really visitors today, but he has told me not to send you away."
"You'd not send me away!" Jack scoffed.
"No, probably now, but I'd stop you from seeing him," Martha told him firmly. "Right now the Doctor is my priority and my patient. He's allowing me to include you in this but that is the reason why I am doing so. I just want you both to be clear that he comes first, at least until he's been stabilised and is more comfortable."
"Of course he does." Sarah Jane nodded. Martha looked at Jack and he nodded, though he looked pretty concerned about how serious the injury was if Martha was setting ground rules immediately.
"So is it his tibia and his fibula?" Jack knew it was more serious than he expected. When Martha had said he'd arrived with a broken leg he thought she'd cast him up and have to tie him up to keep him down long enough to let the plaster dry. "And you said he's having surgery? Are you going to pin him?"
"We've got the orthopaedic team working on the best way to stabilise him," Martha advised. "It is a nasty injury." They were in the assessment room where she had discussed the injury with James, but the boards had been powered down. They were still live with the images of the Doctor's leg though, so she powered them up, forgetting for a moment that it was not only the X-rays up on the boards but also photographs. She'd not intended for there to be the shock factor of seeing the photograph of the Doctor's mangled leg.
"Oh my God, is that his leg?!" Sarah Jane knew it was because she could see brown pinstriped material cut away from it.
"Jesus." Jack got up to have a closer look at the photograph with a morbid fascination while Sarah Jane had to look away.
"We don't think there is anything we can't fix." Martha started with the most positive aspect. She wished she'd checked there was no photograph because while Jack was turning it on its side, familiar with the touchscreen technologies in use, Sarah Jane was quite pale. "That photograph was taken in the TARDIS before any reduction. I had to restore the blood flow to his foot immediately so did as soon as I could give him some pain relief. He was then transported here and we took the full series of X-rays and scans to reveal the extent of the injuries he has."
"Are these all him?" Jack looked at the images up on display.
"Yep. You can see he has a hairline fracture to the distal head of his femur. His patella is fractured and there is a fracture through the proximal head of his tibia. His knee was significantly displaced with a serious dislocation which has involved the medial and cruciate ligaments. We've since reduced it to a reasonable position. He has mid shaft spiral tibia and fibula fractures. The tibia fracture is comminuted and there are two free fragments so is highly unstable. He also has distal tibia and fibula fractures with a full ankle dislocation, as well as a broken heel bone and three broken bones in his foot."
"Shit."
"Yeah," Martha agreed Jack's sentiment. "We've reduced him as far as we can without surgical intervention and he is cast. He's not as comfortable as I would like. He's receiving IV pain relief but it needs adjusting. It's not effectively managing his pain levels and the events of the day are making him feel nauseous. He's understandably worried about his leg and how he is going to heal. I think he'll heal well, but he was on his own in the TARDIS and he had to get out of the ladder to take the handbrake off to seek assistance. His leg fractures are highly unstable, so he's had a pretty traumatic morning. In addition, he burns through pain relief so quickly that the hefty dose of ketamine I gave him in order to perform the temporary reductions didn't last. He was awake by the time we were positioning him for casting and it was horrific for him. He ended up passing out and it triggered his respiratory bypass for a moment, due to the amount of pain he was enduring. He's had a hard time."
"It must have been hard for you too," Sarah Jane knew Martha wouldn't have enjoying hurting him. "Do you want us to go?"
"Not now you're here. He wants some pepper ribs, but I don't want you to stay for more than an hour. He needs to rest and I'll need to do some work with him to get his drugs right so he can get more comfortable. I expect I'll end up giving him some sedation through the IV so he can sleep. He's in a lot of pain, he's pretty scared, and he's had a mighty shock, both emotionally and physically."
"And he doesn't know how bad his leg is yet?"
"I think he does know because he's seen it and he had to move and he described it as being floppy. I'm hoping when he's had some rest and an opportunity to calm down and come to terms a little with what has happened then he'll be in a better position to start thinking about it rationally. He was worried the fractures were open and he was worried I was going to chop his foot off and he was worried he'd have to regenerate. He knows he dislocated his knee, broke his leg, and dislocated his ankle."
"That is frightening enough without complicating fractures," Jack realised.
"For now I don't want him to be told anything more specific. I'll aim to have a conversation with him tomorrow some time. At least now he's cast and straight. He has looked at the case and seems more content. He's in a full long leg cast at the moment so at some point I'll have to split it to allow for additional swelling, but that'll be the last difficult thing we need to do prior to the surgery."
"He will be okay won't he?" Sarah Jane asked.
"Providing we're able to stabilise him effectively and he heals well. He should make a decent enough recovery. I'm not sure his leg will ever get to the same kind of strength and condition prior to this, but I don't think there'll be anything that'll stop him going off in the TARDIS and living his life. It all depends on how we stabilise him, how he heals, and how compliant he is with his recovery. He's not going to be able to put any weight on his leg for weeks. If he starts jumping around within the next couple of days it's going to be harder and longer, so, when he's been stabilised and can be discharge. I think that is where you'll have to a play a more significant role because he's going to need a long time to recover, recuperate, and rehabilitate after this."
"How long will it take?"
"That's an impossible question to answer at the moment, but I don't see him being TARDIS fit for four to six months, if not longer. Certainly for the first couple of months he is going to need assistance because he's not going to be able to stand on his leg. It all depends on how he heals. He has suggested that Time Lords heal fractures relatively slowly compared to other injuries but that it is still faster than a human rate of recovery. I need to have a more in depth conversation with him about that when he is more comfortable." Martha advised them both. "So, that is where we are at the moment. Do you want to come through? If he has managed to go off to sleep then he's not to be woken. If he hasn't then you've got an hour with him to start with."
When they had both arrived Sarah Jane and Jack had both been commenting on how annoyed the Doctor was going to be and how difficult he was going to be to look after if he'd broken his leg. They'd laughed about him being a nightmare and driving everyone at UNIT mad with his desires to get up and go off in the TARDIS with his leg in plaster. One look at the photograph of his injury had brought a level of horror to their visit that they'd really not expected or contemplated. It was the Doctor. He wasn't going to be seriously hurt. Their amiable amusement that their beloved Time Lord was going to be wreaking havoc in a wheelchair or on crutches and their intention to take the chronic mickey out of him for doing something as daft as break a leg was replaced with a subdued concern for him. He'd actually really hurt himself.
Martha led the way down to treatment room Alpha where the Doctor was resting. She wanted to get him moved into the East Wing as soon as possible so there would be some distraction for him. He'd have remote access to the library data banks, to a wide range of digital music recordings, and full cable TV along with internet streaming from a wide DVD database. She doubted it would be enough to keep him entertained for long, but it would be better than just lying on a treatment bed looking at white washed walls and medical equipment. The East Wing was furnished in a more homely style for patients going to be there for a while but were not in critical need of constant medical observation. There were several rooms with on suite facilities, a little kitchenette area, and a common room with different things, including a pool table though he'd not be getting up to play pool for some considerable time yet.
"Just stay here and I'll make sure he's not asleep." Martha went into the room ahead of Jack and Martha. Gerald was sitting by his bed and he stood when Martha came in just in case the people with her had the same degree of formality as the military staff. The Doctor had managed to wrangle a second cup of tea from somewhere. The head of the bed was raised slightly so he could drink without a straw. He was so pale and she could tell that he was tense and uncomfortable by the way that he was lying, so he wasn't doing much better at all yet.
"Are they here?" the Doctor asked quietly.
"Yeah, I've told them they have to behave." Martha smiled sympathetically at him. "Are you sure you don't just want me to tell them to come back later?"
"I'm sure," the Doctor confirmed. Martha poked her head back out of the door and waved Jack and Sarah Jane in. They both entered not entirely sure what they were going to be greeted with, other than knowing that the Time Lord was seriously hurt.
"Oh, Doctor, look at your face?" Sarah Jane was appalled.
"Well, that is charming."
Martha hadn't mentioned anything about the deep bruising and swelling all down the left side of his face. His eye had swollen shut and the lid was shiny and fat with deep purple and blue blood. His cheek bone was swollen and a redder purple where the bruising was still developing.
"Ah, yes, he's got a touch of facial bruising." Martha winced and gave Jack and Sarah Jane both an apologetic look. It wasn't serious, but against the pallid complexion of the other side of his face it looked dramatic and she'd forgot to tell them, as her concern had been rightly concentrated on his leg injuries. "And a few stitches in his head, but no concussion and no facial fractures."
"Eleven stitches." Gerald confirmed to Martha. He'd written it up on the Doctor's file notes but not told her yet.
"How are you feeling?" Sarah Jane went and took the Doctor's hand. "I can't believe you've broken your leg. Is it really painful still?"
"Yeah." The Doctor sighed. "It hurts a lot."
"We're still working on getting the dose of drugs right," Martha reminded them.
"You did all this falling off a ladder?" Jack checked with the Time Lord. The Doctor nodded. He took in the way that the Doctor was lying with the long cast of his leg elevated up so his foot was almost two feet above the level of the mattress. The cast was long and white and sleek and had been formed out the heavy Plaster of Paris rather than the more lightweight fibreglass alternatives that he was sure UNIT had readily available. He was wearing a white T-shirt that had a UNIT medical motif on the right side of the chest so that was borrowed. There was a sheet folded over him from his abdomen and over his uncast leg so he didn't know what else he was wearing. "You daft bloody sod."
"I know."
"So, are we going to have something to eat?" Jack sat by his bed. "Hopefully it hasn't got too cold while we've been looking at your X-rays."
"Gerald, would you mind getting some plates from the mess?" Martha checked.
"Hello, by the way." Jack extended his hand towards the young medic. "Captain Jack Harkness." He introduced himself.
"Jack…" the Doctor grumbled. "Leave him alone."
"What? He's one of your medical team. I've got to say hello at least don't I?" Jack shook the junior medic's hand. "And what is your name?"
"Private Gerald Sutherland, Sir, Junior Medical Officer."
"Well, I'm pleased to meet you." Jack offered. "Bring yourself a plate as well and you can join us."
"I have duties to undertake, Sir, but thank you." Gerald didn't want to impose and he wasn't sure what Martha would think. He fetched the plates for them and then took the treatment trolley out so they had more room to move in the smaller room. He advised Martha that he was going to replenish what had been used to cast the Doctor's leg. It needed doing, so she let him go, though she would make sure he knew neither Jack or Sarah Jane would mind him being there. She wanted the Doctor to build a relationship with him, because there would be times when she couldn't be with him and at most of those times Gerald would be.
Jack and Martha cleared the top of the treatment bench in the room and checked what Chinese dishes had been given. He'd just asked for a full selection of the buffet and then some additional pepper ribs for the Doctor. Martha thought there was enough food for a whole platoon.
"It looks like Jack has tonnes of food," Sarah Jane commented as she took the seat by the Doctor's bedside. "I hope you're hungry?"
"Not really. I'll try to eat something but I'm feeling a bit sick."
"Maybe eating something will help," Sarah Jane offered.
"It might. It smells good."
"Martha said you're going to have surgery on your leg in a couple of days or so?"
"When the swelling goes down," the Doctor confirmed.
"At least you've got Martha to look after you." Sarah Jane wasn't quite sure what to say. He looked tired and he was quiet and subdued. "I'll bring Luke in to meet you properly while you're here." She suggested. "He's been dying to meet you. He's at school today or I might've brought him with me. Maybe I could bring him in a couple of days?"
"Okay," the Doctor agreed quietly. "You still owe me that story."
"Yeah, I do." Sarah Jane confirmed. "I can tell you after lunch if…" Sarah Jane paused as the Doctor grimaced. He squeezed his eyes tightly shut and gasped and then groaned as waves of pain originated in his leg. It felt like someone was spearing him with red hot spears and then twisting them right through the middle of his leg. "Martha?" Sarah Jane got the medic's attention as she was helping Jack dish up their lunch.
"Take deep breaths, Doctor." Martha went straight to him. She took his hand and held it tightly as the Time Lord clenched her hand. He keened and cried out. "Deep breaths." Martha encouraged him again. "It will pass, breathe in through your nose to make use of the oxygen, Doctor."
Jack and Sarah Jane watched in dismay as pain undid the Doctor's composure completely. He was groaning and moaning with it, tears spilled from the corners of his tightly shut eyes, and he could barely breathe. Martha adjusted the painkillers in his drip up again but they weren't touching the cyclical pain she was sure had to be due to nerve damage. She thought about getting James back down to discuss the options, but really there were none. He just couldn't deal with the level of pain he was in when it hit him like this. The more it kept happening the more tired he got and the worse it affected him.
"Martha?" the Doctor bleated eventually as it started to calm down and he could get enough air to complain.
"I'm going to call James back down," Martha advised. "Do you know if there is anything you can take which will block neurological pain?" She asked him. "You must have a damaged nerve in there somewhere."
"Do you want us to go?" Sarah Jane asked.
"No…" the Doctor gasped as the tail end of what felt like a full scale attack lingered. "It's going off." He sighed heavily. For a few minutes after the horrific increase in pain his leg didn't feel as bad. It didn't take him long to forget how bad it had been and for the gnawing, throbbing, aching pain of the general injury to come back to the forefront of his mind, but that at least was tolerable even if it was wearing him down second by second.
"What was that?" Sarah Jane checked when it was clear the Doctor was relaxing as the pain was easing.
"A nerve generated pain. It seems to come six or seven times an hour. We need to look at putting some kind of nerve block in or using a drug suitable for neurological pain. Anything I have in my arsenal would take a sometime to build up and to be effective and have significant side effects," Martha offered. "I'll get my orthopaedic specialist down to see if we can determine the best way to manage the pain. I am sure once the surgery has been completed and the fractures are stabilised completely there won't be as much of an issue. It just hurts him significantly and there isn't much I can do to stop it." Martha stroked the Doctor's forearm as he breathed deeply, consciously drawing oxygen from the line through his nose then exhaling through his mouth.
"It's gone…" the Doctor acknowledged.
"But that is going to happen again in ten minutes or so?" Jack checked he understood.
"Yeah," the Doctor confirmed. "I think it's getting worse," he added and Martha nodded her concurrence. Jack sighed heavily, no wonder he sounded so miserable.
"It keeps happening," Martha confirmed.
"Perhaps we should go so you can get on." Jack realised they'd come in and were interfering with work Martha still had to do in order to get the Doctor comfortable and stable.
"No, it's okay. Don't go yet. When it's stopped it's not as bad," the Doctor assured them.
"Let's have something to eat and then we'll have a look." Martha commented. She knew they wouldn't go down the line of surgical intervention for an intermittent neurological pain when he was so swollen, they'd either manage it with drugs, or, unfortunately assist him to endure it, so it would be alright for the Doctor to eat if he was able to. She hoped it would make him feel better and more settled.
Jack finished dishing the food up. Martha pulled a bed table over for the Doctor to eat, but when Jack put a plate with a mountain of food topped with ribs the Doctor looked at it and felt ill. Martha took it back and just gave him a couple of ribs to start with to see if how he felt after chewing on them.
They ate and talked. Jack told the Doctor about the latest incidents they'd had in Torchwood and they asked the Doctor where he had been off to and what he had been doing, but he wasn't too forthcoming with that and Martha sensed there was more to his story. She'd work to get to the bottom of it. She knew he'd been involved with UNIT briefly as she'd been briefed by Captain Magumbo about the meeting she'd had with him and a flying London bus. It amused Martha, but she'd been in the process of transferring back from New York to the UK so she'd missed him.
They ate and had tea and coffee, but then Jack and Sarah Jane left. Not before ensuring the Doctor knew they were both going to be local in case he needed anything. Martha suggested there would be an evening visiting period at around 19.00hrs and they could come back then. Sarah Jane could tell it wouldn't be fair for the Doctor to be introduced to Luke yet and have the teenager bombard him with questions so she'd not be back until morning, but Jack assured him he'd come back and see how he was doing. If he was asleep and didn't want to be visited then he'd just visit Martha instead.
