The Doctor turned back to Rose and Martha and gave them a funny look. "Come on! We don't have that much time!" He looked intensely at them as they rush t him. "Good, now, Martha, we'll have to approve you as a visitor. How long do you think it'll take you to get some blood?"
"I dunno, thirty minutes? Just in case I can't find everything quick enough."
"Good. Perfect. If we aren't finished with Doctor Hame in thirty minutes, meet us at the TARDIS. Rose, shall we?" He offered her his arm as the trio walked to the receptionist desk. "Good afternoon, Miss…?"
"Linden. Miss Linden. May I help you?"
"Yes, Miss Linden. My wife and I are here for our son's consult with Doctor Hame. She said to just do a walk-in appointment when we were ready. Do you know where she is?" The Doctor asked, presenting as much confidence as possible. His psychic paper wouldn't work; it wasn't as if he needed a ticket to the hospital.
"Yes," Linden said, her cat's face quivering with suspicion. "Doctor Hame is right around the corner, room seven. Only guardians of the patient allowed," Linden sneered at Martha.
"Oh! Don't worry. I'm visiting a patient. Gallifrey. Can I go down and see him?"
"Have you got permission from the guardians?"
"Oh, of course. Gallifrey's our son. She can see him, she's his godmother." The Doctor smiled innocently. Rose's smile was forced, but she still smiled.
"Right. Gallifrey's godmother. She really wanted to see him, can she go down?" Rose tensely said. Linden's eyes danced between Rose and Martha and the Doctor. She nodded, then turned her attention to the next person in line.
Rose and the Doctor casually walked to Doctor Hame's office, while Martha sprinted up three flights of stairs to Gallifrey's room. When Martha finally reached Gallifrey's room, she realized she needed a syringe to draw his blood. A small sound of frustration escaped Martha, and she turned in frustrated circles around herself. "Come on, Martha, think! Think! You work in a hospital, where would they keep theirs?" Martha asked herself. "In the hall! In the storage room right down the hall!"
"Mummy?" Asked the frail voice from the bed. Martha turned around and saw Gallifrey, his eyes all grey.
"No, sorry. I'm Martha. I'm your nurse for the day," she replied softly. "I'll be right back." Martha rushed to the hall, found the storage room only to realize it was locked. "Stupid safety rules!" She picked one of the pins from her hair and opened it to pick the lock. "Everything else on this world is DNA based but they leave the storage room an old lock?" She wondered aloud. She couldn't complain too much; she got the lock opened and grabbed a sterile syringe off the shelf. Making sure it was hidden in her jacket, she turned to leave. "Oh, today is so not my day," Martha muttered, realizing someone had been watching her. It was an alien, of course, with spikes for eyes and a grey skin. "Hello. I'm Martha, and you are?"
"Martha. I am looking for my room. Are you a nurse?" The alien asked. "I'm Lyra, by the way, and I usually don't look like this," she laughed. "I'm in the late stages of Ezulitis Greciorus Fermorta, so I'm pretty much a goner now. Doctors can't believe I made it past age seven. Temperatures don't bother me anymore, but my eyes don't work, and I've been told my skin looks terrible."
"Lyra. Right. I'm sorry, did you say Ezulitis Greciorus Fermorta?" Martha said, shocked.
"Yes ma'am. Can you help me find my room? I'm terribly exhausted." Martha didn't know what to say. Lyra was infected with the same thing as Gallifrey, but she was in far worse condition. The grey in her skin made it look sagging and dead, and her spike eyes were splintering at the ends.
"Um," Martha gulped. "Well, I can help you to your room. But didn't they tell you about the experimental treatment for EGF? There's a young boy in room twenty oh seven with EGF and they're gonna start him on it."
"I've never heard of this drug. It must be for the newly infected. Or those they care about. See, I'm the last of my species, so they don't think I'm terribly important. I used to go by Queenie but that seemed a bit pompous for my state, wouldn't you think?" Lyra laughed, her mouth twisting into a grimace. "They say I'm wholly cured from EGF and they want to operate to get the stuff making me grey out of my system. What do you think, Nurse Martha?" Lyra tilted her head.
"Oh, actually, I'm a doctor. Not here, though. Somewhere else. But I think you should get the surgery. Anyway, I've got to go. Good luck with your surgery!" Martha started forward, but Lyra didn't move. "Erm, excuse me, Lyra. I've got to get back to my patient."
"Who are you, traveler? You're not from here, I can sense it. You're from a long, long way away. A long time ago. I've learned to sense things like this because I can't see. You're with someone I know. I remember that scent." Lyra gasped. Her hand feebly went to her heart as she laughed a little. "Oh, how I missed you! Bring me to him. Now," Lyra ordered.
"I can't. I have to help his son," Martha said, inherently knowing Lyra was talking about the Doctor. "But you can come with us. Just let me help his son first."
"He has no son. All his children died in the last great Time War." Tears escaped from Lyra's spike eyes. "He has no children. He has no mother. He has no father. No aunts or uncles. No grandparents. No cousins. But he has me, so take me to him." Lyra was panicked.
"I will. Just let me help his son!" Martha was panicking now too. She was running out of time. "His son, who is in this hospital with EGF and I just need to get a blood sample please Lyra listen to me! Whoever you are, or were, to the Doctor, you will be nothing to him if I can't help his son! He fell in love, Lyra, and had a kid. Please, I promise, I'll help, but let me help him first." Lyra and Martha's breaths were shaky. Lyra nodded, shuffling her feet in the direction Martha assumed was her room.
As soon as Lyra was out of the doorway, Martha ran to Gallifrey's room. She tried to inconspicuously hold the syringe in her jacket. She didn't want to break it or let anyone see she had it. Martha almost ran into several people on her way, not paying attention because of what Lyra had said. She tried to push Lyra out of her head. She needed to focus on Gallifrey. "Mummy?" Gallifrey croaked.
"No, it's Nurse Martha again. You're gonna feel a little poke in your arm, but don't worry, it'll be over soon. I promise." Martha stuck the needle into Gallifrey's little arm. Dark, orange-tinted blood filled the syringe. "Alright, Gallifrey, you did fantastic. You just get some rest, alright?" Martha smiled down at him and recapped the syringe. By the time she reached the door, Gallifrey was already back asleep.
