Chapter 10 The Village

The next day they headed to the village to find a replacement window and solar panel. The sun was warm. It was a nice day and they decided to walk, making short work of the distance. Before too long the tops of buildings were showing through the trees. "With all the exploring we've done, how did we not see this?" Rose marveled as they came into the square.

Traveling in the Tardis you leave and arrive quickly with very little in between. There were no windows you could look out of anyway. She made a mental note to see if they could hover over it and see the whole thing at once. "All part of my surprise." The Time Lord said, "It wouldn't have made as good an impression if you had seen all of this before hand."

They were silent as they went from empty building to empty building. All of them had that strange quality like the house, where everything looked soft and rounded, as if they were made of melted ice cream. It must be the preferred architectural style of the civilization that was to inhabit it. Rose was wondering who they were and how they lived. Everything they had seen was so beautiful, it must reflect who they were as a people.

There was a lot of damage. Many of the buildings had roofs and walls collapsed. It was sad, but inevitable. After 250 years of neglect there shouldn't have been anything standing. Especially after that storm. They found a useful solar panel, and a windowpane that would fit the one lost at the house, but put them aside while they explored more.

The Time Lord was in another building when he heard the horrible sound of stone cracking and falling to the ground. He looked up for Rose but didn't see her. He suddenly felt sick as he couldn't sense her either. Running out of the building he called for her, but she didn't answer.

The cloud of dust betrayed what had fallen. It was the portico on a large building over some steps. He had seen Rose stop to rest there as he searched for what he needed. He screamed her name and ran to check the rubble. Imagining her broken body beneath it. He began tossing large chunks of debris away, still screaming her name.

She wasn't there. He stopped to listen, his hearts racing, gripped in terror. Then he heard it. A soft familiar voice coming from the building itself. "Over here." she said faintly.

He leapt nimbly over the pile of broken stone and into the building and found her near the entrance under some rubble. "Rose, Are you ok? Does anything feel broken?" He pulled the fallen stone and plaster off her gently.

Rose was disoriented and in pain and answered faintly. "I saw it start to come down and jumped in here out of the way. I nearly made it." He pulled the sonic screwdriver out of his pocket. Grateful that he had decided to take it with them to test the new panel. "Hold still Rose. I'm going to see how bad it is."

He ran the instrument over her, trying not to show her what it was telling him. There were several small fractures on her arm and ribs, a bad gash on her leg, a pool of blood was already forming under her. Some internal bleeding near her left kidney, bruises everywhere, and a concussion.

He looked up at the roof to test its soundness with the sonic. It seemed sound for now, but he knew it could change at any moment. He did not want to move Rose if he didn't have to. "Well Rose, you're banged up a bit." He tore his shirt and wrapped it around her leg to staunch the bleeding.

"You need to stay still and stay awake. Can you do that for me? Sing a song, or recite a nursery rhyme, anything. I'm going to get the Tardis. You can't walk home."

He didn't want to leave her. He was still worried about the roof, but if he moved her and the bleeding got worse he wouldn't be there to stop it. "I'll be right back." He kissed her forehead and sprinted from the building.

He had run fast in the past, but anyone watching him would not believe his speed that day. It was the longest mile he had ever gone. Jumping over downed trees and through sharp brush. Picking up several cuts and scrapes of his own, but not feeling them. At last he saw the house. He ran inside and set the coordinates for the village.

He came as close as he could to where Rose was. If he had not been so hurried he might have been impressed by the accuracy. No doubt due in part to the Tardis herself. In all, he was gone less than four minutes. As he came out of the machine he could hear her weakly singing a song. "You're going to be ok Rose, I'm here."

He noticed a few clouds of dust falling from the ceiling, and the alarming sound of cracking plaster. The Tardis cloister bell was tolling again. Time was short and he needed to hurry.

"I'll have to pick you up to get you in the Tardis. This will hurt a bit. Are you ready?" She nodded weakly. He quickly picked her up as gently as possible. She whimpered in pain as he took her inside. Laying her down on the floor of the machine and ran to the console. The sickening sounds of the ceiling falling, were left behind as he pushed the leaver to take them home.

They materialized in their bedroom. He placed her gently on the bed and ran for water and bandages. The cut on her leg had slowed to seeping. There were a few other cuts and scrapes. He washed everything clean and bandaged using a salve he had. They would be completely healed in a day or two. The worst of it was the internal bleeding and the concussion.

The Time Lord gave her a glass with a blue liquid in it. "You must drink it all Rose" She took the cup and drank what she could. It tasted like copper and old socks. She made a face and handed it back to him. "I know, it doesn't taste great, but it will help you." Her head began to pound, and she laid back on the pillows. In a moment she was asleep, a side effect of the liquid. He made a cold compress for the bump on her head, covered her with a blanket, and waited. She should be recovered by morning.

A few hours later she began to shiver. She had a fever of 101 and rising. He piled blankets on her and changed the cool cloth on her head. Her breathing became shallow and rapid at times. He would hold her head up and try to get her to drink water. Rose would no longer respond to him. He was afraid she was going into a coma and thought to take her off world to a hospital, but a long rough trip in the Tardis would only aggravate her injuries.

The liquid he had given her was the best medicine he had. He had used it himself on many occasions when he was badly injured, but not to the point of regeneration. Hours passed. Her cuts and scrapes were gone. A white mark was all that was left of the wound on her leg. The fractures were mended. The internal bleeding stopped.

She should be doing better, but the sonic showed a massive reaction to some sort of mold or fungus. Probably in the walls of the building that collapsed. It was causing kidney failure. After two days of constant care where every minute was an eternity, the fever broke, and she seemed to be resting. But it was clear that her vital signs were still getting weaker. Her body had just stopped fighting it.

He was looking out the window on the morning of the third day when he heard her speak. "Hello husband." she said. "You look terrible." He was beside her instantly, holding her hand. "Rose. Don't talk. Save your strength." He was very relieved she was conscious. "You're quite a mess yourself."

"My head hurts," she said. The pain in her eyes was difficult for him to see. "I know love, just lie still. You'll be better soon." He ran the sonic over her again. "Husband." she said, squeezing his hand. "I need you to know how much I love you.

It's bad. I can see it in your eyes, you can't hide anything from me." She tried to smile a little, but only winced in pain. "I need you to know, no matter what happens, I wouldn't change a thing." He shook his head "Rose. Don't. You're going to be alright." She smiled at him. A gentle smile full of the love she had for him, then sighed and closed her eyes.