Episode: The Doctor and the Nurse
Chapter: The Savior and the Killer [4/4]
Summary: Rory wanted the Doctor to take a break before he inevitably snapped. A Matron wanted for her children to grow old and strong, at any cost. And a Doctor wanted to save his patients, even if that meant trusting some weird Englishmen. The Master wanted to find enough information about the cracks to bring back Amy and the Doctor. Or the one where some people work, others take a break, and tempers end up snapping all the same.
Rating: T
Koschei follows as they climb up the tower, frowning at the screams echoing all around from the more vocal of patients, but mostly because the buzzing is getting worse. And not in the 'getting closer to the source' worse, more like 'stepping into a generator' worse.
What in Skaro is going on here?
"I was not aware there was anything beyond the fifth floor," Semmelweis comments as Matron Freund guides them to the last staircase, and Koschei doesn't bother wiping the bored look off his face.
"Not many are, Young Semmelweis, but it suits our purposes," she answers cheerily, guiding them to a single room building in the middle of the roof, topped by lightning rods. "We were looking into ways to keep difficult babes alive. How many die from being born early, or weak? Difficult births kill so many… We wish to improve those odds, to help the population grow strong and healthy," she explains as she unlocks the door and waves them in.
It's a trap, so bloody blatant that it makes Koschei want to either weep or laugh. He manages to contain himself, still holding onto his screwdriver, but he's not bothered when they find a large mechanical oval of clear alien origin in the middle of the room and nothing else.
"What is this? Some sort of cradle?" Semmelweis asks, still blind in his curiosity and ingenuity, and that's when Koschei decides enough is enough.
"It's alien. Would you be so kind as to tell me where exactly is it from, Matron Freund? And while we're at it, what's your real name?" he asks with a toothy smile that has nothing of humor in it, startling Semmelweis, but Matron Freund simply closes the door at her back and smiles angelically.
"Why, you do not appear to make sense anymore, dearest Doctor Holmes," she mocks, but when she next blinks, her eyes are murky mudballs slowly dripping down her face.
"By the Almighty! What is wrong with you, Matron Freund?" Semmelweis exclaims, but wisely moves away from the alien.
"Oh, cut the act. It was painful actually watching it, you know? I'm suffering of second-hand embarrassment, that's how bad it was," Koschei snarls, finally pulling out his screwdriver to scan Matron Freund. "Right, whatever, let's cut to the point. You have one chance to pack up and leave this planet be. If you are unable to leave, I can get you in contact with the Shadow Proclamation, who will then help you return to – what planet are you from?" he explains in a bored tone, though he can't help but frown at the results from the screwdriver, at the data he's completely confused by.
Mostly because it says that she's human. Fully, one hundred percent human.
"Earth, dear Doctor, Lord of Time. We are from Earth," she—it, whatever—answers in a whisper made of a thousand voices—
And her body breaks into a flurry of mud-colored flakes that rush at Koschei so fast that he can only close his eyes and mouth and lift his hands—
He grunts as his back impacts against the egg-shaped thing, but it isn't until something viscous wraps around his wrists to hold him in place that he opens his eyes. There are muddy tendrils grabbing onto him, immobilizing him, their grip so tight that his screwdriver falls from his hands as he loses feeling in his fingers.
"God! What kind of madness is this?!" Semmelweis shrieks from where he's pressing against a wall, watching as the whirlwind that was Matron Freund goes back to her discarded clothes to reform once more into the shape of an old woman, muddy eyes gone.
"This, Semmelweis, is a gift from the stars. A power from beyond comprehension, which gives life and power to the lowest of life forms. This body came here to be alone, dying from that which you call 'puerperal fever' – and the Gift granted it power, granted it life. The Gift gave us, the Fever, life," the creature that was Matron Freund answers with that multi-layered voice, her hands breaking into shivering flakes like they were a bunch of excited birds on a branch. "But it cannot extend that life. We have tried to increase its power with lightning, but it only allowed us the ability to take over more bodies for a bit while their hearts still beat and a little more. After, when the body dies, the Fever dies with it."
"The matrons, that's what you did. Possessed them, bit by bit, and you're doing the same to the patients. Using those parts of yourself, you've infected them like an illness!" Koschei snarls, struggling against his bonds as the orb he's strapped to seems to heat up and pulse in a way that makes him feel like his head is going to split open.
"We are an Illness! We are the Fever!" Freund—the Fever cackles, once more lifting their hands as the flakes shake noisily. "And we shall extend and claim this world, reign eternal. And then, we shall take to the stars and find more Gifts, and the whole universe shall belong to us."
"Ugh, this is so bloody stupid!" Koschei exclaims, letting his head fall back as he finally ceases struggling, though he's still berating himself for getting cocky and overconfident. "And what are you going to do after, rule it into intergalactic peace and love? Live happily ever after? The universe is nothing without differences, without conflict! And you don't even have a ship."
"You do."
"Oh, good luck with that! The pain in the ass doesn't listen to me on a good day, what makes you think she'll listen to you?" Koschei mocks, amused despite the situation, because it finally dawns on him that the Fever is well and truly defeated, and he doesn't even have to lift a finger. "You can't make it out of this hospital, can you? The possession kills any bodies you take control of, the machine doesn't work anymore to make more of you – you're dead, Fever. You're a walking corpse, literally and metaphorically, and you know it. Your little cadaverous particles are infectious, but they are also deadly. You are killing your own chances at survival. And all I have to do is sit and wait for that to happen," he laughs, delighting in the way the Fever's smirk turns into a scowl.
"What kind of Royal Physician are you supposed to be?" Semmelweis exclaims from where he's looking at everything with eyes like saucers, gawking more in disbelief than anything else.
"The kind that is not a Royal Physician," Koschei scoffs – and the Fever chuckles.
"Oh, we know. We know of you, we knew as soon as you brandished the mind-boggling paper, a blank slate for anyone to make of it as they please. It was fortunate Matron Král was there to be deceived, for your tricks won't work on us, Lord of Time."
Ah. Well, that explains how the Fever got the information they got. And here Koschei thought the simplicity of the 'trap' was because the Fever thought him human. He can never let the Doctor hear of this, it's embarrassing!
"Lord of what?"
"It's Time Lord, thank you. It's pretentious enough without you twisting it to paint me as something I am not," he answers disdainfully, going as far as to tilt his chin up with half-lidded eyes.
"The Time Lord, the Doctor, the man who fixes the world. Names are but another lie to you, are they not? Who is to put worth in a name when the man of a thousand faces has none? Who is to hope when the killer dressed as a healer walks into town? The Fever might be young, Doctor, but the world remembers. It remembers fire and death, and the man standing in the midst of the chaos, the one who will destroy everything. You, Doctor, will unleash the End of Time."
And Koschei's breath catches in his throat, eyes wide in shock.
How…?
"Ah, you have seen it too, have you not? And you dare blame the Fever for deaths brought about by our struggle for survival, when you seek the death of all as a result of whatever strikes your fancy? The stars die, they cry. Beware. Beware the Man Who Will Bring the Silence," the Fever hisses, a delighted grin once more on their melting face as they step closer and closer and the machine at Koschei's back burns—
Someone knocks on the door.
For a moment, it's as if time itself had stopped.
And then, the knock comes again.
"Matron Freund? Please, it's an emergency!" Matron Král shouts from the other side, sounding just as scared as is to be expected. "Please, Matron Freund! A fire has started in the Clinic!"
That does it. The Fever grimaces, rearranging their face into Matron Freund once more, and gives Koschei one last sharp grin as they lift their flakey hand—
A shoe slams into the Fever's face hard enough that the 'frail old lady' topples to the side with a squeak.
"Come on, come on, come on!" Semmelweis chants as he rushes to Koschei's side, missing a shoe, and starts to wrestle against the tendrils keeping Koschei at bay.
"No, no! The screwdriver, grab the screwdriver! Setting 20, put it at 20!" he tells Semmelweis urgently, jerking his head towards the fallen tool, and the doctor immediately grabs it even as the voices at the other side of the door exchange loud exclamations and the Fever gets up with a snarl— "Augh! At the Fever! Point it at the Fever and then press the button!" he orders when the idiot activates the screwdriver while pointing it at the ceiling, the psychic scramble rattling his brains so hard that he sees no less than three Matron Freunds topple to the floor with distorted screeches when Semmelweis finally obeys.
There's a loud crack as the door snaps out of its rusted hinges to topple to the floor, and Koschei has just a second to doubt before Semmelweis' voice clears his confusion.
"Doctor Gottlieb! Doctor Williams!"
"It's the Matron! Rory, it's the bloody Matron! She's a sentient bit of puerperal fever so you need to—"
"Already ahead of you!" Rory's voice cuts as he takes some kind of pot from a third figure and turns to the flaking and snarling Fever—
And throws a bucket of chlorine and lime water right at the creature.
Koschei feels almost grateful that his sight is clearing up at last, because he would've missed the impressive way the Fever smokes and burns as it is 'disinfected'. His ears don't appreciate the screeching so much, but that's a small price to pay for the spectacle. His headache doesn't agree, but it's no trouble to just push it back as soon as the last of the Fever sizzles into nothingness and the godawful noise ceases.
"… Okay, that's a bit more than I actually expected," Rory says at last, gulping, as he looks from the wet uniform on the ground to his now empty jar.
Koschei laughs and lets himself drop to rest his full weight against the burning machine, just for a bit. The tendrils are still attached firmly, but a very distressed Matron Král and a green-faced Doctor Gottlieb agree to go fetch some more of Semmelweis' disinfectant to get him free, so he doesn't mind that much.
As soon as Rory drops the jar, Semmelweis puts the screwdriver in his hands and steps away as if it was going to burn him.
"I don't want to know," Semmelweis says before Rory can even ask. "I know what I heard and what I saw, but I don't want to know."
"Oh, come on, Ignaz. You did an excellent job; you should be proud. After all, if it wasn't for you, that thing would've spread further, overtaking the hospital, and then Vienna…"
"Do I want to know?" Rory asks tiredly, looking at Koschei still tied up, and the Time Lord grins back mischievously before dropping the expression for genuine curiosity.
"How did you know to come here? And with the solution, no less."
"I did my job, what you told me," Rory answers with a scrunch of his nose, almost insulted. "I took notes of Arnie's tour, and when Rike came to find us for some tea after being relieved by Matron Freund, I asked her about the Second Clinic. I compared them, and the only difference I could spot was the autopsies, like I told you, so I thought there must've been something wrong with the new Matron, some reason she would refuse Doctor Semmelweis' suggestion of people washing their hands so strongly. So, we went to ask her right-hand Matron, and she actually recoiled when I offered to shake her hand. I had washed mine after the visit to the First Clinic with Doctor Semmelweis' solution, so…" he explains with a shrug, and Koschei drops his head back again with another chuckle. "When Rike said she saw you two being taken to the Narrenturm, I knew that's where it was going to go down. So, we took the solution, asked the guard, and came here. I'm surprised she got you all tied up. It was a bit too obvious, wasn't it?"
"Oh, shut up," Koschei scoffs, but can't help the grin creeping to his face in answer to Rory's. "I need a break, that's all," he adds, and Rory boggles at that, gawking in disbelief.
"Did you get bitten by a Neverwere again?"
"Rory!"
"What? You're making sense and being reasonable! I'm entitled to worry!"
"As interesting as this conversation is," Semmelweis cuts before Koschei can answer that, and he decides to cut Rory a break as thanks for the timely rescue and turns his attention to the doctor instead. "The Clinic isn't actually on fire, is it?"
"What? Oh, no! No, it isn't, we just needed to get Matron Freund out and that's the first thing Rike came up with," Rory explains quickly, flustered, but relaxes at Semmelweis' grin. "And, huh, sorry about taking your solution."
"Please, don't. It is what saved us all. Though I must admit I am curious about the Fever's words, Doctor. How could anyone end time itself?" he asks, turning to Koschei, who flinches before he can stop himself.
The thing at his back burns hotter than before, or so it seems. And Rory's worried look is filled with an understanding that shouldn't be there. He must be thinking about the Neverwere, about the Time War, but…
"We're back!" Matron Král calls cheerfully as her and Doctor Gottlieb come through the door with another basin full of the disinfectant, and Koschei breathes a sigh of relief despite the weight still resting on his hearts.
Carefully, they pour some of the liquid over the tendrils, which sizzle and vanish much like the actual Fever did, and Koschei jerks away from the machine with a relieved groan.
"Skaro ablaze, finally! That thing is boiling," he scoffs, rubbing at his back, before Rory puts a hand on his shoulder and points at the machine. "What?"
"You said the thing is boiling, but the water just froze," he explains, and Koschei turns around with a confused frown to see that he's right. "Should I check you for frostbite?"
"No. No, it was heat, not cold. And I know that difference, trust me," he muses almost under his breath, holding up a hand for his screwdriver, which Rory returns after a moment of fumbling. "Time to crack the egg open."
He needs to try five different settings before he manages to find the right one, but when he does, he immediately recognizes the light spilling from the cracks of the machine grinding open.
When he hisses for the humans to move back, they all do – and a second later, as soon as the machine is fully unfolded, the blinding white light vanishes, leaving nothing but molten plastic behind.
"Nestene," Koschei whispers, wide-eyed, as he carefully approaches the escape pod, trying his best to ignore the smell of burning time at the end of the universe left behind by the small crack. "This was a Nestene pod. With the power from the crack, it must have transferred a sliver of the Nestene consciousness into the closest compatible creature – the puerperal fever infecting Matron Freund's body. But that's all it could do, and now… It's… displaced. No longer contained here, it's breaking somewhere else, while time tries to heal he—ow!" he exclaims when he waves his screwdriver a bit too close to the temporal scar and gets stung for his actions. "Do you see now why I need to fix them, Rory? Come on, back to the TARDIS. There's no time for operas now," he snarls, activating yet another setting on the screwdriver that triggers the pod's self-destruct, which melts it into an unrecognizable puddle of metallic-colored plastic.
"What? You can't just leave like that, we need explanations!" Gottlieb protests as Koschei stalks out the door, the rest of the group following close behind.
"If there's an illness, wash your hands, what else is there to say?" he calls over his shoulder, not breaking his stride, focusing on the TARDIS' song, still tucked away in the city.
Come on, you pain in the ass. We have a job to do, he sends as strongly and focused as he can, before activating the recall he installed on the screwdriver just for these reasons.
"But—"
"Semmelweis!" he calls, stopping just outside the door and finally turning around to face the man, who startles at the suddenness of the gesture. "You're doing it right, you are right. So, keep at it, no matter what those ignorants out there think. You've seen the results here today, it works. Don't let those idiots tell you what you can and can't do. And you two!" he adds, turning to the apprehensive Gottlieb and Král. "For all that's sacred, will you stop watching from afar and actually do something? She likes you, Arnie, and he likes you, Rike. Now kiss and go enjoy your lives like you deserve instead of wasting three more years of your lives on this absurd pining!" he adds, ignoring the way they both go red as tomatoes and how Semmelweis recovers enough from his shock to grin maniacally. "As for you, Rory, move it! Time to go."
"But the TARDIS—"
And of course, that's when the pain in the ass finally shows up, materializing right in front of their noses in the otherwise empty area behind the Narrenturm.
"You were saying?" Koschei asks Rory with a toothy grin, and the man rolls his eyes with a sigh.
"Show off."
"If you've got it, flaunt it."
"… You did not just say that."
Koschei snorts but ignores anything else, opening the doors to step inside and arrange the coordinates to send them into the Vortex and after the newest anomaly.
… If Rory moves, that is.
Apparently, whatever he's discussing with the trio outside is more important than Amy. Not that Rory remembers Amy right now, but that's the whole point.
"Wait, Schwarzenegger? The woman from yesterday is actually called Schwarzenegger?"
"Yes, Berta Schwarzenegger. Why? Do you know her family?"
"Huh… Yeah, you could say that."
"Do you want me to leave you here, Nurse Williams? Because unless you've forgotten, we have places to go," Koschei calls from the door of the TARDIS, sending his companion his best deadpan glare.
… Apparently, Rory is as immune to it now as Amy, because he just rolls his eyes.
"Did he just call you a nurse?" Gottlieb asks in what he thinks is a quiet voice, and Koschei is the one to roll his eyes this time but says nothing, part of him longing for popcorn to see Rory make a fool of himself once again.
He really needs to stop underestimating his humans.
"Yes, he did. I am a nurse, where I'm from. Not because I wanted to be a doctor but couldn't, but because I wanted to be a nurse. Doctors investigate and find the root of the problem and fix it. They help people by dealing with whatever is threatening them. But nurses are there, by the patient's side, and even if they can't heal them the same a doctor can, they can take care of them all the same. They see the person inside the patient, not just a number. They are there to smile and hold their hands, and make sure they are alright in a situation when there's no 'alright'. They hold people together while the doctors fix the problem," he explains as simply but passionately as he can, no shame or hesitation in his voice or words or stance.
Gottlieb and Král look confused and awed, respectively. Semmelweis looks over Rory's shoulder to meet Koschei's eyes, and smiles.
"I hope to get a nurse as great as you," he tells Rory but without breaking eye contact with Koschei, who startles for a second before nodding in a voiceless promise.
There's nothing in the universe that'll stop him from protecting Rory, from bringing Amy back. No way, he's done losing people.
Of course, that's when Rory starts stammering, so Koschei calls for him again and, after one last goodbye, they're finally off.
No more breaks. It's time to get their people back.
Rory feels as if he's just been put in a washing machine with the highest revolution on. The day started normal enough, if such a term can be applied when the Doctor is around, with meeting Semmelweis and touring the Clinic with Arnie. But as soon as Rike had shown up and told them of what was going on in the Doctor's side of things, it was like time sped up.
Investigate, the matron reacting to the chlorine solution on Rory's skin, rescuing the Doctor – for once, which feels kind of nice yet odd at the same time – the crack in the machine spooking the Doctor and sending them packing once more…
The TARDIS has just locked the doors behind Rory's back, but the Doctor is at the console again, with his top hat, traveling coat and tailcoat hanging from the coat hanger that seems to be the TARDIS' latest whim, still standing faithfully by the doors.
"You know, that was quite rude. And we still haven't taken that break," Rory reminds the Doctor as he takes off his own hat and coat to hang.
"I told you already, no breaks. We've got a job to do," the Doctor answers coldly, glaring at the screen and flicking switches.
"My job is to keep you in one piece, preferably unharmed. And that means taking a break before you burn out," Rory reminds him a bit more forcefully, feeling dread pool in his stomach again.
Sure, the opera attempt failed thanks to whatever Matron Freund got turned into, but that doesn't mean they can't try something else. And they must. It's clear that the Doctor is burning out, his eyes sharp, his jaw clenched, the frown on his face slowly turning into a permanent fixture that does not belong on such a cheeky bastard's face. He should be grinning, mocking, delighted, actually happy. Like when he fetched Rory from the pub or bickered in Sicily. Hell, even the indignation he showed in Cardiff after he was given his souvenir shirt is better than this! The Doctor is many things, but whatever he's turning into right now is not him.
It shouldn't be him.
"Oh, is that so?" the alien mocks, though Rory doesn't see whatever face he's making as he lunges for the top hat that slips off the coat hanger when the TARDIS jerks in midflight. "That's your job, isn't it? And what in Skaro's radioactive flames makes you think that? You're a human," he spits out like the foulest of curses, and this time, Rory does catch the disgust and loathing in his blazing amber eyes.
He gulps, frozen in place, but straightens with a tremulous breath.
Okay, the Doctor is angry. Very angry. And Rory knows what happens when you anger the Doctor.
The TARDIS wheezes louder, shuddering, but Rory takes another breath, more stable than the last, and pushes the hat in his hands back onto the coat hanger.
Oh yes, the Doctor is angry, but he's snarling. Rory knows to fear a serious Doctor and a grinning Doctor, but when the Doctor snarls, it's all bark and no bite. Sure, he can follow it up with grinning or seriousness and that's when you should run, but as long as he's snarling and insulting, Rory knows he'll be safe.
Feeling like dirt, maybe, but physically unharmed. And mentally. He does not fancy getting his brain turned to mush, thank you very much.
"Yes. Yes, I am human. And you're not, obviously, and that means I can't really understand you, or how you tick—" the Doctor flinches at that, almost unnoticeably, but Rory is too winded up now to change his tune, throwing his greatcoat onto the railing and uncaring about the stupid figure he must cut in his 1847 vest and tailcoat and neck cloth, because this is important. "—but you still have feelings like everyone else, and you can become so exhausted that you make mistakes and get caught by – by a flakey old woman! And I know I'm definitely not the right person for this job, I'm just a nurse. But I'm here. And I'm willing to help. No matter how many times you insult me or kick me down or push me away or ignore me – I'm not going anywhere! I'm not… I'm not going to leave you. Not me. Not as long as you need me, even if you don't want me here," Rory explodes, though his last words are almost too soft to be heard over the TARDIS' groaning and rumbling.
The Doctor looks conflicted, eyes ablaze and nostrils flaring as his chest heaves with his irregular breathing, but his lips are pressed into a thin white line and his fists tremble threateningly at his sides.
"Look, I… I don't know what it's like, losing all your people, losing everything you've ever known, but… I'm here if you need to talk. Or not talk! Just, I'm here, and I care, and I'm not leaving. You're… You're my friend, alright? The weirdest and craziest friend I never thought I would have, and that's without counting your being an alien, and I probably wouldn't invite you to my wedding just to protect everyone else's sanity, but—"
The Doctor takes in a sharp intake of breath that hisses through his teeth, as if Rory had just punched him in the solar plexus, and he looks like it too.
For a moment.
Before Rory can recover, before he can finish that sentence – but I would invite you anyway because you are more important than all of my other friends put together and more, you are family – the Doctor takes a step forward and the lights start to flicker.
"Friends, Rory Williams? Is that what you think all this is about?" the Doctor asks with a too large and toothy and deranged grin, his eyes so pale and bright that it almost makes him look feverish, before he throws his head back with an unsettlingly amused bark of laughter. "That's rich! Friends, huh? Oh, it's always that with you humans, you are so predictable. Friendship and love and peace and you're all a bunch of disgusting hypocrites! Your own planet is dying out, your own people killed at your own hands, and you don't have the guts to even acknowledge it! If you're going to kill someone, at least let it be on purpose! But no, you talk about friends instead," he seethes, actually seethes, moving closer to the steps that lead to the door, that lead to Rory, and the human can't help but step back even as he fights to draw breath and figure out what to say to break him out of this madness. "Do you know why I don't have friends, Rory? Do you really want to know?" he asks almost sweetly, smiling even wider than before, if such was possible. "It's because I killed them all. With these pretty little twisted brains," he answers, pointing at his own head with a giggle that makes Rory shiver. "Oh, you could blame wars and accidents and whatever, and you'd be right! But the good ones, the best ones… Those I killed myself. What, you think I got this face for no reason? You have to be someone really twisted to hold your dying best friend in your arms and still be selfish. And you, Rory Williams, who fancy yourself my friend… You are just a means to an end," he explains innocently, his grin turning into something smaller yet far more terrifying, and Rory takes another step back even as he tries to put his brain in order. "I don't need a human to get what I want. It's just more convenient if I keep you around. But if you insist on friendship… Well, you know what happened to my other friends. Wanna join the club?" he asks, arms wide open in invitation—
The TARDIS jerks so hard that both of them are swept off their feet, the Doctor sliding over the glass floor while Rory faceplants to the ground, the coat hanger toppling over him and forcing him to fight the coats that seem to be trying to tangle him up—
A bell tolls, just like before Cardiff, too loud and unmistakable, and the Doctor curses somewhere outside of the coats smothering Rory—
Another jerk has Rory slamming into something solid, a wall or the door – the surface against his back gives way, wind rushing all around and pulling Rory out of the TARDIS, and he grabs onto the first thing he can reach—
The coat rips free of the hanger that had been lodged between the doors, and Rory thinks he sees the Doctor's terrified eyes as he reaches for him just a second too late.
AN: So, yeah. Notes time:
I know there's a Doctor Who comic called the same, but the original title didn't fit anymore and this one did, so there, have my version of "the boy's night out".
The Cloister Wars. I wish they were expanded on, but since they aren't, I made my own ideas about them from Missy's words and what we see in Hell Bent and Heaven Sent. And the last bit of drifting nonsense from the Cardiff episodes is explained in the shape of the equation and more Time Lord lore and biology. Poor Rory is going to be scarred for life...
Ignaz Semmelweis. You've read it, he was the first to instill the practice of washing hands in hospitals, though he couldn't explain why at the time, not until Pasteur came around with his discovery, and by then it was too late for Doctor Semmelweis. I remember choosing him instead of Van Gogh for this episode because Rory doesn't strike me as a Van Gogh type, and I thought he would probably insist on some kind of medical exhibition instead. Only, that didn't fit into the story, so they ended up bumping into him by accident.
I spent way too long researching 1847 opera. I'm not sorry. And yes, both titles are real operas of the time, and I actually planned to do some The Greatest Showman jokes or something as soon as I saw Jenny Lind had been in those. Never Enough would've fit marvelously, with the "towers of gold", but it just didn't manage to make it in there. *sigh*
Gottlieb and Král are taken from a name randomizer, and Berta Schwarzenegger was there just for kicks, though it turned out to be nothing more than an anecdote in the end. She, too, is taken from a randomizer, I have no idea about Arnold Schwarzenegger's family tree, not that far back.
The Fever added itself to the story. It was supposed to be an alien parasite stranded on Earth, kind of like the Werewolf in Tooth and Claw, or at least that's what I have in my notes. I toyed with the idea of having Matron Freund be a mind-controlled human at one point, but the story went its own way to end with the Fever.
The Narrenturm has (is supposed to have?) an extra room at the very top, where an emperor of the Austrian Empire would go to 'soak' in the energy released by the people locked in the Narrenturm, or something. Again, my notes said to use all these theories, alongside the number of rooms and the weird shape of the tower, once more drawing inspiration from The Shakespeare Code and the Carrionites, but nah, didn't happen. I don't know why I have notes, these stories always do what they want...
There was also supposed to be a scene like the one with Eleven and Amy taking Vincent to the museum, but with Rory and Koschei bringing Ignaz to the lecture Rory had about him in university, which wouldn't have been as emotional because Ignaz is not Vincent, but would've been all mushy and hopeful and all that. Instead, Koschei gives him the bright idea of keeping up the fight, which would end with Ignaz writing those letters and being combative when he can't explain where he got the idea of the solution to kill the 'cadaverous particles', which eventually lands him in the asylum.
More than any other fic in this series, this one literally did what it wanted. So, have The Doctor and the Nurse.
Three to go.