The Doctor and the Angels - chapter 10
Ok, I can't help it. You'll have to forgive me some fluff in this chapter!
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Liz's breath came in quick panting gasps, her heart pounding in her ears. In a matter of seconds she took stock of her position; it was pitch dark but she was able to judge from the quality of the air and that finely tuned instinct humans have that the room she was in was tiny. A cupboard, most likely. Her back was pressed against a solid, warm chest. That, along with the arms that were still tightly wrapped around her - one around her waist, the other across her chest - were most certainly not made from stone. She cautiously lifted a hand to brush the edges of her fingers against the back of the hand splayed over the front of her shoulder, its own fingers wrapped around her upper arm.
"Alastair?" she ventured in a whisper.
"Sshhh." came the response. It was enough to confirm to her that her assumption was correct and it was indeed the Brigadier; she sagged in relief, her breath leaving her lungs in a rush. She felt the arm round her waist tighten slightly and she focused on her knees, forcing them to straighten and take her weight. She hadn't realised until that moment how much the man behind her was holding her up. Fortunately her legs obeyed and she felt his grip loosen again, although he did not remove his arms.
There was almost nothing to hear, but had he been a betting man, the Brigadier would have laid fifty pounds on there being something outside the cupboard door. Not for nothing had he honed his senses to the point where he could simply know the enemy was close by. He forced himself to ignore the sound of Liz's breath, the feel of her heartbeat thumping through the back of her rib cage, her hair brushing against his cheek, the rapid rise and fall of her chest…focus, man! Ignore her, for now at least. Now matter how difficult that may prove to be. He tightened his arms again in a bid to steady himself as much as reassure her, and listened. After a moment there was an indiscernible change in the air and the light bulb above their heads slowly flickered back into life. Liz saw that she had been correct and they stood in a broom cupboard, surrounded by shelves of cleaning products.
"Are you alright?" he murmured, and Liz exploded with gooseflesh as his breath huffed into the crook of her neck.
"Yes," she answered, willing her voice to steady itself.
"Let's find the others."
And with that he stepped around her to open the cupboard door a crack, letting his hand slide to the small of her back but never letting go.
"All clear," he said quietly, guiding her out with him into the hallway.
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Harry paced back and forth, unsure of what he could possibly do. He'd shut, locked and barricaded the door to the medibay with the hospital style bed; he'd pumped it up to the right height to wedge the guard rail under the door handle and put the brakes on for good measure, although if he was honest he had no idea if that would be enough to hold the Angels at bay. He was convinced that if there was one there would be more. He was also increasingly worried about David. He almost leapt out of his skin at the sound of sudden hammering on the door.
"Who's there?" he demanded, trying to sound braver than he felt.
"It's me, Martha," came the reply and Harry relaxed somewhat.
"Just a sec," he called back, releasing the brake on the bed and pressing the foot pedal to lower it enough to pull it away from the door.
Martha flung herself into the room and shut the door behind her; the two of the pushed the bed back into place.
"No sign of David?" Harry asked her in concern and she shook her head.
"I came straight here but I looked into the loos on the way past. He's not there."
Harry shoved his hands into his pockets and rocked on his heels.
"I say, the Angels haven't got him again, have they? Could they do that?"
Martha shrugged despairingly.
"I can't think of a reason why they couldn't" She began pacing as Harry had been doing for the last half hour. After a few moments she stopped and turned to face him.
"The Doctor - my Doctor - said the Angels were attracted to the TARDIS. They feed off potential energy. The TARDIS is like a feast to them."
Harry nodded to indicate he followed although this was news to him.
"That's probably why they've followed us here… but what if David is giving off those same signals? He's not of this time."
"Well, if it's come to that, neither am I." Harry pointed out. "And neither's the Brig, or Dr Shaw… and I'm guessing if you know the Doctor you might be giving off the same 'I've travelled in time' signals?"
Martha nodded.
"Yes, you're right. Although David's the only one who's been displaced, if you follow. But yes, if all of us are broadcasting our potential energy to the Angels its no wonder they're hunting us."
"So, the question is, Dr Jones - what are we going to do about it?"
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Sarah stirred and screwed her eyes shut against the autumn sunlight that was pouring in through the window, hitting her directly in the face and threatening to leach in under her eyelids. She groaned and attempted to stretch, frowning as her right arm and leg collided with something large, filling more than half of the bed. Now that she was more awake, it became apparent that she was almost hanging off the edge of the mattress, and she was only half covered by the blankets. It suddenly occurred to her that her left side was freezing. She turned onto her side, pressing her back against the Doctor's and tugged at the blankets, trying to free them and pull them further around herself. Try as she might, even when she moved as close to the sleeping Timelord as she could, she could only just cover herself and an inch gap was left between the edge of the blankets and the bed, allowing a chilly draught to tease its way in. She wriggled backwards to try and push him over a bit to no avail. She elbowed him in the back, but her only answer was a resounding snore. Sighing, she sat up and nudged him in the shoulder. Sleepily, he reached up and patted her hand without opening his eyes.
Sarah Jane looked down at him fondly. No matter how much he irritated her, how badly he behaved… she couldn't help her affection for him. Sometimes she wondered at her own weakness when it came to her alien friend.
"Stop staring," he murmured.
"I would go back to sleep," she said quietly back to him, "but someone is hogging the bed, and the blankets too."
"Ah," he acknowledged matter of factly, "Come here, then," and with that he snaked out an arm quickly and grabbed her round the waist, pulling her down onto the bed in front of him and wrapping the blankets tightly around them both. Sarah was mightily taken aback but didn't protest. She was exponentially warmer and more comfortable than she had been and she began to drift off again almost immediately.
"Doctor?" She asked after a moment.
"Hmmm?"
"What are we going to do? If we can't get back, I mean…?"
The Doctor sighed and pulled her closer.
"A solution will present itself, Sarah. And if it doesn't…well. I shall be alright with my Sarah Jane to keep me company." After a pause he added, " I hope you feel the same."
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The calm before the storm… the action picks up again in the next chapter. Please do review if you've read this far, especially if you're still enjoying it!