The Doctor was kissing her. The Doctor. Was kissing. Her.
Lyssa's brain shut down, rebooted, and shut down again. Butterflies exploded in her stomach, fluttering with such intensity it was a miracle she didn't start floating away - although maybe she did. She didn't know. Her headache was rapidly disappearing, leaving her with only the vague sensation of floating.
She opened her eyes - when had she shut them? - and almost immediately had to shut them again, brain too overwhelmed with all the sensory information coming in at once. The Doctor - this regeneration in particular - had always been a tactile person, at least with her, and he was no less tactile now.
His hands cupped her cheeks gently. His thumbs swept along her skin, leaving trails of heat and sparks wherever they touched. And his kiss - her brain couldn't help but pull up memories of the last time he'd kissed her. The last time he'd pulled her into such a close embrace.
Although last time had been brief, with him more focused on the crashing ship around them, pulling away quickly and then moving on.
This time he was wholly focused on her, though still tense with worry.
And the way he kissed her... She couldn't find the word for it, not with how lightheaded she felt now, but something about it felt... odd. As if he'd done it before.
Well, he had, but not like that.
Despite her being frozen in place, he still managed to imbue the kiss with tenderness and affection. Never once rough, his fingers moved across her face, brushing against her temples. She instinctively pulled away when even that gentle touch became too much, falling back against the couch she'd forgotten was behind her, breathing heavily.
She blinked rapidly as she finally opened her eyes, the bright light of the room stinging her overwhelmed senses. When she managed to refocus, the Doctor was leaning over her with a worried expression, posture tense. And she had to be hallucinating, because she could swear she saw faint glimmers of gold in his eyes, quickly fading away and leaving only his normal brown.
"How do you feel?" he asked, studying her for signs of... of something.
Lyssa would deny to her dying day that her heart skipped a beat at the sound of his voice. Not that she was too focused on that right now - one hand came up to touch her tingling lips as she stared at him. "I don't - what?" she stammered. "What was that?"
His cheeks darkened slightly, but he remained focused on her. "How do you feel?" he repeated urgently. "Do you still feel dizzy? Do you have a headache? Trouble breathing?"
"Uh... I feel kind of floaty," she managed, still staring at him with wide eyes. "I don't... uh..." Her brain wasn't working quite right just then, couldn't he try again later? "Were there... sparkles?" she muttered dazedly, wondering about the gold she had seen.
He huffed a small laugh despite himself and Lyssa had to force herself to actually focus on what he was saying and not the sound of his laugh, which sent the butterflies in her stomach to fluttering with a new intensity. "Lyssa, please. Do you feel like you did before? Are you still in pain?" he tried again, sounding pained himself.
Lyssa turned her attention inward with an effort, and eventually managed to conclude that underneath the sensation that she was floating, she was not, in fact, still in pain. "No, I don't feel sick or anything," she decided, not missing how his shoulders crumpled in relief. Unfortunately, along with that awareness, came the realization of what had just happened. Reality came crashing down like a wet blanket. "You kissed me!" she realized, her face flaming as she jerked to stare at him. "Why did you kiss me?"
"You'd been poisoned," he grunted, and now that she could focus on him - actually focus on him - she could see the pain in his posture, how tensely he was holding himself. He was far paler than normal, and sweat was beaded at his brow. "I had to pull it from you, and I had to be sure I got all of it." His breathing hitched and he wrapped an arm around his stomach. "Of course, I had to pull it into me, and so..." He trailed off meaningfully, hunching forward slightly in an instinctive attempt to lessen the pain.
"Oh my gosh, Doctor!" Embarrassment disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, panic returning to take its place. "Are you all right? What do we do?" Her hands hovered over him, hesitating to touch him lest she somehow cause him more pain. Pain that was already her fault, something whispered inside her, guilt sinking heavily into her gut.
"Get me to the kitchen," he grunted, forcing himself to his feet before she could help him. "I can stimulate the enzymes into reversal, I just -" he cut himself off, nearly doubling over. He would have fallen if Lyssa hadn't caught him, slinging his arm over her shoulders.
"Right, where's the kitchen?" Lyssa asked, wincing at the audible hysteria in her voice as she pulled him out of the room and into the hallway. "How long do you have?"
"Not lon- aah!" He doubled over again and she quickened her pace, looking about frantically for a servant to tell her where to go. "I can just - regenerate if I - have to," he muttered, breathing heavily.
Her heart clenched in her at the thought and she shook her head fiercely, tears stinging at her eyes. "I'm not ready to let go of you just yet, so you hold on, Doctor," she hissed, heading away from their quarters and down a hallway that looked far simpler. Hopefully that meant it was closer to the servants area. "Just hold on, okay?"
"It - it'd still be me, Lyssa," he forced out. "Just because I changed -"
"It's not about that," she cut him off harshly. "I've seen four different versions of you and I don't think any one of them is lesser than the others. I just don't want you to die, all right? Especially not if it's because you were trying to save me!" Her voice broke and she looked away.
His head snapped up to look at her. "Lyssa -"
"Is everything all right?"
Lyssa nearly wilted in relief when she saw a servant staring at them in concern. "Oh, thank goodness. He's been poisoned, we need to get to the kitchen right away!"
"I - right," the servant agreed uncertainly, clearly seeing the grimace on the Doctor's expression. "Follow me! Would you like me to ring for a doctor?"
"No need, I can - ugh!" the Doctor doubled over again, his hands clenching until the spasm passed. "We need to hurry," he gasped as soon as it was over and they started moving again. "Too much longer and the regeneration cycle will start."
"He can create a cure in the kitchen," Lyssa told the servant hurriedly. "He's a doctor, he just needs the supplies."
"It's just right down this way, Miss," the servant told her, leading them down a few hallways and stopping outside a doorway. "Right through here," he promised them, pulling the door open to reveal a kitchen filled with staff bustling about, cooking various dishes and gossiping amongst themselves.
"Thank you!" Lyssa exclaimed, pulling the Doctor into the kitchen and glancing around. Donna and Agatha were in the corner, having a hushed argument about something - it was spirited enough that they didn't notice her coming in, and she didn't have the time to grab their attention. "Okay, Doctor, what do you need?"
The Doctor released her, trying to walk to one of the counters, only to lose his balance and stagger into Davenport, who was watching him with concerned confusion. "Ginger beer!" the Doctor bit out, grabbing onto his shoulders for support.
"I beg your pardon?" Davenport asked, eying the Doctor as if he were mad - or drunk.
"I need ginger beer!" he expounded, releasing the servant and dismissing him as unhelpful when the answer didn't come fast enough, and heading for one of the shelves with cooking wines, supported by Lyssa. Not being careful in the slightest, he shoved all the things he couldn't use to the side as he rifled through them, several of the items falling to the counter with a crash.
"The gentleman's gone mad!" one of the servants exclaimed.
"He's been poisoned, he's trying to find ingredients for the cure!" Lyssa snapped over her shoulder, frantically searching the shelves for the needed item and ignoring the gasps behind them. "Here!" she shouted in triumph, pulling the bottle from the shelf and yanking the lid off before shoving it into the Doctor's hands.
He quickly chugged nearly half the bottle, then dumped the remainder over his head.
"What next?" Lyssa demanded as he dropped the empty bottle on the ground and spat out a mouthful of the liquid onto the ground.
"Protein! I need protei- argh!" he doubled over, only just catching himself on the counter.
"Doctor!" Donna and the author had finally noticed them and joined them by the counter. "What's wrong? Why are you hurt? And Lyssa - are you all right? Weren't you poisoned?" the redhead demanded, looking between the two in worry.
"Not now, Donna, he needs protein!" Lyssa exclaimed, glancing over the cooked food on the counters and lighting up when she found something. "Chicken!" She snatched a plate filled with hunks of the cooked meat and held it out for the Doctor, ignoring the protests of the staff. He quickly stuffed a few pieces in his mouth and began frantically chewing. "What's next?"
"I don't understand, you mean he really needed that?" Agatha asked incredulously, frowning at the Doctor, still chewing on his chicken and drenched in ginger beer. "I thought he was just in denial. Why is he the one taking it? Mrs. Smith was poisoned."
"There's plenty of denial all right, but when it comes to Lyssa's safety the Doctor tends to know what he's talking about," Donna rebutted, holding a brown bag out to the Doctor. "I found some of what you needed, at least, and if you need more protein we've got walnuts in a jar over there," she jerked her head to the left.
The Doctor swallowed his chicken and frowned at the bag. "What's in there?"
"Salt."
"That's too salty," the Doctor shook his head, still leaning heavily on the counter.
"Oh -! That's too salty," Donna mimicked him in exasperation.
Evidently deciding to believe them, Agatha held a jar out to the Doctor. "What about this?"
It seemed to be acceptable, whatever the dark shapes stuffed in the jar were, because the Doctor took it and started shaking the contents into his mouth.
"What's that?" Donna frowned at the jar suspiciously.
"Anchovies," the author answered, not looking away from the frantically-chewing Time Lord.
Lyssa grimaced, but kept watching the Doctor. That was all he needed, right? And then there was that black... smoke... stuff that would come out of his mouth?
Except he started gesturing at them, expression just as urgent as before as he waved his hands in the air, mouth still too full to talk.
Lyssa just stared, unable to comprehend what he was trying to say in the slightest.
Donna, it seemed, was having the same issue. "What is it? What else? It's a song? 'Mammy'? Um, I don't know, 'Camptown Races'?" she listed off desperately.
The Doctor managed to swallow down his last bite and stare at her. "'Camptown Races'?" he repeated incredulously.
"All right then, 'Towering Inferno'!" she tried again, undeterred.
"It's a shock!" the Doctor exclaimed in exasperation, miming an explosion and a surprised expression. "Look! Shock! I need a shock!"
"Oh!" Lyssa smacked her forehead as she suddenly recalled that moment from the show. "Right!" Donna had kissed him then, which had worked because he wasn't expecting it. Except the redhead was just frowning at him, so should she do it? Except the Doctor had kissed her earlier, so did that mean that he would be expecting it - or no, why would he be expecting it? Even if he wasn't, something told her it wouldn't be enough of a shock.
Why was she even thinking about kissing him in the first place when the Doctor was dying? Or even at all?
And why couldn't she come up with something - anything - to try?
One of the Doctor's legs gave way and he clutched at the counter desperately for support, knuckles turning white with the strength of his grip. "Running out of time," he muttered, breath hitching with pain. Lyssa clutched her chest as as it was struck with a sudden sharp pang and her eyes went wide.
She'd only ever felt that when the Doctor was dying.
Donna turned to Lyssa expectantly, and she could only shake her head helplessly. "I don't know what to do," she whispered, tears of fear and guilt stinging her eyes as she watched the Doctor try not to crumple in pain. "I'm sorry."
"Right then," Donna declared, evidently coming to a decision as her eyes narrowed. "Big shock, coming up! Sorry in advance, Doctor," she said genuinely as she marched up to him, straightening her posture as if preparing for something.
He looked a little wary as he tried to stand up straighter, only for his arm to crumple beneath him and send him sinking back against the counter once more. "What are you -"
She punched him in the jaw.
Lyssa clamped a hand over her mouth, unable to stop a shocked laugh from coming out as he stumbled back into the counter, his head snapping to the side. He righted himself and lifted his head to the ceiling, opening his mouth to breathe a cloud of thick gray smoke into the room.
"Oh, thank goodness," she breathed as the pain in her chest vanished as quickly as it had arrived, sagging against a counter of her own as her legs threatened to give way. A few tears of relief trickled down her cheeks and she scrubbed them away hastily, letting out a short, relieved laugh.
"What in the world..." Agatha trailed off, staring at the Doctor in shock - along with the rest of the room. One of the staff started muttering prayers under their breath, and Lyssa half expected someone to accuse him of witchcraft.
"Detox!" the Doctor exclaimed cheerily as he stood up straight and wiped his mouth, all signs of pain and weakness gone. "I must do that more often!"
The room continued to stare at him as if he'd gone mad, and for once, he noticed.
"I mean... the, the detox," he stammered, rubbing at his jaw with an impressed laugh. "That was a good one, Donna. Blimey! Remind me not to get on your bad side!"
"Did I punch you too hard, Doctor? Oh, no," Donna fretted, an apologetic grimace on her face. "I really am sorry. I thought it might be enough of a shock, and I thought you'd be fine, what with your 'superior genetics' you're always blathering on about."
"Donna, I am fine," he promised her with a laugh, pulling her into a hug. "I just wasn't expecting it, which is exactly what I needed. Probably one of the first times I've been thankful to be punched in the face. Which, by the way, thank you! I mean it quite literally when I say you saved my life."
"Oh, well. I'm always glad to knock some sense into you," she tried to wave him off, but her pleased smile gave her away as he released her.
"And Lyssa," he started to turn to her, still with that wide, pleased smile. "You were fan-" Her eyes must have been red, or something, because his smile disappeared in an instant. "Lyssa? What's wrong? Do you still feel sick?" he demanded, hurrying over to her and waving his hands in the air over her form as if he could diagnose her that way.
She shook her head, cheeks flushing in embarrassment as he started fretting over her as though he hadn't just been dying of poison a moment ago. "I'm not sick," she promised him, patting his arm reassuringly. "I just - are you really all right?" she checked, looking up at him. "I know you're not dying anymore, I can feel it, but are you really all right?" It had scared her, to feel how close he had come to dying. She'd only felt it a few times in the two-ish years she'd been here, but she never wanted to feel it again.
His eyes softened and he swept her up into a tight hug. One hand came up to brush a few curls behind her ear as she buried her face in his chest, embarrassed about all the attention she was sure to be drawing - and his closeness, after the events of earlier - but unwilling to move away from him. "Oh, fairy-girl, I'm completely fine," he promised. "Good as new, see?" he smiled down at her, keeping one arm around her and holding the other out to display.
"All back to normal! You can feel my hearts- er," he glanced at the others in the room, who were all affecting to be completely unaware of them both, Donna talking in a low voice with the author. "My heart, my single, human heart, beating like normal, yeah?" he held his wrist out to her and beamed when she reluctantly took it, feeling both pulses thumping reassuringly under her fingers. "See? Beating strong enough for two," he winked at her, smirking when she rolled her eyes at him.
"You're obviously back to normal," she decided, resting her head against his chest once more, suddenly weary as the adrenaline faded.
"Course I'm fine, I'm always fine," he told her, shifting so that she was by his side and under his arm instead. "I'm so perfectly fine you could call me the king of being fi- no, wait, lord of being fine. I'm the fine lord," he elbowed her exaggeratedly, looking so pleased with himself she couldn't help but laugh, which of course only served to make him even more smug. "How are you feeling now?" he asked her in a low voice, keeping his expression bright and cheery as he smiled at a curious manservant.
"I'm glad you're all right," she told him quietly. "I was scared."
His grip tightened around her shoulders before relaxing slightly. He gently led her over to Donna and Agatha, both of whom were pretending not to be paying attention but clearly not-so-secretly watching with concern.
"Sorry about all the ruckus," he told them, although he aimed his explanation at Agatha. "There was a recent discovery of a poison similar in scent to cyanide that was capable of being neutralized with the right materials. Fortunately, I had a small vial containing a bit of the antidote on me that I had been meaning to study, and I was able to give it to my wife. I had to sample her glass to be sure it was the right one, though, hence me coming through here trying to find ingredients with the same compounds as the cure." He sent the author a dazzling smile.
"You... sampled the poison, to see which one it was?" Agatha repeated, dumbfounded. "You knowingly drank poison, not knowing if it would kill you or not? What if it had been cyanide?"
He shrugged, sending her a tight-lipped smile. "I guess it's a good thing it wasn't," he said lightly.
She shook her head in wonder and disbelief. "Doctor, you are impossible! Who are you?"
xXx
After much smoothing down in the kitchen - by process of genuine apologies and helping to restore order - the staff were more than willing to go along with the Doctor's plan for that night's meal. After setting it all up they'd retired to a sitting room. Or rather, Lyssa and the Doctor had. The Doctor had insisted on looking Lyssa over to make sure she was all right, and assuming that they would need privacy, Agatha had gone for a walk with the redhead, who seemed to really be hitting it off with the author.
That led to now, with Lyssa sitting more-or-less patiently on the couch while the Doctor catalogued all her vital signs.
Again.
"Are you sure all this is really necessary?" she raised an eyebrow as he measured her pulse once more. "I'm not in any sort of pain, and wouldn't I be dead by now if there was still cyanide left?" She regretted the careless words when the Doctor tensed, but it was too late to take them back now.
"Even miniscule amounts can do damage if left untreated, and we're not in the TARDIS. I can't be sure that I got it all," he said tersely. "I'm taking your vitals over a period of time to make sure that there's no change that indicates a more severe problem."
"But didn't you use regeneration energy?" she asked in surprise, recalling the glimpse of gold she'd seen, and the heat she'd felt. He'd also used... another method... but she wasn't ready to discuss that and what it entailed and why he'd used it, not yet. So she stuffed down the perplexing memory and focused on the method she did understand. "Wouldn't that have gotten it all?"
"Not enough to save you," he answered slowly, glancing at her. "You don't like me using regeneration energy on you if there's another way that works just as well, and using regeneration energy to heal others of poison is tricky in general. Too easy to go overboard and use it all. And then you'd really be cross."
He shook his head, releasing her wrist. "I knew the method I used would work, and it'd be a lot more precise. Well, as precise as you can get outside of a lab. But I didn't have much time to work with. Your increased healing abilities gave you enough time for us to notice something was wrong, but much longer and you would have died." His face darkened at the thought. "So I pulled as much out of you as I could, and used just a bit of regeneration energy to fix the damage, rather than remove the poison. More control, that way."
"Huh." Lyssa tilted her head to the side in interest. The whole going overboard thing made sense - she vaguely recalled River using all her remaining regeneration energy to heal the Eleventh Doctor after poisoning him sometime in season 6. The idea of the Doctor losing his ability to regenerate, especially when he had other options, made her heart clench in her chest.
"Thank you for saving me," she added after a few moments of quiet contemplation. "You risked yourself to save me, and while I wish you didn't have to, I'm grateful that you did. But... I'm also glad you didn't try to use all your regeneration energy. I'm not worth that. I don't want you losing your ability to regenerate for me. Especially if you have other options."
"You will always be worth it," he retorted with a frown. He sighed when she glanced away in discomfort, softening his tone. "We don't get to decide our worth to other people, fairy-girl. Just how much they're worth to us. And to me, you're worth it. You've always been worth it, and you'll always be worth it."
She could hear the genuineness in his tone, hear just how much he meant it. When she glanced back at him, he was watching her with a look that was becoming increasingly familiar that she still couldn't quite name, although affection and worry were certainly a part of it.
She shook her head, feeling on the cusp of understanding why, but not quite there yet - and almost afraid to find out. "Why? Why me? Why am I worth all... this... to you?"
He sat beside her on the couch, taking her hand in his and twining his fingers with hers. "I've been willing to die for my friends before - point of fact, I have died for my friends before. Several times. But yes, you mean more to me. Obviously." He huffed a quiet laugh.
"That still doesn't tell me why," she said quietly, looking down at their intertwined hands. "Why do I, specifically, mean so much to you? I've been around a while, I get that, though I still don't know how long." She glanced up to find him watching her with an inscrutable expression. "I just... I don't understand."
He sighed, sending her a sad smile of understanding. "I know you don't, fairy-girl. Maybe someday you will. For now, all I can say is that you are loved, and by more than just me. You don't have to know why, not yet. Just know that you are."
She blinked back sudden tears. "I think I'm starting to," she whispered, leaning her head against his shoulder. "You've told me that before. I'm just... still not used to it. To having someone care about me like that. Not yet." She paused, thinking of the clear affection each Doctor had for her, the steadfast way Rory had stood by her, the friendliness of all the other companions. "But maybe someday."
He wrapped an arm around her shoulder, tucking her into his side. "Someday," he agreed.
xXx
The weather had taken a turn for the worse by the time everyone sat down for supper, thunder booming in the background as lightning flashed and rain poured down. After a rather awkward prayer from the reverend - perhaps he wasn't used to praying in front of a group? Although that didn't make much sense, what with him being a reverend and all - they all began to dine.
"A terrible day for all of us," the Doctor mused, swirling his spoon through his soup. "The Professor struck down, Miss Chandrakala taken cruelly from us... and yet we still take dinner." He lifted a spoonful in the air as if to toast.
"We are British, Doctor. What else must we do?" Lady Eddison asked him, tilting her head to the side curiously.
"Then someone tried to poison my wife and I," he continued blithely, although his eyes darkened as he scanned the group, his right hand reaching out and twining with Lyssa's left under the table. "Any one of you had the chance to put cyanide in our drinks. But it rather gave me an idea."
"And what would that be?" the Reverend asked in bemusement when the Doctor paused.
His lips tilted up in a faint rendition of a smirk though his eyes remained cold. "Well... poison. Drink up!" he encouraged the group, lifting his eyebrows with mock cheer and taking a healthy spoonful of his soup. Lyssa bit back a smile from her position next to the Doctor as everyone's spoons suddenly halted on the way to their mouths and they all simultaneously sent the Doctor a suspicious look. "I've laced the soup with pepper," he continued after he deemed the pause had gone on long enough, and everyone relaxed.
"Ah, I thought it was jolly spicy," the colonel nodded with a smile, continuing his meal with unconcerned vigor.
"But the active ingredient of pepper is piperine. Traditionally used as an insecticide," the Doctor informed them all casually. The rest of the group, either not knowing about the giant wasp or hiding it very well, just frowned at each other in confusion. "So. Anyone got the shivers?" the Doctor grinned, all teeth.
As if for emphasis, lightning struck close outside, lighting up the room with a brilliant flash seconds before the window violently blew open. Wind swirled around the room, wet and cold, and blowing out the candles in an instant, leaving the room in darkness.
The Doctor's hand tightened on Lyssa's as a faint hum began in a far corner of the room, though it was quickly drowned out by nervous chatter.
"What the deuce is that?" the colonel demanded.
"Shh! Listen!" the Doctor ordered. "Listen... can you hear it?"
The buzz from before came back, loud and very much present, though too close to place an exact direction, and Lyssa flinched, glancing around the dark room for any hint of the creature. She could remember this, at least partially. One of the men had been specifically targeted by the wasp.
Someone was about to die.
"No... it can't be," Lady Eddison stammered softly, her voice breaking partway through. "It's impossible!"
Lightning flashed, illuminating the room for one brief second. Just long enough for Lyssa to see that everyone was still seated at the table, glancing around in fear.
"Show yourself, demon!" Agatha commanded, her chair scraping against the rug as she pushed it back and stood. Similar sounds appeared as everyone began to follow her example.
"No, no, no, stay where you are!" the Doctor shouted, though he himself got to his feet and studied the room. "Everyone stay calm!"
A few loose curls blew into Lyssa's face from a particularly strong gust of wind and she shoved them aside impatiently, glancing around nervously and screaming when another flash of lightning revealed the wasp hovering just a few feet behind her, its beating wings responsible for the harsh breeze.
The Doctor gripped Lyssa's arm and hauled her to her feet and out of her chair in an instant, pushing her behind him and grabbing Donna with the other. "Everyone out!" he shouted, backing his group towards the wall as the rest of the table stared in horror at the creature. "Out, out, out!"
Lyssa glanced over the group she could make out in the brief flashes of light, stopping at Lady Eddison's son, who was staring dumbfounded at the wasp, who returned his gaze. Horrified understanding washed over her. The creature seemed to be targeting the Eddison family for some reason, so why not go after the son next? It's what would cause the most pain.
She pulled free of the Doctor's grip and darted for the young man, ignoring the Doctor's hiss of her name. "He said clear the room!" she cried, yanking Roger to his feet and jerking him away from his chair, ignoring his startled protests as well. Something sharp fluttered against her cheek as the creature few close, and she winced at the paper-cut-like burn. Something heavy knocked against her and she stumbled, only just able to keep from falling.
"Aaagh!" Roger abruptly crumpled, doubling over and nearly pulling her down with him before she could adjust her grip.
"Please don't be dead," she prayed frantically, trying to adjust his limp form and gasping when she felt hot liquid gushing over her fingers . The buzzing grew closer and she flinched, tugging Roger's arm over her shoulder and staggering back to the frantic Doctor, who was still calling her name in the dark room.
And then he was there, taking Roger's heavy body from her with one arm and pulling her forward with the other, into a small, well-lit room with Agatha, Donna, and the butler. Donna slammed the door shut behind them and locked it, bracing it with her body just as a large object slammed into the other side of the wood. The door creaked in protest, but held - and then went ominously silent. Taking advantage of the sudden quiet, the Doctor quickly lowered Roger to the ground with the butler's aid and Donna gasped.
The handle of a large knife protruded from his shoulder, and dark streaks of blood flowing from the wound across his white shirt. Spatters of it stained the Doctor's coat and Lyssa's hands, and she hastily wiped it off with a shudder, kneeling beside the unconscious man.
"Is he... still alive?" she whispered, hesitantly touching his wrist to check for a pulse. Thankfully, she could feel one, though it was weak and thready.
The Doctor checked his other side and grimaced. "He is, but it won't be for long if we don't get him proper medical treatment." He glanced over his shoulder at the door. "And I don't trust that quiet."
As if on cue, Robina screamed.
A/N: This chapter took a lot longer than I expected to write, I am so sorry about the wait! Hopefully the next one will be up a lot quicker! (I will say part of the reason is that very first scene - which took well over three hours to write for just a couple paragraphs.) I had hoped to be able to finish the episode today, but that just wasn't going to happen, so here we go!
You guys all seemed very interested in the ending of the last chapter, and I hope I was able to continue it well - obviously we're nowhere near done handling it yet, but we made a start! (I have zero experience with romance, so I hope it felt natural/real too. D: Can you tell I have no idea what I'm doing?) Lyssa is mostly ignoring it for rn, because of the whole giant wasp thing (girl needs to get her priorities straight), but I promise that there will a LOT more coverage of this - this is basically the beginning of the end of Lyssa's obliviousness, which I know many of you wanted to see die a painful death approximately 99 chapters ago. ;)
(Also, in case any of you were worried - I have zero intentions of doing a prolonged, angsty, sad I-can't-love-him sob story. In this unrealistic, fantastical world, my peeps COMMUNICATE. It might not happen next chapter, but it will happen soon - and be fluffy. Very fluffy.)
I'm sure there was at least one person who wanted an extended kiss scene (admit it) and I thought about it - even started writing it. But it just seemed out of character for the Doctor to lose focus in such a way when he was worried about Lyssa dying.
And in the same vein, it was really funny seeing Donna kiss the Doctor in the original version of the poison scene. And I did originally plan on following that route (followed by her complaining of him tasting like anchovies). But once again, it felt out of character for her to do so knowing that the Doctor was... involved... with someone, especially after the way she was treated with her own fiancé. So I offered a few options to a friend, and wrote out the pros and cons, and eventually decided on what you see here.
The new, amazing cover for this story was made by the fantastic Wattpad user LifeAsABIRD, so huge shout-out to them!
The Doctor's ring will be popping up again in the future, and that's all I'm going to say about that for now. ;)
Quick question for some future adventures that I'm torn on, feel free to pick one: red or orange, and 10 or 11?
Special thanks to everyone who's favorited and followed, and shout-out to all my reviewers! You guys are awesome, and it was your encouraging comments that helped me to keep going when I was struggling to work out how this chapter should go.
Thank you all for reading, and I hope you enjoyed! :)
General Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who, just Lyssa.
