Chapter 16 - Unforeseen complications
"Can we go visit New New York, so good they named it twice?" Rose asked with false cheer, trying to break up the snuggle-fest next to her.
It worked, Gray jolting and rearing back, away from the Doctor. The alien himself shooting up like a rocket, clearing his throat with cheeks flushed from being caught in such an intimate moment.
He cleared his throat again, patting himself down looking for something.
"Yes. Well. I thought. I thought we might go over there first," he said offhandedly and pointed in the general direction of the hospital.
"There's nothing there," Rose said with furrowed brows.
That finally got the Doctor's gears turning right and he looked up. "What? No, no. No, there. I meant over there," he said pointing right at the hospital.
He peeked over his shoulder when he heard Gray snickering quietly at him.
Grinning, he scratched the back of his head bashfully.
"Well what's that then?" Rose enquired as she stared at the green moon on the building.
"Some sort of hospital. Green moon on the side. That's the universal symbol for hospitals. I got this. A message on the psychic paper," he said as he finally fished out the wallet from his pants pocket.
He turned the paper for the girls to see.
"Well, the message wasn't for me, but, you know," he said awkwardly.
It read; 'Aurora Indie, come to ward 26. If convenient, bring the Doctor.'
Gray stared at the message in shock for several seconds before she finally burst out in laughter.
"Oh, I hope I taught him that," she whispered to herself through chuckles.
There was a smile on the Doctor's face as he tried to pout, saying, "it's not fair. It's my psychic paper."
"Do I get my own then?" Gray teased as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "I'm sorry Doctor, it's honestly the last thing I would have expected to happen," she told him sincerely.
He sighed dramatically. "I feel used," he whined, making Gray giggle again.
Gray's joyful mood disappeared when the Doctor spoke again.
"So you know why we're here?" He asked, curiosity shining in his eyes.
"An old friend," Gray said with a small smile.
The Doctor grew aware of the absolute fondness she felt for this 'old friend' and battled to keep his jealousy in check.
Gray shook her head and swallowed thickly. The fondness she felt turned into trepidation and the Doctor frowned, stepping closer to her.
"What's the matter?" He asked her quietly.
Without consent, her mind flashed back to how utterly terrified she was of the Doctor when she first told him that she knew about his future. She sometimes forgot just how dangerous he could get when he wasn't in control of a situation. Gray didn't want to get into a row with him again.
"Doctor," Gray uttered in a small voice as she reached out to take a hold of his hand.
"What is it?" He asked, slightly worried as he gently squeezed her hand.
"Doctor, do. Do you trust me?" She asked as she stared into his eyes.
The Doctor flinched back, letting go of her hand at the unexpected question. He opened and closed his mouth a couple of times but not a word came out.
He wanted to trust her. He really did.
"Why do you ask?" He questioned back instead, almost stuttering.
Gray squeezed her eyes shut and turned away from him.
She sort of expected it, really. But it did make everything just so much harder.
She stepped away from him as she opened her eyes and spotted a scowling Rose.
She would take Rose's place in Cassandra's plan, take the risk and the pain. She would do it without a doubt, but what about her future knowledge?
Could she successfully guard her mind against the skin flap?
Gray winced, that was a bit rude.
"Sorry," she whispered under her breath as she shook her head, her voice carried away with the wind.
Sighing, Gray turned back to the Doctor and he winced at the heartbreak he saw in her eyes. What made it even worse was the resignation he felt over their bond.
"You won't ever trust me, will you?" Gray asked him with a sad smile playing at her lips as a stray gust of wind whipped a piece of hair over her cheek, as if mother nature herself wished to comfort her with a caress.
The Doctor pursed his lips as he stared at her but couldn't answer.
"I know how hard it is for you to trust people, Doctor. I won't force you to," she said solemnly. "So now-" she took a deep breath "- I'm just going to ask you to forgive me, instead."
The Doctor's expression hardened as his jaw clenched.
"What exactly are you planning?" He asked tersely.
Gray gave him a tight smile, the accusation in his words stinging more than it should. "My plan A won't work if you don't trust me," she said as she shot a quick glance at Rose before training her eyes back on the Doctor. "So I'll have to go with plan B."
"And what would plan B, be?"
Her smile did nothing to cover the fear in her eyes. "I'm going to be curious," she said simply. "So let's not keep our old friend waiting."
Gray turned on her heel and headed for the hospital, hands locked behind her back as she strode on.
The Doctor had a bad feeling about her plan but shoved it to the back of his mind. What could go wrong, right?
"Bit rich coming from you," Rose said and the Doctor shrugged.
"I can't help it. I don't like hospitals. They give me the creeps."
An overhead intercom said, "The Pleasure Gardens will now take visitors carrying green or blue identification cards for the next fifteen minutes. Visitors are reminded that cuttings from the gardens are not permitted," and Gray frowned.
Pleasure gardens?
"Very smart. Not exactly NHS," Rose said as she looked around.
"No shop. I like the little shop," The Doctor complained, ignoring Rose.
"I thought this far in the future, they'd have cured everything," she said, finally gaining his attention.
"The human race moves on, but so do the viruses. It's an ongoing war," he said with a small shrug, still looking for a little shop.
Rose blinked as she finally noticed the faces of the nursing staff in their nun-like wimples and habits.
"They're cats," she gasped.
He frowned. "Now, don't stare. Think what you look like to them, all pink and yellow." He suddenly pointed over her shoulder. "That's where I'd put the shop. Right there," he said then jogged over to an open lift.
Gray shot after him like a bullet and stopped the doors with her sneaker.
"Rose," she called nervously, "in you pop."
The blonde shot her a suspicious look but entered the lift nonetheless.
Gray sighed in relief as she entered the lift after Rose, finally letting go of the door. She turned around and stared at the closing doors with trepidation and to Gray's absolute bafflement, she felt Rose shove her from behind. Being caught off guard, she only managed one step before she pitched forward, out of the closing lift, catching herself with her hands before her face smacked into the floor.
Gray's blood ran cold as she felt the lift doors close on her ankle, and not open again
Cassandra had already overridden the doors.
The Doctor's alarmed voice berating Rose went unnoticed by Gray as the lift dinged and started ascending. A terror induced whine left her throat as she tried in vain to jerk her ankle out of the ever rising machine.
She had watched 'Final Destination' before and she didn't like the movies one bit. She much less liked the idea of living it out.
When her upper body lifted off the floor, she heard her ankle give a loud pop and Gray slammed back down onto the white tiles.
It wasn't even ten seconds before she was swarmed with cat-nun-nurses.
Their voices were muffled as her heartbeat echoed in her ears. The adrenaline would fade soon, she knew, and then the pain would hit her.
Her brain couldn't quite comprehend the events that just took place as one nurse came into view and placed a mask of some sort over her face.
After she inhaled once she blacked out.
A/N: I DON'T OWN DOCTOR WHO.
Yes, that happened. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and if I haven't said it before, Happy Festive season and Happy new year.Thank you all for reading, favorites and follows.
Hope you have a good day,
MercifulAuthor.