The Doctor wasn't happy as he started to tend to the people in the village. He was even less happy as their rations arrived for the day and he found that they had not only been given their normal loaf of bread but a small amount of meat and two apples each. It was clear to him that the Leader was rewarding the people for cheering and celebrating the fact that an innocent man had died today. He wanted to reject the rations but they needed to eat so he took them without a word closing the door behind him. He glared at Adele's back as he placed the rations in the kitchen with the meat as far as possible from the fire to keep it cold until supper. He didn't look at Adele as he went back into the clinic to work while he waited for the end of the day and for Jack to return. As he did, he once more began planning their escape. He was sure that Jack wouldn't mind fighting for extra rations for them while on the run, the problem would be keeping Carys alive for the journey.
"Carys just finish her last feeding and there is plenty of milk in the bowl for the night, so I am going to head home a little early," Adele told him snapping him out of his thoughts.
"Thank you," the Doctor responded coldly forcing a smile onto his face that didn't reach his eyes. He reached out for his daughter and she handed the baby to him. He took her bringing her close to his chest and cuddling her.
"I see the look in your eyes and I have seen it before with other men who are new here. They too don't understand why we believe the leader when he tells us a man is guilty," Adele started.
"The man was innocent of the crimes he had been accused of. He was beaten and hung for no reason and the people cheered. I understand this is a prison planet but what the leader did was murder, not justice," the Doctor hissed.
"Not in the leader's eyes and the people of the village trust him to do what is right. Before the leader took charge, the village was in chaos. People were dying in the streets from starvation and exposure. Women couldn't leave their homes without fear of the men who lived here. The Leader changed that. He brought structure to the village and soon everyone had a home and food. The men that we feared were made to fall in line. If they refused they were killed or banished to the caves. I am grateful for what the leader has done for the village and will support his decisions, even if I don't always agree with them," Adele told him.
"Have a good evening, Adele," the Doctor responded.
"Good night, Doctor," Adele answered before leaving. The Doctor closed up the clinic taking Carys back into their home with him. He laid her gently on the couch in her nest before moving to the kitchen. He cut up one of the apples into slices and roasted the meat. By the time Jack came home, the food was ready and the bread had been toasted.
"After supper, I would like you to go and fight in the village. We need extra blankets, food, and water so you need to make sure you win," the Doctor explained as a way of greeting.
"Of course I can win, the question is why do you suddenly want me to when you have been adamant about us working with the people of the village," Jack questioned.
"I promise I will explain it all later," the Doctor replied. He glanced towards the door where people could be heard moving around outside. He didn't want them to overhear anything he had to say and report it back to the Leader. So he kissed Jack softly as he gave him his meal. Jack accepted it, taking it into the room with him while he changed. He was still suspicious of the Doctor's motives but did what he was asked and went into the village with two apples in order to buy his way into the fight. Because of the extra rations, there was more food then ever before and he came home with eight new apples, a blanket, a bottle of water and another one of alcohol. The Doctor took the bottle of water setting it aside along with the blanket and six of the apples.
"Are you going to tell me what this is about now?" Jack wondered.
"Soon," the Doctor answered. He fed Carys and they both enjoyed a second apple before bed. The Doctor waited until they retired to bed before finally telling Jack about his plan to leave. His voice was barely above a whisper as he explained that he didn't feel safe in the village and felt it was only a matter of time before the leader turned on them and killed him and Carys before sending Jack back to the caves. Due to the lack of rations, the only way he was going to be able to save food for the journey was to have Jack fight daily and win so they would be able to stock up.
"I wasn't going to say anything but since you were planning on being insane anyway, there is something else we can do to get rations for our journey," Jack told him his own voice so low the Doctor could barely hear him.
"Oh."
"The men in the mines talk quite a bit to get us through the day. Mainly they talk about their own lives and what they did to end up on the planet. One day, they were talking about the guards and their families. I know you noticed that the women and children looked healthier than the rest of the village and that is because not only are those men handpicked by the leader for their loyalty but they also receive extra benefits like medicine and food that the rest of the village doesn't have access to. Their families eat like kings every night while the rest of us slowly starve and are lucky to live a few years on the rations that we receive. We would have to be careful not to get caught raiding the stores but since we are leaving anyway, we can take what we need before we run," Jack informed him.
"There still remains the question of how we are going to keep her alive on the journey. We don't know how long it will be and she will starve to death quickly if we don't keep her fed," The Doctor answered.
"If they have rice in the storage we can grind it into a fine powder then mix it with water to provide her nourishment on the journey," Jack explained. The Doctor nodded slowly.
"We could but we are going to have to move quickly for the first few days to put space between us and the village. We won't have time to stop and grind the rice into a fine enough powder without making too much noise or risking them finding us. There is also the fact that we would have to carry extra water just for her and have to stop often to feed her the rice which would slow us down even more. I know you said you didn't like to but the best option would be for you to begin to lactate in order to feed her on the journey. Not only would it make it so we had to carry less food on the journey, but it would also keep her warm as well as giving her something to suckle to keep them from finding us by her cries," the Doctor explained rationally as he had obviously put a lot of thought into the idea of leaving. Jack looked at the sleeping baby. He didn't like it but the Doctor was right, to leave her here would mean her death and to take her without adequate planning would also mean her death. They didn't know how long it would take to get to the next village and would need to make sure that they had plenty of rations, especially of water if they were going to make it there. Plus if he was responsible for feeding Carys, he couldn't die or he would have to start the process of lactating again.
"We are going to have to wait for at least a week to plan properly as well as make sure that my body is properly producing the milk that she needs for the journey," Jack explained. "Can you put up with this life for another week?"
"I can," the Doctor sighed. Jack leaned over and kissed him softly. They kissed tenderly then breaking the kiss, Jack gathered Carys into his arms. He moved his shirt as he brought her to his chest. The Doctor couldn't help but chuckle at the face that Jack made in the fading firelight as Carys latched on.
"I forgot how strange this feels and this is not how I generally like anyone on my nipples," Jack commented.
"Oi, little ears," the Doctor scolded.
"I promise you Doctor, she is still sleeping soundly and too young to understand anything that we are saying besides she's been in," Jack started.
"Jack," the Doctor drew out his name cutting Jack off before he could finish his sentence. Proud of himself, Jack moved a little closer to the Doctor so that they could cuddle while they both lay quietly unable to sleep.
