Phew! Haven't received any death threats for last chapter...yet. This one takes place a few weeks after that one and brings back some of the fun, at first.
Chapter 25: Fossil Feats
"Remind me again why we're being chased by dinosaurs!" I gasped as we ran for our lives upon a flat, cracked plain that extended as far as the eye could see. Old dinosaur bones littered the vast area and the ancient sun beat down heavily on the back of my neck. And yet, despite my whinging, I loved it!
"You wanted to see prehistoric Earth!" he cried back, blaming it all on me. "Here it is! Two Triceratops angry that we stepped into their nest!"
"That was your fault!" I retorted, remembering how he had 'accidentally' dropped an egg that he just had to pick up.
It had all started rather innocently. I had woken up and the Doctor asked where I wanted to go. I said I'd love to see some real dinosaurs, as I'd had a real obsession with them when I was a kid. He obliged immediately, landing us on Earth around 67 million years ago.
It truly was beautiful to see ancient Earth how it was before humans, before cities or civilisation, just completely natural. Exotic plants that must have now been extinct were everywhere; most were gigantic! Dinosaurs seemed to roam about all over the place; ones with clubs on their tails, or hard spikes on their heads, or even feathers! There were even some small mammals and birds around, too.
We wandered around, for the most part keeping a wide distance between us and any dinosaurs, herbivores or otherwise, until we stumbled across the Triceratops' nest. I was curious enough to look at the eggs in wonder but, of course, the Doctor picked one up and studied it with his glasses on, commenting that it was at a very early stage and probably wasn't even formed yet.
Then he dropped it.
I was furious enough at him for killing a baby dinosaur, before the parents came down on us. Just a normal day time travelling.
Back in the present, the Doctor responded to my accusation. "We'll discuss this later, run!"
I could have laughed, if it wasn't for the stitch in my side.
The dinosaurs' feet were like thunder strikes, and they were getting closer. Each as big as a bus, their three horns sharp as daggers and their skin looked to be as impenetrable as the TARDIS. Then I looked ahead and felt my heart jump into my throat.
"Doctor!" I shouted, pointing.
He followed my gaze and frowned; ahead of us was a solid cliff face. I wondered how we missed it before, but we had been so intent on running and glancing nervously over our shoulders. Looking left and right, I saw that it continued for several hundred metres in both directions. Even if we turned, the Triceratops' would catch us. They were almost on our tail now. The ground shook so much that it was almost difficult to run.
"What do we do?" I asked him.
He didn't answer until we reached the cliff, turning and staring at the fast approaching dinosaurs.
"Well, we…um…" for once he seemed lost. His eyes darted everywhere, trying to figure out a way out of here. Then he began muttering to himself. "The most advanced race in the universe, no problem, but put me in front of two angry dinosaurs…"
"Doctor! No time for this!" I screamed as the creatures pelted towards us. Impact was only seconds away.
"Right, when I say now, throw yourself to your right. I'll go left. Hopefully, they'll smash against the rock and be dazed enough for us to head back to the TARDIS." He said at 100km/hr.
"Ok." I murmured, having no choice but to trust him.
"Now!" he yelled and I did what he said as the dinosaurs hit.
I was a split second too late; one of the horns pierced through my shoulder, but I still moved in time to avoid being squashed. His plan had worked; they were dazed and one of them had a horn stuck in a crack in the cliff.
The Doctor came over, realising through some sixth sense that I was injured. I didn't know the extent of it at first, adrenaline numbing the pain. Then I looked.
"Oh. My. God." I whispered, feeling myself pale. The horn had literally sliced through the muscle; a huge gaping gash was positively gushing blood. The mere sight of it made my head start spinning, and the pain brought on intense nausea.
"Talia, Talia, look at me." The Doctor's voice was strangely calm. I obeyed. His eyes were wild with concern but his voice remained soft, to keep me from panicking. "We've got to get you back to the TARDIS, now."
He pointed the sonic screwdriver at my shoulder and it closed slightly, lessening the blood flow. I was still feeling very weak. My legs were wibbly-wobbly and I was struggling to keep from going into shock from both the weakness and the vision of my wound plastered onto my mind's eye. But I pulled myself to my feet, placed my left hand on my shoulder and followed the Doctor as he ran.
He continually glanced at me, making sure I was running as well. I didn't hear a pursuit yet, which was one good thing, but each step sent jarring bolts of agony through my arm and the rest of my body. Biting my lip to keep from groaning, I quickly began to fear that I would pass out before reaching the TARDIS.
After having to jump over a particularly large crack in the ground, the wound ripped wide open again. I stopped, gasping, trying to hold the gash closed despite my light-headedness and nausea. The Doctor sonicked it again, to little avail. The pain and dizziness seemed to surround me in waves, like I was in the middle of an ocean, threatening to pull me under. Blackness gathered at the edges of my sight.
Then we heard the sound of pounding feet.
The Doctor swore in what I presumed was Gallifreyan, something I'd never heard him do before. The surprise momentarily cleared my head. He ripped off a piece of his coat and wrapped it tightly around my shoulder. It instantly turned red, but he pushed me ahead of him and yelled at me to run.
"Just make it to the TARDIS, Talia, that's all you have to do. I've got everything I need to fix you up there!"
Easy for you to say, I thought, you're not losing loads of blood. My vision was still blurry, but a spark of hope was ignited as I saw the TARDIS in the distance. The Doctor's hand on my back urged me onwards.
His voice was right by my ear. "You can do it. Come on. Just a few more metres."
I would do anything for that voice. Gasping, gripping his arm with my good hand, I stumbled the last few steps, oblivious of how close or far the dinosaurs were. The world was spinning, my head was floating, but against all odds I made it over the threshold. The Doctor slammed the door shut behind us.
I barely made him out as he quickly sped us into the Time Vortex – from what I could see, he used random coordinates. I struggled not to faint, collapsing onto one of the chairs. My eyelids fluttered.
Feeling very disconnected from my body, I sensed the Doctor pick me up extremely gently. Then sometime between that point and reaching the med bay, I blacked out.
A sharp, intense, burning spark of agony brought me back to consciousness with a yell.
"Doctor, what are you doing!" I hissed, automatically pulling away from the source of the pain; whatever he was doing to my shoulder.
He tutted at me. "Stay still! You'll damage the IV."
I turned my head slightly and realised I was in the middle of a transfusion. Of course. The amount of blood I'd lost needed to be replaced. Then I looked down at my shoulder and felt my stomach twist unpleasantly.
The gash, now finally not oozing blood, was slowly being stitched back up. "Thanks." I said, looking away again.
He managed a light chuckle. "No need. I'm impressed you can even look. You had me scared there, for a moment, when you collapsed. You humans don't do well with blood loss. Your heart even stopped for a moment." He poorly hid his worry at the end and I hoped he hadn't stressed too much. What was I talking about? This was the Doctor. Of course he over-stressed.
"Hark at you." I snapped, trying to hide my shock and fear at his words. "What about that…vampire thing the day you met Martha, draining you of blood and stopping both your hearts. You're lucky you didn't regenerate that day."
He raised an eyebrow. "You remembered that? Huh, I keep forgetting how much of a 'fan' you are. Yeah, that did happen. That was quite…frightening. But then again, I'd just lost Rose so I wasn't really that concerned about my own physical health."
I hissed as he continued his stitching and he apologised.
"Dinosaurs." I muttered. "You know, in all the time travelling I've seen you do, I never thought I'd be running from an angry Triceratops."
He grinned, his eyes remaining focussed on the job at hand. I gritted my teeth against the uncomfortable pain, although his smile made me want to return the gesture as it always did. "I thought you'd be used to the weird and strange by now."
"I am used to all the scientific, timey-wimey stuff, just not the very physical being chased by dinosaurs part." I said.
Another few minutes passed, and then the Doctor cut the thread and placed the needle on a bench. "Right, done. You might have a bit of a scar for a few weeks, but it'll fade."
I tentatively moved my arm. Wincing at the sharp flashes that shot up my neck, I stopped. "I think I'll wait to move it."
"You should." He agreed. "It looked worse than it was, but even so the stitching was essential. It's a good thing 'Doctor' isn't just a title."
I nodded. "Thanks. Can I get up? I'd like a cup of tea."
A small frown creased his forehead. "Well, I wouldn't advise it, but I'm sure a quick trip to the lounge room won't kill you. I'll make the tea and bring it in."
He unhooked the transfusion, tucking it under his arm just in case, before offering me his hand. I took it with my uninjured arm and he slowly pulled me into a sitting position, then to my feet.
I stumbled slightly, still weak from the blood loss, but quickly straightened.
"Hey." He lifted my chin up so he could look at me. "I think it might be better for you to stay lying down." He frowned in concern. "You haven't had enough blood. You're still so pale."
"No. I can make it to the lounge." I whispered, although I did lean on him a tiny bit, keeping my right arm limp.
Roughly fifteen minutes later I was curled up on the sofa nursing a cup of tea, a random movie playing on the TV, leaning into the Doctor. He didn't complain, rather he wrapped his arm around me. Soon I felt myself growing drowsy, but I didn't care. I didn't notice the pain in my arm, or the uncomfortable light-headedness that seemed to hang over me like a cloud.
I was with the Doctor. My Doctor.
This isn't the end of this part. There's more to come, but the chapter would have been too long if I didn't cut it here. Hope you all enjoy it ^_^