"You're not alone here," Major Magumbo commented.
"What makes you say that?" he asked and Major Magumbo nodded toward the TARDIS door. Josh was standing in the doorway with the crutches.
"He's injured?"
"Broken ankle," the Doctor confirmed. "He's staying with me for a while so I can treat him and while he heals. He's a friend of a friend," the Doctor commented not telling her that it was the son of a friend he'd not yet met. "What are you doing out here?" the Doctor asked Josh as he went over to him. "You shouldn't be out of bed."
"Is that the woman who was on the phone?" Josh asked the Doctor.
"Yeah, it is," the Doctor confirmed. "This is Major Magumbo."
"You're in charge right?" Josh asked her directly.
"Yes, I am."
"The Doctor said on the phone that you should bring a medical detail with you. Did you do that?"
"Yes, I did."
"Do you want to go with them?" the Doctor asked curiously. He was surprised by the slight flash of panic he felt about Josh deciding that he wanted to leave and go with UNIT rather than remain with him until his ankle was healed.
"No, I'm staying with you," Josh informed him.
"Are you in pain then? If you're in pain you should go back to bed. I'll come back in and reconnect the painkillers."
"Do you need additional medical assistance?" Major Magumbo asked Josh.
"I don't," Josh informed her. "But you know who he is don't you? You know he's the Doctor and he's not human?" he checked and Major Magumbo nodded. "Do the medical detail know that too?" Josh asked. The Doctor sighed as Major Magumbo confirmed that they did. "He is the one that needs medical attention," Josh stated. "He protected me, but one of the creatures clawed him. They have an anticoagulant and an antiplatelet in their claws. It has been over ten hour since he was clawed and he hasn't stopped bleeding. He says that it is fine and he won't bleed to death, but even if that is the case, not bleeding to death does not mean being split open and bleeding for over ten hours is fine, does it?" Josh asked the Major.
"No, it does not," Major Magumbo confirmed with Josh and then turned to the Doctor. "Is that true?"
"I did get clawed."
"I'm going back to bed now," Josh informed the Doctor. "I can reattach the drip myself. I left the canola in. Let their medics look at your back. They'll be able to stitch you up. I mean, I could try it, but I've never even sewn a button before. If they have medics that know who you are then you should let them help you. It sounds like you do enough to help them," Josh commented and then headed back into the TARDIS.
"Smart boy," Major Magumbo stated. "I do have one of the top medics with UNIT here with us. She left and went freelance for a while following the downsizing of UNIT a few year back, but, she returned to us in 2023. She is very familiar with you and your biology, and, she is very aware of the complexities of time travel and time lines. If you need medical assistance then Doctor Jones-Smith knows more about time lords than anyone. It sounds like the boy is worried about you. Even if you don't think you need attention, it is clear that he thinks you do, and it wouldn't do any harm to allow Dr Jones-Smith to take a look at you and at least put his mind at ease."
The Doctor signed and nodded. Major Magumbo went into the main tent where there were teams getting prepared for the operation in hand. She returned with a female medic in a UNIT uniform. She was petite but she looked confident as she walked toward him. "Doctor." She extended her hand to him. "I'm Dr Martha Jones-Smith. I understand you require medical assistance?"
"It's just a couple of scratches. Nothing to worry about."
"I will be the judge of that," Martha informed him and the Doctor regarded her. She didn't seem at all put off or wary that it was him that she was dealing with. That was good. He preferred that to the salutes and 'it's an honour' and all the rest that went with UNIT sometimes. "I expect you would you be more comfortable in the TARDIS sickbay than taking a seat out in our field unit?"
"That might be easier."
"I know the way."
"You do, do you?" the Doctor acknowledged. "Major Magumbo suggested you might know a bit about time lords."
"I do yes."
"How much do you know?"
"The usual stuff, two hearts, body temperature of 16 to 17 degrees, respiratory bypass, blood pressure that sends all my machines into a meltdown. I also know enough to see that you're pale and you're in pain and that your scratches are on your back," Martha informed him. "I don't only know that because of the way you are holding yourself, but also because if they were somewhere you could reach you would have treated yourself in favour of seeking medical attention. Shall we?" she asked the Doctor and indicated toward the TARDIS.
"Lead the way."
"I'm coming too," Major Magumbo stated.
"You are?" the Doctor asked. "Why not? Come in then, but you both leave..." he started expecting a challenge as he turned to the Major, but she was already removing her side arm in order to hand it over to a junior officer.
"I don't carry a weapon, Doctor," Martha assured him.
"Good," the Doctor stated. He followed the two women into his TARDIS. Major Magumbo had clearly not been in the ship before, but she was professional enough to manage her reaction to something that she would have known. Martha on the other hand had clearly been in the TARDIS a number of times. She seemed more relaxed as she stepped into the ship and a smile crossed her features as she entered. The ship audibly hummed as Martha put her hand absently on a column, taking in familiar surroundings. He might not have met her before, but the TARDIS existed outside of the restriction of linear events. His ship knew her and from what he could tell, liked her and was pleased she was there. It made him feel a little more comfortable about the two UNIT strangers within his home.
"Do you know what it feels like to be with two people that have clearly met you before, but that you've never met?" the Doctor commented absently.
"I imagine it feels like we all know more than you, Doctor," Martha told him with a smile. "Now that is a turnaround isn't it?" She was teasing him. She led the way down toward the sickbay. Josh was sitting back on his bed. His cast ankle was back up in the sling and he'd reconnected his canola.
"Are you the medic?" Josh asked her.
"I am, I'm Martha," she informed him.
"His back is a right mess," Josh advised her. "He's gone through at least six T-shirts now, and see that blood there?" He indicated to blood on the seat by his bed and on the TARDIS floor that hadn't been cleared up yet. "That is his."
"Scratches Doctor?" Martha asked him comfortably.
"Deep scratches."
"Come and sit yourself down." She indicated to the bed next to Josh's. "Jacket and T-shirt off. Let's see what we're dealing with." The Doctor did what he was told. Martha looked at the state of his back. "Doctor," Martha sighed. "Have you seen your back?"
"I tried to look in the mirror, but it's my back, you don't know time lords that well if you think I can turn my head through 180 degrees and examine my own back properly."
"We tried to put a sealant on them, but it didn't work," Josh informed the medic.
"The blue one?" Martha asked. The Doctor nodded. "Did it burst?"
"It went everywhere!" Josh exclaimed.
"It's curious that you never learn, Doctor," Martha informed him amiably.
"That's never happened before."
"No, but if it happens again it will have happened before won't it?" she commented. She pulled some gloves on and gently tried to ease the sides of one of the wounds together. The Doctor didn't make a sound but she felt him tense and flinch. "I'm going to have to give these a good clean, Doctor," Martha warned him. "Have you taken any pain relief in the past three hours?" she asked. He was surprised she asked about three hours and not four or six. She clearly knew he metabolised drugs more quickly than a human.
"No."
"Why not?" she asked him.
"I've been busy."
"I'll go and get what I need," she informed him. "There is a lot of inflammation around the top of one of the wounds and it's going to be sore, so I'm going to give you some pain relief before we start. I'm not going to mess around I'm going to go straight for the bladamine," she informed him. "I don't carry that in my kit anymore, so I'm hoping you've got some in the pharmacy?"
"Why would you carry bladamine in your kit?" the Doctor asked her.
"I'm sure you'll work that out on your own. Is there a supply in the pharmacy?"
"Yeah, there is. Second cupboard…"
"Third shelf and to the right?" Martha checked, but the Doctor just sighed. "I'm sorry," Martha acknowledged. "This must feel a bit like an intrusion. I just want you to know that you don't have to worry. You don't have to explain everything to me, okay? You can trust me to help you and to keep you safe, and if I need to ask about something, then I will. I know what drugs you have and what you can take, and I know how you heal," she informed him. "I am going to stitch you up though. The wounds are too wide and too deep for adequate cellular regeneration to take place. I'm also going to give you a shot of intravenous antibiotics and then I'm going to need you to take regular pain relief and an oral course of antibiotics. If you're not going to remember to take them when you get busy, I will give them to your friend and he can make sure you take them," Martha informed him and winked at Josh.
"I'll take them."
"Good. Get on the bed properly and try to get comfortable on your front, while I go and get what I need," Martha suggested. The Doctor laid on the bed. Martha injected a dose of bladamine into his shoulder. It only took a couple of minutes for the drugs to begin to work and he was able to relax more. She gave his back a good clean. He was still bleeding a lot and she couldn't see any sign of him healing yet. "This was over ten hours ago?"
"Yeah."
"I'd not like to think what would happen if a human were scratched if you've been bleeding for ten hours," Martha offered absently as she continued to gently inspect and clean the wounds. "I'm going to stitch you up now, Doctor," she informed him. She began the painstaking process of closing the three long wounds. She stitched the length of the central wound first, but then had to stitch the ones either side of it without pulling the central one apart again. It was difficult to know what to talk to him about, but she figured as long as she avoided anything they had done together then it would be fine. Talking to him meant she could judge how much pain he was in and each time his responses became tense and clipped she gave him another dose of the painkillers, rather than expect him to ask her if she could stop and top them up because it was becoming a bit much like a normal person would have done. It took two hours to close the wounds and she didn't even think about counting the stitches. He was still bleeding, but with the wound edges pulled and held together it wasn't as significant. She cleaned him up a bit and then put long thick non-stick absorbent pads down the length of each of the cuts She then put further dressings over the top of them and then taped it all in place. "We're going to keep a close eye on this," Martha warned the Doctor. "And take the pain relief as and when you need it?"
"Okay."
"In a way the anticoagulant has done you a bit of a favour. With the persistent bleeding the tissues haven't swollen that much, but there is a little bit of inflammation around the cuts across your shoulder. The bleeding should start to get more under control, but that might mean the inflammation increases and you're going to feel very tight and sore right across your back. You need to keep your involvement in the operation to a minimum. Consultation and information only until further notice," Martha informed him. "You're not to go running round and head back down into those caves. Is that understood?"
"Yep."
"Major Magumbo," Martha addressed the operational lead. "That is to be adhered to by UNIT as well. He is not to be involved in any of the physical aspects of the operation."
"Yes ma'am," Major Magumbo confirmed.
"Thank you for your attention," the Doctor told Martha.
"I'm going to check in on you later and make sure there is evidence of you starting to heal now," Martha informed him. "Do you need any assistance with the treatment of your friend's injury?" she asked him. "I know you're more than capable of dealing with it, but if you are in pain yourself?"
"We'll be fine, thank you."
"Stay there and rest for a while. I can show Major Magumbo out."